Data is the accumulation of statistics collected together for reference or analysis. As our personal and public information is gathered over time, we become part of data. Melissa Gregg and Dawn Nafus state that “data are collected to produce actionable insights-knowledge that prompts a response, even if that response is further reflection”. With technology being so prevalent in our society today, many of our actions are turned into data of some form or another- some of this data we are aware of and some we are not. Search engines and websites constantly take in data from its user, all the way from the words they search, items they favorite, to the number of minutes spent on each page. This is data which we are unaware of. Then, comes data which is sought out. Instagram has given its users the ability to create “creator” profiles that allow them to gather insights. This data released allows its user to discovers every move made by viewers in response to each post they produce. Gregg and Nafus additionally note that “data offers the capacity to tell stories about activities”. When it comes to social media, this is a dangerous notion. The ability to have a record of every reaction of one’s shared media may create a false narrative for the publisher which can lead to self-judgment. Overall, data produces useful insights which can lead to benefit and help us recognize the need for change, as long as one avoids obsessing over these numbers.
Data- Caroline Rowe
Data is constantly being taken in all around us. There are a wide variety of technologies that use data to their advantage. Often times these technologies and corporations are intaking data when we don’t even realize. For example, I have noticed that on Instagram when I click on a link to a website (usually a clothing website), after I visited that page my Instagram becomes flooded with similar online clothing stores. This is Instagram’s way of gathering data in order to advertise and create a profit. TikTok does the same thing where if you like a video it will then personalize your feed to similar videos. Data has become a major part of our world today and it effects how thousands of corporations run their business.
Abby Bangs-Data
The reading refers to data as “collected insights.” Within modern, technological products, personal data can be stored online through web browsers, apps, etc. The use of this is to make such products more individualized and subjective towards the specific user, therefore their personal data is often stored through cookies, log-in services, etc. However, the not only does this make technology more efficient when logging on to different browsers, as well as particular functions becoming more efficient to load as well, because they are being used more frequently. Personal data storage creates the risk of another person viewing such data, as because it is stored, someone has to be able to reach it. Specifically, because the data exists in the first place, an individual has the ability to obtain this. The problem here is that data storage is serving as a means for potential identity fraud, loss of information, etc; it is serving as a lens for online malicious intent. People can figure out a way to keep track of someone’s technological habits and patterns, people can track someone else’s location using data found online, people can potentially even find medical records, addresses, and extremely private information if they look in the right places. Therefore, a problem presents where the existence of online personal data storage, rises the existence of malicious intent using such data. Although this may be speculation, I think that this problem is probable because not every single user on the internet, person online, etc. is trustworthy enough to not do these things. Due to the fact that there are inexplicably “bad” people in the world (and things regarding it,) personal data that is stored online, and really anywhere else, can never be completely safe from invasion.
Data-Zoey Zeng
The data support the operation of the media. What we browse from the different media is according to the past research records and information we shared online, which is the reason that we always can see what we want to see and get the information we want in a short time. From the Data’s perspective, we are just small points of our interests. It will form data images and then be categorized into different groups. This is the reason why we think the internet knows us so well. It is convenient since you can always browse things you want. For example, when you download a song you like, the app will soon send you lots of songs in that genre, which can help save a lot of time. Moreover, you can also learn more about yourself from data by using media. You can know how much time you spend on each media, and what kind of things you like from your recommendation pages. However, at the same time, privacy leakage is a big problem. Selling personal information online is a huge part of internet operation. This is the way how companies find their “target consumer”, which is easier for them to market their products. What’s more, people’s locations, chatting records, private photos become data for some purposes. How to solve power asymmetry on social media is the problem we need to think about.
Data – Benjamin Cudmore
As more smart phones and other electronic devices are made available, they allow people to access online platforms that are constantly harvesting information. This collection of knowledge that is gathered and analyzed is known as data. By simply visiting a webpage, all activity that a person conducts is being monitored. The accumulated information from exploring these platforms is then applicable for different uses. Most often, data is utilized for advertisements. When creating an ad on social media, selections are available to choose characteristics of the posts that will reach the targeted audience. In this situation, the app will then analyze profiles that visited or liked the most posts that correspond with the characteristics chosen. The information about all of these profiles is data, and when the ad is released, even more data is collected by the app showing how many profiles the content reaches and facts about its viewers. Additionally, to see the extent of data that is taken in for posts, Instagram requires people to have a business accounts for those curious about how it works.
