4 ms·

I'm a bit surprised by some of the mistaken consumer beliefs cited in the article. For example: > 65% do not know that the statement “When a website has a priv

by Zak 11y ago

I'm a bit surprised by some of the mistaken consumer beliefs cited in the article. For example: > 65% do not know that the statement “When a website has a privacy policy, it means the site will not share my information with other websites and companies without my permission” is false. Do people really not understand that having a policy on a particular topic does not imply anything about the contents of said policy? > 55% do not know it is legal for an online store to charge different people different prices at the same time of day. Why would people expect there to be a law prohibiting this? It's no different (conceptually) from a small boutique shop that doesn't use price tags charging an enthusiastic student a lower price than a wealthy collector. For a more institutionalized example, membership in various organizations has provided unadvertised discounts on tangentially related products and services for a long time. > 62% do not know that price-comparison sites like Expedia or Orbitz are not legally required to include the lowest travel prices. Again, this shouldn't be surprising. They don't advertise that they show the lowest price. They're not even capable of guaranteeing that they show the lowest price, as some airlines won't share pricing data with them.

jbuzbee 11y ago
> 55% do not know it is legal for an online store to charge different people different prices... > 62% do not know that price-comparison sites like Expedia or Orbitz are not legally required... Statements like tell me that the survey was biased. It's making it seem like these companies are doing something that should be illegal when all they are doing is charging what the market will bear.
- nfoz 11y ago
  There are many situations in which "charging what the market will bear" is illegal. We have legal price controls, and restrictions on what/how items can be sold, in many asset classes.
  - seanp2k2 11y ago
    If places can profit from operating in the margins where the law is shaky and they're unlikely to be challenged on their choices (risk vs reward), they probably will.
- dredmorbius 11y ago
  Determining "what the market will bear" without revealing the full range of market options isn't fair practice. Particularly where Expedia or Orbitz effectively are the market.
hackuser 11y ago
I used to be surprised by such things, but now I'm not. Search for "things Americans believe" or something similar; it's not exactly the same kind of knowledge respresented in the article, but it gives you an idea of the range of understanding out there: * Only 38% can name all three branches of the U.S. government (executive, legislative and judicial) One-third are unable to correctly name any of the branches. [5] * Only 78% know that the first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. [5] * Only 51% know that a two-thirds majority vote by Congress is needed to overturn a presidential veto. [5] * 29% of Americans cannot name the Vice President [4] * 18% believe the Sun revolves around the Earth [1] * 37% of voters believe global warming is a hoax (in 2013) [3] * 21% of voters say a UFO crashed in Roswell, NM in 1947 and the US government covered it up [3] * Over 25% believe in Astrology [2] * 13% of voters think Barack Obama is the anti-Christ [3] * 15% of voters say the government or the media adds mind-controlling technology to TV broadcast signals [3] * 5% believe exhaust seen in the sky behind airplanes is actually chemicals sprayed by the government for sinister reasons [3] (5% seems low? Have you talked to 20 people today? Also: That's over 15 million Americans.) * 4% of voters say they believe “lizard people” control our societies by gaining political power [3] (Over 12 million Americans) ------------- [1] http://www.gallup.com/poll/3742/New-Poll-Gauges-Americans-General-Knowledge-Levels.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/3742/New-Poll-Gauges-Americans-Ge... [2] http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c7/c7s2.htm http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c7/c7s2.htm [3] http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-theory-poll-results-.html http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-t... [4] http://gawker.com/5783852/nearly-one-third-of-americans-dont-know-who-the-vice-president-is http://gawker.com/5783852/nearly-one-third-of-americans-dont... [5] http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/new-annenberg-survey-asks-how-well-do-americans-understand-the-constitution/ http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/new-annenberg-sur...
- _0ffh 11y ago
  Well, but they're right on the attempted mind controlling through media, aren't they? I think the technical term is PR.
- qrendel 11y ago
  The "lizard people" thing seems hard to believe even at 4%. Maybe that's the number who answered that way on a poll because they thought it was hilarious? (Plus a few who actually believe that.) Checking your source now.
pessimizer 11y ago
>> 65% do not know that the statement “When a website has a privacy policy, it means the site will not share my information with other websites and companies without my permission” is false. >Do people really not understand that having a policy on a particular topic does not imply anything about the contents of said policy? "Privacy policy" is PR language. They're really information sharing and retention policies, but intentionally named to falsely imply that they are a document for a company's strategy for implementing the policy that people prefer - which is to keep everything private unless asked.

