TED Talks : Privacy

How Our Privacy is Breached Online: Data Mining, Digital Dossiers, and Behavioral Marketing

In this current time, our privacy is more vulnerable than ever, especially our online privacy. This is largely due to the creations of data mining, digital dossiers, and behavioral marketing. These tools are often used by companies, social media platforms, and advertisers to collect your personal information. As we search the internet, use apps, and make online purchases, our data is being absorbed, analyzed, and repurposed, often unbeknownst to most people. 

Data Mining: Extracting Personal Information

Data mining is the process of analyzing vast amounts of data to detect patterns, trends, and correlations. When you interact with websites, social media, or even search engines, you leave behind data. Everything from your clicks, searches, location, preferences, and even time spent on specific pages is tracked. Companies use algorithms to mine this information, giving them insights into your behavior, interests, and purchasing habits.

For example, when you search for a product online or interact with a social media post, your activity is recorded and used to create a profile about you. This data is then sold to advertisers, who use it to create highly targeted ads, increasing their chances of making sales. While this process can benefit the user's experience by providing personalized recommendations, it also is highly invasive of personal privacy.

Digital Dossiers

The information gathered through data mining gets compiled into digital dossiers which are profiles that companies collect about individuals. These dossiers are full of your personal information: including your age, gender, income, browsing history, purchasing behavior, and even political or religious preferences. As time goes on, these profiles become incredibly detailed, giving companies a full insight to your online life.

These dossiers raise concerns because they are often shared, sold, or traded without your knowledge. Data brokers can sell your dossier to companies or even political organizations, who then use it to target you with specific ads or messaging as well as influence your behavior. This concept is known as behavioral marketing.

The Need for Greater Privacy Awareness

As these practices grow more sophisticated, our privacy is increasingly at risk. It’s important to be aware of how our data is being collected and used, and to take steps to protect our personal information online.