Index IntroductionOnline behavioral advertising (OBA)Definition and mechanism of OBATheoretical basisFramework Macro-level perspectiveEcosystem level perspectiveCampaign-level perspectiveInfluence of OBA on customersExogenous variablesEndogenous variablesOBA and the futureConclusionReferencesIntroductionA population in Rapid growth together with digitalization and globalization results in an ever-increasing number of Internet users. Closely linked to this development is the expansion of the e-commerce business. Especially in the times of isolation, caused by the Corona crisis, that we currently live in, we spend much more time on the Internet than in the past, and this seems to be a great opportunity for the growth of the online shopping sector. Lockdowns in countries around the world have had a significant influence on the number of online purchases. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In general, people often get irritated by online advertising and, especially when it is not relevant, tend to avoid it. To increase the efficiency of their marketing strategies, companies choose to use different methods and one of them is online behavioral advertising (OBA) also called online targeting. This method targets consumers based on the personal information collected. However, to be effective, a high level of customization is required, which could raise privacy concerns. Additionally, it can cause feelings of anxiety and fear. At this point, several scandals related to the improper use of personal data collected on the Internet have been made public. For example, the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018, in which the company acquired the personal information of millions of Facebook users without any consent and used it for political advertising. This scandal shows that we should be cautious when it comes to our online behavior because our personal data can be stolen and misused. The growing importance of the e-commerce sector and scandals related to online marketing are reasons why it is still relevant to discuss and investigate online behavioral advertising practices and their influence on consumers. Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA)Definition and mechanism of OBATo be able to To understand the issues of online behavioral advertising, it is first necessary to clarify the actual meaning of this term. There are several studies that aim to find definitions for OBA. Boermann et al. (2017) review the scientific literature on this topic and compare the definitions of previous articles. According to their findings, there are two attributes they have in common. The first common feature is the observation of consumer activities on the Internet through monitoring or tracking and the second is the use of the information obtained for personalized advertisements. Based on this finding Boerman et al. (2017) provide a definition that describes OBA as “the practice of monitoring people's online behavior and using the information collected to show people individually targeted information.” In other words, companies that use online behavioral advertising detect and collect information about what people browse, buy, watch, write, publish or click on the Internet, in order to be able to improve the understanding of potential and actual customers and offer them a high-quality service and meet their needs more effectively by displaying personalized ads. The OBA mechanism can beillustrated with an example from Facebook. Facebook, as the social network with the largest number of users, generates most of its revenue through advertising. (Facebook 2020) The network's developers have created trackers, which can collect information about users' browsing activities off and on Facebook, and this information can be further used for advertising purposes. For example, if a user is looking for a graphic design course on the Internet, Facebook may judge, based on their browsing history, that they are interested in the graphic design course and therefore may display an advertisement for this type of course on the web page of the user. wall. Third-party cookies are the most used method for collecting personal information. After an agreement between the website and the data collection company, a cookie file is deposited on users' computers allowing third-party companies to monitor their online activities and use this data for online behavioral advertising. These files are often deleted without consumers' permission or even awareness which is why they can be perceived as an invasion of privacy. Furthermore, due to continuous advancements in the Internet world, it is quite challenging to stop all tracking, because very often new means of secretly collecting personal information appear. Recent technologies even allow tracking consumers in real time. Technology has gotten to the point where it is possible to “create a request for an online ad as the consumer begins to load the web page, so that targeting can begin even before the web page loads. The scope of tracking varies from case to case depending on the needs of advertisers. In some cases a simple cookie is sufficient, in others it is necessary to apply complex profiling techniques. Lenka's comment: podobne originalu skus upraviť Lenka's comment: skus doplnit nieco o cookies Lenka's comment: skontroluj s originalom ci sa to privelmi nepodobaTheoretical basisThe opinions on OBA practices are different. Some