Privacy and the Media

Questions of privacy are critical to the study of contemporary media and society. When we’re more and more connected to devices and to content, it’s increasingly important to understand how information about ourselves is being collected, transmitted, processed, and mediated.

Privacy and the Media equips students to do just that, providing a comprehensive overview of both the theory and reality of privacy and the media in the 21st Century. Offering a rich overview of this crucial and topical relationship, author Andrew McStay:

• Explores the foundational topics of journalism, the Snowden leaks, and encryption by companies such as Apple
• Considers commercial applications including behavioural advertising, big data, algorithms, and the role of platforms such as Google and Facebook
• Introduces the role of the body with discussions of emotion, wearable media, peer-based privacy, and sexting
• Encourages students to put their understanding to work with suggestions for further research, challenging them to explore how privacy functions in practice

Privacy and the Media is not a polemic on privacy as "good" or "bad," but a call to assess the detail and the potential implications of contemporary media technologies and practices. It is essential reading for students and researchers of digital media, social media, digital politics, and the creative and cultural industries.