Does surveillance really impose on our privacy? What is it that I lose by having data gathered about me? Do the benefits outweigh the downsides in the long term?
I have asked this question of many people and have yet to find anyone who can articulate their fears in a way that is rational and reasonable when challenged with the positive effects that outweighs the negative.
By gathering health information on everyone, people fear that their health insurance rates will go up. Health insurance costs are driven by the costs of health care. The cost of health care is driven by excessive testing; misdiagnosis; failure to seek treatment before problems become critical and costly; and legal fees. These all come from lack of information about the patient and disease.
Once we are gathering copious amounts of data on people, we will be able to properly research and diagnose these diseases. Imagine a world where every human being feeds into statistical analysis for medical research. This kind of data mining will open the medical research field up in ways that can’t be achieved by todays methods.
How many health problems could be prevented if people would see their doctor earlier, or monitor their heath for early warning signs. People like to live in denial, they are afraid to face the truth about their lifestyle and how it is affecting their health. They make subconscious decisions that shorten their lives because they fear their mortality. We need monitoring so that we can have a “check engine” light serving our bodies. This will allow our biological mechanic to fix a problem before it becomes a catastrophic failure.
Be honest with yourself, are you trying to hide your health information from the government, insurance companies, and your employer, or are you trying to hide it from yourself?