NationStates Jolt Archive

The privacy debate has got me thinking all the way down the slippery slope. Today you can check online what your neighbors' incomes are, how much their homes are worth and so on but it could be much worse.

What if there was not a single location anywhere that was not monitored by cameras with microphones and anyone could watch online what happened at any time and place. There was tracking devices in people, cars, socks etc so anyone could track anything online plus any other privacy invading gadget you could think of except mind reading. All paperwork was done online so pencils, coins or offline storage didn't even exist anymore. All medical journals, credit card transactions, criminal records, personal documents, internal business documents, government work, chat conversations, phone calls and everything was freely viewable by anyone. How would you behave in such a scenario?



Personally...
I'd be just as blunt in my public behavior as when home alone since millions of people would be taped behaving like that at home everyday anyway. I'd also be too honest about for example embarrassing or awkward stuff for the same reason.

Knowing that any crime no matter how small gets documented would really feel like a horribly tight straight jacket. No more just tossing the soda can in the ditch when it's empty. On the other hand I'd be careless about security such as locking stuff or keeping an eye on luggage for the same reason.

My favorite use of the situation would be to watch internal work in large corporations looking for anything remotely resembling cutting corners in a questionable way to point finger at.

No privacy? Man that'd kill exhibitionists!

Privacy is of course a conditioning because of living in a private property related society, so you shouldn't jump to the conclusion that a private society is somehow better than a public one (obviously because you are conditioned by privacy), it's like the old 'There are no adulterers in Sparta' argument from Plutarch.

Then you could leave your doors open, even at night, be careless about things such as putting possessions away in cupboards and locking them, so they're not stolen, and isn't that real freedom?

And I'd probably act a little more cagilly than I do now, even though I know that if any government cares to do so, they can basically track my every word and movement anyway.

So meh.

If there were no pirvacy, I'd act like even more of an ass than I already do. I mean, once people had seen me masturbate and sing along to Machine Head (well, obviously never at the same time), I'd have no pretense of dignity or self-respect left to maintain.
Then you could leave your doors open, even at night, be careless about things such as putting possessions away in cupboards and locking them, so they're not stolen, and isn't that real freedom?
Without a major (probably several hundred percent) increase in the size of a country's police force, it would be unable to persecute minor crimes like petty theft. So you might want to lock your doors, anyway.

I'd ditch the grid. Probably sign up for piracy or something. Loot the fuck out of oil tankers.

Wouldn't be able to take a shower, change clothes, or use the bathroom. :eek: :(

Arrrrrgggghhhh! (http://www.mondotees.com/ProductImages/bangonicons/pirateflag.jpg)

Without a major (probably several hundred percent) increase in the size of a country's police force, it would be unable to persecute minor crimes like petty theft. So you might want to lock your doors, anyway.
Yootopia plays Devil's Advocate, someone comes up with perfectly excellent solution to this shocker!

(although with mics and cameras everywhere, you'd kind of imagine a huge police force, no?)

I'd stop looking at these pr0nsites...

I'd stop looking at these pr0nsites...

Indeed. :(

the only way i'd be comfortable with that at all would be if a whole lot of things were made legal or relaxed. otherwise, i'd be banged up straight away. and so would many tens of thousands of others, the prison population would go through the roof without a corresponding relaxation of the law.

also, i wouldn't be comfortable in such a society unless there was no such thing as a coercive state with a monopoly over the use of violence.

Well, there goes the comfort of confidential confessions to the priest. 'Course, he'll know about my strange bed habits before I even start talking anyways, so it might actually speed things up :).

For perusal ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-6903200,00.html

Pissing in public would be legal.

And because WYTYG made such a good, important point with a thread a little while back about this particular issue, it's time this was posted:

http://www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/265724.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/07/europe/germany.php

Wouldn't be able to take a shower, change clothes, or use the bathroom. :eek: :(
Knotthole Glade;13035616']Pissing in public would be legal.
So shy people wouldn't piss at all while brash people would piss in public.
also, i wouldn't be comfortable in such a society unless there was no such thing as a coercive state with a monopoly over the use of violence.
I don't think a government could get away with doing something unfair if anyone could see it and point it out to the whole population. But in reality governments keep their own privacy while eroding everyone else's.

... I'd probably get complaints from people about how boring my life is.

my hobby would probably be giving various people 'soundtracks'.

What if there was not a single location anywhere that was not monitored by cameras with microphones and anyone could watch online what happened at any time and place. There was tracking devices in people, cars, socks etc so anyone could track anything online plus any other privacy invading gadget you could think of except mind reading.
...

You mean to ask: how will you cope with the world 20 years from now. Or, well, maybe some time sooner than that...

Wouldn't be able to take a shower, change clothes, or use the bathroom. :eek: :(I'll probably recieve a Court Order NOT to change clothes, use the bathroom and definatly not bathe or do anything that requires me removing my clothes. :D

Knotthole Glade;13035616']Pissing in public would be legal.

Well pissing in a public toilet is legal.

Well pissing in a public toilet is legal.
Though apparently touching the foot of another guy doing the same thing isn't.

Very complicated system. They should issue "The Idiot's Guide to Public Toilets".

So shy people wouldn't piss at all while brash people would piss in public.


Don't see any way I could... not if people would be watching me. I have enough trouble going to public bathrooms as it is when I can hear that there are other people in the room, even though I'm in a stall. :(

So shy people wouldn't piss at all while brash people would piss in public.

That's not possible for long,they'd piss on themselves after a while.

Knotthole Glade;13038208']That's not possible for long,they'd piss on themselves after a while.

Better than people seeing. Though that would be horrible, cause then I wouldn't be able to change the clothes because they would see. :(

Better than people seeing. Though that would be horrible, cause then I wouldn't be able to change the clothes because they would see. :(

Well, you could always change under a sheet while lying on the floor.

And as for the OP: I'd work out some way to establish at least rudimentary privacy... like the sheets.

Well, you could always change under a sheet while lying on the floor.


That could work. And then I'd have to put on some sort of diaper thing. But it'd still be no good.

Thieves would certainly be celebrating. Able to see where all your valuables are beforehand, make their lives much more simpler.