The title says it all. Part of what i do now is to convince people to care about their privacy. I know I cannot force people to do anything. And I have a charisma level of -1, if this was an rpg. Like its nonnexistent.
I feel lonely in general because it feels like people make me feel like I’m delusional for caring about protecting my privacy. Maybe there is a support group for that🤣🤣🤣
But anything I can specifically say that works best in planting a seed in people’s mind?
The thing is, people by and large don’t want to be convinced. They want their convenience and ease of use, they don’t want to learn a whole new paradigm, least of all one that requires constant vigilance and understanding of the risks. I can’t blame them, they have a lot on their mind, and their existing skill set might not be relevant to privacy issues. People in general resist change and effort. I do. You do too.
It’s less about you, and more about them. People will only start taking steps when it all clicks for them. What the catalyst will be is impossible to tell, since people are wired differently. All we can do is talk about privacy and advocate for it with people who are willing to have the discussions. Don’t expect to go in and change people’s minds. It’s horribly difficult and you will be disappointed. Instead, think of it as giving people perspectives and starting points for their own journeys. If something happens and they are finally willing to start doing the work, they will at least have some context and words, labels to use. They may even come to you for more. They may not.
Important point to think about. People want comvience and comfort. I think we have gotten to the point where switching to privacy respecting options is easy and painless. Using signal is easy, using lemmy is easy, and even installing linux and other os is easy. Its just getting people to spend the time to do it. Even im moving slow as hell.
Thats truu, its more about the other people. I think i get distressed because people dont care and I should stop it🤣🤣🤣
Thank you so much
Using signal is easy,
Only works if everyone else uses it too which won’t happen.
using lemmy is easy,
Figuring out which server to join and app to use may not be so easy. I see confused people on Lemmy asking what instance is best.
installing linux and other os is easy.
Installing wasn’t really ever the issue. It’s using them that’s the issue.
Truuu, i have so many friends on signal now, but i guess my circles run different.
Oh truu, i just looked it up. Im in world and ml🤣🤣 didnt join the sus instances. Im basic🤣
Is using linux hard in this day and age? I installed mint yesterday and had no problems. Im terrible with technology. I promise ill learn python and kotlin this year. But yeah, it was painless and easy. And i didnt brick my computer🤣
The autistic trait that comes back to bite me most often is the unshakeable confidence that if I just show someone the truth, they’ll believe me.
This has bounced around in my skull since I read it in a meme here. I hate how true it is.
Fucking truu, i felt that🤣🤣🤣
If you’re in the US, you could point to the news. Even garden variety libs should be a little nervous about the increasing police state
Factsss! Thank you so much❤️
One thing I love about Germany is that people have this understanding where privacy is fundamental and not something to argue about. Because they know being able to easily identify people leads to disaster. It’s just about a political swing away.
Niceee🙌🙌🙌
You can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink.
That do be truu. Can just educate and wait for them to figure out!
I just compare it to having a stalker. Imagine being in your bedroom and having someone looking at you from outside the window. Now, would you be ok with it if the person was invisible?
Yikess truuu😭😭 gottta remember to put my phone on airplane mode at night🤣
I think if you just publicly practise decent privacy, people will be more inclined to do the same. e.g. all my friends know I’m not on WhatsApp and don’t use proprietary software in general. They know to talk to me on other platforms, and the fact that I’m like this means that others will likely feel more able to do the same if they are inclined. Nobody ever told me to care about privacy; I have always thought it was creepy if others can see all my personal business. I can’t imagine that that’s such a rare innate mindset to have, so other people who feel the same way should feel more able to put that into practice if they see you doing so. If they really want to broadcast all their personal data to the state and tech companies then they are within their right to, and I don’t see the point in trying to convince them to not do what they want to do.
Righttt, its so creepy esp the ad targeting.
Yeppp i always can be found on signal.
Yeah i should focus on myself and let the rest come thru. Thanks so much❤️
The only time an average person will care about privacy is when it’s taken away from them. Generally speaking, people just don’t care so don’t worry about it too much.
Oof truu😭
But anything I can specifically say that works best in planting a seed in people’s mind?
‘It fails to include a libre software license text file. We do not control it, anti-libre software. Don’t fall for their scam.’
You need to make them ask you. People are bored of privacy. They will not ask you about privacy. Also, people care less about getting and more about losing. Listen for complains and always link back to software freedom.
Never say privacy. Never say anything technical, a derailment strategy used against us. Never say ‘open source’. This misses the point of libre software. Say simple words, scam and abuse.
Here’s more: https://lemmy.world/post/21620691
Factss!! And they are selling your information to bad actors.
Software freedom is important🙌🙌 definitely should keep it simple
Thanks so much❤️
Ensure you present your arguments in a way that doesnt make your recipient seem like a bad person because of their belief.
Louis Rossmann made a good video on activism and how to get someone to care about something.
Inviduous link: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=cir-gJDcC1o
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cir-gJDcC1o
Thank you ill give these a watch!! ❤️
We share the goal of making the world more private. I’m not trying to be cheeky or mean. I’m genuinely curious. Would you be against reading to learn how to talk more compellingly?
Id love to learn more information! Send it over! Thank you so much❤️
the easiest way to get them to care is if someone is actively invading theirs.
Yepppp😭😭
I gave up on convincing people about privacy and all that. They don’t care and say the old crap “I have nothing to hide” but seem utterly perplexed when you tell them Facebook scandals (and then still keep using it).
