Somedaya stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan theWebsites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glancethrough your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find outyour shopping preferences or calling habits.

Infact, it’s likely some of these things have already happened toyou. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be aspouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or acriminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you neverintended to be seen--the 21st century equivalent of being caughtnaked.

Psychologiststell us boundaries are healthy, and that it’s important to revealyourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriatetimes. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs you leaveeverywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are,where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Googlesearch can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly welive in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.

Thekey question is: Does that matter?  For many Americans, theanswer apparently is “no.”

Whenopinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they areconcerned about losing it. A survey found an overwhelming pessimismabout privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel theirprivacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”

Butpeople say one thing and do another. Only a tiny fraction ofAmericans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve theirprivacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths to avoid usingthe EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turndown supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquistihas run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personalinformation like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on apitiful 50-cents-off coupon. But privacy does matter -- at leastsometimes. It’s like health: When you have it you don’t noticeit. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protectit.