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Blog Post 11/4

1.       What role does the Black Lives Matter movement have in the political world?

Black Lives Matter, or better yet, any group that is supporting the African Americans going against systematic racism has blown up significantly this year. Recent cases of unfair abuse of the justice system have been brought to light and it is only fair that we the people go against this. Amongst the 99% of peaceful protests that have been happening, there were some riots that have also taken place. Based on what I have seen in the political aspect, the more right leaning side likes to focus mainly on these riots and pin all of them on the movement while the left focus more on the peaceful protests. I have seen many Republicans call the “organization” a terrorist group but that is just not true. They always bring up the riots and the rights the police have to defend themselves or to do anything towards people who resist arrest. The movement is a big topic for political debates and are widely discussed.

2.       How did social media help the movement as a whole?

Social media is a wide network for people to use to connect and research. I feel that it has greatly contributed to the movement as it has spread the message that the group wants to portray. People were even able to set up events where peaceful protests could take place and these events were shared in hopes of bringing in more people to support the cause. Social media allows people to see news of police brutality or these abusers being put into jail. It allows them to take in all this information and to research it themselves, while also giving them the chance to speak out as well.

3.       How is hactivism misunderstood?

Hactivism is a way for people online to call for action against a problem. It is basically just online activism for people who cannot go in person to protest. However, there are people who sees hactivism as cyberterrorism and as a way to attack others. This does not define the cause. Mainstream news criticize this type of activism and does not take into account how this form of activism is just to challenge corruption on a cyber level.

4.       How can we be better activists?

Whether it is online or in person, any form of support I feel is greatly appreciated. As long as we are aware of what is happening in the world and we take a chance to spread this awareness, it helps a great lot. Come to protests if you can, go online and share your support, challenge those that think this cause does nothing, anything you can do for your cause is valid.

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Fuchs, C. (2014). Social media and communication power. In Social media: A critical introduction (pp. 69-94). London: SAGE Publications Ltd doi: 10.4135/9781446270066.n4

Lee, L. (2017). Black Twitter: A Response to Bias in Mainstream Media. Social Sciences, 6(1), 26. doi:10.3390/socsci6010026

Vegh, S. (2003). Classifying Forms of Online Activism The Case of Cyberprotests against the World Bank.

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Blog Post 10/14

1.       Is gender a social construct? Why is this a problem?

Yes, I do believe that gender, just like race, is a social construct created by people’s societal expectations. There are so many examples of why this idea of “gender” is toxic. For example, a girl wanting to dress “boyish” or act like a “boy” makes her a “tomboy”, instead of it just being a girl who wants to do what she wants. Or a boy doing “girly” things makes him a “f**got”. Or being a transgender or nonbinary (also many gender terms that I haven’t taken the time to list) is so harmful to people because these people believe that there are only two genders, female or male and you can only be the gender you were born to be. The problem with gender being so widely important to people is that it is invalidating people who do not follow the template of being a “girl” or “boy, “woman” or “man”. The idea of a gender was created by the people, and anyone who goes against that is automatically shamed for it or made fun of and it has to stop.

2.       How is gender being used to advertise products?

The biggest use of gender for advertising would be in videogames. Games such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Tomb Raider, and many more oversexualize women in hopes of getting more men to play. These games made avatars as women with big breasts, skimpy clothing, skin-tight suits, etc., sexualizing women and putting them on display in hopes of bringing in more players. Maybe their intentions were not to sexualize women, but it is hard to believe that when they come out with characters that follow the descriptions I have listed. Take Tomb Raider for example. The whole premise of the game was to show that Lara Croft was a strong woman, but they gave her big boobs stretching out her shirt and short shorts that would definitely not be good to wear when in action.

3.       What is the importance of online usernames?

Online usernames can sometimes reflect the users themselves. Whether it be their actual name, a show or game they like, or anything in general that the user may have in their life/personality. Take Daniels’ article for example. Men in white supremacist groups choose a name for themselves reflecting how they think about themselves. “Heroes” and “martyrs” they call themselves, so they obviously want a screen name saying just that. The article even said that research shows that screen names for men and women tend to follow the societal construct of gender, showing their sexuality or gender identity.

