How soon after waking up do you check your phone? Do you compulsively refresh your Twitter feed? Can you find your way around without Google Maps? There are many obvious and tactile ways in which Silicon Valley has its hooks in our everyday lives. And as we see Big Tech face increased scrutiny, people are becoming more conscious of their interactions with technology: limiting screen time, quitting Facebook, shopping locally instead of using Amazon. But fully divorcing yourself from these companies is a lot harder than you may think, as journalist Kashmir Hill discovered. Just behind our obvious interactions with Big Tech, there are many more invisible ways they touch our lives. This is Kashmir’s story of what happens when you shine a light on those unseen encounters.

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