The choice is an illusion in a world determined by markets

There was an interesting case of a woman who received targetted advertisements on Amazon about baby products. The woman didn't realise she was pregnant, but by her buying pattern changed, Amazon realised she was with a baby before she knew she was. And was showing the targetted ad.

As much as we may like to believe it, we are as predictable as the data we produce. And we are reduced to data that drives markets, the economy.

The market has definitely become more personalised with the use of metadata on the users. There are many ways we can be seen in this world but more and more we are being seen as a consumer as there is a shift of economy being visible through markets in the real world to more and more becoming a virtual place.

We can without leaving our home earn money, watch a movie, buy our food, get things delivered to our home. Our interactions don't need to take place in the real world rather it can all be done inside the computer or your smartphone through a customer experience.

How will it affect our identity?

Identity is a negotiation with the world. How we want to see ourselves vs how the world wants to see us. And in this world is dominated by markets, we are being seen more as a consumer. And while some of us are figuring out our places as the consumer in this everchanging world. We are even happily accepting this. And those of you who have lived in cities where money rules everything including how we react socially- in London for example you go to a pub to socialise and otherwise you are unsocial and would be called lunatics if you talked to someone in the bus or otherplaces- you have accepted this in the virtual places too. And as we do so, this passive change in our identity is also taking place.

A marxist would say as humans through our ingenuity we do produce in excess and thus we can infinitely sustain our consumerism and this transformation into becoming products. And this primal identity and might seem organic at times. But we have learned to accept the place given to us without a fight.

And that is where I would ask you to take arms. I think we need to have the choice in constructing our identity. We are not consumers, and we must realise it helps the market grately if we were. Why should we let the market choose for us? Like the woman who has the products suggest nay chosen for her.

There needs to be protocols of data, and how much can it be used-misused. I don't have a solution as of yet. But I can say this, humanity must intervene before materialism takes over.