Be Careful What You Search For

Since the rapid shift from a world of flip phones and desktop computers to a world of touch screens and social media dependencies, one prominent aspect of our online experience has had everybody exceptionally suspicious: advertisements. It is no surprise that social media platforms and other websites will feature advertisements. We all know that advertising is a large contributor to the income and success of television stations, newspapers, and magazine columns, so it is expected that online platforms would profit from the promotion of other companies as well. But here's where something fishy seems to be going on. Many people online browse and shop on their computers and smartphones, each individual having their unique favorable websites and product preferences different from anybody else's. At some point in our technology-filled timeline, people began to notice that the advertisements popping up on their specific social media accounts was directly correlating with the products they were viewing online recently, buying with their credit cards, and sometimes even what they were talking about out loud. It may have seemed coincidental at first, but the more often and relevant the advertisements became, the more mysterious this circumstance became. With research came the knowledge that by creating an online footprint and plugging our personal information into search engines and social media platforms, these websites can and do remember what we search online and other information about ourselves. Companies and websites use the digital information we provide for them, search history and profile details, to sell to online advertisers. They are essentially profiting from the information that we provide them for free, and hide behind the excuse that they are doing this to better enhance our online experience. While some might agree that their online experience is better thanks to the relevance of the advertisements they're seeing, the majority of people, including myself, seem to agree that this is pretty creepy. Wouldn't it make sense that if I am using my personal computer, the information gained from what I search and what I type should remain personal? Yes, the advertisements we all see are appealing because they are specific to our personal interests, but it simply feels like the privacy that we are all entitled to is being invaded.