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Sander2020DataLiteracy-B

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There are multiple notes about this text. See also: Sander2020DataLiteracy-A

Ina Sander, "What is critical big data literacy and how can it be implemented?"

Bibliographic info

Sander, I. (2020). What is critical big data literacy and how can it be implemented?. Internet Policy Review, 9(2). DOI: 10.14763/2020.2.1479

Commentary

This paper is interesting because it makes a bold claim about data literacy, stating that it is not only necessary to educate citizens on how to use data, but also make people aware and perform critical reflection of big data systems. Furthermore, the paper presents a unique combination of critical thinking about data ethics and a user study to evaluate different tools, which gives the paper a very useful and practical flavor. Rather than spending much time on explaining why big data literacy is needed, the author chooses to explain how it can be achieved. This angle sparks hope for a better future. I think big data literacy is important, as today's society is highly datafied and citizen's need to be able to understand and reflect upon the data practices they are already involved in. The practical evaluation of tools is a real asset of the paper, because it serves as a practical overview of tools the reader can use (either for themselves or for educational purposes).
A weakness of the paper is that the user study was performed with a very small and homogeneous group of students, which is not representative of society as a whole. For example, it might be possible (and is likely) that older generations have different needs and opinions when it comes to big data literacy tools, and it would be valuable to include these people in the sample. Furthermore, I think it is a missed opportunity that the paper does not describe the role of educational institutions in achieving critical big data literacy. I believe that educational institutions play a major role in raising awareness about big data and training people's critical skills. Related to this, I find it somewhat problematic that the paper put so much emphasis on raising the user's awareness, rather than improve big data practices. While I understand that the latter is very difficult to do and I recognize that citizen awareness is important, I think there is a danger that this text can be used as a way for big data companies to place the responsibility by the user instead of themselves.

Excerpts & Key Quotes

The goal of critical big data literacy

"Rather, the goal is to foster users' awareness and understanding about what happens to their data and thus to enable them to question and scrutinise the socio-technical systems of big data practices, to weigh the evidence, to build informed opinions on current debates around data analytics as well as to allow them to make informed decisions on personal choices as which data to share or which services to use."

Comment:

In this quote, the author shows in a very precise and clear way what critical big data literacy ought to achieve. Here, the difference between critical big data literacy and merely understanding how to use data also becomes very clear. However, it can also be observed that, while the goal of critical big data literacy is indeed desirable, it might be very hard (if not impossible) to achieve. Unfortunately, in the world we live in now, understanding big data practices often relies on understanding privacy policies and API's, which are purposely made extremely long and complicated. Thus, even with the best intentions and skill, it might just be too time consuming for citizens to really understand what happens with their data.

Disappointing effort from government, educational institutions and academia

"Also somewhat surprisingly, the sample did not include any resources from governmental or public service institutions, nor from traditional educational avenues and only very few efforts on the part of academia."

Comment:

This quote struck me because I would have expected (and hoped) that these types of institutions have a leading role in designing and publish critical big data literacy tools. These institutions have a lot of knowledge they can share to educate citizens. Furthermore, they have an examplary role when it comes to educating people about the dangers of big data practices. It is thus a bit disapointing that the study did not find substantial sources from these origins. The study uses snowball sampling to identify different available tools, which means that it is unlikely that important tools from these institutions are missed (given that they would probably have come up due to the established names most of these institutions have).

Participants care about their data

"In contrast to the common claim that internet users do not care about their data and feel like they have 'nothing to hide' [...], the participants of this study were eager to learn more, highly appreciated the tools and this opportunity, and many seemed keen to protect their data. [...] While they may not always understand what they have to 'hide', they were clearly not indifferent towards the usage of their data and they became more concerned when learning more about big data practices."

Comment:

This passage leaves me somewhat hopeful, as participants showed interest to learn more and appreciation of the tools. However, it should be noted that participants are young people whith an average digital literacy, therefore already understanding quite a bit about the workings of the internet. Furthermore, this passage shows what I think is one of the most important tasks of critical big data literacy: explaining citizens what they have to 'hide'. Understanding that every bit of information people leave online combines into a very personal and highly detailed and identifiable bundle of information, would help them see the bigger picture and dangers of big data practices. After all, most people also would not be comfortable with somebody else reading their diary, even if there is no murder confession in there.