Privacy is kind of an odd thing. We tend not to think about it when it’s not an issue, and we always have this assumption that we’re not being watched. The reality, unfortunately, is not nearly that simple.

The truth is, we are all being watched and analyzed every day. Big companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple all watch us meticulously under the guise that their actions are benign or solely focused on “improving the user experience”. The world at large just got a sharp slap in its face in the form of the recent Facebook data mining fiasco. So now is the perfect time to talk about why we need privacy to be not just something for the paranoid, but for the average person.

But what about those who argue that privacy is only for those engaged in the illegal or shady activity?