users enjoy personalized services while others may feel threatened. In the past, this diversity has been studied several times and since online behavioral advertising is an interdisciplinary research topic, the range and variety of explanatory theories used is quite large. In previous studies of responses to OBA, scientists have worked with theories from marketing, psychology, and communication, but none of these are dominant or recurring. The most cited theories are social contract theory, psychological reactance theory, and the knowledge model of persuasion. These theoretical concepts are used to clarify consumers' negative perceptions towards OBA practices. For example, when consumers give consent for the company to collect and use their personal data, a contract is formed between both parties. Within this contract, people hope that the company will work with their information responsibly and if these expectations are not met by the advertiser, it could mean the violation of this contract and consequently the loss of trust. This could also happen in the case of secret data collection, where personal space is violated (social contract theory). Furthermore, through a high degree of personalization it is possible to induce a negative reactance (psychological reactance theory). Additionally, as people learn more about OBA practices, feelings of skepticism (knowledge and persuasion model) may arise. According to this last concept, an advertiser, as an agent ofpersuasion, seeks to persuade/convince consumers, a goal of persuasion, in a covert manner. This is later discovered and pushes users to interact with the advertisements. (Ham et al. 2017) deals more in depth with the knowledge model of persuasion and the theory of protection motivation. Framework To classify the results of previous OBA exams and obtain a clearer overview of this topic, Varnali (2019) develops a framework that divides online behavioral advertising research into three levels. To be more specific, according to his findings there are three perspectives to look at online targeting. First, a macro-level perspective, which focuses on the legal issues related to OBA. Second, an ecosystem-level perspective, which deals with strategies aimed at optimizing the OBA system, and a third perspective, which studies OBA on the individual advertiser's campaign.level. Macro-level perspectiveVarnali (2019) states that there is no virtual limitation in tracking, profiling and targeting individuals on the Internet. Until now, scientists have often devoted their research to the issue of finding a balance between protecting the privacy of Internet users and the interests/benefits of advertisers and publishers. In this context the term privacy personalization paradox emerges, suggesting that better results can be achieved through increased relevance of advertisements caused by increasing the level of personalization. However, increased personalization can also be dangerous because it increases the risk of losing control over users' personal information. In many cases, data is collected without consumers' knowledge, which often leads to privacy issues and ultimately customer distrust and loss. Similar effects can be induced when companies indirectly force Internet users to accept targeting. Therefore, when users want to read the content of a web page, they must first accept the policies of the website. In the literature, the ethics of OBA is often discussed, but due to the different interests of the parties involved, it is quite challenging to decide what is moral. and what is not. There are several regulations that attempt to manage and limit unethical behavior when it comes to OBA, but there are still some loopholes that allow advertisers to use deceptive methods and surreptitiously obtain customers' personal information. These gaps exist because of different definitions, interpretations, and ways of addressing OBA issues and related privacy concerns. To illustrate this statement, Varnali (2019) provides an example of different meanings of the term consent. In some countries it is sufficient that it is informative or derivative, while in others it must be provided explicitly. In recent years, various institutions have decided to intervene in the protection of people's privacy. For example, the European Union enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2016, valid for all its member states. The regulation aims to improve data protection of European citizens and contains answers to questions regarding the collection, use and storage of this data. (Council of the European Union 2015) There have also been numerous initiatives aimed at adopting data protection laws in the United States. One of them is called the Do Not Track Act. The purpose of this regulation is to define the rights of Internet users and the obligations of advertisers regarding privacy. This legislation would also allow users to choose whether they want to be tracked or whether they want to opt out.