A Small Offering to Big Data
I tend to think I stay away from things that give away personal data. On the day that I chose to record my contributions to Big Data, I was even more conscious of my actions. However, I’ve found giving away information is unavoidable in the age of the computer, like it or not, unless you’re a hermit. Even still, I’m sure you’d give away information to some extent.
First thing in the morning on Friday, I logged on to Amazon to remind myself of when my book for one of my classes was going to arrive. As per usual, there’s a “Recommended for you” panel in the middle of the screen, where I found links to fun printed socks and Disney merchandise-items I had been looking up for my friend’s birthday gift on google, amazon, and other websites such as Etsy. There, at 8:00 in the morning, I saw them-Lion King socks! “Score,” I thought. Why didn’t I think of that?
This was when I truly thanked the big data Gods for their help in the arduous task of finding my friend a birthday gift. I placed the order. As if magic, at the bottom of the check out screen, another panel appeared. “You may also like…” it tempted me. Yes, Amazon, I would love more Disney themed socks. Well played.
It was at this time, I logged onto Facebook, where the side panel advertisements were filled with Disney merchandise from various retailers. I was not a bit interested in more Disney socks. However, an advertisement slipped into the middle of my Newsfeed reminding me that it was a “magical time” to plan my next Disney vacation. Yes, Facebook, you’re quite right. (Back story, my husband and I honeymooned there this past summer and have been plotting our next vacation to Disney in October). I immediately text my husband at work to remind him to call our friendly Disney travel agent.
Next, I google things about my new camera. I begin reading up about camera equipment and lighting, starting a business, etc. I watched a video about lighting for boudoir photography, which is one of my focuses. I pulled up youtube later to watch a music video, and everything in my related videos was about cameras and boudoir photography. To top it all off, when I refreshed Facebook, I saw ads for camera equipment, photography classes, and lighting equipment! What a genius way to make me spend money.
After my only Friday class, I sat in the hallway waiting for my husband to pick me up from class. While I was there I checked my school email, where I have about 25 new emails from retailers, my mother, and my doctor’s office reminding me of appointments. For a moment, I wonder if the school monitors these things. And if they did, what did they think about me as a student? They must think I get nothing done with all of the online shopping I do. One of my doctors is a therapist. I go there as a way to manage stress and adjust to marriage with my husband. It was encouraged by family before we got married and we just kind of kept going every once in a while to make sure we adjust to this huge life change. But when will the school one day delve into that one appointment reminder email and request details from me to make sure that I’m okay mentally to continue in school? Another email was from my google calendar reminding me to sign up for a gun class I plan to take. What if emails like that eventually are monitored, flagging me as a potential threat? When and will my political affiliations, medical information, hobbies, and other information be used against me and hinder me from getting a job?
By the small amount of information that I gave, people would probably assume I had a mental disorder, and medical issues. They could probably take a stab about my political affiliation. Based on the school email and me googling things about starting my own business, my general age could probably be guessed. My hobbies and interests would be obvious: reading (based on amazon), Disney, and photography.
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I use my university Gmail account for everything and while I knew Google had access to everything, I never really thought about the fact that NC State can also probably look through it. I use that email address as my primary; I use it, like you, for doctors (therapist too), shopping, and interactions with friends and family. Further, I use it for job hunting, even though I already work for the university, and I check it during class. You’re very right in thinking that the university can probably come up with a pretty good picture of who we are as people, but would they use it against us? Originally, I thought about the immediate and vast backlash a university would face if they contacted every student they found out had a therapist, a gun, evidence of cheating, or anything negative to say about the school. But then I remembered that this happened when the public found out about how much the NSA collects about individuals, even if those individuals are not perceived as a threat. It has become the norm and something that is, if not begrudgingly, accepted. I feel like in the long run, it would be the same for schools. They would preach motives relating to safety but there would also be great benefits to them. They could scan our emails to know who to badger most for alumni donations. They could, when debating between two students for scholarships, look into their private lives and see who is most deserving. It is likely that they already do this to one extent and when push comes to shove, we do not have a choice; it is mandatory to use our university email for at least some aspects of our lives but to use it, we give permission to NC State to access it in its entirety.
I have experienced the exact same feelings when the Internet provides you with better ideas than you can come up with on your own! It often comes when trying to think of good ideas for birthday gifts. Your Disney trip situation was also exactly what happened with my cruise. My friends and I booked our rooms on my laptop and soon after, I noticed more ads for cruises on my sidebar.
Thanks for the interesting post. It’s important to think about how these data can be used in ways that are helpful. Although, it’s also worth stopping and thinking about the fact that the “helpful” examples we come up with are almost always related to making purchases!
Another element to consider with university email in specific is that employees of the university are additionally covered by public record laws for North Carolina: https://www.ncsu.edu/general_counsel/legal_topics/public_records.php#F. This means that their can be retained and open to public records.
I love that you mentioned your student email account! I also have different retailers that send emails to my NCSU gmail, and I have often wondered if the university keeps track of that. It got me to thinking about student loans and such, and whether or not the school ever questioned my online shopping habits–if State could monitor that from certain emails. I was just thinking about the connections one might draw from different aspects of a person’s life by monitoring dumb emails that he/she may get. I really enjoyed how your post raised questions about what things we own/purchase and how searches of those items can categorize us in a certain way if we are being monitored closely enough, which I assume we are in many cases!