Am I happy trading 'free' internet for loss of my privacy?

I hold the opinion, that the internet offers both advantages as well as disadvantages.

On the one hand, the internet provides the possibility to get sort of digital identity to everybody. Users are given access to publicity: Everyone is able to compile and publish contents and therefore create publicity. In that way, the users gain a digital voice: They can become visible and important for various stakeholders.

On the other hand, by acting in the manner described the users leave their digital footprint in the internet for several reasons:
1. Persistence: Contents will be saved.
2. Searchability: Contents can be found with the aid of search engines.
3. Replicability: Contents can be duplicated and often you aren't able to distinguish between the origin and the copy.
4. Hidden audiences: It's unbelievable hard to estimate the size and the structure of your audiences.
That's why the more contents about your attitudes and opinions you create the more you loses your privacy. Becoming visible in the internet means becoming transparent as well.

In my eyes, adolescent internet users are the best example for this matter of fact: There are plenty of blogs and websites where young users tend to make a note of everything- their thoughts and feelings, their problems and experiences. They use their blog as their diary and they aren't aware of the fact that everybody's capable of reading it.

That's why, in my eyes, it's vitally necessary
a) to be aware of the loss of privacy by using the internet and to improve the own media literacy
b) to have good regulations that shelter and protect the users.

In that way, the free internet not necessarily means a total loss of privacy!