(American Senate 2019) Unfortunately this initiative has not yet been implemented, and therefore in the USA there are only partial laws (e.g. California Consumer Privacy Act) which are only effective in some American territories. After reviewing the literature related to OBA, Varnali (2019) provides several topics discussed regarding privacy. These are: user opt-in and opt-out alternatives, consent-to-be-targeted routines, effectiveness of disclosures, OBA icons and tools used to control OBA, bypass online targeting, and Internet privacy administration. Furthermore, scholars have developed moral guidelines, which should ensure the stabilization of the legal aspect of OBA and should be used by advertisers, publishers and regulators simultaneously. These guidelines include an honest, transparent and fair approach, data control, information protection and respect for stakeholder objectives. Ecosystem-level perspective When talking about OBA practices, three actors (consumers, advertisers, and publishers) should be distinguished and discussed. Publishers provide space to advertisers who compete for it in auctions and after acquiring the space the ads are displayed to consumers. (Chen and Stallaert 2014) This space can be used for OBA or traditional advertising and is usually achieved through cost-per-click bidding where the winning advertiser is chosen based on the best fit between a user and an advertising company's bid . Suitable ads are calculated with the help of complex algorithms using information already collected about your online activities. Studies from an ecosystem-level perspective investigate the impacts of targeting on the performance of advertising and publishing companies along with the impacts on society. Research has shown that consumer and advertiser profits are directly proportional to the degree of personalization that the media distributor decides to implement. Additionally, online targeting can help publishers double their revenue. However, in case of great competition and low advertiser esteem, revenues could decrease. This means that superior advertisers may have fewer benefits than consumers and inferior advertisers. (Chen and Stallaert 2014) Another difference in profits can be observed when it comes to platforms. According to Gal-Or, Gal-Or, and Penmetsa (2018) this is caused by the variety of advertiser and user populations and their distinct targeting preferences. The size of income is also influenced by increased consumer scrutiny. In concrete terms, greater control decreases the level of targeting differentiation and therefore leads to a decrease in advertising rates. In the case of symmetric pricing and a limited number of competitors, revenues can be expanded through targeting based on locations visited by consumers, but in the reverse case, a competitor's response reduces profits. When talking about the ecosystem level, data brokerage companies cannot be omitted. These companies acquire consumers' personal data to trade or share it with other companies or individuals. Based on this information, personal profiles are developed which are further used by advertisers or other interested parties. This can be very problematic because users are often unaware that their personal data is being collected and exchanged and, therefore, cannot control the use of that data. It is also important to mention the difference between the macro and ecosystem levels. While the results of the prospective research amacro level propose an increase in customer control, the examination of the ecosystem level led to the discovery that increased control leads to a decrease in player incomes. This may be one reason why progress in increasing consumer control in online behavioral targeting is so slow. Campaign-level perspective The campaign-level perspective deals with the question of how to get consumers to accept OBA practices and how to use these practices effectively and at the same time reduce privacy concerns. According to Varnali (2019) in campaign-level studies there are exogenous variables (user characteristics when viewing the ad, aspects regulated by advertising companies) and endogenous variables (user emotions and perceptions regarding the ad, online activity of the monitored user behavior and goals). Influence of OBA on CustomersExogenous VariablesTo understand the influence of OBA on consumers, it is necessary to discuss and explain the exogenous and endogenous variables mentioned above. Communication design as an exogenous variable plays a very important role in terms of OBA effects and has been the subject of numerous studies in the past. Varnali (2019) recalls the results of numerous studies that have investigated this topic. For example, Goldfarb and Tucker (2011) studied the effects of advertising content on consumers regarding online behavioral advertising and concluded that if advertisements suited to the content of the web page are used, purchase intention increases. The same goes for increasing the intrusiveness of an advertisement. However, when combined, the strategies are not effective. Another significant influencing factor is personalization. As mentioned above, it can help advertisers offer better services, but at the same time it can be a source of concerns regarding privacy security. The degree of personalization depends on the amount and type of data used (e.g. age, education, browsing history). The scientists combined some of these types of data, and their results indicate that the level of personalization can impact feelings of intrusiveness, vulnerability, perceptions of usefulness, privacy concerns, and responsiveness. Negative attitudes in relation to high levels of personalization can be explained by the fact that personalized advertisements could generate feelings of helplessness when it comes to possession of information, control and freedom of choice. (Boerman et al. 