In addition to paying more attention to the media I consumed during the day, I was also more aware of the information that I was involuntarily giving out on various platforms and services. This assignment gave me insight on how many times data is collected in day to day activities that seem normal.
Morning
On waking up, the first thing I did was check Instagram and Facebook, 6:30 a.m. Read friends’ posts, liked pictures of family activities and pets and watched short videos. So, I was probably sharing behaviour data like what I’d clicked on, how long I had spent reading content and what I was interested in. After engaging with fitness-related videos and healthy eating content, the algorithm started to push fitness promotion videos and supplement ads. I knew that even interactions with an article could teach the platform how to guess what I might wish to interact with next.
7:15 a.m. – I woke up and prepared for work, listening to music and a healthcare related podcast on Spotify. Spotify does gather listening history, interests, and behavior patterns, which can be utilized to make content recommendations and targeted ads. I saw some sponsored podcasts about health care and wellness products.
During the Workday
11:30 a.m. – I had a break at my job and looked up some skin care products on Google and did a quick look at Amazon. In minutes, commercials of skin care brands started to be shown in Instagram and Facebook. This was one of the most obvious examples of the way platforms are able to keep track of web browsing behavior across web pages. I also discovered that my searches are reported to me as information about my interests, what I buy and which brands I might want to buy.
12:30 pm – I went and looked at my Gmail and answered some personal e-mail. While email is more private than social media, companies still glean metadata, which includes information about location, device type, and communication habits. Another thing I used Google Maps for was during lunch, I checked traffic and local restaurants, which provided both location and behavioral data.
Evening
5:30 p.m. – Watched some YouTube videos on home organization and pregnancy related topics after work. Almost at once, my suggestions started to be about baby videos, parent supplies and health articles. It’s a very interesting insight into the speed at which algorithms tune their operations depending on viewing behaviors. Just viewing one or two videos can impact future suggestions and commercials.
7:00 p.m. – Watched a show on Netflix and visited Twitter on my phone. Netflix has been gathering data on viewing habits and adapts it for personalized suggestions. Meanwhile, social media sites kept displaying ads for things that people searched for and interacted with earlier in the day.
9:30 p.m. – I looked at my Apple Health app and fitness data before going to bed. This got me thinking a little more deeply about biometric data, such as activity, health and exercise. These apps can be useful and convenient. However, they also contain very personal information which could be given to third parties.
Reflection
Some of the biggest issues that I found during the day were related to platforms and how interconnected they are. In just a few seconds, a Google search changed ads on Instagram and Facebook; and social media algorithms began to take to the content that I started to view or interact with. I also learned about the amount of behaviors that are being gathered that I didn’t actively give any permission for. My habits and interests are profiled through simple clicks, pauses on video and searches of a product.
This assignment gave me second thoughts when dealing with media and how much information I put online. Prior to this module I was mainly considering privacy in the context of a password or information regarding the financial aspects of my life, but I now understand that the issue of digital tracking is far more expansive. I will take a closer look at the permissions of the apps, location settings and the type of content I interact with online. I appreciate that absolute privacy on the web may no longer be a possibility, but I believe that people would be able to make more deliberate choices about their online behaviors if they knew how their data was being collected.
Some of the ideas discussed in the documentary featuring Shoshana Zuboff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIXhnWUmMvw) and the Vice article (https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-are-data-brokers-and-why-are-they-scooping-up-information-about-you/) about data brokers helped me better understand how valuable personal data has become in today’s digital world.
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