Ownership vs. Renting

I have spent a lot of time thinking about data ownership this week. This was sparked after listening to Bonnie Stewart talk about datafication.

The main point of her argument is that most of the software we use is proprietary, which means that someone else owns it and is trying to make a profit off us. As she puts it, these systems “tend to support somebody making a profit off the backs of someone else”. This actually reflects my deeper dive inquiry heavily. I share the same point of view as Dr. Stewart, where if I can do it myself, I would lean in that direction. For my inquiry project, I got my idea from a TikTok video advertising a personal habit tracking software that they were selling. Instead of buying it or using this “proprietary” software, I decided to make it myself, so that I own it. The true cost of renting this software is that they not only take your money in the subscription but also take your data, which is a point that Dr. Stewart pointed out.

By building my own tracker, I’m moving toward what she calls “open” infrastructure. I’m not renting a tool from a company that wants to harvest my habits, I’m building my own. It’s a small shift, but it’s the difference between being a user and being an owner. What I learned from this is that digital literacy is about realizing you have the choice to own your data instead of letting a company profit off it.