The private life in a digital world

This course is part of the BA Online Culture: Art, Media and Society or the MA Online Culture at Tilburg University. Click on the link for more info on the courses and the programme.

In this international program Online Culture: Art, Media and Society (Culture Studies) the focus is on digital culture and (new) media. From disciplines such as cultural studies and media studies you study how digitalization and globalization influence our way of living. You discuss new ways of communication, art expressions as well as (social) media expressions like memes and trolls. You research how such ways of communication and expressions are established and how they manifest in, and have influence on a society that increasingly takes place online. Additionally, you actively contribute to digital culture by writing papers and opinion pieces for our own online platform Diggit Magazine.

How WhatsApp's privacy policy raises major concerns

Article

Nathalie Schabio

30/01/2023

15 minutes to read

This article looks at why people use Whatsapp given the privacy concerns around the platform. Read the article to learn about the connection between the expository society, the lack of privacy, and participatory surveillance.

Samsung Health: How self-tracking trivialises our ethical concerns

Article

Angela Veltman

06/02/2023

11 minutes to read

The high level of data sharing has become a common practice. This essay examines the Samsung Health application and its benefits and disadvantages on the users, using gamification, behaviour modification and surveillance capitalism.

The trade-off between privacy or public health

Paper

Noa Reijnen

16/05/2022

10 minutes to read

This paper aims to analyze how De Jonge and the Parliament have approached and reacted to a data breach at the GGD. The underlying question of this case is whether the Dutch society should value privacy or public health more.

The CoronaMelder app: an internalized violation of privacy?

Paper

Ilse van Knegsel

03/11/2021

14 minutes to read

CoronaMelder is a hot topic, but the Dutch are not very willing to use the COVID tracking application. Is this because of privacy violations or do we not care about our privacy anymore?

The post-digital infrapolitics of Jurgen Conings

Article

Lisa van Turnhout

20/07/2021

10 minutes to read

The infrapolitics of Jurgen Conings in a post - digital and post - Christchurch world show social media leads to both more surveillance and more anonymous opportunities at the same time.

A motorcyclist holding up his middle finger

Motorcyclists and police surveillance: driving daringly without getting caught

Article

Emma Wieringa

11/06/2021

11 minutes to read

Some motorcyclists like to drive in ways that are prohibited by the law: too fast, with wheelies, and so on. What measures do they take to avoid surveillance on public roads, making them unfindable by the police?

Lifesum Food Tracker: The Dynamic Environment of Self-Tracking

Article

Savina Karneva

11/06/2021

12 minutes to read

People’s desire to exercise control over their lives is turning into a dominant practice with the emergence of all kinds of self-tracking apps that improve individuals’ quality of life and provide them with a deeper understanding of their habits.

A phone screen showing the Tiktok app icon

Tiktok's privacy paradox

Article

Marieke Weeda

09/06/2021

8 minutes to read

Privacy on Tiktok is something that has been subject to many controversies and lawsuits, but paradoxically their usage of accurate data for hyper-personalization is by many users also greatly appreciated.