Much e-ink has been spilled--rightfully so--about the brave new world we live online. Targeted advertising, data breaches, the NSA; it’s easy to grow overwhelmed by the potential dangers of sharing personal information electronically. Practically everything we do on our phones and computers is tracked, often in an effort to sell us something or gain some upper hand (financially, politically, socially, etc.). Consequentially, there is now an unprecedented amount of detailed data about us that's ripe for the parsing.
Beyond the obvious advantages for market research, is there a benefit to all of this data? Christian Rudder, co-founder of the online dating site OkCupid, thinks so. He’s been approaching the internet over the past decade as one big sociological experiment, and his new book, Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One’s Looking), explores his findings in depth, some of which are rather mind blowing.
Penned in clear and witty prose and full of colorful charts and graphs, Dataclysm breezes by, though many of the insights linger, obsess, and often unsettle. We learn that if you apply network analysis to a couple’s groups of friends on Facebook, you can quite accurately predict how likely they are to stay together. And that Google searches beginning with the phrase “Is my husband…” most commonly end with “gay?” And that women tend to find men who are close to their age as the most attractive, whereas men, up until 50 years old, generally think that women in their early 20s look the best.
Even in cases where the results reinforce long held views, what is new, Rudder asserts, “is our ability to test ideas, established ones, famous ones even, against the atomized actions of millions.” But the implications go beyond the sheer volume of the numbers. The ability we now have to track Google searches and site clicks provides us with much more accurate data, as these behaviors transcend the murkier self-reporting that plagues more traditional surveys, especially in regards to controversial topics. Rudder argues that the insights gleaned from all of this new data, even when the results are unflattering, are too beneficial to pass up, as they give us a far clearer and more accurate portrait of our true interests and behaviors.
As Rudder frequently admits, the internet is still very young, which means that these data sets lack a long view. What Dataclysm does offer us, though, is another angle from which to consider our online lives. Whether you find the book’s content and approaches revelatory or creepy (at times I found them both), the results are fascinating and the ramifications huge. It reminds us that, as a sociological opportunity, we’re in the midst of a monumental sea change--one that is granting us astoundingly far-reaching insight into who we really are.
It’s also a great reminder of how transparent we can be when we go online. While participating in the online world doesn’t mean you have to forfeit every last ounce of your privacy, responsible internet use does require you to play an active and vigilant role. That’s why the Community Technology Center offers classes like Protecting Your Privacy Online, Computer Basics: Internet, Social Media 101, and Facebook: Privacy & Security, which provide you with a range of tips and best practices that everyone online should at least be aware of.
It’s a big, virtual word out there. Enjoy responsibly.
