We all use the internet every day. We use it to check our email, keep up with the news, connect with friends and family, and do our shopping. We also use it to find information, which means that we are constantly bombarded with advertisements.
Advertisers have become very good at following us around the internet and placing ads in front of us that they think we will be interested in. This is called online advertising, and it is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Most of us don’t give much thought to online advertising. We just assume that it is something that happens and that there is not much we can do about it. However, we should be paying more attention to online advertising because it can have a significant impact on our lives.
Here are three things you should know about online advertising:
1. Online advertisers collect a lot of data about us.
Advertisers want to show us ads that are relevant to us, which means they need to collect data about us. They do this in a number of ways, including tracking our internet usage, monitoring our search history, and even using cookies to track our online activity.
This data is then used to create detailed profiles of who we are and what we like. These profiles are then used to target ads at us. This might not seem like a big deal, but it means that advertisers have a lot of information about us that we might not be comfortable with them having.
2. Online advertising is often intrusive and annoying.
We have all had the experience of trying to read an article or watch a video only to be interrupted by an ad. These ads can be extremely intrusive and annoying, especially if they are not relevant to us. Unfortunately, there is no way to completely avoid these ads as they are how many websites make money. However, you can install ad blockers which will reduce the number of intrusive ads you see.
3. Online advertising can be used for nefarious purposes.
Advertisers are not always interested in showing usrelevant ads; sometimes they want to show us ads that we will click on so they can make money from us. This means that they might try to show us fake news stories or other content that is designed to get us to click on an ad or link. Be careful what you click on online and always question where the information is coming from before you believe it or share it with others
