This workshop deploys queer and feminist digital literacies to interrogate the algorithmic matchmakers, and other digital intermediaries, that impact intimate relationships in an online environment.
by Sarah Hartman-Caverly
Published onOct 10, 2024
Private Bits: Privacy, Intimacy, and Consent
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Summary
Private Bits: Privacy, Intimacy, and Consent is a sex-positive privacy literacy workshop that explores how sex tech impacts intimate privacy and relationships. Participants meet algorithmic matchmakers, digital lovers, and virtual friends; explore how consent applies to digital bodies; and discuss the impact of technology on relationships, sex, and well-being.
Private Bits reveals how intimate data is processed by algorithmic matchmakers and flows from sex tech through data brokerages to become part of our digital dossiers. The workshop elucidates the role of generative AI (genAI) in malicious artificial intimacies like bots and incorporates elements of feminist and queer digital literacies.
Authors
Sarah Hartman-Caverly, Penn State University
Learning Outcomes
Facilitator learning objectives: Participants will be able to
Identify artificial intimacies in order to assess real-world examples and their impact on intimate privacy.
Evaluate the privacy of digital bodies under conditions of data promiscuity using a consentful tech framework.
Understand intimate privacy and the impact of technology on intimate relationships and well-being.
The facilitator's learning objectives can be used to convey the purpose of the workshop to peer instructors, event co-sponsors, and other collaborators; to adapt workshop activities; and to discuss workshop content in scholarly and professional communication.
Participant learning outcomes: During this workshop, you will
Meet algorithmic matchmakers, digital lovers, and virtual friends - as well as bots, ghosts, catfish, and butchers.
Explore how consent applies to our digital (data) bodies.
Discuss the impact of technology - positive and negative - on relationships and well-being.
The participant learning outcomes describe the workshop for the intended audience (in this case, typically undergraduate students), and can be used in promotional materials.
Audience
Undergraduates
Curricular Context
Private Bits is designed as a one-hour introductory co-curricular workshop. Participants are not expected to have any prior knowledge on the topic of intimate privacy; foundational concepts are covered in the workshop material. Private Bits can be delivered face-to-face, in a synchronous virtual format, or hybrid (synchronous face-to-face and online); co-teaching is recommended for hybrid delivery so that one instructor can facilitate in-person engagement and the other can facilitate online engagement. Colleagues from Counseling or Wellness Services can be invited to co-facilitate or provide support for discussing topics or concerns related to gender identity, relationships, sexual well-being, etc. Private Bits is also readily adapted for asynchronous delivery (for example, by recording micro-lecture segments). Participants should have access to a computer or tablet to participate in learning activities.
Preparation
Content knowledge preparation
Consider reading some of the theoretical work that informed the design of Private Bits, including
Computers for participants, or appropriate space for participants to BYOD (“bring your own device”), with web browsing capabilities and Adobe Reader
Printed worksheet handouts (see Materials)
Printed ASK ME conversation hearts, ideally on cardstock, cut to size (see Materials)
Online learning environment
Web conferencing software
Participants should have access to laptop or tablet devices with web conferencing (including A/V) and web browsing capabilities along with Adobe Reader
Fillable PDF worksheets (see Materials)
General teaching materials (provided in the Materials section)
Online workshop guide (such as a LibGuide) for providing linked access to learning activities, worksheets, and curated case studies
A shareable online document, such as a Google Doc or Microsoft OneDrive doc, could also be used
Shareable workshop slides (ex. Google Slides) could also be adapted for this purpose.
Workshop slides
Worksheets
Online posting board environment (such as Padlet) to facilitate anonymous reflection responses
A shareable online document, such as a Google Doc or Microsoft OneDrive doc, could also be used
Accessibility
Verbally describe visual elements that convey information, such as the Six Private I’s privacy framework, Rob Brooks’s taxonomy of artificial intimacies, and the network map and Sankey data flow diagram depicting data promiscuity in social networks.
Offer the ‘fillable’ versions of worksheets to students using screen readers. They were prepared using Adobe’s accessibility checker and features.
Include information about how participants can access their campus or community wellness or crisis help services related to sexual wellness.
Facilitator note: Please refer to the workshop slides for additional content details!
Welcome (3 mins.)
Review participant learning outcomes
Share inclusion statement and teaching philosophy
The workshop is sex-positive by design - it regards consensual intimacy and sexual activity (including aromanticism and asexuality) as healthy and intrinsic aspects of the human experience, and celebrates the full diversity of gender and sexual expression (ISSM, n.d.).
Consider sharing your positionality with respect to workshop content. For example, the workshop was designed by two white, cis-gendered, heterosexual women who are in long-term monogamous relationships.
[in-person workshops] Introduce the “ASK ME” conversation heart signs placed around the room. Explain that facilitators have made every effort to learn about sex and gender diversity and to use inclusive terminology, but recognize there is always more to learn. Invite participants to raise an “ASK ME” sign to teach everyone more inclusive terminology or other considerations for a topic under discussion.
[virtual workshops] Explain that facilitators have made every effort to learn about sex and gender diversity and to use inclusive terminology, but recognize there is always more to learn. Invite participants to chat or privately message facilitators to teach everyone more inclusive terminology or other considerations for a topic under discussion.
How can dating apps and sites, or malicious users, use techniques like these to increase engagement on their platforms?
How do these techniques impact intimacy and privacy?
...Could you fall in love with a bot?
Provide an anonymous online posting wall (ex. Padlet) to preserve participant anonymity.
