“Maybe it's my age, my sex or the fact that it knew I was engaged, but the site decided I was a gal who needed to drop a few pounds. And it wasn't shy about its tactics. This was not a close friend taking me aside, telling me in gentle tones that she'd noticed I'd put on some weight and was there anything going on in my personal life that I needed to talk about?”
Facebook targets its advertising to users based on the information in their profiles. This is not a new concept, of course. Kids usually see toy ads while they watch Nickelodeon, and women get ads for birth control pills as they watch Lifetime.
“Facebook knows my birthday, my relationship status and which book I'm reading, among other personal tidbits.”
The site started turning this information into dollar signs last November with the launch of Facebook Ads, which targets users' presumed areas of interest (or psychological soft spots).
Basically, the subliminal goal of product advertising is to make you feel inadequate and ashamed, because you're not perfect.
Facebook spokesman Matt Hicks said "If you're a wedding photographer, do you want to waste your money advertising to a general audience? Or do you want to reach those that are engaged?"
“I fought back harder. I clicked a little blue link that said "Report" and filled out a form. Nothing changed. I assumed that the diet ads would subside after I changed my relationship status from ''engaged" to "married" in May. They did. I now receive ads with ‘Trying to get pregnant? Visit our site now. We're a national network of fertility specialists treating male and female infertility.’
“Thanks, Facebook, for calling me barren.”
(Interview from msnbc.com)
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