Twentysomething? Check! In College? Check! Needs Coffee? Double Check! Send in the Starbucks Ads.

Judging from the ads that I receive on Facebook and Youtube, I think targeted ads would see me as a young adult, female, living in the south, interested in travel, other cultures, languages, and the best products for curly, frizzy hair. This isn’t too far off, and every time I see an ad for SarangeTee t-shirts, or the latest straightening hair brush, I can’t help but think, “dang it, they got me again.” Then again, I do contribute to this. every time I click a link for an ad that targeted me, I’m only reinforcing the validity of the algorithm. I’m telling companies that yes, 20-somethings who enjoy anime also enjoy stationary. Their might be someone out there who is getting ads for the latest paper products targeted at them just because they like anime as well.

Another thing i’ve noticed is a certain type of vocabulary is targeted towards me. A year or two ago, I liked the Washington Post Facebook page, hoping to keep up with the latest articles and important news stories. In the beginning, everything seemed normal. Each time I saw a link to a Washington Post article on my wall, it contained all the high class, sophisticated wording in it’s quick summary that would be expected of a professional journalist site. Now a days, whenever I see something by the Washington Post, 3 out of 5 times, the subject will be something i’d normally find on Buzzfeed (5 tips to get you through the day), or the wording in the summary would sound as if my best friend was saying it (“Wow. Retweet and Delete”). I feel like even traditionally ‘professional’ companies are beginning to tailor their ads or links to appeal to wider audiences. It would be cool to see if the same article was summarized differently if sent to two different people. Perhaps the wording seems more relaxed for the articles that I see because they themselves are more relaxed, and i’ve been targeted as someone who would enjoy them. Perhaps i’m not receiving any suggestions to more serious articles, because they no targeting me for those would be a waste of time. They may be right, but then what am I missing?

Youtube’s suggested videos all appeal to me as well. Once again this is a “dang, they got me,” moment. I want to maintain my unique and individual identity, but I also want to watch the suggested videos that I know I would actually enjoy. At one point do I lose my identity all together and just become a stereotype or cliche individual? Oh, they enjoy ‘let’s plays’ and ‘rock music’? Let’s send them a video of some dude doing an a ccapella rendition of the main song from Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Honestly, I would see that and just have to watch it instantly. Would I have found it without it being suggested to me? Will I start seeing more ads on those types of videos because they are what i’ll most likely spend my time watching? Am I inviting ads into the things I love by spending time on each one? Goodness,…I’m gonna need some ice cream to think this over.