Do You Consider Yourself A Private Person?

I asked myself this question. My original answer was, yes, I am a private person. Then I watched Juan Enriquez's TED Talk, Your Online Life, Permanent As A Tattoo. In the internet age, a truly private person is hard to find. Most of us have a digital footprint and most of us share some form of data on the internet. You may not be on social media but you most likely have an email, use search engines, etc. 

What you think is PRIVATE is actually PUBLIC.

Anything on the internet that is, "free," means that YOU are actually the product. The internet is collecting each move that you make online to create an online profile of who you are. The data is used to track what you do, predict what you will do, and motivate you to do something. 

For example, you have a big event coming up and you are looking to buy an outfit. You start by searching for some brown shoes. The internet has now picked up that you want to buy brown shoes. Then, you begin to click on websites like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. The internet now knows your price range, what you want to buy, and has an idea of where you want to buy it. Internet service providers like Google and Amazon, then sell that information to retail outfitters or advertising agencies, who sell brown shoes online. Paid advertisements and website links begin to prioritize through your search engine. Then suddenly, the perfect pair of brown shoes pop up while you are scrolling through your Facebook feed. You click on the advertisement and click purchase. You now have a pair of shoes, for your event, arriving in the mail within two to three business days. 

You probably did not know that your clicks were being counted or that the time you spend on each site was being monitored. All of that data was being collected to guide you to purchase a pair of shoes and it made you think that you found them on your own. Now you know that the only decision you made on your own, was to open up your computer. 

What is the problem?

The fact that you are able to shop faster and filter out a lot of the garbage on the internet is not really a problem. Some find it "creepy" but most are content with the idea. The problem lies in the ability of your data to be used to manipulate and control your internet activity. This online manipulation soon leads to offline control over your behaviors. 

We all want to be able to say that we got where we are in life, on our own. The fact of the matter is that there have been experiences and algorithms shaping our lives. It is important to be aware that your private online interactions are able to become public, without you knowing or giving conscious consent.