Big Data From Social Media Perspective: A Case Study With Facebook

Abstract

Thanks to the development of internet science and the ability of computers to bring individuals, institutions, and communities together as a communication tool, social media platforms have gone beyond being used as a communication tool and have become perception management and manipulation tools of institutions. Using digital communication tools, user data was used to identify target users and create strategies. In the current age, the concept of data shows its importance frequently. The Economist's article "The world's most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data" shows that the concept of data has reached a striking point. The process of determining user profiles, behaviours and habits based on user information takes place thanks to cumulatively increasing huge data stacks. These massive stacks of data are called ‘Big Data’. For Big Data, social media tools are used to obtain up-to-date, huge data stacks covering users from all walks of life. The role of big data in social media platforms is discussed in the study. The concepts of big data and social media and their development processes, the advantages and disadvantages of big data and data breaches will be discussed, and data breaches will be examined through the Facebook platform. The study aims to create a discussion point about data breaches and the limits of big data.