"We Don’t Care About Privacy" Is The Biggest Lie This Generation Has Been Tricked Into Believing

I hear it all the time. From kids, from parents, from entire classrooms."Privacy? Who cares?"I can almost hear the collective eye roll when I mention it, like I’m just another adult warning them about "stranger danger" on the internet.

But here’s the thing. Within minutes, those same kids are sitting up, leaning in, and actually listening. Why? Because I don’t just repeat the same tired advice. I know exactly how this system works from the inside out. I understand the tech, the algorithms, and the psychological tricks being used to make them not care. And when I lay it out in real, undeniable terms the way their data is being harvested, how AI is already shaping their future, how Big Tech sees them as a product, not a person…..it stops being boring. It becomes personal.

And that’s when it clicks. They don’t care about privacy because they were never given the chance to.

From the moment their parents picked up a screen, privacy was dead to them.

Their data was collected before they could say "data."

Their faces were scanned before they understood what AI was.

Their preferences, emotions, and behaviours were mapped, sold, and manipulated before they even knew what privacy meant.

And now? They’ve been conditioned to believe privacy is irrelevant. That it’s old-fashioned. That it doesn’t matter. Not because they decided that. But because Big Tech, AI, and surveillance capitalism decided for them.

How They Hijacked an Entire Generation

They Made Privacy Inconvenient Ever tried adjusting privacy settings? It’s a nightmare on purpose. The more confusing it is, the less likely kids are to care.

They Made Oversharing a Status Symbol Viral culture rewards exposure. The more raw, personal, and outrageous their content, the more the algorithm favours them. Privacy? That’s for people who don’t want to be seen. And in their world, not being seen = social death.

They Profited From Their Digital Footprints Everything they type, watch, like, share, or even pause on is tracked, analysed, and sold. Every habit, insecurity, and desire is stored not for them, but to control them.

They Built AI That Knows Them Better Than They Know Themselves Imagine a version of them that exists in Big Tech’s servers one that knows what they’ll buy before they do, what will make them angry, what will keep them scrolling. That’s the real them now.

So How Do You Make Them Care About Privacy?

Show, Don’t Tell If you just say, “Privacy matters,” they’ll roll their eyes. Instead, they should be shown how their data is being used against them. Find a creepily personalised ad. Show them how facial recognition tracks them even if they delete posts. Make it real.

Make It About Power, Not Fear They hate being controlled. Privacy isn’t about paranoia it’s about outsmarting the system. Challenge them “Right now, you’re letting companies own your identity. Are you cool with that?”

Why We Have to Change the Way We Teach This

A one-and-done internet safety talk from an out-of-touch adult isn’t cutting it. Kids tune out at lectures. They roll their eyes at outdated advice. We need to completely overhaul in how we teach digital privacy.

Privacy education must be constant, relevant, and built into their world year-round not just a single session. Teachers, parents, and schools must treat it like any other life skill, like financial literacy or critical thinking.

Because, privacy is power.