We explored this in a lot of detail in our three-part series on Alternate Realities, where we dive into how the Internet has made it possible to express safely who we are – often multiple selves – and find others like us.
Privacy, closely related to anonymity, works just like this. We need privacy not necessarily because we are up to something that is criminal or something that causes harm. It is because people differ about what is considered acceptable. The norm for this is always set by those in power. Privacy is the only thing that lets people act in ways considered unacceptable, without incurring censure, ridicule, ostracisation, even harm. Whether by themselves or with people like them.