Due to scientific progressions made in genetic data collection and analysis in the last two decades, genetic testing has become more affordable and increasingly available. This fact has contributed to the emergence of a new privatized, capitalist and internet-based form of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing services.
DTC genetic tests have been rapidly gaining popularity over the last few years with several millions' genetic data already collected in DTC companies' commercial data bases. (Phillips, 2016:17) This study will focus on DTC companies that offer genetic tests for genealogy and ancestry due to the popular surge in purchases of genealogy DTC DNA tests during the last few years.
This study will focus on one of the leading companies in the DTC genealogy genetic testing industry – AncestryDNA – (Regalado, 2020) and aims to examine the ways in which AncestryDNA frames the concept of human ancestry and the cultural, social, and psychological meanings it associates it with.
I argue that AncestryDNA promotes its genetic tests via its mobile app through two narratives. The first, the narrative or framing of genetic data or DNA as being a reliable informative tool regarding one's ancestral background and lineage. Secondly, AncestryDNA frames ancestry as being an important part of self-realization and the process of creating your own individual identity, while also achieving a sense of belonging to a community – both are deeply fundamental human desires and psychological needs that AncestryDNA invokes in its consumers, and then frames its DNA tests as the solutions and the opportunity for consumers to fill those symbolic needs.