People have chosen easy of use and laziness over privacy.
Thats truu esp with them using data from facebook to kidnapp people. That alone was like a hold up.
But i feel like using provacy respecting options is easy nowadays. But people get stuck in their ways.
They need to have a reason to care. Are they or people close to them in danger if they don’t put effort into increasing their privacy? What steps do they need to take to switch to alternatives, and does what they gain from taking those steps outweigh what they lose? Is your advice oriented around the context of their own lives, or are you telling them to do things because a bunch of people on the internet told you to?
These questions themselves are also very contextual, especially with different political orientations. For instance, if someone distrusts the government, then their definition of “danger” may include the government reading their conversations, which in this case it is a lot easier to convince people to switch to FOSS or more secure platforms like Signal (and I’ve convinced nearly everyone I know to use it, both conservative and progressive/leftist, because they distrust the government and large tech corporations). Whereas if someone thinks the government is alright, then they won’t give a shit. So I’d say that considering and discussing their political beliefs and making sure they align with valid reasons to make changes is an important step before telling them how they should do things.
Oh truu, all good questions.
Hmmm maybe not, but i guess for me its part of doing my part to stop big tech from using our info.
Finding a reason for an average person is hard. Im a minority, so thats a problem. and a lot people i know hate the government
I think it this day and age, moving to foss options is easier than ever. And im not a tech genius🤣🤣
Thank so much for raising these points❤️
Hmmm maybe not, but i guess for me its part of doing my part to stop big tech from using our info.
The big question here is how does big tech use our info that makes it important to keep them from having it? Here, political orientation has a large impact on importance, for example:
Ads: Nobody loves ads, but some people tolerate them more than others. Liberals might see them as a necessary evil to provide services at a good cost. Libertarians might say they have the right to use their own hardware as they please and block them out of convenience. Progressives might say that they promote consumerism, and leftists might go further and say that they are one of the ways capitalists keep their control over society. So since data is used for targeted ads, that’s one area that can be argued based on political orientation.
Product improvement: Overall depends on their view of the company’s impact on society. Conservatives and leftists both see big tech as it exists currently as morally corrupt, others may see them as providing a useful service. If they think that big tech has a positive influence on society, then they are probably okay with their non-security critical data being used to improve the product, otherwise they might be more likely to want to avoid that happening.
Finances: Data can be used to personalize prices for large expenses, which is something that threatens everyone. The cost of healthcare, housing, education, and transportation is a major concern across all political orientations (and is why the Democrats lost the election by not doing fucking anything while the Republicans kept telling people that they would fix it by cutting government spending). However, people might also think that there’s nothing they can do about their data being used to make things more expensive or that if they try to resist that then it will cost more for them, so that’s an obstacle that needs to be considered as well.
Law enforcement: If the person is a target of the Trump administration and knows that, then their data being used against them is one clear motivation if they don’t think it’s too late to do anything. Otherwise, it depends on how much the person trusts the government and current law enforcement.
So overall, I would consider where they fit in this political categorization and use the reasons that align best with this. Challenging their political stances is also an option but requires a lot of other things to consider and probably won’t work well since a lot of it is rooted in fundamental values that are difficult to change.
Makes sense! I havent thought thst deep into it. ❤️❤️ I’ll keep that in mind.
Thats truu, i didnt think of goods being costing more depending on the person… Good point🙌
Its so complicated😭😭
Yeah esp if you are a minority, you should be worried about your privacy now😅
for the presentation part, watch standup. watch them construct the story, the path they guide you through, how it all comes together. notice how they lay it out, every syllable, every stutter, how it’s all in the service of delivery. planting and harvesting the callbacks. inadvertently, you’ll start picking up on techniques and implementing them and you’ll notice people hanging on your every word.
as to the actual part converting them over, determine who you’re talking to. if people are aware of the issue but are apathetic about implementing change, that presents one set of issues. if they’re completely unaware that there’s a problem, you’re better off changing environments.
I have an easy job, in my roles I implement the privacy aspect for tech-illiterate people from a security standpoint and I have a dictatorial position - they have to listen to me. I also don’t have tech debt when I implement their IT strategy, i.e. there’s never an issue with an OS or app they love or are used to. all of that is way, way harder when faced with someone who can’t imagine life without a $1000 easily breakable/losable/stealable slab of glass with the blue bubble and the tiks and toks and whatnot.
edit: there’s this thing https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/24/what-i-discovered-when-i-asked-amazon-to-tell-me-everything-alexa-had-heard I just saw at HN. this dude having a blissfully ignorant walk down melancholy lane, pondering the details of his decade-long spyware-ridden life, completely oblivious to their most intimate family shit just being out there in the world, for anyone to abuse just so he can be a more effective consumer. reaching those people, although possible, is such a tremendous effort I don’t think it’s worth it.
Good point! I stutter a lot, so may be an issue!
i feel like people dont care because everything is exploitative. But yeah i need to bring it up when people are ready!
Thats pretty cool! Id love to hear some of your tips someday. I’m bad with tech but recently am trying to get back into programming so i can make some foss software.
Thats a yikes article. That suckss😭😭
Now when you say “care about their privacy” do you by any chance mean buy something? I just want to know what you’re asking for help with here.
Just the normal stuff. Like can we use signal? Or foss options that are free🤣🤣 like nothing they have to pay for yet!
I really want a fairphone but i aint telling them to drop 400 dollars on a phone🤣🤣
My charisma level is low🤣 gotta level up