2017) Furthermore, scientists revealed that the high level of personalization is often perceived as intrusive and this could lead to a negative change in purchase intention and not switching even after offering discounts. (Varnali 2019) These negative perceptions can be moderated by advertisements tailored to users' needs. (Van Doorn and Hoekstra 2013) Advertising avoidance is lower when users perceive that the ads are designed specifically for them. Bleier and Eisenbeiss (2015a) proposed a concept consisting of two dimensions of personalized advertising. These dimensions serve to show the accuracy (depth of personalization) and fullness (breath of personalization) of user interests displayed through actual ads. On the part of retailers considered more trustworthy, the perceived usefulness of advertising can be high without a negative impact on consumers and their privacy concerns when they decide to apply a narrow breadth together with a high depth. Resellers, considered less reliable, should not use a greater depth ofpersonalization, because it can have a negative impact on responsiveness and privacy issues. Comment by lenka: así treba doplniť aj dalsieho autoraTo create greater trust between companies and consumers, the use of the "privacy trustmark" is suggested. The application of this sign would mean that the website visited participates in an initiative focused on the protection of privacy. This could induce feelings of trust and improve consumer attitudes towards OBA. (Stanaland et al. 2011) Comment by lenka: je to priama citacia ak ano dopln autora Comment by lenka: prebraté z boerman skantroluj povodny text porovnaj ho a pripadne prepis a uprav autoraBleier and Eisenbeiss (2015b) argue that the interaction between timing and positioning can impact the effectiveness of personalizing banner advertising content. Based on the results of their research they formulated three findings. Looking at the high level of content personalization, the best efficiency is achieved at the time of visiting the e-commerce site and decreases rapidly as time passes. The efficiency of less personalized ads is lower, but they manage to outperform thanks to their persistence. How the perceived informativeness and intrusiveness of advertisements develops based on users' browsing experience and goals. Furthermore, Huang (2018) also shows that advertising placement can have an influence on OBA. According to his study, banners placed closer to articles with related content received more attention than advertisements in the sidebar. Click-through rates, brand consideration and purchase intentions can increase if ads match the consumer's cognitive styles, stage of the purchasing process and body type preferences. (Urban et al. 2013) The study conducted by Bruce, Murthi, and Rao (2017) implies that dynamic advertisements have a greater impact on carryover rates than static formats. Scientists also revealed that there is a positive impact on OBA if the ad content includes information about the price of the product. Low click-through rates from less diverse campaigns, brands spending more on advertising, or companies selling durable goods can be caused by a high degree of frequency and recency of advertisements. It is also important to think about the impact of collecting consumer information on the acceptance and effectiveness of online behavioral advertising. Miyazaki (2008) argues that negative perceptions of cookies can be reduced through prior disclosure of cookies. Consumer risk perceptions of OBA may be influenced by the extent to which the advertiser shares personal data with third parties (Jai et al. 2013). Providing personalized advertisements and avoiding sharing personal information can reduce user privacy concerns. (Sutanto et al. 2013) Covert information collection can also negatively influence the perception of personalized advertisements. Aguirre et al (2015) revealed that overt accumulation of data is perceived more positively and can lead to higher click-through rates. Furthermore, with the addition of the OBA sign the difference between these information collection methods was reduced and the intentions to click on the ad became equal. This finding suggests that the OBA symbol has positive effects not only on the perception of the advertisement but also of the brand itself. (Van Noort et al. 2013) However, it is important to remember that the use of this sign is profitable especially for advertising companies. For users it canbe quite misleading, because it won't help them make reasonable choices about online targeting. (Boerman et al. 2017) Greater control over personal data can increase interest in clicking ads. (Tucker 2014) In the study by Varnali (2019), three types of consumer characteristics are distinguished. Intrinsic characteristics, which represent demographic information and psychological characteristics of consumers (e.g., age, education, nationality, privacy concerns, openness about sharing information), perceptual characteristics, which are based on the consumer's previous experiences, beliefs, or needs ( for example, consumer attitude and perception towards brands, OBA), spatio-temporal characteristics, which represent the conditions in which the consumer finds himself when an advertising message is displayed (for example, browsing conditions). Endogenous variables These variables, coming directly from consumers, are perceptions, gratifications and behavioral