## <span style="color:orange;">Reading responses 5 out of 5</span>

### March 19: Ads & social graph background

It was interesting to see the original purpose of cookies from the creator through the Vox video, being that it was genuinely well intended. Moreover, I didn't realise the importance of the first intended cookie pattern that allows us to function with ease on the internet unlike ‘dory’ from finding nemo (that analogy made it so much easier to understand the impact).

However, now with third-party and especially ‘sneaky’ third-party cookies like Facebook Pixel, the ad domain has become massive, chaotic and to some extent volatile with not only its presence on sites but also the personal information it holds of each user, which needless to say is scary.

On the flip side, if we look at it from the lens of an ad agency or marketing firm, there are a lot of things that one needs to consider and take advantage of to capitalise on the benefits and monetary value of their advertisements. As the chapter in the book E-marketing mentions there are a variety of ad types each with their own set of characteristics and elements to focus on. For online advertisements specifically, agencies have to make sure that their pop-up, banner or floating advert is viewed by the most amount of people possible, not only to build brand awareness but also to gain financial capital by choosing different mediums and strategies such as CPM, CPA or even flat-rate payments. Consequently, to achieve all of this they need to make choices related to the path they choose to showcase their brands online.

All in all it's a very intricate process which takes time, effort and money. To decrease the obstacles during the process, possibly the easier way to move forward and ensure a smoother sailing ad ship is through third-party cookies leading to their high demand and omnipresence on all the websites we visit.

I think our fear and cautiousness as well as the ad agencies’ strategies to better their businesses are fair in their own right. The question we need to ask is what's the line? Where should ad agencies stop in order to not make visiting sites and going on the internet a factor of genuine concern and worry for their target consumers? I feel we are currently headed towards that point of no return. As the Vox video stated, once the information is on the internet there is little to no way to reverse the process and get it all back.

### March 22 : Manipulated
Similar to the intended purpose of cookies, the rating apps were meant to give people the freedom to speak and voice their opinions to help others who may be falling into the same trap or entering something beautiful. Nevertheless, the past is evidence that when things aren't broken we find a way to break it, and that’s where the manipulation aspect creeps in.

While I go and watch any movie that I like at face value, my father is persistent to first check the reviews and see what people have to say instead of forming his own opinion because his ideology is “Why waste time on something that is not worth my time”. Similar is the ideology of many people around the world, making reviews and ratings a primal part of decision-making concerning a book, a movie, a restaurant or even a dishwasher. But, how do we know if what we are reading is another advertisement stunt to increase consumer buying or genuine responses? A mixed bag of reviews is not the problem, it's the fact that even though less than fifty per cent, there are fabricated ratings which are more often than not put by merchandisers to promote their product. This uncertainty is one explanation for why people give more value to written words than ratings because the more one speaks specifically about the product, the more believable their opinion seems to be.

However, now possibly companies are aware of this distinction leading to the creation of sock puppets, which are essentially fake accounts used by companies to persuade consumers through praise of their product as the chapter by Prof. Reagle states. The reading continues to state that 10-30 per cent of reviews are fake, which is a large proportion of a population of approximately 8 billion people worldwide right now. Even though ways to combat this do exist this is only one aspect of how today’s online market is manipulated. The same chapter delves into how companies for example Amazon, which I have witnessed myself, push products and show better reviews of products that are under their company bracket or they have some sort of collaboration or sponsorship with.

Needless to say, it's worrisome and scary to think that not only is our information on the internet easily available but also manipulated for the benefit of certain subsections of people, with possibly more resources, and more power in the tech realm. It's difficult to say what's fake and what's not, and I think this is even representative of our generation as a whole. Mis-information, Dis-information and even Mal-information from time to time are our reality which is difficult to avoid. The article by Fowler provides some hope. The FTC regulations I believe are a step in the right direction giving hope to people and especially consumers of products, and services. The question of loopholes still runs through my mind while reading the article, because big corporations like Amazon and Google have the opportunity to find a way and hire anyone to create praise for them within minutes. While there is some evidence against it, the phrase ‘claim to have…’ still creates some doubt in my mind.

### April 05 : Algorithmic bias
The readings for this course topic were quite insightful and interesting. It reminded me of the conversation we have had in class regarding ‘filter bubbles’ and biases that people create for themselves, through their searches, content viewed etc. Reading these articles, explained that notion in more detail, shedding light on the role algorithms play in the creation of our filter bubbles. Moreover, how even these algorithms and open AI sources like ChatGPT may have their own ‘filter bubbles’ when they retrieve information for us.

I liked how the BuzzFeed article actually gave instances where these biases can be seen in our daily lives, giving us an indication of what we as individuals can avoid or mend to prevent these algorithmic ‘filter bubbles’. It explains that even smaller things like autocomplete suggestions in the Google search tab can build up over time to help augment or even create an ideology in our mind about a certain topic. Examples of these could be enforcing negative stereotypes about our out-groups and positive stereotypes about our in-groups, which as we know again augment our ‘filter bubbles’.

