Sometimes it feels as if the marketing departments of stores that I speak of and like, listen in on my telephone calls. That is the only feasible excuse, in my opinion, for the highly specific and tailored advertisements that strategically pop up on my Facebook feed or Amazon list of suggested items to buy. At other times, I wonder whether we are just really close to technology fully managing to control us.
It is not difficult to see how it can do so. We already depend on it for so much anyway. Take for instance plane tickets, an algorithm tells us what is the best one for us, taking into consideration layovers and time frames among other things, faster than a human could. So why would companies not process other types of data, to better understand us and provide themselves with solutions for their financial benefit.
While technology is always being praised for helping us to work better and more precisely, the power of it also poses a huge set-back when it comes to living sustainably. For instance, it feels as if it takes away the social fun from shopping in store. Because of how hassle-free online shopping is, in our obsession with it, we subconsciously and involuntarily provide more information about ourselves than we should. In comparison, in brick and mortar stores, it is more difficult to track our behaviours and of course it is left up to human interest to process the information as best as it can.
According to Dr Peter Henway, in a Vice article, “For your smartphone to actually pay attention and record your conversation, there needs to be a trigger, such as when you say, ‘Hey Siri’ or ‘Okay Google.’ In the absence of these triggers, any data you provide is only processed within your own phone. This might not seem a cause for alarm, but any third-party applications you have on your phone—like Facebook for example—still have access to this ‘non-triggered’ data. And whether or not they use this data is really up to them.”
As most people already have the Facebook and Instagram apps on their phone, it’s not difficult to see why this happens. I’m afraid that with tailored advertisements we may lose our ability for true independent choice as now it seems as if we are being manipulated into making the choice. It all just seems like modern-day peer pressure, or advanced tech pressure. Smart devices are great and so are the apps that connect us seamlessly without cause for much hassle, but we must be cognizant of how much we allow them to be part of our lives.
If you are overwhelmed by constant advertisements, I strongly advice an app and tech detox. For some, this may be difficult, but a good start would be to uninstall Facebook and Instagram temporarily. Try logging in from a desktop and limit the time you spend on it. Instead of having lengthy chats on the phone about the things you wish to buy, make an effort to go outside and actually view them if it is possible.
Technology has offered us many possibilities and comforts, but it can make us mentally uncomfortable and fill us with feelings of discontent without us even knowing why.
