Dr Carl Bonner Thompson is a senior lecturer, working in the field of feminist and queer geographies. His recent research has explored the role of data extracted from digital devices and how this affects the lives, emotions and experiences of LGBTQ+ people who use those devices. Here, he talks about his methodology and findings, as well as his plans to build on his work with LGBTQ+ people and investigate the digital inequalities, benefits and anxieties caused by data collection within other marginalised groups.

Digital activities, human responses

‘My approach to digital geographies is to situate the digital in everyday contexts, and I do this by taking embodied perspectives,’ says Dr Bonner-Thompson. ‘By ‘embodied perspectives’, I mean that my research focuses on the importance of our actual physical bodies and experience of being human – our senses, feelings and emotions, rather than focusing on more ‘rational’ aspects of life that are easier to quantify. We live our lives through emotions and feelings, alongside physical experiences, not just through numbers and statistics. So, things like anxiety, shame, anger, hunger, pain and so forth, while not being so straightforward to measure, are crucial in understanding the ways in which the use of digital devices and the collection of data affect our lives.

‘This approach was something I developed for my PhD, which looked at men who used the Grindr app. During that research it became clear that the app was experienced differently by different men, and that characteristics such as race, age, sexuality and class impacted on individual experiences. For some there was a feeling of shame, which could arise when using Grindr, as well as other feelings, including pride, anger, frustration and arousal.

Living queer with data

‘My recent research has delved deeper into the contradictory and ambivalent relationships that exist between LGBTQ+ people and digital data. My research project, ‘Living queer with data’, is based on researching the digital lives of 22 LGBTQ+ people in Brighton and Hove, studying their feelings about the data that is being collected as they use their devices and how this in turn affects their actions, emotions and daily lives.

‘I used a variety of methods in order to learn more about their relationships with data. These included techniques to help them consider and explore their feelings about data collection, which they may not actively and consciously think about in their day-to-day lives. Research methods included interviews and in-depth conversations, alongside creative mapping and collages. The use of these creative approaches can throw up revealing insights, because digitally generated data tends to be intangible and unseen. By using this art-based exploration, people are often more able to express their feelings and attitudes to their relationships with data generally, as well as the specific data they use.

‘This research followed the ‘embodied perspective’ by putting the focus on how the participant felt about, and reacted to, the data collection that was happening through daily digital use. Our bodily processes are regularly turned into data by the digital tech we use – physical activities such as sleep, exercise and so on. That data can impact on our actions and on how we feel about ourselves; for example, if we haven’t done ‘enough’ steps during the day or had ‘enough’ sleep.

Digital data: It’s complicated

‘The research showed that when it comes to living queer with data, the relationship is complicated. It’s a relationship that’s built on contradictions – for example, the combination of anxiety that the idea of data collection can engender, alongside feelings of well-being, promoted by the convenience and ease of digital routes to everyday necessities and life enhancements. My study included investigation into the mixture of insecurities and ambivalence that might be provoked when considering where a participant’s data ends up.

‘Some participants preferred not to think too much about where their data may be going: the organisations that might be collecting it, who they might share it with and what it might be used for. The benefits gained from digital devices – at home, at work, socially – have become something that is hard to live without, so negative thinking about them was sometimes thought of as best avoided.

‘Some participants had fears around specific forms of data collection – such as that which is collected by the NHS. Those fears were tied to the idea of the selling of parts of the NHS to private companies, and a conflict of interest between the companies that would profit from individuals’ data and those individuals’ right to privacy. The idea that personal, medical information could be used to create profit for a third party made people feel uneasy: it’s something that simply ‘doesn’t feel right’. For example, if the UK moves to a more privatised healthcare system, how might personal data be used by the medical insurance industry? Personal data on leisure activities such as movement and exercise might be used to determine insurance premiums.

‘The research highlighted how data isn’t understood as something fully bad or good, but as part of arrangements or assemblages that mean different things in different socio-political situations and contexts. The existence of data isn’t something to be feared, but it could be used in such a way as to be fearful in certain contexts. In this way, people’s relationships with data become folded into different socio-political processes.

Living geographies and digital activity

‘The geographical spaces in which digital use takes place also affected the perception of how data is being used. While some participants felt insecure about how their data might be being used, they felt secure, living LGBTQ+ in Brighton and Hove, which is a very queer-friendly city. That feeling of geographical security, or the lack of it, affects our ideas about the data we’re using and creating. As well as the conditions of the places in which we live, our attitude and experience of data can change as we move through different spaces. We all perform different identities based on our environment – for example, at home, at work, in a bar or pursuing a hobby with like-minded friends.

‘Our different identities in different situations affect our thoughts about data in those situations and spaces. I’ve just completed a chapter for a book based on my research into the data-relationships of 6 LGBTQ+ men. These were white, middle-class men in their thirties and overall, they felt that their whiteness, social class and professional status protected them from the effects of negative data. However, when it came to their sexuality, those feelings changed. They felt more vulnerable about data collection that might be related to their sexuality, and how that might be used.

Growing our understanding of data anxiety

‘The next stage of my research will be to broaden my study across other marginalised groups and learn about different people’s hopes and fears for the future of data-collecting technology. I intend to build on findings from working with LGBTQ+ people and explore digital inequalities, anxieties and insecurities within other communities. I plan to look at how perceptions and activity of digital use are impacted on by criteria such as race and social class. By understanding the complexities of different people’s relationships with data, we are more able to address inequalities and identify areas of concern, in a constantly shifting digital landscape. These areas of concern have real impact on people’s physical lives and positive change starts with understanding.’