Facebook reviewing ‘oversight’
emotions such as defeat, stress, anxiety or being overwhelmed. It was prepared by two of Facebook’s top Australian executives, David Fernandez and Andy Sinn, and provides other information on young people’s emotional well-being, such as when they exhibit “nervous excitement” as well as emotions connected to “conquering fears.”
Not only is Facebook able to track these emotions, it can track how they fluctuate during the week. “Anticipatory emotions are more likely to be expressed early in the week, while reflective emotions increase on the weekend,” the report said. “Monday-Thursday is about building confidence; the weekend is for broadcasting achievements.”
Facebook frequently fields requests from advertisers to conduct research on its users.
“We have a process in place to review the type of research we perform and in this case that process was not followed,” Facebook said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The research was done about a year ago to help marketers in Australia and New Zealand understand how people express themselves on Facebook, and no ad campaigns resulted from it, Facebook said.
“We are reviewing the details to correct the oversight,” the company said in a blog post.
Opening up about our lives on social media can provide much needed support and advice when people feel upset or isolated. But, while people are unburdening themselves, vast amounts of data are quietly being collected and analyzed in the background, some of which is relayed in anonymous, aggregated form to marketers so they can more effectively target ad dollars.
“People experience social media as a place to share their ups and downs. To show themselves. Now, we must revise our expectations or demand a new standard of practice from Facebook,” Sherry Turkle, professor of the social studies of science and technology at MIT, said in an email.
Facebook critics such as Jeffrey Chester want technology companies to provide lawmakers and regulators more insight into their data collection practices and how that data is used to peddle ads, particularly in the vulnerable teen years.
“The Australian leak reveals that Facebook continues to view its users — even young ones — as nothing more than cash cows that can be manipulated for marketers,” said Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a non-profit watchdog group in Washington. “Facebook appears to be engaging in its own form of ‘psyops,’ where it can use the immense power of its platform to manipulate young people.”