I agree and I wonder if the right thing to do might be completely abandoning the concept of privacy. I think it might happen regardless of what we do, so maybe instead of trying to fight to the last drop of blood, we should just run full-speed in the other direction. Just embrace, as a society, that everyone can know everything about everybody, and learn to live honestly.
It's just a thought that has been floating around my head recently.
Taking responsibility for your own actions is a key part of growing up and the central tenet of major world philosophies such as Buddhism.
However, modern social science indicates clearly that people behave differently when they believe they are under surveillance and when part of large groups. So there is a real, psychological requirement for privacy and anonymity some of the time. There has to be space for this... a balance.
In general, "behind closed doors" has been put forward as an appropriate scope for that in a physical sense, though we are increasingly digitally monitored there as well. For instance, it is not uncommon for national gestapo of various ilks to seize hardware and search for digital evidence when someone is 'suspected' of something (ie. pretty much as they please). Similarly, mobile and landline telephones and wifi access are monitored, as is probably cable TV activity. And in general, the population of many regions is uploading photos of each other in these environments, providing streams of public social network and other online activity that can accurately predict their movements in and out of the home. So pretending that "behind closed doors" means private doesn't really fly anymore. In addition to this personal privacy, we need an option for public anonymity ... including online.