intentions. According to Ham (2017) the risks associated with online behavioral advertising caused by less informativeness and entertainment can have a negative impact on the perception of OBA. In this context, another important term emerges, namely the perceived benefit, which represents the potential profit of consumers after taking into account possible risks. To explain how benefits and risks are assessed, the term privacy calculus is often used. It is based on social exchange theory and acquisition-transaction utility theory. (Boerman et al. 2017) According to the first theory, people participate in social exchanges after considering advantages and disadvantages. Based on this evaluation, they adapt their behavior and exchange socially only if they perceive more benefits than risks. (Schumann et al. 2014) The second theory proposes that there is a dependence between the probability of purchase intention and the comparison of possible profits and risks. (Baek and Morimoto 2012) In reality, it is quite difficult to evaluate the perceived benefits, because people often need to find the necessary information very quickly and therefore do not have enough time to consider the real advantages and disadvantages of their clicking decisions. Another theory mentioned in relation to perceived benefits is information boundary theory, which implies that the negatives associated with OBA outweigh its profits because online targeting is perceived as an invasion of personal space. (Boerman et al. 2017) A study conducted by Ham (2017) suggests that the advertising context also plays a non-negligible role in evaluating the potential risks and benefits of OBA. People are more open to the risk of unwanted personal data being collected on Facebook rather than through OBA because they believe that being on Facebook brings more advantages than disadvantages. Dehling et al. (2019) created a model describing the relationships between OBA awareness, knowledge, attitude, acceptance, and dissonance. According to this model, awareness and knowledge of OBA are formed through continuous advertising comparison. If the degree of awareness increases, it also means that the amount of knowledge increases. On the other hand, a higher degree of knowledge does not mean more awareness. Depending on the level of these two factors, the consumer's attitude towards OBA also changes. As stated by Estrada-Jimenez et al (2017) there are four types of these attitudes (negative, positive, indifferent, ambivalent). The type of attitude depends on the number of benefits and concerns perceived by consumers. For example, a high level of perceived benefits and a low level ofconcerns means that consumer attitudes are quite positive. Many concerns may spur consumers to take additional actions to protect their privacy (e.g., installing software used to avoid online tracking). This behavior can be explained on the stimulus-organism-response model, which suggests that stimulation influences a person's cognitive and emotional reactions, and therefore is reflected in his future actions. Boermann et al. (2017) propose that protection motivation theory and the extended parallel processing model can also be used to understand consumers' negative feelings toward OBA. Inappropriate violation of consumer privacy can be perceived as a threat. People's motivations to take further action against it depend on the levels of perceived threat and efficacy. In simple terms, the higher these levels, the more motivated users feel. The results of this research also show that consumer attitudes do not change continuously. Consumers act rather passively. If necessary, they evaluate the situation they currently find themselves in and decide whether they are willing to accept it. All in all, most people don't feel the need to worry about targeted advertising. When faced with this type of advertising, consumers, who are more aware of OBA and also better informed, feel more confident. In contrast, people with less knowledge and awareness tend to react too sensitively or show almost no signs of interest. More informed people also tend to underestimate the effects of online behavioral advertising on themselves, which could negatively influence their decision-making process. (Boerman et al. 2017) More concerned users make more efforts to protect their privacy. (Smit et al. 2014) However, these efforts may often be insufficient. There are different ways of regulating OBA (e.g. deletion, blocking of cookies), but not all of them are able to limit it completely. (Boerman et al. 2017) Based on these facts, it can be assumed that users who intend to protect themselves from OBA should not only be well-informed about OBA practices, but should also possess superior computer skills. In this article, scientists also express the opinion that having key information about OBA could enable users to better engage in privacy protection regarding Internet advertising. The authors of this article also confirmed that consumers want more information and control over OBA. Additionally, they want greater relevance and diversity of advertised content. Excessive repetition and irrelevance of the ad content could cause annoyance and a negative change in attitude. A clear explanation of advertising personalization methods could be a reasonable approach to alleviate customer concerns. The request is also expressed to create new ways of informing and tracking consumers. Transparency