Reading 07

Online advertising is always something that has creeped me out a little bit but at the same time I am thankful for it. One cannot deny the convenience of going to your favorite website, such as ESPN, and checking the scores of last night’s games and at the same time seeing advertisements for the running shows you have been looking for the past few weeks scroll along the side and bottom of your screen. That being said, however, it is definitely troubling how our what we think is private may not actually be and that these companies are able to track what we have been searching for every day. The Privacy and Surveillance in America Article states that “people in America complain about eroding privacy, but have taken only “modest steps” to curb data collection. In a study last year, Pew found that some Americans responded to concerns about surveillance by changing their privacy settings on social media (17 percent); using social media less often (15 percent); avoiding certain apps (15 percent); and sometimes opting for face-to-face conversation instead of using the phone or Internet (14 percent).” I would expect these numbers to be much larger. I think one reason behind this belief of mine is that I think people would be more accepting of surveillance for national security reasons rather than for reasons of marketing and thus would do all they could to not be tracked in these cases.

            I am not sure as to how ethical it is for companies to track this information. I understand that as consumers who use app, websites, and other online resources we consent to giving our data and information to third parties but I am not sure if there is really a way to not consent. It almost seems as if society as, a whole forces, us to use these applications and that we have no choice but to be tracked. Companies take advantage of this and are able to legally capture our data and use it for whatever purpose they see fit. That being said, I guess that it is becoming a bit of an unrealistic expectation that we can keep all of our information and habits private. Like I said before, I almost feel as if in the world of the internet and technology there is no way around giving away some of your privacy. I have always been told that nothing is free and I guess that means the cost for all of the “free” websites and apps that we use is our privacy.

            While I do believe that online advertising is undeniably invasive, I also believe that it is tolerable. Like I said above, it has always amazed me that some of the advertisements that display on my screen are for something I need and am currently looking for. Personally, I do not use any Ad-blocking tools. While I am well aware of the capabilities and reasons for using these tools, I am not troubled enough by the capturing of my data or adds to take the time to install one of these programs. That being said, I do believe that is ethical for someone to use these tools as they have a justified reason for it.