“It’s Not Like It’s Life or Death or Whatever”: Young People’s Understandings of Social Media Data

TLDR

Young people generate vast amounts of personal data through social media, which has become a valuable currency in the digital economy, and although usage is free, users effectively pay by allowing advertisers and third parties to profile and target them. The study investigates how young users understand their personal data and how research on critical data literacy can be connected to their everyday social media experiences. The authors examined 13‑ to 17‑year‑old groups to assess how making third‑party data re‑uses openly available influences users’ ability to interpret and critically evaluate their data. The findings show that young people comprehend technical, social, and cultural aspects of social media data, which shape their engagement and interpretation.

Abstract

Young people’s engagements with social media now generate large quantities of personal data, with “big social data” becoming an increasingly important “currency” in the digital economy. While using social media platforms is ostensibly “free,” users nevertheless “pay” for these services through their personal data—enabling advertisers, content developers, and other third parties to profile, predict, and position individuals. Such developments have prompted calls for social media users to adopt more informed and critical stances toward how and why their data are being used—that is, to build “critical data literacies.” This article reports on research that explores young social media users’ understandings of their personal data and its attendant issues. Drawing on research with groups of young people (aged 13–17 years), the article investigates the consequences of making third party (re)uses of personal data openly available for social media users to interpret and make critical sense of. The findings provide valuable insights into young people’s understandings of the technical, social, and cultural issues that underpin their ability to engage with, and make sense of, social media data. The article concludes by considering how research into critical data literacies might connect in more meaningful and effective ways with everyday lived experiences of social media use.