The Secret Life of Data – Uncovering the Diverse, Lived, and More-Than-Human Nature of Personal Data

As the datafication of our personal lives increases, researchers have started to critique what we consider as data. Where data are often seen from a reductionist perspective –as neutral numbers and graphs– theory suggests that data are messy, subjective, and pertaining to more than the human alone. They are experienced and lived with, something which is often not accounted for in personal data. To explore what people themselves consider data, sixteen interlocutors participated in a cultural probe study where they visually documented what they considered data in their everyday lives. Our analysis indicates that data can be disciplinary, social, and extend beyond ourselves, incorporating more-than-human aspects. Data are often regarded for entertainment, work, and wellbeing purposes. As interlocutors actively engaged and lived with data, we end the pictorial with a working definition of personal data, which acknowledges people’s active roles in their data creation.