[molbioguy]

I think a key feature of privacy is empowerment or control. People generally want to feel that they are in control of their lives. By being selective about what information you make available to others or even generally available to all, is a very important way to express your sense of control over your own life. Even if you like to broadcast as many of your thoughts, photographs, likes, and geolocations as possible, you do that with a sense of control. You decided what to release. When the NSA sifts through your data, they decide what to collect, what to use, who to share it with. And they never tell you any of it. I think that loss of control is one of the factors that makes people uncomfortable with loss of privacy.