Is the Loss of Privacy Good or Bad?

Times are a-changin.  It seems these days people can know you intimately without having ever met you.  Google someone and you know just about everything, not only their address, phone number, and age, but also what their house looks like (Google Street View), or even where you are at any time, thanks to facebook, twitter, foursquare, and such.  Is the loss of privacy a good or bad thing?

First, the negatives of the loss of privacy.  Obviously, there's the concern of identity theft, or having your house robbed if you check into McDonald's using social media.  Also, anything you say on the internet, even within facebook, can be read by anyone.  This includes your boss or prospective employer.

However, I'd argue that the general loss of privacy is a good thing.  If everyone knows all about you and what you're doing, wouldn't you be less likely to do bad things?  I've got nothing to hide, and as long as you have nothing to hide and don't write things on the internet in a druken stupor, you're fine.  Plus, with less privacy comes the ease of networking, working with others to develop solutions to problems that by ourselves we cannot solve.

I'll be interested to see how this all turns out.  If you are a very private person, just please ask yourself why.  Is there something really bad you are trying to hide?