7:05 am: One of the first things I do after waking up is check my notifications on my phone. I have a lot of emails and notifications to check from the different social media that I’m using.
7:15 am: I check my weather app to see how the weather is on the roads. It snowed a little bit last night and wanted to make sure it’d be safe. The weather app uses my location so that it can take that into account when giving me information.
7:30 am: I’m on my way to work. I like to listen to my spotify as I’m driving. It has a feature when connected to my car, it’ll give a simplified view for driving. I’m not really sure how the app knows that information or how it’s given but it’s supposed to ensure a more safe driving experience.
10:45 am: My first break at work. Yesterday, I signed up for a new reading app called Tome. It’s a digital space for fantasy readers to connect with each other. When first signing up, they asked for my name, email, username, etc. But nothing felt very invasive. The homepage shows an algorithm feed that is tailored to the posts that I interact with.
10:50 am: I’ve switched to my Instagram. I interact a lot with other pages, which tailors my experience to show more posts like those. It’s the same with reels. It shows me reels based on how long I’ve watched a certain video or if I’ve shared it with someone else.
12:30 pm: I’m off of work for the day. I answer notifications on my phone. I have a message on my messenger app through Facebook talking about the new rereleased Sims 2 game. After that, I started to get more ads about the game, enticing me to buy it.
1 pm: Working on assignments for the day, I have some assignments due for both my BIO 100 and MCO 425 class.
4 pm: Trying to figure out dinner for tonight, we decide on having ramen since it’s super cold out. We googled some spots around us and chose one near the mall.
5:30 pm: We arrive at the ramen spot. Since searching for a ramen shop, I’m getting targeted ads on my social media platforms.
7 pm: It’s time to get ready for bed. I lay in bed with my Kindle and read to help me get sleepy. My kindle shows me ads as my screensaver of books that I might enjoy.
Reflection:
It’s kind of scary to think about how much my data is used in my daily life and by other companies. Since starting this class, I’ve deleted Facebook off of my phone but I also didn’t realize how much I’ve relied on it. I still have to keep Messenger so I can Facetime with my niece. Reading about how my data is used has made me rethink my privacy on social media.