<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Users of digital media leave traces that corporations and authorities can harvest, systematise, and analyse; on the societal level, an overall result is the emergence of a surveillance culture. In this study, we examine how people handle the dilemma of leaving digital footprints: what they say they do to protect their privacy and what could legitimise the collection and storing of their data. Through a survey of almost 1,000 students at Umeå University in Sweden, we find that most respondents know that their data are used and choose to adjust their own behaviour rather than adopting technical solutions. In order to understand contemporary forms of surveillance, we call for a humanistic approach – an approach where hermeneutic and qualitative methods are central.</p>
</abstract>

Users of digital media leave traces that corporations and authorities can harvest, systematise, and analyse; on the societal level, an overall result is the emergence of a surveillance culture. In this study, we examine how people handle the dilemma of leaving digital footprints: what they say they do to protect their privacy and what could legitimise the collection and storing of their data. Through a survey of almost 1,000 students at Umeå University in Sweden, we find that most respondents know that their data are used and choose to adjust their own behaviour rather than adopting technical solutions. In order to understand contemporary forms of surveillance, we call for a humanistic approach – an approach where hermeneutic and qualitative methods are central.

Online Surveillance in a Swedish Context: Between acceptance and resistance

Department of Historical Philosophical and Religious Studies

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Online Surveillance in a Swedish Context: Between acceptance and resistance"}

Users of digital media leave traces that corporations and authorities can harvest, systematise, and analyse; on the societal level, an overall result is the...

Condition	0–4	5	6–10	No opinion/No answer	Most frequent response
That it is required so that others can develop and give you access to desirable services.	49	16	24	11	0 (18%)
That you receive personal, customised offers and search results (based on your previous online activities).	69	12	14	5	0 (30%)
That it facilitates some of your online activities (access to various services, online shopping, etc.).	51	15	29	5	0 (17%)
That you are able to consent to your data being stored and shared when you choose to use a certain service.	33	11	52	4	10 (14%)
That society can benefit from the data about you that is being stored (e.g., to combat criminality/terrorism or achieve health benefits).	24	15	55	6	5 (15%)

Service or strategy	Yes	No	No answer
VPN	23	77	0
A browser that does not save your inquiries (DuckDuckGo, etc.)	10	89	1
Private/secret mode in your web browser	45	54	1
Disabled location services	58	41	1
Encrypted communication (e.g., Tor, Signal)	7	92	1
Cover your computer camera	37	62	1
Avoid certain services because of how they collect data about you as a user	53	47	0
Avoid sharing private material	76	23	1
Other	2	26	72

Online Surveillance in a Swedish Context: Between acceptance and resistance

Data publikacji: 18 gru 2020

Zakres stron: 179 - 193

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2020-0022

Słowa kluczowe
online surveillance, surveillance culture, soft surveillance, privacy paradox, digital humanities

© 2020 Coppélie Cocq et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Acceptance of personal data being stored and shared (per cent)

Practices and strategies for protecting privacy (per cent)

Online Surveillance in a Swedish Context: Between acceptance and resistance

Data publikacji: 18 gru 2020

Zakres stron: 179 - 193

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2020-0022

Słowa kluczoweonline surveillance, surveillance culture, soft surveillance, privacy paradox, digital humanities

© 2020 Coppélie Cocq et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Acceptance of personal data being stored and shared (per cent)

Practices and strategies for protecting privacy (per cent)

Słowa kluczowe
online surveillance, surveillance culture, soft surveillance, privacy paradox, digital humanities