Gillian Brockell, video editor of the Washington Post, is a mother who lost her baby in the last weeks of pregnancy and has decided to write an open letter to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Experian (company that collects information from people and companies) to warn of the damage that your advertisements do to a person who has suffered a loss. Insensitive ads that continue to appear and that only remind him of his pain again and again.
Pray that as well as she was bombarded with ads when she knew she was pregnant, stop showing items for pregnant women and babies when she finds out that she has lost her son, a devastating news that she shared on social networks on November 30.
Dear Technology Companies:
An open letter to @Facebook, @Twitter, @Instagram and @Experian regarding algorithms and my son's birth: pic.twitter.com/o8SuLMuLNv
- Gillian Brockell (@gbrockell) December 11, 2018
In her shared letter on Twitter, the mother begins by saying:
"Dear tech companies: I know you knew I was pregnant. It's my fault, I just couldn't resist those Instagram hashtags: # 30weekspregnant (30 weeks pregnant), #babybump (pregnant belly). And, stupid! I even did Click once or twice on Facebook's maternity clothes ads, "he wrote.
Everything we do leaves a mark
We cannot escape online ads. Everything we do on the network leaves a fingerprint and the algorithms do the same: they are responsible for advertising related to our searches and interests. If we search for a destination, we see ads for flights or accommodation in that place; If we are pregnant, it rains advertising for baby items.
In Xataka, are we what we do on social networks? Just that has happened to Gillian. As he continues to explain in his letter:
"You surely saw my sincere thanks to all the friends who came to my baby shower, and to my sister-in-law who flew from Arizona and tagged me in her picture. You've probably seen that I googled" maternity party dress "and" safe crib paint " .
And I guess Amazon even knew its expiration date, on January 24, 2019, since it had created a gift registry.
But you didn't see me also google "are they contractions of Braxton Hicks?" (false contractions) and "the baby does not move"? Didn't you see the three days of silence, something unusual for a high frequency user like me? And later the ad with keywords like "with a broken heart" and "problem" and "born dead" and the 200 tears emoticons of my friends? Isn't it something you can track? "
Can technology companies, as well as track pregnancy, not register the loss? And in that case, mute the ads.
When you use your mobile to distract yourself from the loss of a child, what you least need are ads that constantly remind you.Insensitive ads
When there is a pregnancy, it is assumed that everything will work out, which will end in the happy birth of a baby. But for some people it is not always like that, unfortunately.
Her baby died in the last weeks of pregnancy and had to go through the hard trance to give birth to his son in lifeless.
When her baby died, despite having made the news public on her social networks, advertisements related to pregnancy and babies were still appearing: maternity clothes, parenting, baby room decoration ...
The sad news
On November 30, he shared on Twitter the sad news of the loss of his baby. But this publication does not seem to have been important for technology companies. They have nothing to sell anymore.
Some sad personal news pic.twitter.com/ZkBOB7oqUq
- Gillian Brockell (@gbrockell) November 30, 2018
In Babies and more The emotional project that sensitizes and makes visible the gestational and neonatal lossesMother asks greater sensitivity on the part of large companies that handle our data. He notes that there are 26,000 fetal deaths in the United States each year "and millions more among its users worldwide."
And above when users in your situation click on "I do not want to see this ad" and are asked "why", they have to respond with a cruel but true "It is not relevant to me".
The algorithm assumes that there has been a happy birth, and "fills you with announcements of bras for breastfeeding ... tricks for the baby to sleep all night ... and the best baby strollers," says the mother. Each announcement was a painful reminder of the death of your baby.
The mother concludes her letter with a plea:
"Please, technology companies, I implore you: if you are smart enough to realize that I am pregnant, that I have given birth, then you will surely be smart enough to realize that my baby died, and you can advertise me as appropriate, or maybe just maybe, don't do it. "
A reality of many
The funny thing is that it is not an isolated case, but that many mothers and fathers feel identified with their experience. Since the mother published the open letter less than 24 hours ago, it has already been retweeted more than 14 thousand times.
He has received thousands of samples of support as well as comments from people who have been through the same thing as her. Insensitive advertising is something that should be reviewed and rethink the procedures so that the algorithms detect that there are people behind who may be suffering.
I am so sorry. I experienced a miscarriage a year and a half ago and had much of the same experience. I deleted the baby-related apps from my phone, cleared my cache, unfollowed baby accounts… and * still * get reminded frequently of the baby I don't have.
- Lindsay! (@LindsayMpls) December 11, 2018
