Social media monitors us based on information we hand over, says Professor at EC

There is a lot of debate about whether social media platforms or mobile apps are listening to our daily conversations, with many users reporting seeing personalized ads for certain items appearing when they surf the internet after talking about something specific.

Dr. Banu Akdenizli, Associate Professor in Residence at Northwestern University in Qatar, a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university, talks about why these ads appear, and whether technology is listening to us or tracking our moves.

“Some might think that technology is listening to us at all times,” Dr. Akdenizli says, “but that is not true. Advertising companies do not necessarily have to be connected to our phones. In fact, we are the ones who allow the various apps installed on our phones to connect to our phone’s microphone or files on our phones. And that is how our data is collected.”

Dr. Akdenizli explains that algorithms, artificial intelligence, and machine learning applications that are used by all these applications are able to link various data, and this is an advanced stage that is beyond human ability – to communicate these large amounts of data.

“We must not forget one thing: our lives now, our real and digital lives, are very connected to each other, and sometimes we search for many things on the Internet without really thinking about them.”

Dr. Akdenizli notes that when we use social media or mobile apps, we give away a lot of information about ourselves. These applications then have access to a lot of demographic information. “Social media companies have information about our age, our friends list, our education, and our profession,” Dr. Akdenizli says.

“They also know what posts we like and share. This information helps these platforms collect data. They are not just collecting our data; they are also collecting our friends' data. In short, apps don't need to listen to us, because we're already giving them that information.”

Dr. Akdenizli says that maintaining privacy when using social media is difficult and depends on several things. “In today's world where it is easy to communicate with others via the Internet, it has become difficult for individuals to maintain their privacy. How many of us read the terms and conditions of the apps we use before downloading them, or manage our cookies, or make sure that apps can't access our phone's camera or microphone? These simple steps can help us, as users, keep our privacy and the security of our devices.”

On the other hand, Dr. Akdenizli explained that there is a change in the perceptions of privacy, especially among the younger generation, which views privacy a little differently. She believes that the members of the young generation share their lives online, and don't really think about the repercussions of such openness.

And although many people are often seen quitting social media, in the hope that their digital life will be completely erased, Dr. Akdenizli says that people must be aware of the fact that our data has already been collected and will not be erased.

“Quitting social media and deleting its applications from our phones is not the ideal solution because when we quit or delete the apps for reasons related to privacy, our data will not be erased.”