Somedayastrangerwillreadyoure-mailwithoutyourpermissionorscanthewebsitesyou’vevisited.Orperhapssomeonewillcasuallyglancethroughyourcreditcardpurchasesorcellphonebillstofindoutyourshoppingpreferencesorcallinghabits.

Infact,it’slikelysomeofthesethingshavealreadyhappenedtoyou.Whowouldwatchyouwithoutyourpermission?Itmightbeaspouse,agirlfriend（配偶）,amarketingcompany,aboss,acoporacriminal,Whoeveritis,theywillseeyouinawayyouneverintendedtobeseen--the21stcenturyequivalentofbeingcaughtnaked.

Psychologiststellusboundariesarehealthy,thatit’simportanttorevealyourselftofriends,familyandloversinstages,atappropriatetimes.Butfewboundariesremain.Thedigitalbreadcrumbs（面包屑）youleaveeverywheremakeiteasyforstrangerstoreconstructwhoyouare,whereyouareandwhatyoulike.Insomecases,asimpleGooglesearchcanreveal（泄露）whatyouthink.Likeitornot,increasinglyweliveinaworldwhereyousimplycannotkeepasecret.

Thekeyquestionis:Doesthatmatter?

FormanyAmericans,theanswerapparentlyis"no."

WhenopinionpollsaskAmericansaboutprivacy,mostsaytheyareconcernedaboutlosingitAsurveyfoundanoverwhelmingpessimism（悲观）aboutprivacy,with60percentofrespondentssayingtheyfeeltheirprivacyis"slippingaway,andthatbothersme."

Butpeoplesayonethinganddoanother.OnlyatinyfractionofAmericanschangeanybehaviorsinanefforttopreservetheirprivacy.Fewpeopleturndownadiscountattollbooths（收费处）toavoidusingtheEZ-Passsystemthatcantrackautomobilemovements.Andfewturndownsupermarketloyaltycards.PrivacyeconomistAlessandroAcquistihasrunaseriesofteststhatrevealpeoplewillsurrenderpersonalinformationlikeSocialSecuritynumbersjusttogettheirhandsonapitiful50-cents-offcoupon(优惠券).

Butprivacydoesmatter--atleastsometimes.It’slikehealth:Whenyouhaveit,youdon’tnoticeit.Onlywhenit’sgonedoyouwishyou’ddonemoretoprotectit.

小题1:Whatwouldpsychologistsadviseontherelationshipsbetweenfriends?