the effects of advertising

Within the past decade, Facebook, reality television and YouTube have all provided us with an opportunity at microcelebrity. Our Facebook profiles allow us to share irrelevant personal information with the world; reality TV produces “shooting stars,” who may be around for a season or two; YouTube gives users a chance at Internet celebrity. They allow us to brag about our accomplishments and show off our finest qualities. Other people notice, and we receive attention. We have found a way to create our own significance, or at least try. Is the significance that people had before not good enough? There must be a reason that our society is searching for more.
The media and marketing firms have picked up on this concept. They can now market things with incredible specificity to an individual person. Facebook allows advertisers to use keywords from a person’s profile to determine which ads that person will see. Marketers can practically see what we are thinking by viewing our click streams. We are unconsciously playing their game. They know what we will respond to and use it to their advantage. Because of this, we now describe ourselves primarily through the products we use and the brands to which we are loyal. They have become our identity. The question remains: will we able to find ourselves again?

What is marketing doing to us?