When does privacy matter?

As we slither down the slippery slope to a post-privacy world, it gets trickier and trickier to figure out when to be outraged, when to be slightly unsettled, and when to just shrug and say "and so it goes."  Almost everything that Facebook does outrages me, because their explicitly stated business plan outrages me (and they are pretty consistent about implementing features that move them towards that goal). I am more kindly disposed towards Google and Amazon because I have found both of them so useful, but they're making me increasingly nervous too. Here are some questions I am currently pondering.

• Would I care if comments I made on Facebook about a product were used in ads for that product targeted at my "friends?"   [Yes]


• Would it be even worse if Facebook used my picture in these ads? [Yes. Fortunately I'm not on Facebook]


• Does it make a difference that for the purposes of this discussion, "product" can include political candidates? [Not sure. In some ways I'd rather have my paltry personal influence used to support "my" candidates than to sell consumer products.]


• Do I care if my online shopping patterns are tracked and used to present me with targeted adverts? [No, at least so far. Right now I'm just finding it funny, as I am now seeing advertisements EVERYWHERE for a product I have already purchased]


• Do I want my online search results "informed" by the opinions of "friends" on social media? [Hell, no! Bing is horrifying.]


• Are facial recognition algorithms creepy?  [Yes, especially combined with all those Facebook initiatives to "monetize" their user base.  On the other hand, it's really cool when I'm using it to sort my digital pictures in the privacy of my own computer. Split decision.]


• Is Twitter inherently evil? If not, is it good for anything that I care about?   [decision still out]