I know what you did last moment........

"Well....... I am a bit of an introvert. I do not like to mingle with people and I don't want anybody to know where I am and what I am doing..."

This is a reaction of at least 30% people in the world. People are more concerned about their so called "Private space" to the extent that now-a-days houses have two master bedrooms. The corporate giants ask their associate not to peep into each others private life. People bluntly refuse to give information saying that "Its Personal". Everyone has personalized their orkut, facebook accounts. This is the era of digitalisation and privacy.

Really????? I must say that unknown to most of us, all our privacy is being compromised. A normal day begins. I turn on my cellphone (People can disturb me now..Too bad). So now my network provider knows my exact location. I turn on my TV. A brand new digital MPEG4 technology master piece. I get the best picture quality with the help from satellite transmission. One more thing is happening which is completely unknown to me. All my usage data is being sent to the cable provider. He is using the same to offer me the best combo package (he is luring me to watch what I am already watching but at a higher cost in the name of exclusive combo package). So I take bath (Hussshhhh One real private moment) and get ready to go to office. I order my breakfast from John's Kitchen. John's software is tracing all my orders to keep me happy (and his business going) . Did I mention that my mobile operator added one entry to the list of local calls so that he can make a trace and offer me the best package? I called my friend to accompany me to the office (one more mobile operator entry).

I stepped out of my house. Out comes my GPS enabled handset. I love to use my "Take me to My Car" gadget. It has one piece located in my car and other in my handset. So now my GPS operator takes over. He has information about my every movement. He can know where I am at any moment along with my mobile operator. So now they can track me and mark the usage statistics. The same information is shared with the car makers, law departments and many such agencies. Car makers use it to make user friendly cars (at least they say so). Nevertheless car manufacturers have devices already fitted into my car to steal those statistics. I drive through many signals and all the cameras (thanks to google maps, terra explorer, bhuvan etc) took my snap. Now the agencies know whether I am drunk, on drugs. Finally I reach my office.

I enter the office premises and swipe my I-Card. My employer knows that I am in the office. The security camera's smile at me and take my snaps quietly. I reach my desk and login. I want to read the news. So my employer's software is tracking the usage of bandwidth while the news websites are building the algorithm depending on the news I am viewing so that they can find my areas of interest and put all sorts of advertisements to earn higher revenue.
I work hard and now I am hungry. I go to the cafeteria and place my order. Remember John's kitchen? They have one branch in my office also. So capturing of my choices goes on. I swipe my credit card to make payment. So credit card company knows where I am currently. They also know what are my spending habits and they can now call me for better credit card offers.

So tired after my days work, I leave the office. The camera's smile again and the card swipe machine makes a buzz. My car GPS operator is still working and so are the traffic light cameras.

I now go shopping with my girlfriend and the cycle of cameras, credit cards, GPS goes on. They can't track my GF though (because she never pays :-)). The big brands now respect me as a valued customer as they know my spending habits (or I should say my girlfriend's spending habits). They exactly know what should be presented before me and how to earn profits. They also use my cell number to let me know all the exclusive offers.

I return to my home and turn off my mobile. My operator marks my last known location. He has also built a plan to offer me a missed calls alert plan. I activate my house security system. No one can enter or leave my premises without alerting my security agency. So they also know that I was in the house for the entire duration. Next day I again wake up and turn on my mobile.....

The point here is, I have not talked to any of these entities. I may not be even aware that all these things are happening but my privacy is being compromised to a very big extent. The data is noted everywhere and by everyone. There are many who have access to data. The cases of data misuse are plenty. The Indian BPO case was very famous sometime ago. There are 90% who record data to improve their business and provide me with the latest and best gadgets but the very fact that this data can very well be misused can not be ignored. MMS scandals using the hidden cameras keep showing their ugly face every now and then. A sudden bonus given by my employer can be tracked by my credit card operators employee. My networth can very well be seen by bank employees. It can very well go against me in cases of extortion etc. Anybody who has an intention to harm me can get the details literally every second about my location and folks accompanying me.

The question still remains as "Is there a need to know who I am?". I can as well be termed as a card holder with number XXXY. Do I know all this is happening with my privacy? And if yes then am I being overly ignorant about the fact that my privacy is being compromised? Am I acting like an ostrich in desert storm? The questions are plenty and the solution doesn't seem to be very simple..........