how data driven digital advertising and marketing shapes individuals, for better or worse.
Privacy. An issue many users come into contact with when using the internet, sometimes even being unaware of all the concerns it can create. It can be classified as a condition where others have limited access to one’s personal information, thoughts and intimacies, but arguably more importantly, it is also a right known to be the right to control access to such personal affairs. We as a western society more commonly deem it to be the right to be let alone, a term coined for the first time in a published paper within the US by Warren and Brandeis in 1890 through a Harvard review article.
A key issue found within privacy is the topic of Surveillance, which can be through multiple outlets such as our peers, states and companies. These outlets surround us within every section of society we are involved with, meaning we are being surveilled 24/7, however this does not mean it is always negative or positive. This is because surveillance is used by different outlets in different manners, whether it is protection or a more sinister revelation. For example, Parents use surveillance for their children to ensure they are staying safe as they grow up, to protect them from inappropriate or harmful actions and content that may be inflicted upon their child. However, there are concerns regarding when a parent should limit, or even stop surveilling their child as they grow. As their children become adults, they should be given the freedom to formulate their own media consumption and understand how to protect themselves in their daily lives to become more independent. Furthermore, on the opposite end, cameras are sometimes used to monitor elderly loved ones to ensure they are receiving the best care and are safe at all times, therefore we can see how surveillance is used on multiple age ranges and how it can impact those involved in a more positive manner.
On the contrary, other forms of surveillance be harder to notice as they are more discreet and are not always crystal clear, with companies using surveillance techniques to gain a deeper understanding of their customers and users to tailor content for them to ensure higher sales and web activity flow to their pages However, advertisers and marketers who are taking up ideas and techniques from behavioral economics tell their clients a very different story about the aims and use of digital marketing and consumer surveillance (Nadler, 2017). When using social media, their policies are often lengthy and difficult to read the documents of, which means sometimes users are unaware that their information is constantly being recorded, tracked, measured, stored, and sometimes even sold to other companies and users. An example of this is how Tiktok collects our names, message content, images, purchase information and even our biometric identities to keep track of what we do on the internet to ensure they can control our feeds to ensure user activity by showing us thighs we are interested in. They make a conscious decision to surrender personal information, and control over the mutable design of digital platforms, in exchange for benefits determined at the discretion of the service provider leveraging that personal information. Through this, they can form user-focused advertisements and show us ads for items and companies we may be interested in, leading to an increase in ad revenue for these companies the more ads we watch through consecutively. However, this brings forth the question of whether target advertising has become an issue.
In 2024, Meta’s ad revenue was revealed to have amounted to $3.9 billion overall from all the ads given for users to watch. However, many users find that they seem to receive nothing in return. Of course, the availability of these social media platforms provides us with sources of entertainment, however that is the only form of repayment users receive. Ad targeting is done by predicting the users’ emotional instabilities, gendered idealised types and their vulnerabilities that may have formed due to difficulties in an individual’s life that may then influence the content they choose to watch. Furthermore, not every ad on platforms like Tiktok are shown outright, and can sometimes be hidden advertisement, leading to the risk of misinformation being spread to those viewing as they may be consuming a biased reaction to the product being showcased. Consumer vulnerability is not an enduring characteristic unique to specific individuals or groups (e.g. children, elderly people, etc.); it is a contextual condition of powerlessness arising in consumption situations (Baker, Gentry, & Rittenburg, 2005).
Overall, data-driven marketing is highly beneficial to the companies that utilise it, but there ca be negative effects put onto the users involved, as they can often be stereotyped through this form of marketing when the companies assume that the user behaves or engages in certain manners that the company will then use to drive more user-aimed ads towards them. This can lead to the ads being stereotypically driven, for example to those who may be under the LGBTQ label, and whilst this doesn’t always have a negative impact on the user, these presumptions can be inaccurate and may not apply to the user behind the screen. On a more darker approach, this content may even be shown to someone who is prejudiced to those who classify under the label, which could lead to discrimination and possible harmful outcomes. Whilst this may be uncommon, it is not utterly out of reach, as ads can demonstrate almost anything on Tiktok, leading to a constant risk even if it may have minimal impact.
Food for thought: What actions are companies and marketing students considering for the future to ensure privacy is protected? Check this video out for more:
Reference List
- Baker, S.M., Gentry, J.W. and Rittenburg, T.L., 2005. Building understanding of the domain of consumer vulnerability. Journal of Macromarketing, 25(2), pp.128-139. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146705280622
- Nadler, A., 2017. Customization as information control: The case of targeted internet advertising. In: J. Turow and L. Couldry, eds. Media and the Politics of Algorithms. London: Routledge, pp.91–109.
- Warren, S.D. and Brandeis, L.D., 1890. The right to privacy. Harvard Law Review, 4(5), pp.193–220. https://doi.org/10.2307/1321160
- Meta, 2024. Meta Reports First Quarter 2024 Results. [online] Meta Investor Relations. Available at: https://investor.fb.com
- TikTok, n.d. Privacy Policy. [online] Available at: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/row/privacy-policy/en .
(925 words).