There are no fire alarms when it comes to privacy

Contrary to the belief of people, a fire alarm’s purpose is not just to let you know that there is fire. But also to let you know that it is safe to react or panic about the fire. Bystander effect experiment by Latane and Darley in 1968 states that you are more likely to be inactive or not help when you are in a group of people than when you’re alone. This also means you are more likely to help or react when you are lonely than in a group. So as to avoid embarassment or to be percieved as panicky. In one of their experiments, Latane and Darley placed students in a room either alone or with 2 or 3 strangers to fill a questionaire while they waited for the experimenter to return. While they were filling out the questionaire, smoke was released to the room. When students were working alone, they immediately recognised the smoke. Within 5 seconds. While it took upto 20 seconds for the students in a group to recognise the smoke. And even though students in groups recognised the smoke has…