I Am Not My Habits: On Our Guard Against Targeted Advertising
You buy a pack of gum about every two weeks. Since you buy it with your cash card, everyone in the sweets industry has your name on their frequent-buyers list. Ten days after your most recent purchase, you log onto your computer and you have e-mail from Wrigley’s and Bubblicious – coupons, with a button – click here for gum delivery. You have become a habit. It may not seem that bad, heck, it might even seem like they are providing a service. Project this over the immense number of goods we use in our lives, and it becomes immediately scarier.