The New York Times has a nifty tool showing how Deep Root Analytics figures out how to reach particular demographics. There are the usual identifying characteristics—sex, marital status, education—but also some surprising ones, like whether you prefer brown or clear liquor. The tool then reveals which TV show a hypothetical candidate should advertise on in order to reach you. That a few pieces of consumer data can distill your personality into a stereotype for marketing is not surprising, though it is a little sad, as though we’re already living in a dirty hyperconsumerist dystopia that could only aspire to the heights of Idiocracy.
On the other hand, this fun little quiz offers some hope. I do not watch any of the shows that fit my demographic or several slightly altered versions of it. I have never even heard of some of them, though I like the sound of “CRIMEWAVE 1.” This means that I am special, that I cannot be put into a digital box. Take the quiz, and you, too, can comfort yourself with the knowledge that you don’t watch NatGeo that much, and besides, you’re usually getting up to make a name-brand brown liquor beverage during commercials anyway.