Companies are shaping the way we think and ultimately who we are.

As long as we recognize that our online communications serve our own interests as well as benefit companies, we can still use Facebook or any other online platform. 

The New York Times recently reported that Youtube’s algorithm, which the site uses to personalize content recommendations for its users, was showing a video of girls playing outside in two-piece swimsuits to users who had watched other videos of prepubescent, half-dressed children — after they had watched sexually themed content. The result of this was a loop of videos that experts say sexualize children.

It’s 3 a.m. and you’ve just watched two straight seasons of “Stranger Things” in one sitting — even though you have a test later that day. But for Todd Yellin, vice president of product at...