Melina Linden

Topic 4 gave us more freedom to choose a specific issue to analyse under the umbrella of ethics in social media use for education or business purposes. I decided to explore the topic of data mining from social media platforms. After extensive research upon this topic, I learned that even though there are legislations in place that protect user’s data (like the General Data Protection Regulation which was adopted this year), studies show that users are not necessarily aware of the fine print regarding the use of their data (Harvard review, 2015). This raises ethical concerns, as companies often deliberately make this information hard to detect, hence the term fine print. However, I came to the conclusion that if done properly and ethically, mining consumer data can be beneficial. It can lead consumers to products and services which make their lives easier and more entertaining, educate them, and save them money. In addition, brands will waste less time and money on poorly targeted advertising. This means that social media platforms need to abide by data protection laws, inform users properly, and use their data in a way that will benefit both parties.