paranoia.
Normally, when I see an ad whose appearance is obviously purposeful, I smile. It’s funny when ads about online universities and writing books and learning English appear in my work-related emails. I like it when Facebook shows me ads about shoes and jewelry and clothing, because I’m overtly passionate about those things. However, today on Facebook, while writing my long-lost NY buddy Rachael a comment, I noticed an ad that gave me an unsettled feeling. Here ’tis.
I get a lot of Mod Cloth ads on Facebook, and I don’t mind them. Often, they give me a new garment to obsess over for a while, until I get over it because I can’t afford it. This ad is no different. However, I already obsessed over these shoes. And when they went on sale at endless.com, I bought them. Yes, mon chéri, I own those heels, and I purchased them online.
I am sure the case is just that the shoes are killer and therefore they were used in an ad. Maybe they have been successfully advertised as of late and their sales went up drastically and so Mod Cloth is appealing to the statistics of their demographic, myself (clearly) included. However, there is a small part of me that feels incredibly anxious at the thought of this ad being tailored to me, specifically. Is that even possible? Can my online purchasing be tracked and sold to online advertising companies? I mean, I did only buy the heels a couple of months ago. I really think (read: hope) that I’m freaking out over nothing. But nonetheless, I am kinda freaking out.
Surveillance… dun dun duuuuuun.