You wanna talk digital habits? I think I can help with that
In today’s digital world, there are an estimated 3.2 billion people using the Internet.
Yeah, you read that right. 3.2 billion. That’s a whole lot of people.
With such a large number of online users, there are bound to be maybe just as many different digital practices and habits each person performs. This poses the question, “just how do people discuss their digital practices and habits?” There’s no one good answer to that question, but we can look to see some of the ways this is done.
This one may surprise you, but one way you could discover someone’s digital habits and practices, are by asking them. I know, who would have guessed that one was possible? (being sarcastic). However, someone could always lie, or just fail to give you the info you really wanted to know. If you don’t really know what I mean, imagine this. You’re an online retailer who is looking to advertise your product to new potential clients. You would probably guess that the best way to do this would be to advertise directly to people who were looking for the type of product you sell. This is where you run into an issue; you have no way to find out how to do that. You think you’re at a loss, that you’re business is bound to fail, when you have a brilliant idea that no one would have ever thought of! You google it! (more sarcasm.) Upon your amazing google search, you discover a practice that many online companies are using to do just that. Data mining.
The formal definition of data mining is the practice of examining large databases in order to generate new information. To put that in English data mining can be used to discover trends, habits, and practices of those online. The practice is just one of the ways to discuss digital practices and habits.
As ethnologists study the culture of different things, this approach can be taken in learning and discussing digital practices and habits. Boyd states that he, “studies American Teenagers and their use of social media,” in order to learn about their practices and habits.
There are a huge number of ways that we can learn and discuss peoples digital habits and practices, and as users increase, the number of ways we do it probably will too.