4.       How does O’Riordan’s “Gender, Technology, and Visual Cyberculture” relate to Ow’s “The revenge of they Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator…”?

I am sure we all remember Ow’s article about the videogame “Shadow Warrior” and its blatant disrespect towards women. Both O’Riordan and Ow’s articles have shown that videogames or digital media platforms may sometimes oversexualize women in hopes of gaining more of an audience. I have noticed that there are certain categories that a lot of male gamers tend to go for such as: “sexy women characters”, action, and nasty comments towards women.

Daniels, J. (2009). Gender, White Supremacy, and the Internet. Cyber Racism: White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights (pp. 61-86). Rowman & Littlefield.

Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (pp. 149-181). Routledge.

O’Riordan, K. (2006). Gender, Technology, and Visual Cyberculture. Critical Cyberculture Studies (pp. 243-252). New York University Press.

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Blog Post 11/20

1. Determine what kind of social media site you are creating. Then answer the following questions, explaining your decisions. (Remember the key here is to create an ethical algorithm model).

I would like to create a site similar to Reddit, just without the memes and jokes. What I mean by this is that I would like to have a site with communities under certain topics (ex: politics, a community where you can discuss if you are the one in the wrong like AITA subreddit, depression, ways to get help, etc.) These topics would be created by the users so that a community can be born from them (of course, these topics would be reviewed by moderators). These communities would allow users (who would be allowed to remain anonymous) to discuss their stories or opinions relating to that topic, and they would be allowed to have a civic debate about any topic. Users could also post something from the news or any sources they deem credible. All in all, these communities under one site, would allow people to say their thoughts or even help others with information they may need.

2. What will you measure? (ex: likes, hashtags, how long someone stays on a page, etc) Be sure to explain all your decisions.

I would like to measure the number of dislikes/reports for certain topics or comments or even articles so I myself, or possibly moderators of the site could look into to decide for ourselves if they should be kept on the site. If it were a comment that was sexist and overall disrespectful for example, users could dislike or report them and I would be able to delete them.

3. How will you weight these factors? (rank factors from most important to least important)

The most important thing for this site is to stop anyone from being disrespectful. The algorithm would scan discussions for any derogatory words being used or any insult.

4. What factors will not be measured? (what will not be measured in your algorithm and why)

This system would not factor in the popularity of communities or users, because everyone should be able to have a voice and every topic should be made important and learned from.

5. How will the model learn or adapt to new information? (this can include changes in language, etc)

There will be contact information on the site that allows users to message or email the moderators of the site about any issues they may have with the site. If it were about the site not having any translation options for foreign users, that would be an issue to solve.

6. What biases will be built into the model? How will this change the algorithm’s outcome?

Certain communities would be able to be made hidden from users who do not necessarily agree with or are triggered by. While yes, these topics should be seen and discussed about, there will always be people who do not agree with these topics so they should be allowed to not see them. The algorithm will then hide these communities from them and suggest to users what topics they may be interested in instead.

7. How will the model live out the (un)ethical practices we have discussed?

Users would be allowed to discuss their issues with society or the world itself and gain allies under one topic. Awareness would be spread, and hopefully something can change from this for good. Societal norms that are deemed toxic would be spread and discussed about, so that users themselves would be able to realize that some things should just not be practiced (ex: sexism, harmful judgement, homophobia, etc.)  

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Blog Post 11/11

1.       What is #Gamergate and how does it relate to antifeminism?

Jay Hathaway’s article explains a particular chain of events that created the hashtag “Gamergate” and its effects on women creators. Zoe Quinn was a game developer who had been on the end of a malicious slew of threats and insults targeted towards her. Why? All of it was because of assumptions of her sex life. Many have said it was only because her game did not fit the standards of certain videogame players, but most of the harassment was targeted towards her sexuality. When these players were called out for being very misogynistic, they created the movement #Gamergate to fight against these “corrupt journalists”. What is the problem with this movement?

