Online Privacy

    Privacy invasion is a massive issue in the modern age. While it has existed for a long time, it has become a much more pervasive problem with the rise of companies like Facebook and Google. These companies are free to gather and sell any and all information about you they gather, from the websites you visit to the messages you send to people. They have all this information and more about you, and you don't even realize that it is happening. Once they have the data, Google can create ads to target you based on your search history. They can see what websites you visit, anything you do while signed into a Google account, and more. The more sinister side to this is that they are then able to sell this data or have it subpoenaed by the government without being required to tell you anything about it.

    Facebook is equally as dubious. Facebook uses data collection techniques to understand everything about you from who you talk to, to how quick you respond and the length of the response. It is scary stuff once you start to understand just how much these companies are able to access and understand about us. Facebook has used the data it has collected to try to influence and modify people's behavior in the recent past. They succeeded. Facebook was able to influence its users to feel a certain way on a given day based on the content they showed these unwitting guinea pigs. 

    The veneer of targeted advertising and helping to create a better experience for their users is all just a front for these companies to practice their true trade: you.