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

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.

  • phillaholic@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

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

    • averagedrunk@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      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.

    • magikarpet@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      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.

      • Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        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)