Hashtags, Mental Health and Artificial Intelligence

Like footprints in the snow, a distinct trail remains every time someone accesses a digital device that follows them from website to website and from app to app. While it would seem time spent online--for fun or work--is a person's own, it turns out these digital footprints do not serve them as much as they serve the artificial intelligence constantly looking over their shoulders and gathering that information for later use. Each time someone taps on a smartphone screen--which the average person does more than 2,600 times every day--the data accessed is tracked and stored. Much of the information left behind on the internet is widely available to anyone with the interest and (moderate) computer skills to track it down. Social media sites, where many people often share very personal details and input detailed user profiles, are used to extract information which is later used to target ads.