This movement’s intentions were insincere, and its true motive was to simply destroy Zoe Quinn’s life. How does this all relate to antifeminism? The widely known assumption is that all gamers who are toxic towards women are white, misogynistic men, and honestly, I highly agree. These men set out to ruin Zoe Quinn’s life on the basis that she is a woman with a sex life (which is highly personal and should not be for anyone to judge). They sent her death threats, forced her out of her home out of pure fear, and harassed her so much. I am sure there are many more stories where men like these have done the same to other female game developers, and towards women in general.

2.       How does Latoya Lee’s article relate to the significance of societal expectations of women’s bodies?

The article starts with depicting the stories of Ashley, Tiana, and Vanessa’s experiences in school or companies and their supposed “dress code”. However, all of these citations are simply because their hair was supposedly making people uncomfortable. Why is this thought process completely wrong and absolutely racist? Ashley Davis was not told that her hair was against company guidelines until after she worked for them for two months. Tiana Parker was only 7 and yet the school had told her that her hair is basically inappropriate, the same with Vanessa Van-Dyke. Why is hair a distraction towards these people? No, the hair is not the problem, it is the fact that these hairstyles are attached to African Americans.

Not only that, but women in general are also not allowed to dress how they want or even look how they want (dyed hair, tattoos, piercings are examples). They are constantly judged for their appearance and society expects them to look a certain way or they will not be considered the standard of beauty society has. For example, private schools’ dress codes are mostly revolved around girls and their shirts and pants/skirts. If their skirt/pants is not past their fingertips then it means they are a “distraction to others”. If their shirt is a tank top with spaghetti straps, then they are “inappropriately dressed”. Why are schools basically sexualizing a girls’ clothing? Why should it be their problem if people cannot keep their eyes or hands to themselves? It is truly disheartening to see that society seems to only care what women wear and not the actions of some men who are “distracted” by these clothing.

3.       Why is ignoring important issues, such as racism toxic? Why should the Internet and its users stop remaining ignorant?

Ignorance is a big problem within the Internet. People tend to shy away from things they do not want to discuss and they do not open their eyes towards the problem of our society. Ethnic discussions are sometimes brushed off and it is unfair to minorities when the majority of people in this country refuse to see their problems. Things such as police brutality or systematic racism would be overlooked if people do not fight against these injustices. More people would suffer and their voices would not be heard if people choose not to listen. Ignorance is not bliss, it is toxic and should be stopped.

4.       How are ‘gamers’ toxic towards women?

Personally, there have been many times when I have logged into a videogame looking to have fun and destress, but have instantly logged off when met with disgusting comments from men. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) for example is a team-based game, where users are able to use voice chat to talk to their teammates. The moment I began to talk to my team (full of males), I was introduced with a barrage of r*pe threats, comments on my imaginary body, catcalls, invitations to go to their house, and many other disgusting harassments. I was scared and repulsed by these males. Their insensitivity and appalling behavior definitely called for reports. I have read many stories similar to this where women would play these type of videogames and be on the receiving end of harassment such as this. Reporting them on the game never seems enough, and I am not proposing for them to be arrested or anything, but the hatred I felt towards these users were very strong. What are your guys’ stories?

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Hathaway, J. (2014). What is gamergate and why? An explainer for non-geeks. Gawker.

Lee, L. (2015). Virtual homeplace: (re)constructing the body through social media. 91-111.

McLaine, S. (2003). Ethnic online communities: between profit and purpose. 233-254.

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Blog Post 10/28

1.       When comparing “trolls” of the internet back then to the ones today, what differences are there?

Derived from Norse mythology, a troll is something that wishes harm upon its victims and seeks to harass them. Trolls have always been a part of the internet. Though not as prevalent as today, they were still apart of the internet years ago. Forums much like 4chan seemed to have brought on the origin of internet trolling as discussion boards were made to be used by the people to speak their opinions (Phillips 2015). The term “troll” was not yet used to describe those who spoke spiteful things until forums have grown popular and the internet have spread. I feel that internet trolls of back then were just not given as much attention as we are giving them today. With the internet becoming popularized and widespread, along with all these social media platforms, trolls have been given more power to spread their hate and malice. Some may even be trolls simply to find amusement in others’ anger or just to mess around. The thing is though, trolls are treated as a joke now. It is a good thing too, because treating them as jokes means that we are not truly affected by their words.

