There are some individuals who are scared of big data. They don’t know who owns our information. A lot of the things we do because of convenience, such as using the ATM machines instead of joining lines in the banks, using social media, and even using credit cards instead of cash have caused our data to be collected so we can be targeted by retailers. We are not the center of the data conversation anymore. Consumers are only seen as objects who will be targeted and made to spend their money so that big businesses can make huge profits.

There are individuals who believe it is easy for things to go wrong when there is an increase in the numbers of people who don’t want to work and they have become hackers and scammers. What will be done to put an end to the immoral behavior? Big companies now have information for their customers, but the customers have just become a pawn that is being pushed around as they are led by their desires.

The big business owners are only interested in the money they can make from big data, data scientists, data analysts and all the other professionals who assist them when they want to make money from big data. They are only interested in increasing their income, and it seems as if that is all they care about.

Big data is seen as the solution to many problems, but some persons are concerned as the public is being blocked when they seek access to their own data sometimes. For example, a man who wears a Pacemaker wanted to see the data that was being collected by the Doctor about his heart, but he was told that it belonged to the Doctor and he would never be able to see it.

Some persons are concerned, and they believe the bad side of big data will be very bad since programs are being developed every day and they are not being properly checked. They believe these programs might have damaging effects on many things in the future.

Who is watching?

It is alleged that the United States performs blanket surveillance on foreigners whose data passes through any American entity and it doesn’t matter if they are suspected of wrongdoing or not. Sources also revealed that every international user of the internet is being watched. The internet has made life easier for many persons – things they would need to leave home for before when they had to go to the library to do research, can be done in the comfort of their homes now; but no one wants to be watched.

Cell phone companies are storing data when we talk or send messages on our cell phones now. In some countries, cell phone companies are required to store data for each customer for approximately 2 years, but the citizens protested and said they didn’t want that to happen. Malte Spitz who lives in Germany decided that he wanted to see the data that was stored about him and had to go to court in order to receive a detailed, almost minute by minute account of 6 months of his life.

Most people do not pay attention to these unfair practices. They simply put all their information out there on Facebook and the other social media sites for many persons to see and for big data to store.

They don’t care about data mining, data analytics, data science, machine learning and other technological advancements that are taking place.

The Kylie Jenner Incident

Kylie Jenner was being stalked recently by a social media follower who found his way to her front door and started banging on it, as he demanded that she should speak to him. He managed to get her address from her social media page and even though she was living in a gated community with a security guard there, he found his way in. Now she is worried that even though she managed to get a restraining order that states that he should not be seen close to her, he might still try to stalk her and she doesn’t know if he will hurt her. Now more persons are scared of being on social media. They don’t want their information to be used by people who would want to hurt them.

From the customers’ perspective, Big Data might look scary. However, for businesses, it brings immense benefits. That said, not all businesses indulge in unfair practices to utilize the vast amount of data the users leave on social media and business websites. It helps responsible businesses understand their customers’ needs and personalize their offerings to provide a memorable experience.

NextBee has spent years helping brands across industries make use of valuable data to understand their customers’ needs and build a thriving business. Schedule a demo to see how we can help.