Data Response- Thomas Takele
Data is very important in media and especially social media. In social media such as Instagram, TikTok, and even Snapchat, data is stored that manages the type of things that you click into or like and it is compared to other videos and photos that the app is going to show you next to decide whether they are appropriate for you. The reason for these forms of media to cater to the feelings of the consumer is because these social media apps rely on the time you spend on the app as a source of revenue through ads and the longer you stay on the app the more ads you are going to see. The data is also used to analyze which ads are most relevant to you so the ads are not so overbearing that the user would quit the app after the ad. The tracking of this data and how it works is so foreign to the average person that we think that it does not happen and just make jokes that it happens. It is actually kind of scary to imagine data being used to analyze something so unquantifiable as the amount of enjoyment you get from something but that’s exactly what like buttons are for.
Data – Chloe Fandetti
Data are facts, statistics, or items of information used to calculate, analyze, or plan something. As the information shared through communication channels are subject to more and more new kinds of tracking and quantification, data is becoming increasingly more relevant in our society. So much of our lives revolve around technology, so thinking about how much of our personal data is tracked (whether with or without our knowing) is pretty unsettling. For example, most days I wear an Apple watch. I can see the daily trend data for exercise minutes, active calories, stand hours, walk distance, flights climbed, and more. Because I choose to wear the watch, this data collection would be put under the self-assembled information category. Although, I think the Apple watch (and all Apple products in general) collect way more personal data than you may think about. The google maps feature uses satellite GPS technology to provide real-time travel instructions to get you to your destination, which is very useful and convenient. But the GPS is also tracking every location you travel to, how long you stay there, how often you frequent there, the route you take, and more. (Isn’t it strange when your phone suggests, “You haven’t been to the gym today. If you leave now you can get there in 8 minutes because the traffic is light”?) While technology makes our lives more convenient, the ethics behind data collection are definitely very murky. I think transparency is important (although, do people ever really read terms & conditions or know what it means to “allow cookies”?), especially when it comes to consent and data handling.
Mimi Bainbridge “Data” Post
As technology has continued to advance and expand its location, data collection had dramatically increased as well. For many companies, whether customers are aware or not, data is consistently being taken in order for them to strengthen their products appeal and hopefully interest as many people as possible. For example, social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok take into account multiple realms of data. These categories include personal information and which posts a user tends to “like” or spend the most time viewing. Apps use this data to create an algorithm that encompasses media that specific user would typically “like”. This aids in keeping viewers hooked on the app and will encourage them to revisit it. When it comes to personal data, it could also be beneficial for companies to study what type of audience their apps are attracting so they can cater their content towards that specific age group(s). Despite the fact that the collection of the data can be involuntary, companies will continue to use this data to benefit their brands.
Data- Lana Vjestica
Data is information that is collected using numbers. We’ve seen how data, like technology, has advanced over the years. There are many ways to collect data but I personally think the most famous way nowadays is through social media. With or without one’s consent, certain forms of social media like Tik Tok and Instagram are constantly collecting data about other people. For example, with Tik Tok it’s learned your algorithm. It picks up on these things by recognizing what kinds of videos you like whether that be dancing ones or informational ones. If you dislike it, you’ll see less of that on your feed whereas if you like it, it’s the opposite. Instagram is an example of how you’re purposely giving information to them like your name, email, age, etc. Although it is scary, we haven’t done anything to stop it and we will continue to have our data be collected.
Keyword #7: Data
As technology continues to advance and become more complex, the collection of data surrounds us. Overall, data is captured in order to support a claim and argue that claims significance. Thus, companies track both the positive and negative reactions to their product in order to make what they offer more desirable. As technology has grown, companies have greater capabilities to take the data of individuals, willingly or not. This has had both advantages and disadvantages to our society. Large social media platforms have the ability to connect people globally for joined causes and make significant contributions to social justice causes and fundraising. One example of such is Apple and Google aiding with the COVID-19 statistics which has provided invaluable information to specialist and research databases. The flip-side of this is those same social media platforms having the ability to contribute to confirmation bias and use their users as political pawns in a grander scheme. One example of which was the data analytics firm that worked with Donald Trump’s election team and the winning Brexit campaign harvesting millions of Facebook profiles of US voters. This is done with the intention of influencing government elections and decisions and creates a direct threat to the principles of democracy. Data has a significant impact on the way we see the world, both positively and negatively.