Today's discussion on how Facebook has advertisements that are targeted towards your profiles information like gender and age influenced me to pay closer attention to the ads that pop up while I bop around from page to page. I made notes about what I saw and why I think that they were selected for me.
There were all sorts of things like grants and loans that were available to a 22 year old female college student. Just my luck, I am all three of those! I have never paid much attention to the ads because I find them annoying and almost insulting. Just because I am a female college student doesn't mean I am getting pregnant or interested in becoming a nurse. I think that weight-loss ads might cause a problem with some people because if they are dealing with weight issues and it is being hammered into their minds that "being thin is in" can cause more psychological problems then they may have already been dealing with. Those ads seem to hit at the right time, or the wrong time as it may be.
I don't think ads should be so targeted in such a generalized way. I understand to maximize your advertising you should aim for your target market buut where is the line? Facebook ads probably indirectly call all females fat. I am sure people realize that the ads are targeted for them based on their information posted but it still hits at home if you think you are over weight and there are constant weight loss advertisements.
And an additional note on Facebook. When we talked about the parasocial relationships it made me think that Facebook probably helps people achieve those. Having the ability to look at someone's Facebook page that has personal information, friends comments, and pictures you have the opportunity to learn a lot about a person without their knowing. I think that it is creepy but lets be honest, I think we have all creeped on peoples' pages and you may get a sense of a friendship that is one-sided.
I still enjoy Facebook I just don't agree with it and most of the time I kind of hate it. But it is what it is....
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