Are We Ever Not Being Watched?

The post bellow by Joy Knowles indicates that everything we do is analyzed by these BIG DATA algorithms. This is a scary thought. Everyone we call, everything we search online, where we live, like to eat, where we spend our money... all monitored by BIG DATA. When I think of this, it makes me feel very small, funnily enough. When I think of this, I imagine everyone on earth being watched and analyzed by these scientists in lab coats. However, in reality, the amount of information that I provide alone, compared to the rest of the world, is so small (not to say that it should be taken lightly) and it is not people who are directly gathering my information, but algorithms that choose what advertisements should appear on my screen based on what I search online. This is the world we live in and although it may be an invasion of privacy, it is how our data-filled world functions.