You Are the Product
Project details
- Year
- 2024
- Programme
- Bachelor – Advertising & Beyond
- Practices
- Commercial Practices
- Minor
- Futures & Presence
Big Tech companies design their platforms to collect as much private data as possible, such as purchasing behavior, locations, and political preferences of their users. This data is sold and used to influence individuals without their full awareness. This is a form of digital human trafficking, of which internet users seem unaware due to the increasing use of the internet.
WHY
During my research, I discovered that trading digital data can be seen as human trafficking. In theory, this is a correct term. In practice, people associate human trafficking with physical world issues like abuse or exploitation. However, it is Big Tech companies that are abusing and exploiting users in the digital world. Therefore, due to the increasing internet usage, I believe there is a need for more awareness around digital human trafficking.
HOW
The artwork ‘You Are the Product’ lies at the intersection of art and advertising. From the art world’s perspective, the project can be seen as a provocative piece that solely questions the factual digital human trafficking. From the advertising world, this advertisement, when promoted within the context of social media and the internet, can be used by governments, for example, to draw attention to the fact that we all need to be more conscious about our private data.
WHAT
My research results in practice in a hybrid diptych. On one hand, there is a digital campaign in which I place myself, surfing on my phone, inside a product package appealing to Big Tech companies in situations where people often use their phones. For example, while waiting for the bus. The campaign phrase “Ever felt like a product while waiting for the bus?” is in English because it is the most widely used language on the internet. Combined with the absurd product photography, it prompts the viewer to reflect on their own data usage.
During the presentation and the Graduation Show, ‘You Are the Product’ comes to life. The digital advertisement becomes a real-life performance, referring to my research. I essentially bring the advertisement one-to-one out of the digital context and place it in the physical world. This turns the digital advertisement inside out. As a result, ‘You Are the Product’ becomes a diptych that moves back and forth between the digital and physical worlds, just as internet users are present both physically and online.