The 1995 movie The Net (see www.imdb.com/title/tt0113957) featured a digital era where a woman was hysterical because a network defined her identity and allowed others to manipulate it. Given the year that the movie was released, it foretold very well a potential problem of a network society that defined people according to databases. While this has very much come to fruition, people's concern over data gathering is still rather tempered. Gallaugher (2010) notes the big business nature of database control and mining, like Acxiom's $1.3 billion operation. There have been several noteworthy cases of data breaches (e.g. Chinese hack of Google, lost company laptops) and now concern over FaceBook's targeted advertising based on user information. Yet the advertising has caused little concern by users, much less so than concerns over "privacy" of information displayed outside the realm of one's "friends" (Raphael, 2009).

Why do we care so much about privacy? After all, what do we have to hide? I view the web as simply an new extension of reality. In this regard, there is no need to prefix internet-related activities as "virtual," "e-," or "cyber". Mail is mail, whether it is on paper or a screen. A conversation at a crowded coffee shop is not much different from a conversation on a FaceBook Wall. Information on the Internet is so prolific now that our personal information more or less is obscured by the masses, just like we are in society. Given that Internet activity is an extension of our reality, we should venture out confidently into this reality. In this regard, the use of pseudonyms and cryptic usernames should be avoided; FaceBook serves as a good example in this regard, by the use of real names. Certainly there is a need for some privacy, both online and in society (e.g. banking, bathrooms, medical records). However, I am arguing that most activities we undertake should have little concern for privacy. If we are concerned, then we should not be doing it publicly (or probably even privately) in the first place. 

While I digressed a bit on the topic of Internet privacy, this supports my point that what people know about you (the data), is not something that needs to be hidden in a well-functioning society. Your good-standing contributions to society should be rewarded. For example, I am proud of my good credit scores and I can use this to leverage loans or get credit cards. This is thanks to data people have on my credit activities. The same is true of my driving record. If I am a conscientious driver, I want better insurance rates than someone that is not. Even if a car insurance company was monitoring my FaceBook posts to make sure I was not bragging about evading cops or running red lights, that is okay with me. I actually want the companies to know more about their customers: more specifically, to know more about the stuff they are trying to hide. The more businesses (and governments) can know about you, the better-informed decisions they can make about working with you. Again, what do you have to hide? On the other hand, if you do not want to be part of a functional society, then there are plenty of places on earth where you can move to be by yourself or part of a smaller self-contained community. There, your privacy can be assured. Furthermore, everyone has the choice to not give up data and not use the Internet, credit cards, etc. (that last word was for you professor). If you don't want people to know about it, don't put it on the Internet (including on FaceBook with all of your high-privacy settings). Giving up data is your choice. Furthermore, we now have an opportunity to take control of our information in the form of reputation management, even if that means providing disinformation to add noise to our data.

The "creep-out" line for me is when people are visiting my house in person, to sell me products or take a survey. Even a telemarketer's phone call at night during family dinner crosses the line. The context for these visits is wrong. These were the ways businesses used to gather data. I prefer the newer hands-off method of collecting data on me. 

References 

Gallaugher, J. (2010). Information systems: A manager's guide to harnessing technology. Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge.

Raphael, J. R. (2009 February). Facebook Privacy Change Sparks Federal Complaint. PC World. Retrieved November 7, 2010 from http://www.pcworld.com/article/159703/facebook_privacy_change_sparks_fed...