Buying Eyeballs

Last week Dr. Gates talked to us in class. He has a very interesting outlook on social media and other aspects of todays times. We talked about how we are voluntarily giving up our privacy through card purchases, Facebook, and other forms of social media. This is something that I have been thinking about for years now. It's weird that people don't even realize that they're giving up so much information about themselves. It's a little weird but it's not always bad. For example, I've been shopping for camping equipment for my Montana trip. The other day. a bunch of ads for tents popped up on the side of my computer screen when I was checking my email. I ended up finding a really nice tent for a great deal. I bought it. The reason why the tent ads popped up was because my computer knew my recent search history and made those tent ads pop up on my screen. It's a little scary, but I found a great tent for a great price and I didn't have to do a crazy amount of research.

Dr. Gates said that Facebook ads are buying eyeballs. This is true. There are millions and millions of people on Facebook every day. If I had a business I would absolutely want my ads to be on Facebook. This would allow millions of people to see my business. Another interesting topic is how much information people give away on the internet. Especially Facebook. Dr. Gates passed out a political cartoon that said "We can access someone's most personal, intimate information by hacking their computer, phone and television...or we can just check their Facebook page." This is very true. I try to not put too much personal information on Facebook, but many people do not try this at all. They constantly talk about their personal problems and family problems. They also give away their location all the time. The worst part about that is it doesn't matter. Our GPS on our phones constantly give away our location.

Each year we lose more and more privacy and it is a bit scary. Some parts of modern technology are great. Other parts aren't so great. I'm very thankful for the technology that we have today because it makes our lives easier. But it also spoils us. It make our attention spans smaller. It makes us get frustrated more easily. Sometimes I just wish we lived in a time without the internet and without cell phones. I think people would be more calm, nice, and honest. I also think peoples relationship would be more real. Unfortunately, I have no choice. So I'll continue to be aware and try to understand what is going on around me.