This article, “How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did”,  again touches on the subject on how far data mining can invade into our private lives. Kashmir Hill, a social media privacy analyst and writer for Forbes magazine, explains how Target has gone as far as data mining your womb! Just by looking at what you are buying, they can 90% accurately predict whether you are pregnant and can even accurately estimate the due date. From data they collect, they start sending out coupons for baby products. The father of the pregnant teen noticed these coupons and contacted Target telling them that he didn’t like them trying to encourage his daughter to become pregnant through this marketing. Little did he know, his daughter was already pregnant.

This article tells us just how far data mining can go. They can probably predict pregnancy even before the individual is pregnant. We are already a consumer based nation and data mining probably had a huge role in this. Shopping is considered a hobby and people are buying and spending like crazy, even if they can’t afford it. One of my friends recently told me about an article that she read where moms constantly compete with other mothers, making sure that their child has the best stuff. Data mining is creating this competition by marketing and advertising things that you like, things that you have a weak spot for. Just like in the previous article, the best thing you can do is discipline yourself, being strong enough to just say no. Shopping is an addiction and data mining is making it worse. Just like drug addiction, you have to undergo a detox and let go of it. It’s just sad to hear that so many people are incurring debts upon debts and can’t control where their money goes. Everyone, kids included, really needs to learn how to manage their finances.