Emma Tyler, Chapter 1, Question #2

In the middle of Chapter 1 in Naked Economics, Wheelan brings up the topic of price discrimination. According to Wheelan this is the practice of a firm selling "the same item to different people at different prices." (18) Based on people's tendencies when purchasing items such as Wheelan's example of air fare, companies can target customers and make them pay more than others for no real reason (in the airplane situation, business people are paying more simply because they can, not because it's fair to everyone). Price discrimination is very applicable to my life right now. I do travel quite a bit, both vacation and on my parent's business trips, and I will be doing quite a bit of travel in the next few months to fly around the country for college auditions, but the fact that my airline company will be tracking my travel patterns is alarming because I do not want to be subject to this price discrimination-acting in my own self-interest. I will be sure to do some investigating the next time I am on an airplane to see the price comparisons within my general vicinity. Although, price discrimination is not something I actively notice that I struggle with every day, I think it is an important concept that people need to learn about because it affects many people's lives on a general basis.