I am not putting a value judgement on big data, but I don't think the author's experiment is true to her objective. Instead of testing how easy it would be to opt out of using Facebook or Amazon, she tried to hide something from Facebook and Amazon. She is basically trying to get the advantage of digital life without the downsides. The experiment would have been much easier (and closer to the normal opt out suggestions) if she quit Facebook and made her baby purchases in person from brick and mortar stores with cash. Sure that is an incovenience, but isn't nearly as much trouble as trying to censor your communications with everyone online or trying to launder your baby purchases through multiple anonymous payment methods.