Inova organised 3 online focus groups and invited international participants to discuss their social media habits and online image.
Focus groups took place shortly after the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal – this affair highlighted issues they already knew about and it reinforced their interest on the topic. The participants tend to place little trust in the GAFAM but recognise that their services are useful and hard to replace with open-source alternatives at the moment.
The topics of personal accounts and ‘image management’ set off interesting conversations. Some participants grew up using the internet and have registered on websites where they can’t log in anymore – leaving online some content they can’t change anymore. This content isn’t harmful and not directly linked to their full name; they see them as a form of memory, reflecting the person they were back then.
These discussions inspired one participant to writing an essay on the topic, analysing the rapport we have to our online self and compiling extraordinary digital footprint related stories.