In today’s society, Individualism is a growing concept. As technology advances, so do the needs of the individual. Everyone cares more about themselves, and less about others. Large companies, along with the media, have realized this, and are gradually adapting to this idea of the individual. Notice how everything nowadays is becoming “customizable” as technology advances. Advertising online now focuses on the individual. Instead of mass marketing, it is now marketing to the individual, but still on a mass scale. For example, this was pulled directly from Yahoo!’s website:
“How we customize your Yahoo! experience
We look at a person's browsing activity, such as the types of content the person accessed, ads the person clicked, and searches the person conducted. Based on this, we infer certain interests the person has, and we show ads likely to meet the person's needs. For example, for people who like to check out the golf scores on Yahoo! Sports, we may show ads that focus on golf-related products and services.
We offer this service not just on the Yahoo! network but across our partners’ sites as well.
Advertising is how we’re able to offer the innovative, free services that are traditional at Yahoo!. As we continue to customize your Yahoo! experience, you may see ads that more closely reflect your interests.”
By “customizing” advertisements, Yahoo! Is able to guarantee to a client that their advertisement will reach their target demographic.
The iPod is also an individual media. Each user owns their own iPod with their own music. The new “genius” feature even lists songs similar to the one you are listening to. Users are plugged in to isolated, sound-cancelling headphones, and separate themselves from society while listening to their own music, in their own world. The cell phone is another example. When one is on the cell phone, they are isolating themselves from society, and are in their own world. All of this individualized media is killing culture.
So how does this affect my everyday media practices? Well, I am an Internet user. I spend a very large portion of my day on the computer. Whenever I am on Facebook, I notice advertisements that relate to me constantly, when I am on Yahoo!, I notice the same thing. I am no longer exposed to advertisements that I would not be interested in. I am an iPod user; I listen to my iPod, isolated from the world. I am a cell phone user; I also isolate myself from the world when I am using it. This may be good for some, but the way I see it, I am being isolated in my own little world with this type of advertising. I don’t believe this is the way it should be. This form of advertising is killing culture. Imagine what the future of media will be once technology advances even further? Your iPod will know what song you want to listen to, before you even think about it. Your television will list programs you might find interesting. Your computer will greet you by name. This concept of individualism will eventually kill culture. And something must be done to stop it.
Works Cited
Customized Advertising." Yahoo!. 2008. 9 Oct. 2009. <http://info.yahoo.com/relevantads/>.
Scott, John . "Individualism." Individualism. 11 Jul. 2009. 9 Oct. 2009. <http://www.individualism.com/?cat=3>.
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