The Internet is Spying on me!

[WestTexasCrude]

That was probably me. We were discussing a steering column for an old 70-something Dodge truck at work, and a coworker mentioned Steering Columns Galore. I have never heard of steering columns Galore until that day. We were discussing them and I had my phone in my pocket. I have never done a web search or any other type search for that company. Later on that week I started getting ads in my Facebook feed and targeted ads for steering columns galore.

well, i know it wasn't you. i know who it was, just not exactly what they were talking about. but it was an almost identical story. that just creeps me the fuck out.

Welcome to your new high tech future. Masterfully warned about 20 years ago by the Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report". I own a flip phone, have no desire to own a smartphone, be a part of FB, or anything alexis crap. You people need to wake the hell up.

This is the same quote from Ted Kaczynski regarding technology. And we all know how that ended up. You cannot escape technologies move forward. My parents always come to me when they want to buy something for the grandkids because they don't want to use their credit card online. I have tried to explain that going to the store sends your information to a central database via the internet and criminals (good ones) target much bigger databases like that then the one at a time approach low level crooks try to use. Also there is something to be said about talking on a phone with SIRI. SIRI and Alexa (and I am sure others) are programmed to listen even when turned off. It's coded in there. So it is true that just talking to a friend on your smart phone could induce targeted ads.

Yeah, I get that. My point wasn't to sound like Kaczynski. My point was that the more you immerse your daily life in this endless array of hi-tech, expect to be subjected to the underside that nobody talks about. I mean think about it. Do you really need to buy a SIRI or Alex? When all it takes is a couple of steps and click once. I remember being a teenager reading "1984" for the first time. It's description of the govt looking at you through your TV horrified me. Is this not what Orwell predicted and warned about and what everybody has grown strangely complacent about (Also what he warned about).

My daughter is reading 1984 for the first time in school. When she is done I am going to ask her what she thinks. She is like all other 17 year olds and is technology to the max.

Let me know what she thinks when she finishes.