of tracking methods could bring more trust between advertisers and consumers because it could help consumers get rid of the idea that advertisers are trying to manipulate them and that they have something deceptive to hide. (Dehling et al. 2019) For many users, transparency seems to be the right way to handle privacy issues, but it is still very problematic due to the large amount of information, which consumers should study to understand what the company's policies are. website. (Varnali 2019) Furthermore,due to incessant technological progress, it is even more difficult to navigate the possibilities of opting out. To reduce privacy concerns, advertising companies should make these options more explicit so that consumers are more aware that they can decide for themselves whether they want to be tracked. This measure could encourage consumers to take control of their data and, as a result, could help reduce advertising evasion. Negative experiences with online targeting could turn into feelings of disbelief and can have a negative impact on advertising overall over a long period of time. (Ham et al. 2017) Lenka comment: dopis a over zdroj asi dehling ale skontroluj Lenka comment: How consumers are informed and how they react. Since each person has individual needs, desires and perceptions, it makes sense that users act differently when it comes to OBA. In order to regulate data collection in accordance with individual preferences, the content and display of privacy notices should be discussed. These statements serve to inform users about the type of information collected, how and why it is collected. (Boerman et al. 2017) Although scientists claim that these claims should reduce the information imbalance between users and advertisers, this effort often fails, because in most cases consumers skip reading these texts. (McDonald and Cranor 2008) The formulations used are often very long, complicated and difficult to understand. Consumers often tend to accept the privacy and cookie policies of websites, because they realize that they have no other options if they want the website content to be displayed. After accepting these policies, they understand that their personal information is used when personalized ads are displayed to them. (Dehling 2019) As argued by Boerman et al. (2017), offering users the ability to decide whether they want to be tracked or not appears to be the right way to give consumers more freedom and control. However, the text cited above confirms that this approach is not entirely ideal and often fails to achieve its purpose, due to the different interests of the parties involved. There is also another way to inform users about the collection and use of their data. Similarly, like the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy also aims to bring greater transparency into OBA processes. Different methods of displaying the disclosure have been used in practice (e.g. pop-ups, banners). To raise consumer awareness of the information, the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance and the American Digital Advertising Alliance have created a unifying icon composed of a blue triangle with the letter I. (Boerman et al 2017) The results of scientific research have shown that this effort is rather ineffective because users are not well informed about the meaning and purpose of this sign and tend to overlook it. (Ur et al. 2012, Van Noort et al. 2013) Van Noort et al. (2013) also suggest that an additional sentence with the information that advertising is based on consumers' online behavior could bring more understanding about OBA. Several studies imply that Internet users' understanding of OBA is quite poor. (Marreiros et al. 2015; McDonald and Cranor 2010; Smit et al. 2014) Most users do not understand how data collection works and how it is shared and distributed to third parties. (McDonald and Cranor 2010) Generally people perceive OBA practices rather negatively. Personalized ads are considered invasive andthey symbolize the violation of personal space. Phelan et al. (2016) explain these negative perceptions on social presence theory. As for online behavioral advertising, it means that the collection of personal information could induce the similar feeling of being watched from behind. (Boerman et al. 2017) Users who realize that they are actually being monitored tend to adapt their online behavior to the situation. (McDonald and Cranor 2010) Turrow et al. (2009) state that the age of users is another factor that influences how behavioral targeting is perceived. After observing younger and older users, they concluded that younger users are more willing to accept OBA, even if they don't want to be tracked. The extent to which ads are personalized impacts the intent to click on ad content. (Boerman et al. 2017) In the study by Boerman et al. (2017), several scientific findings related to this topic are mentioned. For example, advertisements based on the user's background generate fewer clicks than those based on the user's interests. (Tucker 2014) Furthermore, they also generate more clicks than ads that are not personalized or that on the contrary have high levels of personalization and are trained on basic personal data. (Aguirre et al. 2015) Furthermore, advertisements that display shopping cart contents from a previous website visit have a more positive influence on click-through rates than less personalized advertisements