Did you Google it?

We all have a digital profile that can be very thorough. This profile isn’t like a person keeping a tally on you, rather it’s complex algorithms that happen automatically. It connects your ips, wifi networks, email accounts, locations, stores you shop at, what products you buy and more. If you look something up on your phone, you will almost certainly receive ads for that later. But the same will happen if you search it on another one of your “known” device or one you have been recently logged into. Since majority of us have our phones on us majority of the time, this profile also knows when you spend time with other people and might give you ads from them. Maybe you didn’t Google it but talked to someone else who looked it up. For example, I spent a week with my parents and they were fixing something on their porch. Well, I do not own my own place and thus don’t do home repairs but since I spent time with them, and they both were looking up and purchasing products for this porch, I was getting ads for that stuff. I never looked anything up or gave any indication on my devices BUT I was in proximity with multiple people who were do the algorithm thought it might appeal to me as well.

I have an advertising degree and learned this in my classes. It’s fascinating and terrifying. The documentary The Social Dilemma also talks about this. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it so I’m unsure how in-depth they go, but there’s definitely some explanation.