Advertisement works because most people do not feel this way and are ok with metrics and adds as long as they get something back. Is that ok, or is there a rational argument why everyone should feel bad about being subject to metrics?
(It's not like they wouldn't do it if they knew how; remember the popularity of VCRs? Their main use case was that on a recorded show, you could fast-forward through ads.)
People are not OK with metrics; most population has no understanding about the extent to which they're being surveilled or measured. There's also a growing feeling of helplessness, because the more the snooping is becoming known, the more apparent it seems that it's the same as with advertising - unless you're a tech-savvy person, you have no choice at all.
EDIT:
A big part of the problems are the constant lies of omission. I believe much fewer people would be willing to connect their TVs to the Internet if on the box, next to "you can watch Netflix from your couch", there would be text saying "we'll spy on you as much as we can, and this data might wind up at your insurance provider". Or an asterisk next to "Netflix" explaining that "the service will work until we get bored or they change their API, i.e. for about two to three years".
People in one of the online neighbor groups routinely ask about options for this channel or that channel and such as the lineup out here with some services seems to change regularly and lots of people are moving.. invariably someone squeeks about how great their Roku device is...
I ask them how they like the device sharing info about what is being watched and when with multiple third parties, If they knew that before purchasing, and if they tell other people who use it... every time the answer has been 'this is the first I've heard of this"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/49-inches-Fire-TV-Edition-Smart-4K-...
> Plus, your TV keeps getting smarter with new Alexa skills and over-the-air software updates, so you always have the latest.
Now maybe they will provide software updates for a reasonable length of time similar to the hardware's expected life... but what manufacturer does that?
My current TV is >10 years old and I fully expect the "Smart" bits of this JVC TV to be deprecated in a fraction of that?
The rational argument against tracking is the enormous power it enables. Humans aren't aware enough of how easily they can be manipulated, more information means more and easier manipulation. More information also enables actual power for the abuse of the population.
The power assymetry can only be abused and it will gradually grow until it will be very difficult to remove.
It's almost two years now, and while I don't think cookie warnings are GDPR's fault (it was earlier regulation, that was trying to give adtech industry a chance to self-regulate), I do have this feeling that it indeed missed the mark.
I currently feel the problem is enforcement. There's loads of sites that managed to implement a GDPR consent form in a way that defeats the spirit of the law, and often enough the letter as well. I was hoping that a hammer would be swiftly brought down on those cases, but that doesn't seem to be happening.
There are so numerous "rational" arguments against it, that it is not even funny. And I doubt that many people like the current situation. The trick is to not ask.
Many people I know don't connect their TV to the net at all. They may would use its features, but not wanting to be spied upon is one of the big reasons.
That said, even the older generation starts to use TV less or have devices that record the program and cut out advertising while not connecting their "smart" TV.
My dad's response to "smart TVs send back everything you watch and Samsung are the worst" was "I expected as much..." <— he owns a Samsung smart tv
Person who works for civil service who is not yet even 30 "our government is crazy inefficient, each service and their data are siloed and cannot talk to each other, so we can't know that Joe Bloggs in HMRC is the Joe Bloggs in the NHS and Joe Bloggs on this council tax register... Why can't everything be connected like it is with Google/Facebook. I find myself connecting things up so I get better suggestions"
In my opinion the surveillance economy is one bad leader away from a 1984 hell on earth but that opinion isn't nearly as prevalent as people in tech would hope. But it's also not constructive to patronize people with the opinion "oh it's because they don't know how bad it is..." etc
I think some people don't care. Some people see some of the value the metrics driven approaches can bring. Some people don't agree that the road to hell can be paved with good intentions.
After all I find it hard to believe that all those devs at Facebook and Google are categorically amoral - life isn't black and white like that
Sometimes I wonder if the whole pervasive advertisement racket isn’t a case of the emperor with no clothes, if not a front for more nefarious ends.
I am saying this as I am currently going through a graduate marketing course. It is bananas.
If there is one you learn from marketing really fast is:
1. what is the reality? 2. how to manipulate it
To answer your surface question. You may be an outlier, but I can name purchases resulting from an ad. Impulsive purchases are a thing.
Where did you get this information? I suspect most people have no idea what goes on behind the curtain.
Another indirect piece of evidence is that even NSA backdoors did not get the attention they deserved.