We Don't Want to Be Watched. So Why Do We Keep Handing Over the Camera?

I'd never let a stranger follow me around all day, but I let my phone share my location with the apps I use 24/7. Young people like me may say we care about privacy, but that conviction fades away when it comes to the apps we love most. According to the Pew Research Center, 60% of teens say they have little or no control over what social media companies collect about them, yet 44% say they aren't very worried about it. We tend to not expect a choice when it comes to social media data collection; it's hard to fight for privacy when these apps are such a major part of our everyday lives. So which is it? Do we not care, or have we just stopped expecting a choice?

I always assumed that if the government wanted my information, it would have to ask for it. It turns out government agencies don't need permission; they can just buy it. NPR reports that agencies including ICE and the FBI buy data such as phone location records from data brokers, which privacy advocates say can reveal people's locations without a warrant. Furthermore, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, some of that location data comes from the auctions that decide which ads we see. If an ad can give away my location, is any app really free? And shouldn't the government need a warrant to buy what it couldn't collect directly?

The last time I used AI, I asked for help with my schoolwork. I'm not unusual. CNBC, reporting on Common Sense Media research, says 92% of 16- and 17-year-olds use AI, and 57% of kids who use it have asked about health or their bodies. Every one of those questions teaches AI something about us. The Federal Trade Commission has warned that companies quietly changing their terms to use our data for AI training could be engaging in unfair or deceptive practices. Would I even notice if that happened? What has AI already learned about me, and did I agree to teach it?

In September, world leaders at the United Nations argued about who should control AI, and none of them asked anyone my age. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for shared safeguards and independent oversight, a kind of global watchdog. President Trump rejected a global system for controlling AI. French President Emmanuel Macron proposed that countries pool their money to build a shared, open-source AI model so no nation becomes "the vassal of one of the great powers." Each path sounds reasonable in its own way. But almost the entire debate is about the AI models, not the data they learn from. Which path would actually protect that data? And who speaks for the people who can't vote yet but will live with the decision the longest?

It's impossible to scroll on TikTok without seeing an AI-generated video. Externally, TikTok is drenched in AI. However, internally, it is collecting data that I do not want it to have. But this is not a simple personal choice. If I delete TikTok or other social media platforms, I am excluding myself from the conversation. I am excluding myself from keeping up with trends, school advice, debates, world issues, and my generation as a whole. Social media platforms are more than the silly videos that glue us to our phones; they offer creative spaces, virtual communities, unbiased networks, and so much more. Sometimes I feel as if I need access to these applications in order to understand the true state of the world, but then I realize that is how they trap me. Why do these applications get to feed off my data? And when will this become a part of the discussion?

I started this essay thinking I knew how I felt about privacy, and I'm ending it with more questions than answers. Maybe that's the point. Before we tap "accept" again, it's worth asking: Who gets my data? Who can buy it? What will AI learn from it? And who decides the rules? This is not AI's fault—people decide how it's built and what data sources it learns from. My generation should be part of that conversation.

Works Cited

Cohen, Lena. "The Government Uses Targeted Advertising to Track Your Location. Here's What We Need to Do." Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mar. 2026, www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/03/targeted-advertising-gives-your-location-government-just-ask-cbp

"Draft an essay from Lila Caretti's ideas on teens, privacy, data and AI" prompt. Perplexity, model Claude Opus 5.5, Perplexity AI, 9 Oct. 2026, www.perplexity.ai/computer/tasks/071778d1-d9ba-40e3-99a3-19590efd2175

Garg, Moohita Kaur. "Trump Calls AI 'Super Intelligence' at UN as World Leaders Clash over How to Regulate It." WION, 23 Sept. 2026, www.wionews.com/world/trump-calls-ai-super-intelligence-at-un-as-world-leaders-clash-over-how-to-regulate-it-1790129701998

Joffe-Block, Jude. "Your Data Is Everywhere. The Government Is Buying It without a Warrant." NPR, 25 Mar. 2026, www.npr.org/2026/03/25/nx-s1-5752369/ice-surveillance-data-brokers-congress-anthropic

"Macron Urges World to Choose UN over 'Law of the Jungle.'" Ahram Online, Agence France-Presse, 23 Sept. 2026, english.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/Inner.aspx?NewsContentID=577318

Malinsky, Gili. "57% of Kids Ages 9 to 17 Who Use AI Get Body Advice from It—Here's Why That Could Be Problematic, Experts Say." CNBC, 12 June 2026, www.cnbc.com/2026/06/12/57percent-of-kids-ages-9-to-17-who-use-ai-get-body-advice-from-itwhy-it-could-be-problematic.html‍

Slodkowski, Antoni. "UN Chief Calls for AI Curbs and End to Wars in His Last Assembly Address." Reuters, 22 Sept. 2026, www.reuters.com/world/europe/un-chief-calls-ai-curbs-end-wars-his-last-assembly-address-2026-09-22/

United States, Federal Trade Commission. "AI (and Other) Companies: Quietly Changing Your Terms of Service Could Be Unfair or Deceptive." Federal Trade Commission, Feb. 2024, www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2024/02/ai-other-companies-quietly-changing-your-terms-service-could-be-unfair-or-deceptive

Vogels, Emily A., and Risa Gelles-Watnick. "Teens and Social Media: Key Findings from Pew Research Center Surveys." Pew Research Center, 24 Apr. 2023, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/teens-and-social-media-key-findings-from-pew-research-center-surveys/