Is my computer reading my mind?!

[NewlyGranny]

I know our devices are supposed to be listening to us, and I won't have one of those Siri or Alexa thingies in the house, but my laptop has shown me kettles twice this morning while I've been shopping for children's Christmas presents online. Not toy kettles, either. I don't think I've ever had ads for kettles before.

Yesterday our kettle played up for the second time. I bought it from the middle of a discount supermarket, iyswim, because it was pink with white spots and I loved it, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. The lid mechansim is dodgy and won't pop up or lock down easily.

I stood there in the kitchen and thought - we're needing a new kettle. I never uttered a word! DH swears he hasn't either.

Spooky or just coincidence? DD and I played a game when she was home in the summer to see if we could make an ad for a goat petting zoo pop up by talking about it, and that worked. But we were uttering words that time.

Could your DH or DD have searched for kettles on-line?

DD isn't here and hasn't been since August and DH swears not, so...

Probably best to wrap your head in bacofoil then.

Or it was just a coincidence, it's xmas and a kettle is probably an easy gift.

Good job I laid in a fresh supply of foil for Christmas, then! 😂

Maybe you just happened to notice the ads for kettles because you need a new one? If you were shopping for presents online you probably saw lots of ads that you didn’t really notice but you spotted these ones.

Did you talk about it in the presence of your device? They are definitely listening!

‘I don’t think I’ve ever had ads for kettles before’. Google confirmation bias it’s not rocket science

Ah, Meredith and Leftright, that will be the answer! Reticular activation, they call it; like buying a car and suddenly seeing that make and model everywhere. Or getting the BFP and being haunted by pregnant women (sorry, pregnant people it is now). Where were they before? Hiding in plain sight.

I shall put the foil away. Still, anyone who buys me a kettle for Christmas will get short shrift!

Maybe you just happened to notice the ads for kettles because you need a new one? If you were shopping for presents online you probably saw lots of ads that you didn’t really notice but you spotted these ones

Most likely. Confirmation bias?

Or else your DH actually has been looking at kettles online because that’s what he’s getting you for Christmas but didn’t want to spoil the surprise!

Sorry, just realised a PP already said that

I didn't realise until I watched the Social Dilemma on Netflix that how long you spend looking at something can be tracked. So maybe there was one kettle advert and it caught your eye for a second longer than another non-kettle ad, that information will make it more likely that you'll be presented with a second kettle ad. If you spend some time looking at that one, you're done for. Just an ever increasing perpetual cycle of kettle ads. Sorry OP!

Similarly I just read a post in an SEN fb group about a child who would only wear crocs. Some posters suggested she could get fur lined ones. Scrolled down, and what do I get an advert for ... fur lined crocs!

Actually, you saw the adverts for kettles and then decided you needed a new one and have seen more adverts since.

Do not, under any circumstances, get the stupid hi tech kettle that lets you choose what temperature you want your water and doesn't have a exposed element. It takes FOREVER to boil.