I spent some time learning about Datafication and thankfully I know a lot more than I did prior to conducting some research!!!!!!
Datafication simply put is taking our behaviours and actions as humans on the internet and turning it into data with meaning that is tracked, stored and used by companies. While I see the benefits in Datafication as it provides humans with less decision making and makes life simpler, I am by no means a fan of the extent it has been taken to
Everything is tracked!!!!! It is actually scary to me how naive I was on this subject just weeks ago! Every click, purchase and even your location is monirtored to predict which ads or feeds will be most successful towards you. The argument in support of this is that through Datafication users experience faster more optimal decision making processes however users including myself before conducting research are often not full aware of the extent that companies are tracking their data. On top of this where I think the problem becomes even greater is how people are naive to the biases in technology.
Technology is biased. In Datafication users will be presented with media and ads that reinforce and are biased towards their own beliefs and actions. This can be dangerous as it can be misleading, it could send someone down a path of misinformation whether its anything from politics or medical advice algorithms can become harmful when used in this way. Algorithms can also become harmful towards people trying to quit old habits, if their algorithm is biased towards something one is trying to quit such as something like nicotine, they could be shown content that promotes its use or has false information on nicotine products. On top of this algorithms also absorb the biases of society overtime and remain even as society progresses. For example when hiring in the past society would have biases towards male candidates and therefore an algorithm may mimic that bias even today in a hiring process which is undoubtedly harmful to obviously female candidates but also companies who may miss out on the best fit for a role.
This is just one example of a flaw in Datafication and I encourage anyone reading this to do their own research as there is plenty more and in my opinion one of the best ways to combat these flaws is simply being aware of them! I for one am happy to now be more informed on how algorithms work and feel as if I will be just a little safer as a tech consumer going forward into the future