In his essay, “The Algorithm and the Watchtower,”* Colin Koopman states: “The present moment of our obsessive data production seems to be defined by a genre of social media in which we have come to recognize ourselves in our online “profiles.”” Further, “we have also become subjects of our data, what I like to call “informational persons” who conceive of ourselves in terms of the status updates, check-ins, and other informational accoutrements we constantly assemble.”

It is fascinating to me to consider how our self-perception has changed due to this data subjectification. All the posts, pictures, and updates we post on social media become part of our perfectly crafted online persona (so much more than a ‘profile’ now), and while we are busy narcissistically falling in love with our online selves, companies are silently collecting information that is pouring out of us, like dipping a bucket into a gushing stream. We have learned to love the panopticon, and we willingly embrace the surveillance we know we are under. It may be your friend who likes that picture with the caption you so carefully worded to get the most likes, but it is the data algorithms that are reading it most closely of all. Not only that, but we invite devices into our homes (‘smart’ TVs and speakers, Alexa, Google Home, etc.) that facilitate even more of this data-gathering, and we are well aware of it, but we choose convenience over giving in to the fear of being monitored. But what are the costs – political and financial but also personal and psychological – of being “informational persons”?

Companies use algorithms to constantly gather information about us in order to both sell that information to other companies, governmental organizations, etc. and to sell us products more efficiently; we are both the consumer and the product. At the same time that they are gathering information, we are developing a self-perception based on our online selves, which is crafted in part by the algorithms: for example, Facebook ‘learns’ the types of things you’re interested in seeing in your news feed, so it then foregrounds those articles, videos, ads. You then copy and share that information, you buy in to the strategy, and you make it a part of your online identity. This then creates a strange feedback loop where the algorithms are gathering information based on the information they provided you, based on your information.

On a psychological level, much has already been said about our society’s image-obsession (even before social media was commonly used, my generation was said to be image obsessed), but neuroscientists have still to learn the long-term implications for our brains of investing so much in our second selves. However, we are already seeing some disturbing trends: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/snapchat-dysmorphia-selfies-driving-people-to-plastic-surgery-doctors-warn/

But what is even more interesting/disturbing to me and is not yet being widely discussed is not so much our society’s narcissism, but our willingness to be constantly monitored by the metaphorical watchtower (Big Data). As Koopman points out, “though nearly all of us have a vague sense that something is wrong with the new regimes of data surveillance, it is difficult for us to specify exactly what is happening and why it raises serious concern, let alone what we might do about it.” He then advocates for the adoption of the term “infopolitics” to describe the close link between politics and information. I think we are willing to accept this level of surveillance for a couple of reasons: first, we have become too accustomed to the level of convenience provided by these data-monitoring websites and devices to change our habits, and second, we feel like it is too pervasive for us to do anything about it; we feel powerless. We know that our selfhood depends upon, even consists of, the data we put out into the world. But, knowledge is power: we have to understand what is at stake in becoming “infopersons,” and then we can begin to grasp the larger picture, and maybe gradually make positive changes in our lives as digital consumers, and in our habits as data producers.

*https://thenewinquiry.com/the-algorithm-and-the-watchtower/