I Have Had It With You, Google!

You are stifling my curiosity and creativity

In this period of self-quarantine, “safer-at-home,” and “shelter-in-place” guidelines, Hubby and I have been doing a fair share of surfing the internet about things that spark our curiosity as well as ordering necessities online.

Here are just some of the things we have been looking up:

kalimba (thumb piano) — Yup. I ordered one.

roll up piano — Yup. I ordered one. It will be easier to take with us when we go camping than the electronic keyboard.

electric piano

elliptical trainer — The gyms are closed. Is the purchase of one worth it? Would we use it? Where would we put it?

COVID-19 stats

the folding kayak — It popped up on my social media feed.

recipes to change things up — I’m bored with cooking and the weather in Middle Tennessee hasn’t been grill-worthy: rainy and windy.

order out menus (our crazy time schedule didn’t change — we get lost in shop time OR hubby’s dialysis dragged out a few extra minutes and his blood sugar numbers are dropping enough that we NEED to order food instead of going home to cook)

and most recently — Murder Hornets

Or from Christmas shopping for the grandkids

dinosaurs

toy cars

origami paper or books

jewelry making kits

Now, as I log into search engines, sales platforms, and social media, the different algorithms they use are giving me more suggestions that mirror my previous searches.

Why would I want another set of dinosaur figures?

Or a third kalimba (We bought one for Hubby and one for me)?

Or another set of toy cars?

Even the sales platform I went on last night proceeded to tell me that based on my recent searches and purchases I would probably like “X,” “Y,” or “Z.”

Really? Ah, NO! No. I don’t want a dinosaur game, caveman figures, or an archaeology set. Please, I beg you, stop making suggestions.

As a writer and life-long learner, I look things up because I need more information. As a parent, grandparent, and friend, I look things up as possible gifts. As a student of life, I look things up because I am curious.

NOW?

Now, I’m getting tons of advertisements and suggestions for shit I don’t want or even need.

As a soletrepreneur, I get it. As a multi-faceted creative, I get it.

We all want our products and services in front of customers that have looked at and/or bought similar items.

BUT,

to me, these algorithmic suggestions stifle my curiosity AND my creativity.

We are exposed to enough advertisement on the television.

Did you know that a 30-minute sitcom only runs for approximately 22 minutes? That leaves 8 minutes for commercials that usually last 15 or 30 seconds. In that time, you are exposed to 16 to 32 different commercials within that 30-minute show. Ok, yes, there are some commercials that last 60 seconds, but that is rare since the company pays for “time” during the show: the more time for a commercial, the more it will cost.

And we are exposed to advertisement as we travel through billboards, “gas-station TV,” and commercials on the radio if you are not paying for a service.

Page through a magazine or newspaper or look through your mail and you find advertisement.

I even consider shows like Shark Tank and The Profit as a type of commercial. Many times, Hubby and I pick up our phone and check out the items on these shows.

BUT

for the love of sanity, do search engines, sales platforms, and social media need to jump and and tell me what I should be looking up or buying.

Enough, please, Google, Amazon, and Ebay!

Instead? Try sharing with me the new and never seen, the awesome (like some of the posts on social media about things you never thought you needed), and the random. Then, I might not be so offended that you are tracing my every move. Then, I wouldn’t feel like you are taking away my curiosity about the world. Then, I wouldn’t feel like you are shutting my creativity off.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to share.

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Rebecca (Becky) spent 34 years in a teaching career, but when she retired in 2014, she picked up her pen and pursued her passion to write. As a high school English teacher, Becky held the philosophy that she wouldn’t give any writing assignment that she personally wouldn’t or couldn’t do. That philosophy strengthened and broadened her own writing.

In addition to publishing her writing on various platforms, Becky also blogs at Life is for Living, a blog to encourage, motivate, and help others live the best life possible. As an extension of Life is for Living, she also publishes a weekly newsletter, Let’s Chat. (Check it out HERE.) Life is for Living also has a social media presence with the group Coffee on my Porch. (Check it out HERE.)

After teaching writing for 34 years, Becky began Ink & Keyboard, a blog for writers at all levels. She supplements what she writes on the blog with a subscription newsletter, The Writer’s Notebook (Check it out HERE.), the social media group Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.), and a Medium publication Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.).

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