Big Data Discourse| A New Source of the Self? A Critical View on the Domestication of Data

Abstract

While the term “big data” may have faded from public discourse, large-scale data collection and processing continue to underpin contemporary economic and social structures. Against this backdrop, this article critically examines the domestication of data—how individuals understand, integrate, and internalize data in everyday life. Drawing on domestication theory and empirical research conducted across nine towns and cities in England, this article argues that data now function as a part of epistemic (and moral) infrastructure. Central to this process is the presumed facticity of data, a tacit belief in data’s epistemic legitimacy and reality-value that subtly reconfigures self-understanding, everyday practices, and moral reasoning. Foregrounding reflexive engagement with data but also its centrality to everyday practice, this article contributes to theoretical debates on datafication and the lived experience of data systems.