Facilitate a large-group discussion based on participant responses. Invite participants to voluntarily share their observations. Refer back to relevant student responses to the warm-up reflection prompts.
Transition: Explain that students have just experienced “artificial intimacies.”
Refer back to relevant student responses to the warm-up reflection prompts or artificial intimacies activity.
Transition: We all participate in artificial intimacies – even if we’re not aware of it!
[Activity] How many digital partners do you have? Mapping our digital bodies (10 mins.)
Direct participants to select a product from the following *Privacy not Included (Mozilla) guides, and use the guided “Mapping Our Digital Bodies” worksheet to evaluate how personal data is collected, shared, and interpreted:
Invite participants to select a case study on intimate privacy and sex tech from a curated list and conduct a consentful tech analysis using the guided “FRIES Framework for Consentful Tech Analysis” worksheet. Depending on the comfort level of participants, they can work independently or in small groups.
Facilitate a large group discussion and invite participants to voluntarily share their observations.
Transition: Despite its problems, can sex tech also enhance intimacy?
Review the positive ways in which sex tech enhances intimacy and sex and gender inclusivity.
Define intimate associations: relationships of mutual care in which we are able and willing to relinquish privacy and share in decision-making such that we include another in our sense of self (Hartman-Caverly & Chisholm, 2023 based on Aron et al., 1991; Altman & Taylor, 1973; Fried, 1984; Karst, 1980; Reiman, 1976).
Refer back to relevant student responses to the warm-up reflection prompts or consentful tech analysis activity.
Workshop review and closing (3 mins.)
Assessment
This workshop is formatively assessed by observing students’ participation in learning activities and large-group debriefing discussions. To respect participants’ privacy, I do not suggest collecting the worksheet activities (Mapping Our Digital Bodies and Consentful Tech Analysis) for assessment purposes. (You could instruct participants to omit identifiable information, but collecting the worksheet also means they do not get to keep it as a takeaway!)
This workshop is summatively assessed with a brief web form presenting three Likert scale questions that evaluate the participant learning outcomes, and a free-text response:
This workshop taught me something new about artificial intimacies, such as algorithmic matchmakers, digital lovers, and virtual friends. [Likert scale 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree]
This workshop gave me a new way to think about consent, including how it applies to digital (data) bodies. [Likert scale 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree]
This workshop gave me a new way to think about intimate privacy, including the impact of technology on relationships and well-being. [Likert scale 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree]
My top takeawayorsuggestion for improvement is: [free-text response]
Adaptability
I successfully adapted Private Bits as a Startup Week event by adapting the focus to the role of entrepreneurs and startups in the sex tech industry. I added a fourth participant learning outcome to “consider the ethical responsibilities of entrepreneurs and startups in the sex tech industry,” and presented an additional introductory slide to provide context for talking about intimate privacy during Startup Week:
Sex tech presents numerous opportunities, risks, & ethical considerations for startups
Finally, I curated a separate bank of case studies for the Consentful Tech Analysis activity that highlighted entrepreneurs and startups in the categories of Algorithmic Matchmakers, Digital Bodies, Digital Lovers, and Virtual Friends. All other aspects of the workshop were presented as-is.
Private Bits is readily adapted as a course-integrated session for women’s, sex, and gender studies courses; as an outreach event for LGBTQ+ student affinity groups, or in partnership with campus wellness services or the student life office; and as a community event in partnership with LGBTQ+ serving organizations. For course integration, consult with the instructor(s) on how Private Bits can be adapted to meet the learning goals of the course, such as with pre/post work or custom case study content.
Reflection
Private Bits presents an ambitious lesson plan to cover in one hour; sometimes, we don’t have enough time for meaningful engagement with the final Consentful Tech Analysis. I prefer to think of this as a good problem to have 😊 While the workshop can be delivered in an hour, 90 minutes is the ideal timeframe for Private Bits. Consider these materials more as a guide to what is possible than as a mandate to race against the clock in order to cover all the content.
I encourage anyone who is interested in delivering or adapting this workshop to read some of the theoretical work that informed its design; specifically, Rob Brooks’s Artificial Intimacy and Danielle Keats Citron’s The Fight for Privacy. You will find citations to these and other foundational works throughout the lesson outline. Additional materials, including updated case studies, are curated in the Digital Shred Privacy Literacy Toolkit using tags such as private bits, intimate privacy, and artificial intimacy.
Just over half of Private Bits participants have completed our workshop reflection form. The average Likert scale rating across all three statements is 4.3, indicating that participants agree that they achieve the participant learning outcomes. Two participants made suggestions for improvement, including allocating more time to cover the content and providing a better explanation for the Consentful Tech Analysis activity (one participant expressed that it was confusing, but it’s also likely that we were rushing through it as we ran out of time in the workshop!). Other comments indicate that participants find the issues of intimate privacy and technology to be eye-opening and that they are committed to being more aware of the information they are sharing online.
Private Bits covers mature concepts, but I try to do so in a way that is inclusive, engaging, and, above all, sex-positive. I aspire to create a welcoming learning environment for all participants. Humility in teaching is an important component in how I frame my role as a facilitator so that participants feel encouraged to ‘call me in’ when there is a more inclusive way to address the topic at hand. Private Bits presents facilitators and participants with an opportunity to co-create knowledge in a fascinating, meaningful, and fun area of study.
Acknowledgments
Alexandria Chisholm contributed to the Private Bits workshop guide and slides, designed the Digital Bodies activity, and co-teaches the workshop.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)