Who run the world??
I know all my Beyonce fans are probably shouting “GIRLS!” right now, and while you’re technically not wrong, the correct answer is Big Data.
Big Data is everywhere and a part of everything you do. Whether you’re using a device that’s connected to the internet or not, you are still in Big Data’s web. Memberships, loyalty cards, credit cards – any time you fill out a form or scan or swipe a card, as well as visit a website, use an app, check your email, play a game, use a voice assist device, or a smart appliance, your information and habits are being tracked and stored in the database of that particular store, platform, or application.
Think about the last time you went to CVS, did you notice how all the coupons on that loooooooong receipt relate back to items you regularly purchase, and it just so happens that you get coupons for items you need right before you need them? How about the Google Maps alert letting you know there is traffic on your regular route home from work? Or, when you’re browsing your emails on your laptop, open an email and click on the link for some cute boots, you then see an ad for the same boots on your feed in the Facebook app on your phone. The same ad may even follow you around to every website you visit for the next week on both devices. That’s not a coincidence.
And if you cave, purchase those cute boots, and manage to hide them from your husband? Big Data still knows. And Big Data will happily show you the items that other customers looked at who purchased the same boots, suggest some some socks or shoe polish to complement your new kicks, or remind you that you still have other items in your cart that you forgot to buy.
So how does Big Data know so much?
One of the biggest contributors to Big Data is cookies. Not the kind you bake, but rather, the digital breadcrumbs you leave behind when browsing the Internet. Cookies are basic text files stored on your web browser so that a website can recognize your device, remember you, and track your habits over a period of time. Cookies record behaviors such as how you found the website, your preferences or settings, links you click, items you add to a virtual shopping basket, or the amount of time you spend on a page.
In addition to cookies, web browsers such as Google Chrome will record further information such as your website search history, app activity, location, demographics, and if you’re using any type of voice assist devices or features, your voice and audio activity.
Whereas the main purpose of Big Data is to improve your experience and bring you more personalized and relevant content, it is also used to show you targeted ads. To be honest, if I’m going to see ads on every website or app I visit, I kind of like that they’re targeted specifically to me and my tastes. I also enjoy that when I am searching for certain keywords, Google will deliver results based on what it knows about me and what it thinks I am actually looking for. And if we’re being REALLY honest with ourselves, Google probably knows more about us and what we want than we do.
In fact, in 2008 Google developed their “Flu Trends” site when they realized that they could predict spikes in flu cases in a given area approximately two weeks ahead of the CDC, based on the amount of people in that location who were Googling specific symptoms. In 2020, they were able to assist with tracking the spread of Covid-19 using user search data and released a Covid overlay for Google Maps, showing areas where Covid is being reported or having spikes in cases, making it especially convenient to keep up with the constant changes that emerge during public health crises.
While the main feature of Big Data is convenience, it comes at the price of our privacy. But we ourselves are the main contributors of our information to Big Data, and what we giveth, we can also taketh away. On virtually every platform there are controls for managing the tracking of personal data. You can also regularly delete your browsing history, cookies, and other digital activity. New laws have been enacted to help protect our privacy online. In 2018, the European Union became the frontrunner in the battle against Big Data and implemented the General Data Protection Regulation, which among other things, now requires websites to alert you to their use of cookies and to obtain your explicit permission for the website to use them. This law was designed to protect the citizens of the EU, but because businesses want the online traffic of the EU population, most websites have fallen in line with the disclosure of data collection around the world.
Like the Digital Age, Big Data has become intertwined in every part of our lives and is here to stay. Though we must remain vigilant in the battle for online privacy, having content directly targeted to us rather than sifting through mountains of meaningless digital rubbish has its benefits. It allows us to have more customized, convenient, and meaningful experiences online and in our daily lives. It helps us to navigate through uncertain times, can keep us informed, and eventually, lets us get back to worrying about things like where to hide the purchases we made due to those personalized ads.
The following sources were cited in this post:
- Helft, Miguel. “Google Uses Searches to Track Flu’s Spread.” The New York Times, 11 Nov. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html.
- Keach, Sean. “ROOKIE COOKIES: What is a cookie, should you accept them, and if you don’t what happens?” The Sun, 9 Aug. 2019, www.thesun.co.uk/tech/6507593/what-is-cookie-internet-accept-info-decline-delete-cookies-explained/.
- Nield, David. “All the Ways Google Tracks You—And How to Stop It.” Wired, 27 May 2019, www.wired.com/story/google-tracks-you-privacy/.
Lisa G Alford 
What a fitting title to a very important topic. Great article.
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