Project #5 Anti-Surveillance Tool

Please click here to view the code in p5.js.

& press the screen and drag around your mouse to see the hidden message

Context, recipient, and visual strategy

Recipient - Any kinds of social media users who are concerned about data exposure; personal information leakage

Context - Warning: Whenever you click on a post, like, share, collect, etc. The algorithm will collect your data and pass it on to other platforms, and your data will be sold for profit. Be aware of this.

Visual strategy - The screen is composed of the grid drawing method learned from the lecture. In the center of the screen, a message to reassure users is placed which is 'DATA SAFELY SECURED.' The message's meaning indicates that the 'user's data has been exposed' is hidden behind. To creating a siren effect to increase user alertness, the 'if MouseIsPressed' and 'blendMode' is used.

Sketches and exploration:

First of all, this week's assignment's outcome is similar to the direction of the sketch I drew at first. As mentioned earlier, I implemented the function to hide the message using the 'mouse-press' and 'blendMode' we learned in the lecture. There is one thing that I regret in the process of sketching ideas every time. The ideas I envision in my head are not limited, and there are endless ideas. However, since the coding is still in the learning stage, there are cases where one step back in idea sketching. I want to be a coding genius. haha

Reflection

The materials from this week's class reminded me of 'The Great Hack' on Netflix. This documentary is about the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data scandal. It explores how a data company named Cambridge Analytica came to symbolize the dark side of social media in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
After watching this documentary, anyone with a Facebook account will enter their account and see how much their personal information is exposed. When I was watching this documentary, I was constantly worried about personal data that can be seen on Facebook and other social media platforms that I have been doing since I was 20. So YES, I entered my account and checked. I even thought about getting rid of the Facebook account. Our data is collected without our knowledge to form an algorithm, and through the other data that the algorithm brings, we live reversing the mistakes of leaking our identity naturally. Nowadays, where we can no longer imagine our lives without the help of technology, I think we should be aware of the exposure of data.