Your Data Shadow: An Exploratory Study of the Short-term Effect of Viewing News and Information Content on Surveillance Technologies on Perceptions of Privacy

This exploratory study measures the effect of viewing news stories and information about privacy breaches and surveillance technology, on awareness and sensitivity to privacy and the protection of personal information. There has been little empirical examination of the effect of surveillance awareness despite a growing body of scholarship devoted to theorizing surveillance and privacy. Participants in an experimental group (N=30), comprised of Carleton University students were exposed to a series of short documentary and news stories (26 minutes) about breaches in privacy and asked to respond to written questions about their perceptions relating to privacy awareness, vulnerability and prevention. These responses were compared to a control group (N=30). The findings suggest that knowledge about surveillance technologies such as biometrics and privacy are limited among all participants. The experimental group however, demonstrated elevated concerns about their privacy after being exposed to the video; thus demonstrating educational programming’s powerful immediate effect.