SPEAKER: Over the past few years, amidst lockdowns and working from home, we've been online more than ever. And so has our data. And with widespread data sharing comes an increase in data concerns. Nearly three quarters of internet-using households in America are concerned about their online privacy. Specifically, worries over online services collecting our data have been trending upward in recent years. But while we may fear what happens to our data, it doesn't actually take a whole lot to convince us to give it away, because it's hard to resist free stuff. One report shows that more than half of consumers are comfortable, or even very comfortable, giving up their personal info to retailers for a good deal. Although what we're willing to share varies. We'll let go of contact info before our credit card activity. Our anxiety over sharing our own info has a name, the privacy paradox. We often fail to protect our data while still worrying about our online privacy. In online retail transactions, that's because the price we pay to buy something on the internet is our info. An email. A name. A shipping address. We're asked to share our data so often that we don't have a clear sense of ownership over it anymore. It's hard to control our own info. Economists call this phenomenon data as an externality, a side effect of a commercial activity that isn't reflected in the cost of goods and services involved. Kind of like how bees kept for honey still pollinate surrounding crops. When we shop online, we're like those honeybees. As we share our data with one company, we pollinate a host of external sites and tools with our information. And even though we may not like it, we've gotten very used to it. For instance, when we share our birthday with a brand for a birthday freebie or a discount, we're actually giving them demographic information they can use and share. Great for retailers, but what about consumers? The value exchange for personal data is either unclear or seems unfair. In fact, one survey found that more than 80% of consumers interviewed have no idea what companies do with all this information. Or how to access it. Or how long they keep it for. But the more informed people are about who owns their data and how it's being used, the more willing they are to share it. Research shows that transparency benefits everyone, implying that even more than 54% might be willing to share their data if they see a clear value exchange, creating an opportunity for companies to build trusting relationships with their customers by being transparent about how they're using data and only collecting information that they actually need. So what do you think your data is worth? Let us know in the comments.