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Digital technology has unquestionably become central to the enterprise of public history and cultural heritage. Yet the extent to which digital technologies have helped public historians animate higher levels of civic engagement and activism is unclear and becomes particularly problematic in the context of the digital divide. This essay examines the implications of that divide through an analysis of a community-engagement project in a distressed section of inner-city St. Louis. The experience provides a cautionary tale about the efficacy of chasing the latest digital wizardry in the pursuit of public engagement, but also suggests that digital technologies can enhance civic engagement and activism when blended strategically with more traditional formats for interaction.
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Against Engagement
n this Article, we focus on a key dimension of commercial surveillance by data-intensive digital platforms that is too often treated as a supporting cast member instead of a star of the show: the concept of engagement. Engagement is, simply put, a measure of time, attention, and other interactions with a service. The economic logic of engagement is simple: more engagement equals more ads watched equals more revenue. Engagement is a lucrative digital business model, but it is problematic in several ways that lurk beneath the happy sloganeering of a “free” internet Our goal in this Article is to isolate engagement as a distinct and dangerous concept that should be specifically regulated. There is a benefit to seeing past the glib justificatory rhetoric and taking a hard look at engagement-based, surveillance-advertising-funded models as potentially problematic. Unfettered engagement strategies bear significant and under-appreciated costs that are endangering our privacy, our democracy, and our culture itself. It’s time that wrongful engagement, and the asserted “free” business models it generates, started to bear the burden of those costs.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1956393
- PAR ID:
- 10638374
- Publisher / Repository:
- Boston University Law Review
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Boston University Law Review
- ISSN:
- 0006-8047
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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