 |
Apparently this is what
I've searched this week |
When thinking more about
Foucault and the panopticon, I started paying more close attention to the advertisements I am exposed to while on the web, and the relation they have to anything I search for or visit frequently. Just how John talked about the role Google plays as a panopticon in his
post as with Google maps, or Street View, Google also does this in another way in which we are often unaware of, and show no rejection towards - targeted advertisement. Isn't it ironic how the advertisements presented to us seem to know exactly when we want something or have been shopping around for it? It's not ironic at all because Google, Facebook, and other companies keep track of things you search either on their engine, or through amazon, E-bay, independent stores, etc. and then show them back to you when you are away from that site. This tactic works in a very successful way, and I nearly always find myself clicking on the ads targeted to me on Facebook etc. thinking "ah yes I love this dress, how did they know" (sarcasm) but it still gets me. If you notice Facebook also brings your "friends" into the picture by telling you that they like these sorts of things too - as seen in the bottom of the picture to the right. This whole concept is absurd though, what else are they watching that I'm doing on my own private computer they I'm not aware of? How can you be sure that any site is truly "secure"? I'm no computer whiz so I would have no idea, and I'm sure the overwhelming majority of internet users are the same way. Going back to John's post, I agree that it is crazy how people (including myself) will accept this odd sort of spying that companies conduct on us on a regular basis, but yet would most definitely not accept a person from the NSA taking pictures of us walking down the street. I think we as a society need to align our thoughts on digital privacy and set guidelines for what we will and will not accept as being legal.
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