If you are using social networks (if you read this article I assume that you do), I recommend you badly to watch the Netflix Documentary called "The social dilemma". You will hear testimonies of people who worked for Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo or Google. They explain the danger of social media and why they quit. That's scary !
That's why I wanted to write about targeted ads.
These last 2 or 3 years a large part of my spending are due to targeted ads on social media (especially Facebook).
I'm not usually a compulsive buyer but those media are so fucking good to show me what I want ! (or I believe I want).
The AI algorithms have evil strategies
- The daily harassment
They send me a targeted ad, I'm like "oh those shoes are nice ! But I don't need shoes". Then, I continue to scroll and move on. But the next day, they send me again the same ad ! Then I'm like "those shoes are very cool ! But I still don't need shoes". The next day, the same ad, etc. etc. Your desire is increasing and one day, your will is too weak, you can't fight anymore. Finally, you think : "if I don't buy those shoes I'll regret it". My boyfriend is mad because I have too many shoes (in his opinion, I still disagree).
It happened to me many times, with any kind of stuff.
- The infinite feeding
With the great power of the AI algorithms, when you have bought something they will bring you more similar ads and you become trapped in the evil chain of shopping. They are so fucking good to send you the exact same stuff you like, they know you better than anyone else. Don't you find this a little scary sometimes ?
I will not say that I regret the stuff I bought and I didn't consider those ads like dangerous because I buy mostly shoes, clothes or eco stuffs. In my case, the only risk I take is to explode my closets with shoes and have my boyfriend mad at me.
But ! There is still a but.
In my case I'm pretty aware about what I buy and I try to be cautious to avoid scams, but the danger is real and it can lead you to manipulations and behaviour changes. The documentary really shows you examples of derives and dangers with social media. You really need to be aware of this because you will not see it coming.
Protect people
Some people are more fragile and can be easily dependent or manipulated. Fortunately, most social media have forbidden some kind of ads which can encourage addictions like alcohol, tobacco or gambling.
But what about the teenagers ?
I give you an example. I'm a gamer and sometimes I receive ads about energizer drinks or food for gamers. That's supposed to help you being more efficient when you play video games, being able to play for hours without blinking and becoming a pro gamer. I'm not personally interested in performance so I don't really care about those ads but I know esports is more and more popular and teenagers are probably sensitive to those products. I find this scary because I really don't know what they put in those products. If they help them to focus and sleepless for example, what about their health ? What will be the consequences on their studies if they don't rest ? I'm probably overthinking on this but we have to be careful.
I give you a second example. Several times I've seen an ad which was promoting some kind of zen travel with a happy yoga community somewhere in a natural and peaceful environment to evacuate stress. Pictures were friendly, convincing. But still, each time I see the pics, that makes me think about a cult. The picture is telling me, "We are a family and you'll never come back". I'm probably wrong (am I ?), maybe their pics are just too much friendly for me. Buuuuuuuuut...... OK I'll have to google this later. I need to know.
Fight against fake news
For reasons like this, ads became more dangerous and that's not only about ads. Ads are just a piece of the puzzle, all the news you see, on your social network, are driven by those algorithms too. They clearly explain in "The social dilemma" how the networks are used in politics to influence for example the votes. The social media can totally drive your life and your thoughts. If you start consulting for example a website about conspiracy, your media will show you more content about this. This content will become more present than the real news content and you'll never see the truth again. That's how conspiracies become your truth. And we've seen that with the Covid crisis, all the fake news shared on social media. I don't know if you have noticed that too but they were always shared by the same people because they were enrolled in a fake news chain led by algorithms.
I've observed this phenomenon in my family, I'm like a safeguard for them. They are sometimes too naive, they share fake news believing they are true. I'm always here to send another article explaining why this is false, to try to teach them to check the information and understand that everything they read is not the truth. The information is sharing so fast, we have to sensitize people more about fake news and how to verify them. So many extreme and dangerous politics are using this fake news to sell their propaganda... We can't let that happen.
Always check for the truth
I got screwed too, it can happen to anyone. In my case, an official Twitter account of an association shared an article about a law in Russia made by Poutine representing him like he was very sensitive and empathetic. The first time I read the article I believed it because that was posted by an official account. But still, something was wrong with the character, I had a doubt. I was too intrigued and finally I checked on Google and that was fake news. Even this official account I was following hadn't checked its information...
Everybody can be tricked, don't trust anything without checking. Always double or triple check the facts on your official newspaper websites, check with the experts, the scientists, etc.
You have all the rights to doubt about anything, and that's great to be curious. Be curious but think by yourself.
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