Digital Privacy and Ad Exhaustion

My friend’s house alarm was recently broken. It would make loud beeping sounds whenever someone passed the motion sensors, which are in every room. We tried fixing it, to no avail, and were forced to endure the sounds. The house was completely aware of our movements. We could not escape. The motion sensors are always on, and are thus always aware of our movements, but this was the first time that they communicated this awareness. We are watching you.

This is, of course, one of the many technology surveillance situations we find ourselves in. From website analytics to retail security cameras to traffic cameras, digital surveillance is everywhere, and, scarily, we’re comfortable with it. My peers barely notice the security and traffic cameras, and we don’t pay much attention to news reports of digital privacy issues–we view these as normal, they are part of contemporary digital life.

My generation’s acceptance of digital surveillance is alarming. It’s not a shared trait with our parents and grandparents, and I wonder how even older generations would react. (Probably with witchcraft trials, public executions, widespread panic, etc. In short–they wouldn’t like it.)

Yes, the motion sensors were installed by my friend, but that is the only form of surveillance that he chose himself. The website analytics, Google search histories, security cameras and more are all maintained by outside sources beyond our control. The surveillance is most troubling in the digital space because we can’t see the cameras but we know they’re somewhere, recording every site visit and tweet.

Users can take digital privacy into their own hands. Below are two applications I recommend.

  • Adblock Plus is a free browser plugin that eliminates most banner ads and popups
  • Little Snitch is a reverse firewall. It monitors information that’s being sent from your computer to outside sources

Even though I’m a marketer I don’t feel uncomfortable recommending ad block programs. They filter the annoying advertisements which diminish our online experience. They also force brands to connect with users by helping them (i.e. providing engaging content), instead of resorting to tiring flashing messages.

The future of the web will follow what users want, and it’s safe to bet that they dislike ad inundation and privacy breaches.