This week’s learning module made me reflect on issues of privacy and advertising in relation to the internet. While privacy on Facebook has been an ongoing topic since Facebook first emerged, it is shifting in a way that I think is being marketed as a positive aspect of the site. On my newsfeed as well as on Facebook’s newsfeed, I recently noticed many little videos about your ability as a user to have a more customized Facebook experience based on your Facebook use. What is being advertised to you is specifically selected based on google searches , and who and what shows up on your newsfeed is not random or accidental. While Facebook markets this as a unique and beneficial attribute, I think that these algorithms are in a sense disrupting privacy. The “Filter Bubbles” Ted talk showed how this is not only an issue of Facebook, but on other websites as well. It is problematic to have algorithms decide for us what we want and don’t want to. As Eli Pariser discusses, it not only limits our potential experiences, but can influence the truth of what we see.
After watching “Filter Bubbles” I was reminded of an article that I stumbled upon a few years ago that showed how accurate data-mining can be. When you go to Safeway or Shoppers Drug Mart and you use your rewards card, you aren’t necessarily thinking of it as a privacy issue (especially because you are doing it willingly and getting a deal). It is this article in Forbes that gives an interesting view on privacy and shopping : http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/
A teen’s pregnancy was outed to her father due to Target sending her maternity coupons in the mail. Based on her other purchases, Target was able to correctly predict that she was pregnant. While data-mining can be convenient in other shopping situations, this story shows the repercussions of such hidden advertising tactics.
The other issue that I hold with Facebook and other online news sources is that many of the ads are native ads (ads that are sponsored by companies that often carry biased information). While I feel that native ads are a price that we pay to use Facebook (it is free, therefore I understand the need for advertising), I think that native ads can be problematic when people do not understand that they are sponsored. If you are new to the concept of native advertising (as I am) here is an explanation given by John Oliver that is pretty easy to watch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_F5GxCwizc
While I enjoy using Facebook to connect with friends and family, as well as using web based sources to get my daily news, I do think that things are changing, and that as internet users it is our responsibility to understand how and why we are being fed certain information. It not only affects our privacy but the accuracy of our incoming information.