UNIT 6: SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE INTERNET
My name‿ is‿ Emma. I conduc(t) roughly eightyeigh-dy percent‿ of my shopping‿ online,│ an(d) the accusation that this‿ is mere laziness‿ overlooks what has genuinely altered,│ namely that convenience has been‿ exchanged for‿ an‿ opaque loss‿ of control‿ over‿ information‿ about me.
The convenience‿ is‿ incontestable‿ an(d) the distribution‿ infrastructure‿ in my country excellent,│ a refun(d) now taking two days. The difficulty is that the same consumer│ who returns‿ a pair‿ of boots‿ instantly is profiled by every click. My feed‿ is personalised to a degree I fin(d) disquieting,│ an(d) the marketplace model renders‿ it‿ almost‿ impossible to establish│ who is‿ actually selling,│ a counterfeit produc(t) being listable by a third partypar-dy on‿ a platform that‿ issues‿ a disclaimer‿ an(d) retains‿ its reputation│ when the seller‿ evaporates.
What troubles me more than counterfeits‿ is concentration. Two or three companies now determine commercial terms for millions‿ of small‿ enterprises,│ and‿ a business controlling delivery controls price,│ which‿ enables‿ it to commoditise‿ everybody else's product│ while differentiating‿ its‿ own service. I keep‿ a written list│ before shopping,│ since‿ otherwise half my basket‿ is‿ impulse. Data protection‿ is the negotiation‿ of the coming decade,│ and‿ I would prefer‿ it not to be conducted privately between the parties│ who derive the greatest‿ advantage from the present‿ arrangement.