Who's the product?

I can't be the only one annoyed by the number of advertisements everywhere right?

I open my phone and see my notifications- ads in my inbox. I scroll through instragram and every 3rd story is an ad. I try to read soemthing online and pop-up blocks half my view of the page.

Its really getting ridiculous. What's worse is that it's ads of products that interest me. I search online for shoes, the first ad I see are shoes, and its not even on the same app or browser. I search for doctors near me and ten minutes later I get notifications on WhatsApp from websites I didn't even know i was on. I used to think it was coincidence, but it's really not.

During times like these, it's hard not to have a digital footprint. We're all so reliant on our phones that losing them means we've lost half our wealth. But if everything we do is being tracked, doesn't it mean we've already lost?

I've been feeling more like a tool or a product lately than a human with tech. Because we are the products. We're being subtly nudged towards all these things that eventually we fall into the trap.

I learnt about this thing called Attention Economy while researching for a project. Our attention is being monetized, commodified, and treated as something valuable that companies can gain. The more we give, the more they grow. They collect data from our time.

Its all subconscious. We don't even realise how long we linger on things or how fast we scroll away. Every little movement is being tracked, and in the case of ads, it's used to improve them.

I'm victim to it too. There have been so many instances where I watch a reel or video until the end only to realise it's a promotion. And then I start getting similar videos about the same product or service.

The worse case is that it works. Advertisements are created to keep us hooked. Remember the Amul doodh ad? People still sing that song to this day. It's become a symbol of culture too.

That doesn't mean that all ads are bad. It's how businesses can grow. It's rhe fact that our data and time is being used in these wrong ways, especially in online advertisements.

And there's really nothing we can do except scroll away. Deleting data means deleting ourselves, while there still remains a backup somewhere. I feel utterly helpless each time I fall prey to this.

What can we do except stay aware and be vigilant?