MIAMI – The Pew Research Center found 91 percent of those surveyed think consumers have lost control over how personal information is collected and used by companies.
As our everyday world becomes increasingly managed and shared in a digital world, make no mistake that it's not just your friends keeping tabs on what you're doing.
Buried in the terms and conditions so many of us agree to in a hurry to download the latest app, we are often saying yes to giving up loads of personal information.
"They are collecting as much information and then retooling it for marketing purposes," said data security attorney Aldo Leiva.
"They can target things very closely, and it should weird you out," said computer security expert Dave Aitel.
Leiva said research finds younger generations seem to be less concerned about the amount of personal information that is tracked and shared.
"A lot of people are giving up their privacy, and it is not for me personally, it is not a value -- it is important, but it is not the most important," said 24-year-old Aubrey Stutzman. "I'd rather be connected to everybody I want to be connected to."
"I think it's really funny because people get really upset about the (National Security Agency) spying on them, but they are not worried at all about Verizon spying on them," said Aitel.
"It becomes also almost invisible to the consumer -- how they shop, when they shop, their activities, where they go," said Leiva.
Leiva pondered if that would change if you were notified every time a company was tuning into your behavior or sharing your information.
"I know that they are making money in a way I don't necessarily want them to, and they are still charging me money," Aitel said.
"I guess that's the price we pay," said Stutzman.
The price we pay, Stutzman said, for the convenience of staying connected. But Aitel and Leiva tell Local 10 News sometimes that big data can cross the line.
"For example, a company knowing that you are gay without you being out as being gay can be a really unsettling thing," said Aitel.
And here's an interesting twist: After giving up our privacy, it may now become a commodity. You want to get it back? Well, some companies are looking at how to sell it to you.
"Products that promise, or at least represent to you, that they will not use or track your data," said Leiva.
"I think you have to pay for privacy. There is no other way to get it," said Aitel. "No one knows at this particular point with their digital person."
Let's say Facebook and Instagram charged $2 a month for a privacy service, meaning for $2 they will not share your information to marketers or advertisers. Is that something you would be willing to pay?
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