Dark Data: Identity

"By considering the longer history of bodily measurement and monitoring, and how that monitoring is conducted by different actors and institutions, we can better understand the evolving relationships between data, bodies and power." - Crawford

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‘Our Metrics, Ourselves’ - Katie Crawford

Ok, so let’s unpack this reading. Crawford focuses on wearable tech, this notion of data, bodies, self improvement, and the history of physical quantification. In general wearable tech is form a data collection that’s packaged to seem personal and controlled more by the user.

Even when a device is physically attached to us, we are still being cheated from the entirety of our personal data. These wearable devices: Fitbit, Nike Fuelband, Jawbone, etc. collect data on our physical state. Heart rate, steps, calories burned, sleep cycles, distance traveled are all tracked and recorded within one device. Yes we see our daily data which bestows a sense of self-knowledge but so does a parent company who can then sell this data to a third party analytic company. With your data in the hands of these companies they get a clearer view of your physical abilities because they can compare to a larger database that they have.

Companies like Fitbit capitalize on this connection between data -> bodies -> self improvement. These connections are key for the individual, but when thinking corporately, it's helpful to understand that big data companies and organizations see this as an evolving relationship between data -> bodies -> power. In order to better understand this thinking, Crawford takes us on a journey that focuses on the different forms of bodily measurement and the history of body monitoring. There's a psychological aspect that is being used and abused through certain marketing tactics when addressing body monitoring.

The Penny Scale was first invented in 1885 and used within public spaces. This scale was a public representation of a direct data flow between product and consumer. Once your weight was determined a song or bell would activate turning this into a gamefied experience, or a simple congratulations! To further gamify this, a user could put a penny into the machine and then move the pointer to where they thought they weighed. They would then compare that to their actual weight. If they guessed correctly, than their penny would be returned to them. This was a genius business strategy.

The idea of people checking their weight in public spaces is mind blowing to me because now it is such a private activity. In the 1920's the idea of weighing yourself started to become more privatized and targeted women. Originally most dietary content and this scale were meant for men so that they could cater their bodies to fit the ideal masculine, financially successful identity. Now this private, in home experience was being catered to females, made clear through various marketing tactics. By physically bringing this domestic weight scale into the house, you are immediately taking one's weight data and self-knowledge to a deeper more personal level.

Now wearable tech, in a nutshell: "Wearable devices are designed to quantify everyday exercise and rest, mood and diet, and then provide feedback to users such that they can better understand and possibly modify their activities and behavior". These products have proven to be successful because of this now concrete notion that self knowledge -> more control over your body -> better life.

Marketing these products uses and abuses this mentality. I don't agree with this idea of self knowledge leading to control over your body. We should inherently know that we have control over our bodies void of any tech. With all this talk of data and bodies we are led to believe that numerical accuracy -> truth -> self knowledge -> better life. Many times we can't just accept the numerical values as being a completely reliable numbers, it is all within the context of age, medical history, daily activity, that we need to place these numbers. In my opinion the more bogged down we get with the numerical values the less in touch we will feel with our actual bodies.

We do not need data to validate that we have control of our bodies.

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