What Does Social Media Know About You?
In my Digital and Media Literacy class, students engaged in a 2-part activity, designed to understand how data surveillance works. . .
ACTIVITY 1. Discover What Social Media Platform that You Use “Knows” About You. Take a look at one of the social media platforms that you use most and “go under the hood” to see what it knows about you. Take a screenshot of the most interesting examples of what the social media platform “knows” about you.
- On Instagram, this can be found under Privacy and Security, View Account Data. Here’s a step-by-step guide to access this information.
- On Facebook, this can be found under General Account Settings. Here’s a step-by-step guide to access this information.
- On YouTube/Google, this information can be found under Data and Personalization, Activity Controls. Here’s a step-by-step guide to access this information.
- You may also choose to use another social media platform, including TikTok, Snapchat, Twitch, or Twitter.
See examples of student work here: Examples on the Padlet Wall
ACTIVITY 2. Take Time to Reflect. Consider 1 or more of these questions as you explore:
• What does the platform think your interests are? How accurate is it?
• How does the platform profile you based on the content you have clicked on?
• How accurate is the platform’s profile of you?
Social media platforms show ads to your friends based on actions you have taken, such as liking a page or sharing a post.
• Which ads did your friends see because of your actions?
• What are some potential long-term benefits and limitations of digital platforms personalizing content for you?
Time for Reflection and Synthesis. In our Discussion, students made some key observations. I found the work of Allie Ringuette to be most impressive. #mystudentsareamazing Check out her fine reflection:
“The ads generated on my Instagram were generally accurate. I found it weird considering I don’t always see these kinds of ads. It’s possible that I see a lot of those types of ads but I just don’t even notice that they’re ads in the first place. I do a lot of online shopping for clothes and get my skin care products from an online brand, so the “cosmetics”, “shopping and fashion”, and “beauty” all made sense to me. After seeing all of these interests on my Instagram I decided to look at my Facebook as well and was overwhelmed by all of the categories and interests it picked up off of my usage on other apps and browsers. It made me feel a bit creeped out, so I took some steps after this to limit ad personalization and tracking going forward.
I also don’t think that there are any potential benefits of this type of personalization because I am perfectly capable of finding what I need or want without the help of algorithms generating options for me. I’ve actually found it harmful to my wallet at times because I see an add for something that I don’t need, nor would I have considered buying prior to seeing that ad, but then I’m made to feel like I need the product so I buy it. I’m surely weak when it comes to seeing ads for things that I like.
Actually, I see Allie’s reflection to be evidence of her strength in recognizing how all of us are uniquely vulnerable to persuasive genres when they are tailored with such precision to align with existing interests and tastes. It’s because of students like Allie and her peers that I invented the hashtag #mystudentsareamazing!
