Understanding Social Media and New-Age Advertising

Big data and data mining not only affects our communication, but also our privacy. Although data may be necessary to provide consumers with the information that is important to us, is it ethical for organizations to invade consumers in this way?

Where does utility end and the creepiness factor begin? 

Big data describes the large volume of structured and unstructured data that floods organizations daily. It allows for organizations to make the best and most strategic business decisions. There was more data shared through the internet in 2016 alone than the span of 1969 to 2015. These organizations gather consumer data from business transactions to social media. 

Data mining is the practice of examining large databases which allows organizations to come up with new information. This “new information” allows the organization to cut costs, improve customer relationships, reduce risks, increase revenues, and much more. This process of digging deep through data helps organizations look at trends in the business and predict future trends.

The business world is aware of the abilities of big data and data mining. Every new piece of technology is using these skills as a way to enhance their revenue and profits.

On March 24, Instagram warned users of an upcoming version of iOS that would “require [the app] to ask for permission to track some data from [users’] device to improve [users’] ads.” They informed users that this update would show them ads that are more personalized, help keep Instagram free of charge, and support businesses that rely on ads to reach their customers.

Google collects users’ data via their search engine, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, the Android operating system, and more. Google claims to use consumers’ information to give the users the best experience that is tailored to their interests. The more Google products users associate themselves with, the more of their data they are giving to Google.

Plenty of people have described the experience of searching for an item on Google and then seeing an advertisement for that same item on social media or another platform. This experience describes the Internet of Things—a system of internet-connected “things”, or devices, that collect and transfer data over a wireless network without human intervention. It is thought to exist to have devices self report in an efficient time manner so that necessary information can be revealed.

More than half of consumers own an average of four connected devices, but only 14% of those consumers believe that they have the knowledge they need to properly protect their devices. This means that they are most likely sharing information that they may have otherwise not wanted shared.

Amazon and Walmart collect data for their “customers also bought” or “customers also viewed” lists. They use consumer data and purchase history to help other consumers have a better shopping experience. Allegedly, Amazon and Walmart are not collecting data to then sell to other organizations. Instead, they are simply collecting data to better their consumers’ shopping experience on their apps.

When Uber asks to access your location even when you aren’t using the app, they claim that they are seeking to improve pickups, drop-offs, customer service, and to enhance safety. The one thing that they don’t mention is the fact that by keeping track of your location five minutes after the ride has ended, they are able to see if the area you’re in has a high request for rides. This means that they can increase the price of a ride coming out of or going into that area.

Although streaming has been most film and television consumer’s fixation for the past few years, advertisers have been investing into addressable TV. Addressable TV advertising is the ability to show different ads to different households who are watching the same show based off of the interests of those in the households. Previously, advertisers subjected themselves to a more broad demographic based off the assumption that whomever is watching a specific television program may be interested in their product. Whereas now with new technology from ad tech companies, advertisers have the ability to pinpoint their exact target audience via cable, satellite, and smart TVs.

Children are one of the biggest targets when it comes to advertising.

Taking advantage of children’s ability to recall content from ads is corrupt. For example, if a child is watching SpongeBob Squarepants and they see an advertisement for a smart tablet, they are likely to associate that tablet with their favorite cartoon. This will bring them to beg their parents for that specific tablet that they saw while watching SpongeBob Squarepants. Meanwhile, that tablet may not have anything to do with the television show. These ads influence the development of children’s materialistic attitudes. (Just try taking your child, niece, or nephew to Target without buying them anything.) Advertisers have become a controlling factor in the way that children behave and think.

Social media is booming, along with influencer marketing and sponsored content. Sponsored content is collaborative content between the influencer and the brand. The content’s success is gaged by how many interactions—such as likes, views, shares, or retweets—it receives. In 2019, Kylie Jenner was named the highest-paid Instagram influencer, earning $1.2 million per single post.

Instagram introduced a shopping function in 2020. This allows users to browse items on a business’ profile and directly checkout within the app. This means that if a brand who has enabled social commerce on their social media profile also has sponsored content with your favorite influencer, you can easily purchase the outfit you saw that influencer in. The faster the checkout process, the more likely you are to then move on and purchase something else—perhaps from the same brand or somewhere new.

Social media influencers; whether beauty influencers, gaming live streamers, bloggers and vloggers, CGI influencers, activists, models, or others; have a responsibility to let their followers know which content is sponsored. The issue lies within the fact that children that access these influencers may not understand what sponsored content is.

Beginning in 2020, YouTube made it so influencers would have to determine whether their content is “made for kids” so that they could be marked accordingly. If the content is made for kids, YouTube would disable various features such as the ability to host targeted ads on those videos. This effects the ability for those YouTubers to monetize their videos and earn income.

Advertisers are aware of the control that they have over a majority of lives. They need to use their power for the greater good, rather than just using it for their own personal gain. Advertisers need to find a way to make it clear what is real and what is an advertisement, to adults and children alike.