Data Mine

 

Data Mine
I think this is a skill that should be taught, if only because it would force more sites to take down their paywall and help everyone understand what is happening when they are being vetted for a job or some sort of position in an organization. This should be up to the parents because if a teacher or counselor did it, they would then be in charge of keeping students' information private as well as their own. They could also see things that would possibly make them treat students differently based on the information that comes up. As a teacher, I was not allowed to see where my students lived, where they worked if they had a job, relatives (except for those that were allowed to sign them out or point of contact for discussion about the student), and I certainly did not have access to any criminal record if one existed. Having teachers or counselors go over data mining with the students would change that because you would HAVE to look to make sure they are on the correct website for one as well as making sure they are data mining correctly. The parents should know all this information already, especially if the student is a minor, and therefore would also be able to help the student fact check what they are finding online. 



Personal screenshot
My Data Mine
The first site that I checked was namechk.com. It will check to see what sites have your username on them. During my search, it came up wrong. According to this site, I do not have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, TikTok, Reddit, Ebay, Pinterest, Github, SoundCloud, Medium, Photobucket, Mix, and Fiverr but I have everything else. Since my username is my name, it is possible other people have these accounts. I only have two social media accounts and neither appeared on this site. The next site I looked at was mylife.com. All the information was behind a pay wall. It had the correct date of birth and city on the general access. The third site I looked at was peoplefinders.com. The only thing not behind a pay wall was my name. The same was true for truthfinder.com. I tried a few other sites but they sent me back to truthfinder. Radaris.com had the correct date of birth and address but it had different names that were supposed to be attributed to me. I also checked Facebook and Instagram but my profiles did not come up until I logged in. 

Personal screenshot Facebook

Personal screenshot Truthfinder

Personal screenshot Peoplefinders



My Response
Since everything is behind paywalls, I didn't see anything that actually says these people were me. Especially since on some of the sites there were aliases that I have never used. I am not sure how reliable these sites are for this reason. Something about them feels more like Wikipedia than a regular background check. I am also wondering if I did want to change the information, would they make me pay for that as well. The most concerning thing is how many of these sites said how surprising you might find the results, especially if you clicked that you were searching for your own information.

Comments

  1. jesspachecoJune 20, 2024 at 3:47 PM

    That was the most frustrating part for my own data mining experience as well because there was always a paywall. I think it was Truthfinder but one of the websites asked "does this person have a criminal record?" and I put no because I don't and then it went "You'd be surprised!" Like no I wouldn't. And also, I didn't have a chance to be "surprised" because I had to make an account AND pay for the background check. I came across a similar conclusion as you did. In theory, I think this information would be useful for employers and counselors, but when you have to pay for everything, it can be so disheartening.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Samantha HoffmanJune 21, 2024 at 8:21 AM

      That got me as well. It wants you to be so surprised as if you don't occasionally have background checks run on you for work or potential jobs! It is so much cheaper and less time consuming just to go to the police station and have them run it for you.

      Delete
  2. NMZumpanoJune 21, 2024 at 7:06 AM

    You bring up an excellent point about teachers showing potential bias if they know some of the search results.

    ReplyDelete

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