Findajob. CarsIreland. Grabone. TheMeetingPoint. Announcement. Search Go Independent. Liz Nugent. IT IS becoming harder to feel any sense of individuality these days. It is not that Big Brother is watching us. It is that we are constantly telling Big Brother things about ourselves, and BB has a big memory. I went into a favourite bookshop in Kilkenny recently to collect a book I had ordered. The proprietor loves books, loves her shop, and knows her customers. We fell into conversation and I asked, as I usually do, was there anything I should be reading. Sure enough, she had a book that she thought I would like. I felt like a person, an individual with my own interests and tastes, a customer that she had taken an interest in, and it turned out that she was right. The book was called Unravelling Oliver by a first-time author, Liz Nugent, and I devoured it in one late-night sitting. Bed was out of the question until I got to the end. The same week, I was in a restaurant with an old friend. He was looking at the wine list and two wines took his fancy. He asked the waiter for an opinion and the man was immediately able to tell him what wine he drank the last time he was in, that he had liked it and, on that basis, made his recommendation. I sat there, awestruck, and knew that restaurant would be keeping that particular customer for all time. The bookseller and the waiter are good at what they do. And I liked it. Why, then, did I go ballistic when an online bookstore told me that people who bought a CD I was thinking about also liked X, Y and Z? They also were right. They may as well have looked into my brain, vinyl collection, ipod and computer. They probably knew where I went on holidays, who was in my phone book and how many hours sleep I needed. I had given them all this information over the years, and they forget nothing. I most certainly did not feel like an individual. I just felt like a consumer. The only relationship available was one where I put in my credit card numbers, they sent me the product, and made yet more notes about me. We all have a sense of self, a sense of what type of person we are, of our values, interests, abilities and weaknesses. It may be well- founded. Or it may be wildly inaccurate. I may see myself as generous, while others might see me as a skinflint. I may think I am fairly smart while the general consensus may be that I am thick as two short planks. Usually, part of our self-concept is a feeling of uniqueness. We pride ourselves on being that bit different from everybody else. Shopping online involves giving away information about our behaviour. Properly collated, this information can be used to predict our likes, dislikes and probable behaviour. When I read about what I would like on an anonymous website, I feel less like a person and more like a cypher. It is very humbling to be so predictable. 0 CommentsEmailPrintFont SizeComments that are judged to be defamatory, abusive or in bad taste are not acceptable and contributors who consistently fall below certain criteria will be permanently blacklisted. Comments must be concise and to the point. The moderator will not enter into debate with individual contributors and the moderator’s decision is final. The comment facility is removed after 48 hours. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. More in Lifestyle (1 of 20 articles)One word describes what we are –... THERE were so many nights when, as a young boy, I had to watch helplessly as my father verbally and physically abused my mother. I can still recall the smell of alcohol, see the fear... 'PASCAL was a man, whereas I had only... THERE were so many nights when, as a young boy, I had to watch helplessly as my father verbally and physically abused my mother. 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