“Hi Lizzy. It’s about time you joined Facebook.” my first tagged post read on my brand new Facebook account. I had avoided making one for so long, mainly out of spite because everyone had wanted me to make one, but also because of its security breach that had happened. My mom had posted it, a long with a picture of me and my sister from vacation.
I hadn’t always been super opposed to Facebook. I actually used to snoop on my older sister’s account a lot when I was younger when she would leave her browser open and report back to my mom if I found anything juicy on it (she follows boys!). This usually ended up with her yelling “GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” and then slamming the door after she had pushed me out. It seems like my online self has an annoying little sister of its own, snooping through my things, trying to find something good to report about. I, for one, would like companies and organizations who track my online movement to get out of my room.
Facebook releasing its user’s data was a wake up call for me. I had not really thought about how companies could track what we were doing on their platforms, much less sell it.
I didn’t open my current Google account until after high school, when I couldn’t use my high school account anymore, so it has data about me from 2018 to present day.
One of the first folders I clicked on was “profile”, and then I chose the “profile photo” folder. I never realized how soon I could find myself cringy. I had many profile pictures, but one of them was a kitten looking out a window. Why? I have no idea.
The next folder I found myself drawn to was “Ads”. I never realized how many ads you see in a day, and I even have an ad blocker on my computer to limit some of them. Most of my ads were for inexpensive stores or for services that I already subscribe to (example: Disney+). I figure that they target these ads towards me because of things like my gender and age, and Google can make a pretty good guess that I’m a college student based on my searches and other browsing data. I find ads in general really creepy. You’re talking to a friend about how you need a new pair of sneakers and then a few hours later, a Nike ad pops up on your news feed. I don’t think thats a coincidence.
A lot of what I use my Google account for is school stuff. I generally only use my computer when I’m working on stuff for classes, and when I’m not studying, I try to get away from it. Most of the other folders were filled with things like old notes, projects, and emails. Much like my profiles, many of the things I found made me cringe. Even though everything that was in the archives was very recent, it amazed me how much I’ve changed. I’m sure that if I ever decide to look back at this blog, I’ll find it cringy too (no offense intended, I just hope my writing will have improved). I wish Google did not know everything about me, because it is scary how much information they have saved. So, Google, please get out my room!
Literature & the Internet 