I do fall into that way of thinking sometimes and in discussions and such, but even then, i still take steps to maintain a level of privacy. It’s for stupid reasons, I’m admittedly not knowledgeable whatsoever on data privacy. (As in, why is it necessary since we already carry a lot of data collection devices with us as we go around that I know most people dont even think about.) But it makes me just feel better, I guess.

Most of my friends have actually moved away from Firefox to more tailored browsers like opera, which i think is much worse in terms of data protection. (again, uninformed. It’s just something I’ve seen thrown around, feel free to correct me if that’s wrong.) At times, it really is quite easy to start thinking like the people highlighted in the post. I’m 22, and have a degree in computer science. There was a module on data security, but it was mostly focussed on data leaks and encryption methods rather than the ‘philosophy’ on why data protection is important. Even in the final year of uni, people were being quite flippant with it.

It’s probably just a cultural shift, as more and more companies collect mass amounts of user data, people gradually get more comfortable with the idea I guess. Especially with gen alpha, who are born into a world where it’s just a fact that all companies are actively farming your data. To them, it’s not something to be concerned about whatsoever. There was never a time in which they had privacy, especially since they are introduced to technology before they can even speak, write, or remember.

What I’ve put above is mostly just waffle honestly, but I hope it provides something to someone LMAO.

Edit to add stuff: I guess to make the point more obvious, for younger generations it’s because privacy just isn’t real for them.

Only here to add onto the UK thing, a big part of the reason the conservatives lost in the UK is because a new-ish party which leans much further right (the reform party) got decently popular, draining away a large proprtion of the voter base.

While the reform party got the same amount seats in parliament as a left leaning but still small party (green), their share of the vote was much larger. So the UK is not neccesarily sick of the far right, just the tories. Its possible the new government will be effective enough to keep the right at bay, but the current state of the labour party is one of a once centre left party sliding further and further right with their leader’s policy on things like the EU and certain marginalised minorities.

My overview is quite biased as i am a left leaning person, and i have ignored things such as the lib dems who gained massive popularity but could’ve split the left wing vote in turn. Its possible that the lib dems could represent the new left of the UK, or that the combined lib dem and labour vote is what we should consider the left.

I’ve been chasing the platinum on ps5 for Trove for some reason, and it’s such an awful game, but i love it lmao. Just imagine the worst grind possible, and then have lots of that grind in distinct areas of the game, and there you have it. Tbf, i am a recovering destiny 2 addict so it’s par for the course ig.

Outside of that, I’m currently grinding through revita on pc, and tbh it breaks into my top 3 rouguelites with gungeon and nuclear throne above it (sorry isaac). It’s actually so much better than i thought it would be, and the run variety you can get is kinda mad after you put a good bunch of time into it. It takes so many good elements from other roguelites like the heat system from hades and is just a good, all-around experience which I’d say is on par with the big 2 (in my head) of gungeon and isaac (nuclear throne is great but it do lack content fr). My only issue is i put it on veteran mode, and after checking online, everyone says it makes the game worse. I wanna try the easier difficulty just to see how it is, but i cba restarting my save.

Whoa, that’s one out of left field, no? I just platinumed the game like a year ago, and it’s super good. Tbh It feels more fun than tm2020 somehow, but that’s probably cus i always sucked at stadium :/

My shining jewel in that game was like top 71 worldwide on one of the red beach track (ps4 though so less impressive ig?)

Also the black tier canyon and valley tracks can go die

No sources outside of being chinese myself (although I grew up and live in a western country), but i feel that it’s about the same as most countries right now.

A lot of what you see as poor quality chinese products on the internet are, of course, budget options, which also appear in other countries with equally low levels of quality I’d say.

In specialised fields such as mechanical keyboards, chinese products can often be equal to contemporaries, if not slightly higher quality.

All in all, i think the quality floor can be quite low, BUT the ceiling has risen much higher than before, especially in technological areas. And the floor probably isnt much lower than in other countries, mostly affected by really bad copycat products, which i think are being phased out anyway by huge companies such as xiaomi which can offer decent qulaity but cheap phones. There are some areas where they (xiaomi, that is) can beat out other flagship models for cheaper prices, although i think thats quite rare tbh. The privacy issues and selling of data to the chinese government (and also the other things mentioned in your post) is a separate issue to what’s being asked, so i won’t consider it for now, but of course, it’s always a factor. Up to the consumer how much weight they put into it ig.

Tbh, i dont have any evidence, but this is my personal opinion. I hope this helps you a little regardless of the lack of actual solid data, sources etc.

As a warning, i haven’t been back to china in ages, and most of what i do know is second-hand from relatives, so a bit of bias is probably in there (except the mechanical keyboards but thats mostly known inside those communities also). But still, ig it can represent how a very very small portion of the residents feel :).

E: Addidng on for some other points mentioned.

Nepotism im not too sure about, but my family does indeed put quite a high value in making connections to move up in businesses. To be fair, i assume the same is true for most of the Western world, including the uk where i grew up, but i might just be a bit cynical.

Point 6 feels unfair, as a few others have mentioned. I feel there may be a few more rude tourists from china than average but not by much, its probably more to do with those weird psychological biases people have where they are told to look out for sth (e.g. oh, be careful of chinese tourists, i hear they are shitty) and then tend to notice it more. Although, as a personal anecdote, since i have grown up in the uk and go to uni there, i do tend to jotice that the chinese foreign students do stick with each other more than other foreign students. As in they will walk together in a group and tend not to talk to other british or other students, whereas students from other countries tend to socialise more with other groups. Could be biased, but that is my personal experience. Its always a bit funny when i can understand them chatting shit about other people using chinese, although I’d assume most people would do that anyway as i sure as hell do in english regardless lmao.

Sorry if my formatting and grammar are shit and if my mostly second-hand and anecdotal evidence didn’t really help. I just thought I’d add my ideas in while i saw this on my phone.