Behind Closed Doors: The Invention of Privacy
The search for privacy, alone time, a space of one’s own, is a human instinct. But it hasn’t always been a human reality (or even necessarily a priority).
In this episode of Hold That Thought we trace the evolution of privacy, from a fleeting, unattainable idea, marked by averted eyes within crowded, shared spaces, to something solid, created by doors, locks and walls and protected by law.
We unpack how privacy is something most of us can’t imagine living without, and the irony that the technology we use everyday is subliminally undermining that privacy, without us even knowing.
This episode is part of our mini-series Reality, By Agreement, where we take something that feels like a fact and find the moment where society agreed to adhere to uphold it.
Themes: privacy, sociology, psychology, human evolution, anthropology, community, society
Sources:
Language, Settings, and Networks for Early Modern Private Conversations
Inexpressible Privacy: The Interior Life of Antebellum American Literature
Books: Onion Theory Home: a Short History of an Idea
Charles Katz, Petitioner v. UNITED STATES
What Did Ancient Humans Do With No Privacy?
The Hidden Privacy Cost of Wearable Tech
The Birth and Death of Privacy: 30,000 Years of History Told Through 46 Images
The Right to Privacy in American History
The History of Privacy Timeline
Ring Superbowl Ad Shows Americans How Powerful Surveillance Systems Have Become, Freaks Them Out
