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MIT experiment can "out" you based on your Facebook or Myspace friends list

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by Chip, Sep 20, 2009.

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  1. Chip

    Chip
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    This article shows how an analysis of one's friends on Facebook or Myspace can be used to pretty accurately predict your sexual preference.

    My friends and I used to sort of play a game where we'd look at someone's Myspace profile and friends list, when their status said "straight", and make a guess as to whether that person was gay or bi, and then ask them. We got to be pretty accurate, so it doesn't surprise me that these students at MIT were able to come up with an algorithm to make these predictions.

    However, the more interesting part of the article is a discussion of how the availalbility of this sort of data impacts our privacy without our even being aware of it.

    What do people think about this?
     
    #1 Chip, Sep 20, 2009
  2. xballetxbeautyx

    xballetxbeautyx Guest

    Whoa. That is pretty frickin awesome. I honestly never would have even thought about that.
     
    #2 xballetxbeautyx, Sep 20, 2009
  3. L|L

    L|L
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    You'll not find any of my info floating around the interwebz, that for sure.
     
    #3 L|L, Sep 20, 2009
  4. starfish

    starfish
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    Of course it doesn't take much to out me based on my facebook age.

    It very clearly shows that I am gay.

    Of course some of my gay friends are not as open with their facebook as I am. I have always wondered what someone would infer, if they looked my mine and their pages.
     
    #4 starfish, Sep 20, 2009
  5. Owen

    Owen
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    Not surprising. A good majority of my good friends are GLBT, although I am also facebook friends with a lot of straight acquaintances, so that may through off someone trying to infer something about me. Then again, I don't make my sexuality a secret of facebook.
     
    #5 Owen, Sep 20, 2009
  6. KnightAssassin

    KnightAssassin
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    wow i am glad i am clearly open gay on FB and myspace and stuff
     
    #6 KnightAssassin, Sep 20, 2009
  7. NickT

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    Good. My gaydar is underdeveloped so this would really help. >.>;
     
    #7 NickT, Sep 20, 2009
  8. Keiss

    Keiss
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    Honestly, I skim through people's friends list if they're preference isn't listed. It's not too difficult to figure out. If they're friends with a lot of gay people and especially with gay celebrities (i.e. Perez Hilton) it can be a very easy thing to figure out.
     
    #8 Keiss, Sep 20, 2009
  9. OontzOontzOontz

    OontzOontzOontz
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    If only I could use this technology. -_-
     
    #9 OontzOontzOontz, Sep 21, 2009
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