Spaces and practices of privacy in older age

Abstract

The boundaries between the private and the public are continuously shift ing and blurring. People are confronted with a variety of “privacies” and “publicities” in their everyday lives and are challenged to avert manifold potential hazards from both From the time people wake up in the morning, they prepare themselves for an imagined public on the street, at the office, or the shopping mall by choosing what to wear and how to present themselves – and what to withhold Furthermore, individuals expose their own personal information such as shopping habits and health data by using debit and credit cards, electronic health insurance cards, smartphones, or Google search keywords. Conversely, when people use the elevator, sit at the doctor’s office, or wait in line at a store, they tend to behave in a reserved manner so as not to intrude on anyone’s privacy