by Zak 11y ago

jbuzbee 11y ago

> 55% do not know it is legal for an online store to charge different people different prices... > 62% do not know that price-comparison sites like Expedia or Orbitz are not legally required... Statements like tell me that the survey was biased. It's making it seem like these companies are doing something that should be illegal when all they are doing is charging what the market will bear.

nfoz 11y ago
There are many situations in which "charging what the market will bear" is illegal. We have legal price controls, and restrictions on what/how items can be sold, in many asset classes.
- seanp2k2 11y ago
  If places can profit from operating in the margins where the law is shaky and they're unlikely to be challenged on their choices (risk vs reward), they probably will.
dredmorbius 11y ago
Determining "what the market will bear" without revealing the full range of market options isn't fair practice. Particularly where Expedia or Orbitz effectively are the market.

hackuser 11y ago

I used to be surprised by such things, but now I'm not. Search for "things Americans believe" or something similar; it's not exactly the same kind of knowledge respresented in the article, but it gives you an idea of the range of understanding out there: * Only 38% can name all three branches of the U.S. government (executive, legislative and judicial) One-third are unable to correctly name any of the branches. [5] * Only 78% know that the first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. [5] * Only 51% know that a two-thirds majority vote by Congress is needed to overturn a presidential veto. [5] * 29% of Americans cannot name the Vice President [4] * 18% believe the Sun revolves around the Earth [1] * 37% of voters believe global warming is a hoax (in 2013) [3] * 21% of voters say a UFO crashed in Roswell, NM in 1947 and the US government covered it up [3] * Over 25% believe in Astrology [2] * 13% of voters think Barack Obama is the anti-Christ [3] * 15% of voters say the government or the media adds mind-controlling technology to TV broadcast signals [3] * 5% believe exhaust seen in the sky behind airplanes is actually chemicals sprayed by the government for sinister reasons [3] (5% seems low? Have you talked to 20 people today? Also: That's over 15 million Americans.) * 4% of voters say they believe “lizard people” control our societies by gaining political power [3] (Over 12 million Americans) ------------- [1] http://www.gallup.com/poll/3742/New-Poll-Gauges-Americans-General-Knowledge-Levels.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/3742/New-Poll-Gauges-Americans-Ge... [2] http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c7/c7s2.htm http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c7/c7s2.htm [3] http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-theory-poll-results-.html http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-t... [4] http://gawker.com/5783852/nearly-one-third-of-americans-dont-know-who-the-vice-president-is http://gawker.com/5783852/nearly-one-third-of-americans-dont... [5] http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/new-annenberg-survey-asks-how-well-do-americans-understand-the-constitution/ http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/new-annenberg-sur...

_0ffh 11y ago
Well, but they're right on the attempted mind controlling through media, aren't they? I think the technical term is PR.
qrendel 11y ago
The "lizard people" thing seems hard to believe even at 4%. Maybe that's the number who answered that way on a poll because they thought it was hilarious? (Plus a few who actually believe that.) Checking your source now.

pessimizer 11y ago

>> 65% do not know that the statement “When a website has a privacy policy, it means the site will not share my information with other websites and companies without my permission” is false. >Do people really not understand that having a policy on a particular topic does not imply anything about the contents of said policy? "Privacy policy" is PR language. They're really information sharing and retention policies, but intentionally named to falsely imply that they are a document for a company's strategy for implementing the policy that people prefer - which is to keep everything private unless asked.