that display only the viewed products of recent. (Bleier and Eisenbeiss 2015) As an example of the effects of online behavioral advertising on purchasing decisions, we can cite a study conducted by Lambrecht and Tucker (2013). (Boerman et al. 2017) The results of their research indicate that purchase intention is determined by the type of advertising in combination with the stage of the purchase decision. Users with a narrow range of preferences in a later stage were more affected by OBA than those with undefined ideas in earlier stages. The researchers also examined and compared consumer perceptions of the justification for data collection and deduced that people are more willing to accept the fact that they can visit the website in exchange for their personal data (reciprocity argument) rather than the fact that it is essential to make advertising content more relevant (relevance argument). (Schumann et al. 2014) If advertisers want to be successful in their OBA practices, they should also try to learn more about the reasons why users are online. According to the interactive advertising model (Rogers and Thorson 2000), advertisements that address these motivations can achieve better results, because consumers tend to pay more attention to them and they are also considered easier to remember. (Boerman et al. 2017) Consumers are more willing to accept OBA practices if they feel it could support them in pursuing their goals. OBA and the futureAlthough the e-commerce business and the number of online purchases are growing more every year, there are still many ambiguities about OBA, which need to be examined. Existing research is quite fragmented. There are several theories and models that have been used to explain the effects of online behavioral advertising, however further investigations are needed to establish a solid theoretical basis. Technological progress opens the door to new sectors, which need to be studied in depth. Online words can no longer just apply to computers or cell phones. Almost every day thepeople learn about new technologies that allow them to connect to the Internet or control other devices via smartphones (e.g., smart television, smart watch, smart speakers). The development of these technologies represents a great opportunity for the world of marketing and advertising because, through the use of these devices, new possibilities for collecting information emerge. (Boerman et al. 2017) For example, smart televisions have built-in software called ACR (automatic content recognition) that allows companies to monitor which television programs have been watched. Due to the use of multiple Internet-connected devices, the information collected may be used for advertising purposes not only on television, but also on the consumer's laptop, tablet or smartphone. While there is an option to disable ACR, not all data collection can be stopped without disconnecting your device from the Internet. Additionally, many users are unaware of ACR and therefore do not try to limit tracking by turning it off. Nowadays it is quite challenging to find your way around and keep up with the latest trends in the world of technology. The above example illustrates that this type of convenience has not only advantages but also disadvantages in bringing ingenious methods of data collection. It is therefore even more important to raise public awareness of new online behavioral advertising techniques, so that consumers can decide for themselves whether they want to be tracked and enjoy all the advantages of these devices or choose to use a limited version and not have to worry about their privacy. Furthermore, privacy protection legislation should be updated and adapted to new OBA practices, to ensure that consumer data is not stolen or misused. Boerman et al. (2017) suggest that further research should be conducted on user responses to personalized advertisements. The perception of OBA and its levels of customization differs from user to user. Some consumers may enjoy the benefits of targeted advertising while others may find it very intrusive. Further investigation into this issue could be beneficial to all parties involved. First, it could help advertisers better understand people's feelings towards OBA, so they can improve their services. Second, consumers would have fewer reasons to be afraid of using the Internet and would be more encouraged to buy products online. Ultimately, this could also make it easier for legislators to establish the boundaries between permissible and impermissible OBA practices, so that they can advance the protection of consumer privacy. ConclusionIn conclusion, the influence of OBA on consumers depends on several factors, which are exogenous or endogenous in nature. The current attitude towards behavioral targeting represents the result of their combination. Despite the prevailing negative feelings about targeting, online behavioral advertising is a very attractive tool for business owners because it increases the effectiveness of ads and results in increased revenue. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Although Although much research has been conducted on OBA over the past decade, many questions still arise that need to be answered to find a balance between the needs and desires of the parties involved. Furthermore, ever-evolving technologies generate more and more opportunities for monitoring and data collection:, 36(4), 632-658.