As this new technology age leaps in and A.I. develops further, the old-fashioned ideals of every America may be falling behind. But just like how many are unaware of how the meat industry once were canning people into the meat in the 1900s – is the line already crossed with your precious data being the product from both companies and even the government?

What are the people’s responses to this? They are more concerned with what companies and government do with their data, according to Pew Research Center and the survey which was conducted on over 5,000 adults.

Many Americans are concerned about how their information is being used by big businesses and governments.

The percentage of U.S. Adults who are concerned about how the government is collecting their data has increased from 64 to 71.

Those who lean Republican have been the most concerned about how the government is using their data, and the leap was from 63 percent to 77 percent, while the Democrats remained essentially the same, from 66 percent  to 65.

The majority of people are unsure how companies are using their data, with the amount of faith people have in these companies as nearly 79 percent are concerned, up from 73.

What data is being collected? Personal Information of course.

The government uses it in sophisticated ways for tracking crime and law enforcement, border control, and enhanced online interactions with citizens, according to GOA.gov

And the survey also states that with “Roughly three-quarters of Americans say it’s very or somewhat acceptable for law enforcement to obtain footage from cameras people install at their residences during a criminal investigation or
use information from cellphone towers to track where someone is.”

It is also believed that social media sites are collecting and later disturbing online data to third-party data brokers and advertisers ever since 2013.

Over 70 percent of people who know about A.I. are skeptical about how it is about being used, and 62 percent of people believe that companies use it and that information could be used to make life easier for people.

The devil is sometimes in the details and when it comes to terms and conditions, half of Americans scroll all the way down without reading them.

“56 percent frequently click ‘agree’ without actually reading their content and a massive 69 percent say they view these policies as just something to get past.”

While over half of Americans automatically agree with terms and conditions, another decision that adults are concerned are agreeing when it to the future generation of kids and what they do online, especially parents.

Almost 90 percent are very or somewhat concerned about social media platforms knowing personal information about kids. Large shares also worry about advertisers and online games or gaming apps using kids’ data.

This is a major concern because ever since 2019, the Federal Trade Commission because of microtransactions and lootboxes, the government is aware of the practice “promote compulsive or gambling-like behavior or use predatory tactics to encourage addictive consumer spending, particularly in children.”

And while most Americans (85 percent) say parents hold a great deal of responsibility for protecting kids’ online privacy, 59 percent also say this about tech companies and 46 percent about the government.

With many parents’ concern over their child, many other adults are protective of their passwords with the door being open to anyone who has the spare key. It is a piece of personal data that security has to protect themselves.

When it comes to security, many Americans are “(69 percent) are overwhelmed by the number of passwords they have to keep track of. And nearly half (45 percent) report feeling anxious about whether their passwords are strong and secure.”

While 80 percent of college student trust themselves to make the right decisions about their personal information.

Passcode, Fingerprints, and Face recognition are the three main ways to unlock theirs info as a security feature.  While 91 percent of people ages 18 – 24 use one of these features as protection and while the percent of 72 percent of people of 65 and older use them and 28 percentdo not have any.

While most users have a form of protection the older generation has a greater distrust compared to the younger generation. About 16 perent of people do not trust smartphones and users do not trust verification.

While the concern of public and government using data, there are individuals like hackers  whocan get into them. There is a chance that information to be leaked out and cause a major loss in how that information could be used. 

“Roughly one-quarter of Americans (26 percent) say someone has put fraudulent charges on their debit or credit card in the last 12 months. And 11 percent have had their email or social media accounts taken over without permission, while 7 percent have had someone attempt to open a line of credit or apply for a loan in their name.”

Researchers are still continuing to figure out more of the privacy paradox. When questioned about their skills with technology, 56 percent say they are mostly confident, 36 percent are somewhat and 11 percent not at all.