How They Turned Me Into Data

This is data, not baby green tomatoes.

I miss me. Data does not care about the historical, family circumstances and synergy between my mother and father that led to my conception and birth.

Forget the unique name my grandfather gave me. Now, I’m just data. Name, address and credit card number. “Your credit card won’t be charged. We need it to verify your true identity.”

Right! And my name is Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. You expect me to believe that? I’m quite depressed actually, because I wanted to vote for my favourite online chef. In fact, Pam not only cooks, but has tips about food preservation, kitchen appliances, how to read food labels and kitchen foil, as well.

I finally remembered to go online and vote for her. There were two options, make a donation or free vote. The second option still wanted a credit card, so how free, is free? The bottom line is: there’s no free lunch in America, sentiment is alive and well. I bought into the idea that we should honour self-made chefs, only to find out that they want my data, and that of millions of innocent people.

Data is a licence to mint money. Forget drug cartels and their ruthless murders. Drugs are yesterday. Data is today, tomorrow and the future. That is why tricks of amassing data for profit reasons, are getting more sophisticated than ever. It’s such a pity because it means I’ll never vote for Pam. I must protect whatever is left of my data. Hey! Does the government sell my particulars?

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.