It's about all our data in aggregate, not about your friend's data in particular.

And yet it still affects your friend. How? Through other people. By having access to all that data the IT powers-that-be can easily build data models to manipulate people into many things, without them even realising it. Making political topics trend, encouraging harmful habits (like doom scrolling) and so on. That all leads to worse people getting elected, which leads to worse roads, worse taxes (higher/lower, whatever your friend thinks), more pollution and so on. That all affects your friend.

Also, what your friend said is that they basically don't care if other more vulnerable people get manipulated into all those things he said (wasting time, money, time is money btw, etc...) because they themselves aren't affected. Do they think of themselves as a person that's that self-absorbed/selfish? Probably not.

And your friend might also say, yeah fine, whatever, but I'm also just a fish in the sea, me changing my approach won't change anything for society. But do they vote?

You have to lead by example. It has to start from somebody, it has to start from all of us. That's how black people no longer had to sit in the back of the bus in the US. It started small. That's how gay people get to marry. It started small. And that's how people won't get manipulated by their online feeds. It starts small.

And if your friend is still, yeah, whatever, it doesn't affect me, tell them about the: first they came for x, but I wasn't an x, then they came for y, but I wasn't a y, then they came for z, but I wasn't a z, then they came for me, but there was nobody left to stand up for me.

Your friend is encouraging behaviours that will bite either them in the ass, or their descendants one day. It will be a war, it will be a law, it will be climate change and a forest fire, that could have been prevented if people cared.

And all it takes is a new messenger, new browser, a single add-on in it, and maybe a new website or two. They're not being asked to be a superhero, just to use a different computer programme. And that's all.

He gave you hints on what matters to him. Find examples in which those are related.

These type of people see this issue in a reactvive manner than proactive.

first then firts, who are normal people? your question just doesnt have a easy or simple answer. We are living in transition period where our parents been sending physical letters and just couple gens later same people, our parent and us their kind having fights on forums if Signal is secure and private. They didnt live in the age of mass surveliance enabled by technolgy, which is so accessible right now. This state of mind just havnt been transformed yet, people caring habits, time flys crazy fast and the tech is quite complex thing, people just dont care or they dont understand. It taking resourses to gain such a knowledge. We have been throwen in the mixer of capitalism driven propaganda, with such a huge mass of informqtion on net accessible, is hard to belevie into something. Me perwonaly, im so paranoid that even in the brightest idea or actions found on net, i see doble edge sword, with some fishy backround.

without secret there is no democracy. Think like a biznis man, not like a consumer/customer. Nothing is for free, nothing. And if it free you are paying with your data, you are the product whos paying the machinery. I found here a nice link to one page named dataisnewoil 😃 think about it. And if someone just dont care try to educate try to ilustrate give examples, try again and again. If we will feed youngsters, educate them. some of them with catch it and the numbers will grow eventually. I hope it will be not to late. Be patiente and evaluate with who are you talking to about this topic, its hard topic, full of technicalities, laws and persone has to a bit woke or driven to at least think about his, hers rights, surroundings.

person can write a whole book about it, it would be boring one and some1 minght call it conspiracy based book.

#FreeAssange

That's why I don't try to convince people

only correct answer seems to be "it made you and your other dumb friends elect trump. Q.E.D."

louis rossman made a video a few days ago on why/if privacy matters. talking about smartphones: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BQKDL9VUzfs

but the argument 'normal people don't need privacy' is very old/common and has been debunked many times.

Let me ask: why does it matter to you?