In the evenings he made sure he spent time surfing the internet, despite the ads cluttering up his screen.
He knew that all this nonstop advertising on the internet, the stuff that was continually popping up every time he went online to look something up, was targeted at him. It appeared as a result of his past searches. It came about through the information he had previously provided during his explorations on his computer. Because he was used to this, he normally didn’t stop to look at any of it. That was the case before he saw an ad show up for a rather expensive bottle of perfume, several times. This was something he’d never looked for. Why would he? That’s when he started taking notice of them when they popped up on his screen. Apart from the perfume, there were ads for flower shop delivery services, the latest movie reviews, and shops that sell expensive boxes of chocolates.
This unexpected situation remained a mystery to him until he remembered a conversation he’d had with his latest girlfriend. They had just come out of the cinema and were in a café drinking coffee and talking about the film. They both agreed that it was one of their favourite pastimes, along with other hobbies. After parting for their home they had agreed to catch up again soon.
It was then, that he remembered that one of her hobbies was computer hacking!