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I remember as a kid watching Sci-Fi movies and shows where computers ruled or controlled our daily lives. That seems to have become more science non-fiction than fiction. We are all users and I use social media on a daily basis. I only make posts for work and browse on my non-work account looking at what is trending or what other influencers are doing. 

I’ll have conversations with my wife while we are out walking the dogs and without delay we start seeing ads that relates to our conversation. 

Dave Kerpen writes in his book Likable Social Media, “Let’s briefly compare the word listening to the word monitoring. A lot of companies and people use these words interchangeably to describe the process of seeing what people are saying about you, your products, and your competitors. Some may believe it is only a matter of semantics, but there is, in fact, an important distinction between the two.”

“Monitoring has an impersonal feel to it, imparting a certain amount of creepiness. When you hear ‘monitoring’ you most likely think of the FBI or surveillance cameras. You of negative situations: ‘monitor that cough; it might get worse.’ Listening, on the other hand, is an important human process, and I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t like being listened to. Do you like being monitored? Do you like being listened to and heard?”

Johann Hari writes in Stolen Focus Why You Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again, “It was explained to me that whenever something is provided by a tech company for free, it’s always to improve the voodoo doll” (a virtual replica of ourselves). “Why is Google Maps free? So the voodoo doll can include the details of where you go everyday. Why are Amazon Echo and Google Nest Hubs sold for as cheap as $30, far less than they cost to make? So They can gather more info; so the voodoo doll can consist not just of what you search for on a screen but what you say in your home.”

I shutter to think of where we are headed in the next decade without some sort of regulation on either data farming or artificial intelligence (AI). With so much business, from major global players down to local communities with Facebook Marketplace, there is a lot at stake. Are we too reliant on social media and big tech? Is big tech the new auto industry that despite billions in profits if the economy crashes they need to a government bailout to keep America and the world running?

I wish I had all the answers. But what I do know is that social media isn’t getting any smaller, and the bigger it gets the smaller the world seems.