Why do you see ads on social media for products you are thinking about Do they even read minds now?
Every click, every like, every comment, every search, every interaction is data we provide with our consent to social networks, which were born as a means of connecting people and have become a means of connecting people with advertising.
At this point, in 2024, every smartphone user knows that they leave a “footprint” on any social network they use, and that the information is used to link them to an advertisement for a company that might interest them. That is, if they search on Google, for example, for “iPhone 15,” they will find ads for Instagram or any other service they enter. Or if you search for some clothes, you will be chased by ads for brands on Facebook, YouTube, and others. You also know that if you have an offline conversation, Google will convert those keywords into new online ads.
Now, what happens when you think about a product or service and don’t leave a trace of it online, and yet it shows up in an ad on social media? For example, at lunchtime, you thought about eating your favorite pizza, and even though you didn’t tell anyone or Google it on your smartphone, an ad for that pizza you were thinking about shows up. This amazing phenomenon that makes you doubt that they’ve gotten into your mind is just a coincidence… or not so much.
We live in the digital age, a world driven by data processed by artificial intelligence. Social networks work using a complex intelligent segmentation algorithm, which means that each user has a virtual profile created over years of online activity and their environment: family, friends, or people similar to them.
With your Google account logged in, you can access your age group, gender, general location, activity, current searches, your interactions with ads, the types of websites you visit, activity with apps on your cell phone and other devices, as well as the time of day when you do all of the above. So, with the tastes, interests, routines and behaviors that a user has performed over a long period, the algorithm can predict their next needs and “find exactly” what the user was thinking about at a given moment.
With all this information, social networks act as an interlocutor between the person and the advertisement. Users are segmented to suit thousands of goods or services offered by companies. In conclusion, it should not surprise you that when you leave work hungry, thinking about your favorite food, without leaving a trace on your cell phone and without mentioning it to anyone, an advertisement for the pizza you like the most appears.