As humans and consumers it is very hard to pinpoint exactly when we shifted the way we view content. Very few remember the exact time they stopped buying magazines from the grocery store and relied on online sites to get their daily dose or celebrity gossip. Your parents may mention how they used to go to Blockbuster to rent movies but nowadays we could not imagine being unable to stream movies or music online. This same concept can be applied to advertising and marketing as well. We spent so much time embracing and using every new social media platform that came along that we did not notice the rise of digital surveillance and target marketing that started to be placed every time we visited these websites.

Now it is becoming more obvious to notice the target marketing that is taking place when browsing the internet.According to Andrejevic,   Every message one writes, every video one posts, every item one buys or views, our time-space paths and patterns of social interaction all become data points in algorithms for sorting, predicting, and managing our behavior” (p. 10). These companies are using algorithms to make sure we see the ads they know we’ll be interested in and have a higher potential to click on. In a way you can see this as an effective strategy, they no longer have to waste time and money by advertising to people who are not their target consumer. However, from the consumer standpoint this becomes controversial; they are using our profile which we intended to use for enjoyment purposes to profit and make money.

For example, I am someone who works and goes to school, I do not have much time to go to stores so I usually spend a lot of time shopping online for what I need. Sometimes, I will go to a website a shop around for a little bit but do not complete my order; I may not want anything on that site, want to balance my budget before I checkout or simply get distracted by other websites. However, thanks to digital surveillance it is almost impossible for me to completely forget what I was shopping for. On many other websites, especially Facebook, an ad will pop up on the corner or the side reminding me that I was looking at these items and that it is still possible to complete my order. I know these ads are customized because they show me the exact items I was looking at before. Furthermore, the companies will even go as far as to send an email reminding me about these items as well.

Source: Google Images

Digital surveillance makes it easy for companies because all they have to do to attract new customers is grab their initial interest, and then they have the ability to keep baiting you until you are hooked. Andrejevic states “companies are able to track our movements, transactions, and communications without our permission or, in many cases, knowledge” (p. 4). Companies may believe they are liable to this information, but it would be helpful if the consumer knew what was happening as well. Before this article, I had no idea that every location I went was being tracked and stored by Google. No matter what your location preferences are, they are keeping a detailed catalog of everywhere you have been. I am sure if more people knew about this feature they will be a little more hesitant about the devices they are currently using and questioning why big companies have access to such pertinent information.

Questions

Do you believe you are using digital surveillance to your advantage? Has there ever been a time where you were grateful for target marketing or it led you to better decisionmaking?

What are some ways you can change or alter your digital footprint? Is there a way to outsmart digital surveillance or will there always be a way to track what you do online?