What reasons are there for being concerned about companies like google and meta etc collecting data and tracking me?

Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 170 points –

Please understandnim asking this question from a genuine place. I dont want the quora answer, i want the tech savvy, security expert minds of my fellow lemmings. If thats ok?

What happens to this data? What can/do they do with it? and why are so many people concerned about google tracking them?

Do i as an average user need to be concerned?

If so, What sorts of things can i do to avoid being tracked? Preferably without too much comprimise.

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I don’t think many people comprehend the impact. Most people don’t think they can be manipulated, and they are all wrong.

It's funny, the more likely you are to admit you can be manipulated the more likely you'll notice when it's happening. So I just go around telling everyone how easy it is to manipulate me.

Well the other crazy thing with voting is how narrow the margins are.

It doesn’t have to convince everyone. Only a small percentage across the country mixed with a few people in key locations and you can change everything.

Miami-Dade and Palm Beach says hello. A 537 vote margin in a few Florida counties decided the 2000 US Presidential Election.

One wonders how different the world would be today if George W. Bush didn't get that first term.

(Fun fact: the usual chicanery to depress Democratic votes also happened in 2000 - voter roll purges, roadblocks in Democratic areas, too few voter areas in cities... In many ways it was a trial run for the bullshit Republicans pull now)