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Databases are so integrated into our modern lives that we interact with dozens of them daily, often without realizing it. Let's explore some common examples:

1. Social Media Platforms
  • Facebook: Stores user profiles, friends connections, posts, images, videos, and interaction data
  • Instagram: Manages user accounts, photos, videos, stories, comments, and relationship graphs
  • Twitter: Handles tweets, user information, follower relationships, and trending topics
2. E-commerce and Retail
  • Amazon: Tracks millions of products, customer information, purchase histories, reviews, and inventory
  • Grocery Store Loyalty Cards: Store purchase history, preferences, and demographics to offer personalized deals
  • Food Delivery Apps: Maintain restaurant listings, menus, prices, user accounts, and order histories
3. Financial Services
  • Banking Applications: Store account information, transaction records, balances, and customer data
  • Payment Systems: Process and store payment information, authorization data, and transaction records
  • Budgeting Apps: Aggregate financial information across accounts and categorize spending patterns
4. Entertainment Services
  • Streaming: Maintain content libraries, user profiles, viewing/listening histories, and recommendation data
  • Gaming Platforms: Store user accounts, game libraries, achievements, and in-game progress
  • E-book Platforms: Manage digital books, user libraries, reading progress, and notes
5. Transportation and Navigation
  • Ride-sharing Apps: Track driver locations, passenger information, routes, and payment details
  • Maps Applications: Store location data, traffic patterns, business information, and user reviews
  • Public Transit Apps: Maintain schedules, routes, fares, and real-time vehicle location data
6. Health and Fitness
  • Electronic Health Records: Store patient medical histories, test results, medications, and billing information
  • Fitness Trackers: Record activity data, sleep patterns, heart rate, and other health metrics
  • Nutrition Apps: Maintain food databases, user entries, nutritional calculations, and progress tracking
7. Education and Productivity
  • Learning Management Systems: Store course materials, student information, grades, and assignment submissions
  • Library Catalogs: Track books, media, availability, borrower information, and circulation history
  • Productivity Apps: Maintain task lists, calendars, notes, and user preferences

Consider how your experience would change if these databases were unavailable or lost their data. How dependent are we on these systems for our daily activities?

Last modified: Tuesday, 8 April 2025, 3:49 PM