The invention of privacy
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Taking a long-range historical view, privacy is a relatively recent concept. It goes back only about 400 years. The first layer of privacy was controlled through architecture (the ‘bricks and walls’ layer). The second was controlled through legislation and laws (the ‘paper’ layer). And the third – and newest – layer is privacy controlled through digital technology (the ‘code’ layer). It may seem odd to talk about bricks in the digital age, but the insight from that era, when the idea of privacy was constructed, has important resonances today.
The ‘bricks and walls’ layer of privacy
Ideas about privacy have evolved in response to technology
The notion of privacy first emerged in Britain during the 16th century as a result of changes in the design of the home. Before then, the majority of homes had consisted of a single shared space where family and household members slept, cooked, ate and worked together. This changed between 1570 and 1640 following the invention of the chimney...
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