In a world that is very dependent on softwares like ChatGPT, the National Review Article was quite eye-opening. To know, as I mentioned before, that not only people but even the inert biases in AI are a prominent existence in today’s world speaks a lot about how the world has evolved or rather not. The information processed by AI is historical but the information processed by humans today is a mix throughout the decades yet the similarities in discussion between the two are baffling. This brings us to question how much have we actually evolved in our ideologies. Maybe the algorithms are a reflection of societal ideologies today, augmenting marginalized biases in these ideologies.

### March 12 : Digital language and generations
Both readings delve into similar aspects of online communication and language including but not limited to memes, emojis and slang. Being an active part of the online community and this generation, I see the differences in language first-hand, especially when I speak to the elders in my family. More often than not my parents get confused by the slang I use for the meaning of certain emojis. An example from a movie comes to mind where an older lady sent a skull emoji, a heart and R.I.P. on WhatsApp when someone had passed in their extended family. She was oblivious to the fact that skull emojis are used to describe something funny, a way to say that ‘I laughed so much I died’. In fact, via text the whole sentence probably also wouldn’t be sent, simply the words ‘I died’ or ‘I’m dead’.

The readings made me realize how much our generation utilizes shortcuts for communication, whether through slang, emojis or GIFs. Upon self-reflection I concluded that the range of our vocabulary has reduced significantly, prompting us to search up synonyms for simple words to sound different or more intellectual in our written work, such as essays for classes. With the array of information the internet holds as we have discussed at length in class, it does not come as a surprise that it is our first resort for language/ grammar difficulties among other things. However, it does make me wonder whether we are losing some language and grammar skills that seem to be second nature to the generations before us.

I believe that along with actual language skills, an important factor of digital language/ communication is the online communities we form, which the readings highlighted as well. The way you speak, whether with certain terminologies, slang or emojis, determines how you are viewed or rather accepted by different people and different communities. Much like fashion trends, keeping up with language trends, memes and trending topics is also vital for many people of our generation, often acting as your ‘in’ into a community or creating a sense of belonging in social settings. While my experiences are evidence of this, it does not make me happy to participate or agree with these nations. My Innovation class has taught me that the most diverse and psychologically safe companies are the most likely to succeed and I think that stands true for real life as well. Maybe pressurizing oneself to keep up with trends, in general, I would argue, to conform with online communities is driving us further away from distinctive conversations and points of view. Moreover in a world that already has so many different languages that causes divides among cultures, will the divide further as each generation’s language becomes more and more niche, limiting it to simply that generation?

### March 16 : Pushback
These readings collectively addressed a lot of the discussions we had, presenting them as great concluding remarks for the course. Through this course, we have seen the good and the bad sides of the internet and technology in the world today. As time moves on, sadly, the bad is beginning to overshadow the good, the insights in the readings being evidence of that. As the article in the New York Times highlights, it’s more of a mental and emotional toll on the newer generations than anything else. Peer pressure has always existed but now with the hyper-connectedness of the world, this pressure doesn’t have to be limited to your small friend group at school but can spread across the world.

Our previous topic of digital language also touched upon the social expectations that come with the rise of the internet and its trends. Take social media for example, before even coming to Northeastern people were able to make group chats with incoming students, socialize to make friends and plan activities before they even landed in Boston. Unfortunately, this does not account for all students, just the majority of them who use the advanced connectivity and reach of the internet. Those who do not wish to or don’t know how to contribute and participate in such behaviors are at a loss, restricted and lack a sense of belonging before even stepping foot in the university they have chosen. Outcomes like these can lead people to become pressurized to partake in online interactions to make online/ social media connections.

Speaking more about the advanced connectivity is the journal article by Morrison et al, delving into the Twitter and Manchester riots incident in 2011. That was more than a decade ago, and technology is only developing more and more as the world moves forward. Does access to the internet and its information, whether news or not, help? Yes, of course, it keeps people informed doing the job a newspaper once did. Nonetheless, with that, the likelihood of creating filter bubbles, an echo chamber and biased individuals does increase. Secondly, it creates a world with a lack of privacy and more space for chaos. Of course, everyone should be informed about what is happening in the world, but to what extent are we okay with publicizing every incident, every experience, and basically every aspect of our lives? I think that’s where the topic for this week’s readings comes in, pushback. Discussions like the ones we have in class shed light on the consequences and repercussions we face with increased internet usage and connectivity through it, making people reflect on their own choices. I believe because of realizations and reflections we are finally seeing acceptance and adaptability of pushback through prevention tactics, an example being detox periods that were spoken about in the New York Times article, which has worked very well for me in the past as well.