In 1977, the Eagles released "Hotel California", a song about drugs and the effects an addiction has on people. Putting "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device" in the context of our today's digital lifestyle we find a lot of truth. There is a reason why Google provides most of its services for free or why Amazon wants us to have an Echo in every home or why Facebook has become our directory of "friends". What looks pretty convenient is a threat. It is a threat to the end consumers but also a threat to the established economy. And even if we have the choice to check out any time – we will never leave.

After already two decades, the Internet giants -- speaking of Amazon, Google, Facebook, Alibaba and Baidu -- are still collecting tons of data, filling their databases with information of everyone's knowledge, opinions, recommendations, locations, movements, buying behavior, relation status, lifestyle etc. This is not a secret and nothing new. And there is no end in sight. On the contrary, almost every month, new services or devices are released to provide a better user experience, make our life more convenient and increase our dose of digital addiction. Amazon, Google, Facebook and Co. have become ubiquitous in our life. And thanks to the Internet of Things, the gap between our analog and digital life is getting smaller and smaller.

In 1977, the Eagles released "Hotel California", a song about drugs and the effects an addiction has on people. Putting "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device" in the context of our digital lifestyle today we find a lot of truth. There is a reason why Google provides most of its services for free or why Amazon wants us to have an Echo in every home or why Facebook has become our directory of "friends." What looks pretty convenient is a threat. It is a threat to the end consumers but also a threat to the established economy. And even if we have the choice to check out any time - we will never leave.