University of Sheffield Digital Media in A Datafied Society Sociology Essay

This essay will critically analyse a social media data problem. Suggested essay questions are listed below. Please select only one question.

Essay Questions

You can choose any essay question. Essay questions are grouped by question type. There are three types of questions:

● Some questions ask you to review the literature and debate important topics.

● Other questions ask you to reflect on core concepts.

● Other questions ask you to debate a controversial issue.

Literature review questions

1. What are the main criticisms of social datafication?

2. What does existing research tell us about users’ perceptions of social media data mining?

3. How has datafication shaped and influenced the development of the internet industry and platform economy?

Questions on core concepts: define one of the following and discuss its consequences:

1. ‘Algorithmic culture’

2. “Platform society

3. ‘Platform power’

4. “Metric power”

Questions for debate

1. to what extent/in what ways does the concept of agency help to understand the key issues in social media data mining?

2. Is political positioning on social media platforms ethical?

3. Are social media users being exploited?

4. Is the data discernible?

5. Is it possible to use data for good?