One time, I posted on the internet somewhere that one of my worst fears was living in a world where the mall scene from Minority Report had become reality. That was several years ago before Meta glasses, the dawn of dynamic pricing, and Flock cameras all over the place.
Recently, I was digging through my old text messages on my phone, looking for an address I’d sent someone I actually know in real life. I was scrolling for what felt like twenty minutes, and I couldn’t find the text thread, my friend, nada. Annoyed because I know a total of like 20 people, tops, and I actively text three of them ever, I started to wonder aloud how I could have so many text messages in one phone. Slowly, I began to realize that I was having trouble finding the address because so many personalized ads had been zapped directly into my goddamn cell phone.
And that’s when it hit me: it’s too late. I’m already in the mall scene from Minority Report, we all are. Don’t believe me? Look for yourself.