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Mistrusting Data

An anti-surveillance shield would be more interesting than such a mask. The very notion of privacy has been long gone. What is left is the degree of difficulty in obtaining the zinger insights from it. The data is out there and can be used to learn everything about everyone that does not live off the grid. The question is whether it is worth anyone's while to invest the resources to surveil all of us all the time and plumb the depths of our individual souls. We are all "safe" until such time as there is no benefit to the investor in doing so. Research rooted in group or individual psychology that can now scale up using abundant data feels lot more worrisome. Reading the conclusion of this paper suggests to me a large number of monetize-able use cases that can put our illusory "safety" at risk

In this paper we have highlighted the importance of using big data to comprehend complex psychological constructs such as nostalgia. We have also discussed some methods and techniques for big data analysis which can be helpful to psychology researchers. We further call for more research on emotional constructs within the context of social media vehicles (such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc.), which will expand our understanding of psychological constructs in everyday life. Using big-data studies along with experimental research will help build robust explanations of how humans behave in an online connected world.

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