WHAT WE'RE BEING USED?

https://www.tes.com/lessons/VN6_P8wPRlhoCQ/are-we-using-the-internet-or-is-the-internet-using-us

Denial

None of us want this to be true, and some more than others. There are people that believe that the internet is solely there for us to USE and not for us to be USED -- I don't happen to be one of those people.

When people think of the internet, they think of it as a resource that WE have created for OUR use; but is this really true?

Who controls the internet? 

Some people may say that we control the internet since we choose what to post, and what to share to everyone, but that isn't necessarily the case. 

There are rich white men in suits on the top of tall buildings that control the things we see, and that have control of the things we post. Even if you make your post on Facebook "private" or you send a snapchat for 1 second, the things you post online are there forever; even if you take it down. 

You may be thinking "Well I get to choose what I do and watch online". Well this is true, but only to a certain extent. Think of YouTube for example. You may search, and click on what videos to watch, but what about the ads that play before the video? or the products that are placed in the video?
These YouTube creators are paid to embed certain products in their videos to advertise for companies, and a lot of the time it is very discretely placed (see blendspace for more info). For example, a skin care brand might pay a beauty vlogger to incorporate their products into a morning routine. 

Confusion

There's probably a large number of people out there that are thinking, "well that doesn't necessarily mean that the internet is USING us"

Well, let me enlighten you on this magical thing called the internet.

Although it may be hard to believe, the internet is more than just a bunch of cute cat videos, and pens and apples and pineapples and pens. 

via GIPHY

You may have noticed that after a night of searching up thousands of cat videos online, your Facebook will all of a sudden be filled with advertisements about cat food, or cat toys.
Well, this may come as a shock to some, but we are actually being tracked by the internet.

WHAT?!

Hard to believe right? Companies and websites will track your online activity and place ads online that are catered towards your interested based on what they find. This is the reason why the ads on your Facebook or Google may differ from that of your friends'. (if you want to know more about this, there is a link attached on my blendspace) 

I mean if you think about it, the internet is essentially brain washing us by showing us certain things and making us believe certain things. Remember those rich white men in suits that I mentioned earlier? Well, they can manipulate anything they want, whether its true or not, and share it enough to make us believe that it is true. 

via GIPHY

Hold up.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I agree that we do use the internet and that it can be very helpful most of the time. I mean there are so many things that I would not be able to do if I didn't have the internet.  The internet is probably one of the greatest technological advances made by human kind. I just think that we should be aware of what goes on beyond the cute cat videos.

Just because I think that the internet is using us does not mean that I don't use the internet. It just means that I am allowing the internet to use ME by me using IT.