Editing Demographic profile (section)

== Methods ==
Historically, a [[census]] has been the most important tool when it comes to tracking demographic data such as population, births, deaths, and relationship status. The [[United States census]] was first introduced in 1790 and has been taken every 10 years since under constitutional law. While the questions in the US Census vary each decade, its aim is to quantifiable measure characteristics about the residents within its borders, such as marital status, age, sex, race, education status, employment status, and location. Even though the US Census is the most relied-on tool for collecting this information, it still has its flaws, such as overcount and undercount, which have caused controversy in previous years.<ref>https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/censr01-2.pdf{{full citation needed|date=July 2020}}</ref>

[[Metadata]] provides a modern method of constructing demographic profiles.<ref name="Needel, S. 2013">{{cite web |title=Why Big Data is a Small Idea: And why you shouldn't worry so much |url=https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/why_big_data_is_a_small_idea_and_why_you_shouldnt_worry_so_much/100226 |website=WARC |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2020}} Certain types of digital metadata are generated by a user's online behavior—such as which websites are frequently visited, the amount of time spent on each website, the website interactions or purchase history, and which other users were interacted with—and serve as a [[digital footprint]]. Meta[[data collection]] is so pervasive that businesses record most aspects of a user's online activity.<ref name="GfK. 2016" /> Companies such as Google and Facebook make enormous profits through generating and processing metadata, which can then be used for [[targeted advertising]]. This process impacts the user's online experience, such as curating which ads are displayed or which websites are suggested.<ref name="Needel, S. 2013" /><ref name="GfK. 2016" />