Oddly Specific

Normally I would say that I don’t really put a lot of my data online, but the more I think about it the more I realize that no matter what somebody can collect information on me one way or another. I spend a significant amount of time on the Poets and Writers website researching agents and independent publishers, I spend a lot of time on Twitter (both on my personal account and on the professional account my boss has set up for her business), so I’m generally inundated with material relating back to writing, editing, and publishing. I follow the BBC, Gothamist, Mashable, and a number of other liberal leaning media accounts. If a corporation wanted to, they could look at the articles I click on (mostly feminist, funny/weird headlines, and art related articles). I would guess that specific corporations/businesses/non-profits that would target me would be animal charities (because I get those on Twitter already), LGBTQIA+ rights organizations, and probably Target. They would probably try to influence me by presenting me with articles or images they believe I care about, like anything relating to endangered animals, human rights, or mental health.

I am already specifically targeted when I use Safari for YouTube by antidepressant companies, advertisements for action movies, and nationwide stores. I’m not a huge fan of being targeted online through advertising or through people only showing articles that align with my perceived priorities. I don’t like conservative articles, but I think it’s still important to at least occasionally see their views and arguments. The three ads that I can remember distinctly are generally the ones before YouTube videos when I’m using Safari with no AdBlock, and those are for an antidepressant, Walmart (specifically focusing on parenting and Spring), and movie ads. I don’t think any of those ads really conflict with my value system, aside from my distrust and dislike of Walmart for their repeated human rights abuses, but they don’t necessarily match perfectly with me. Some of the movies are not what I would want to watch, and I’ve already mentioned my problems with Walmart.

Looking at my search history for YouTube, all of the videos are Bollywood music videos, which I find hilarious because I haven’t watched them in ages. The only reason I have them in my search history is because my friend was showing me her favorite songs from her childhood- I do enjoy them, but I just haven’t watched them in a while.