As an internet user, you realise that your information is out there. You need to register to read newspapers, buy things, use social media. That information is often given to third parties, who use it to send you information. Your usage habits are used to tailor ads for you. Your political opinions have even been used to influence elections, as in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Sometimes other slightly creepy things happen. You will talk about something and then – coincidentally – it is appears as a sponsored post in your Facebook feed.
Yesterday though, something really scary happened. We have several animal lamps in our apartment. My favourites being a monkey and a rat.
Last night we were sprawled on different ends of our L-shaped couch, surfing aimlessly around the internet on our devices while we half-watched a movie. My husband was looking for a lamp that continued the animal theme but was slightly different. Without saying anything about what he was doing or what he was showing me, he held his iPad out to me to show me something. I looked at it from my end of the couch, said ‘that’s unusual. But expensive’. He replied ‘maybe it’s real. Oh, eww’ and that was it. We tend to talk in shorthand, and we speak English to each other. He was on an international site.
This morning on Facebook I received a sponsored ad for EXACTLY THE SAME LAMP! In Swedish. In Sweden. How on earth does that happen???
Then… I went into Bodum one day a week or so ago. I hardly ever go into Bodum but they had a sale and we are very into buying things for our kitchen at the moment. I looked around for about 2 minutes and went home. Next thing, this pops up on Facebook…how does that happen?
I have an experience that will seriously knock your socks off!
I have a book called “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand that I picked up a short time ago. I was just THINKING about it recently, and within a day or so I received it as a recommendation (on the right hand side) on youtube.com as I was viewing a video that was in no way related or connected to the book or its author.
So I asked my husband if he had googled the author or the book for some reason (because I sure as heck did not) – talk about a freakout on my part.
Methinks that there is some kind of technology to tap into your thoughts or consciousness without you being aware of it.
Freak. Out.
I’m out.
Did you go into bodun with activated blootooth? Perhaps they registered your visit this way?
It’s all sooo creepy! I’ve been shocked by the same things you talk about. The conspiracist in me wonders if our phone’s speaker and camera is to blame more than our internet searches.
Kroger grocery store has a mobile app for coupons etc. I was going through all of my apps one day and saw that the Kroger app automatically gets permission to use the speaker and camera. When I turned off the “permissions” part, I could no longer use the app to download coupons. I have to go directly to their website. THAT creeped me out.
Some evening when you’re bored,look through all of your app permission settings. So,so creepy!