Our research project “Our Data Ourselves” was an AHRC-funded grant being undertaken at King’s College London in 2013-15, to broadly consider the personal data generate in the everyday lives of young people, through their mediated, cultural and communicative practices. Our aims are to increase our understanding of the nature and role of the data that young people produce when they use platforms and applications on their smartphones.

By working with members of Young Rewired State, who are between the ages of 14 and 18, we will develop tools and applications to visualise components of the Big Social Data (BSD) that they generate. Part of this research will also highlight areas for policy development around privacy, given that the time that is spent participating within socially networked environments is only increasing. We produced an open environment for BSD research with tools, applications and an infrastructure predicated on an ethical framework for data sharing available for widespread community use.

King’s lead researchers: Tobias Blanke; Mark Cote; Jennifer Pybus

Associated organisations: Young Rewired State