Data Stories

This chapter provides an overview of the sociality of data. Data-driven endeavours are not simply technical systems, but are socio-technical systems. That is, they are as much a result of human values, desires, and social relations as they are scientific principles and technologies. The sociality of data is also evident with respect to how we have come to live with data. The data revolution has been transforming work and the economy, the nature of consumption, the management and governance of society, how we communicate and interact with media and each other, and forms of play and leisure. Indeed, our lives are saturated with digital devices and services that generate, process, and share vast quantities of data. This book reveals the myriad, complex, contested ways in which data are produced and circulated, as well as the consequences of living in a data-driven world.