It’s not paranoia, it’s advertising: Welcome to the Big Brother of consumption
Have you ever had that glitch in the Matrix feeling of searching for a specific pair of sneakers and then seeing them haunt you in every corner of the internet as if they were an Among Us meme? Well, grab your trendy drink and sit back, because it’s no coincidence. It’s not that the algorithm has psychic powers; is that there is a Big Brother of advertising that tracks you with the same dedication with which you stalk your ex’s stories. And he does it in ways that would make George Orwell blush.
Imagine this side quest from real life: you enter your usual self-service store, the one that always promises low prices, but what they don’t tell you is that the cameras on the ceiling are now the eyes of an Artificial Intelligence system. This AI doesn’t just count inventory; It scans you, analyzes your gender, and estimates your age group with the precision of a TikTok filter. Then, they kindly ask you to scan a QR code which, surprise, has already analyzed your characteristics to show you “personalized” products. Basically, it’s like a super intrusive salesperson following you around the halls whispering offers based on your looks. Comfortable? We call it terrifyingly efficient.
Your shopping cart is a data mine (and you didn’t know it)
According to the study “Surveillance of digital consumers” by Teck Check and El Poder del Consumidor, these cameras basically “track” you through the hallways. They count what you see, what you touch (yes, even that package of cookies you later guiltily returned to the shelf), measure your length of stay, and even analyze your behavior in the checkout line. All this information is converted into data parameters to create a profile of you as a consumer. And in case you were wondering, no, this is not science fiction. These practices are implemented in 173 Walmart stores and in the majority of Sam’s Club establishments in Mexico. Our weekly trips for toilet paper and snacks will never be the same.
But the plot twist doesn’t end there. While you thought that influencers only wanted your like and comment, the reality is more complex. Through the famous affiliate programs, these content creators are also building databases of their followers. How does this level up work in collecting information? Each fan is assigned a unique identification code. When you click the link in their bio or use their discount code, the system can track exactly what you purchased. Thus, the company can determine if the influencer managed to motivate a purchase and, therefore, receives its commission. That is, your trust in your favorite influencer translates directly into sellable data and commissions. It’s not just a haul, it’s a market intelligence report with your name on it.
The dark side of recommendations and the dystopian future
The problem worsens when we consider that influencers can sell this data to companies. And worse yet, they may be promoting products that they have never tried or that, from their experience, are not even the best option. We are talking about products that can be dangerous for consumers. It is the unboxing of misinformation, where transparency is conspicuous by its absence.
And if you think this is as black mirror as it gets, wait until you see the next chapter: the use of biometric data. We’re talking about fingerprints and facial recognition to identify people and create “much smarter profiles of customer behavior for commercial purposes.” Basically, your face could be the next barcode. The central problem, and this is where things get serious, is that in Mexico there is an abysmal lag in advertising regulation. While in European countries there are strict measures to protect privacy and offer greater protection to citizens, here it seems that we are in the digital Wild West.
The organizations behind the study assure that it is urgent to “investigate how platforms and social networks operate, demand transparency and explainability, stop abusive advertising, repair damages when personal data have been exposed and establish limits on the use of sensitive information, especially in the case of girls, boys and adolescents.” In other words, we need to move from being data products to digital citizens with rights. The next time an ad seems suspiciously accurate, remember that it’s not magic, it’s corporate surveillance. And it is up to us to demand a change.
Have you found this journey through the dark side of digital advertising revealing?Share this article on your social networks so that more people discover how their data is turned into merchandise and explore more related content to learn how to protect your privacy online.