2.       How can internet trolls be dangerous?

As seen from the article A Timeline of Leslie Jones’s Horrific Online Abuse by Anna Silman, you can see firsthand just how dangerous trolls can be. They can be anonymous and are even able to steal a celebrity’s identity just by creating an account under their name. Leslie Jones has experienced this firsthand as an internet troll pretended to be her to say very offensive and hateful things (Silman 2016). Many people genuinely believed it was Leslie Jones saying these things when in reality it was just a person who hated the new Ghostbusters movie or her (Silman 2016). Her reputation was tarnished, her stress levels rose, and she was deeply saddened at what this troll did. With social media platforms such as Twitter that do not check what everyone is doing with their “freedom of speech”, things like Leslie Jones’ experience is rampant today. Anyone can say anything and may possibly be able to get away with it, even if it is under someone else’s identity.

3.       Why is the story of Grandpa Wiggly important?

Grandpa Wiggly shows a prevalent internet practice called “canceling”. The act of canceling on the internet means to withdraw support for public figures or companies after they have done or said something considered offensive. I argue that the Grandpa Wiggly stories were not made to troll anyone. It was just as the user Wordsauce said. It was simply made up to amuse others and to come up with wild stories to share with others. People a part of cancel culture, however, did not find it as amusing as many others or Wordsauce did. People started to send Wordsauce many hateful comments and even threats, just because they found out that what was supposedly a grandpa Redditor was not a grandpa at all. I do not condone these people’s actions and I believe cancel culture when put into a context such as Grandpa Wiggly’s story is toxic.

4.       How are we able to stop “trolls” or stop their actions?

To be honest, I do not thing there is any way to stop internet trolls. However, we can take away their power simply by ignoring them. If we take away attention from them, what are they going to do? If they say even more stupid arguments, what point is there to respond to them? We can just ignore them and not give them the power of annoying us. If their intentions are to cause hurt or anger, then we simply have to not show them that they are doing just that.

 Bergstrom, K. (2011). “Don’t feed the troll”: Shutting down debate about community expectations on Reddit.com. First Monday, 16(8). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i8.3498

Duggan, M. (2014), “Online Harassment” Pew Research Center, pp. 1-11.

 Phillips, W. (2015), "Defining Terms: The Origins and Evolution of Subcultural Trolling”. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture. pp. 55-57.

 Silman, A. (2016). A Timeline of Leslie Jones’s Horrific Online Abuse.

[katerynree]

Blog Post 10/7

1.       What are some concerning factors of the New Jim Code?

Algorithms created with the intentions of selling to a specific audience based on their search histories may seem harmless, but people do not know just how bad this side of technology can be. Many marketing groups try to target specific ethnic groups when it comes to advertisements (Benjamin 2019). However, the problems with these algorithms is that because there is no emotion in technology and there is really no one who takes it seriously enough to oversee them, it ends up targeting these ethnic groups with bias and blatant stereotypes. An example of this is when R. Benjamin has commented on the fact that the algorithmic filtering makes it so that it can “redirect real estate ads away from people like them” (Benjamin 2019). Not only that but Benjamin also states that higher-paying job advertisements are show more to men than women, that things like prep schools and courses are shown to more Asians, and who knows how many more ethnic groups these algorithms have  stereotyped (Benjamin 2019). The advertisements on different social media platforms that have been shown to me always revolved around Asian pornographic material and even this one brand that was made so that people who have monolids (an eyeshape) can use a type of tape that will make it so that they can have hooded eyelids.

2.       How is geography a “reliable proxy” for race?

Benjamin also highlights the problem of public policy and the stereotyped areas that different ethnic groups live in (Benjamin 2019). I had not known that some Republican states were protecting poor White Americans from the “work for welfare” policy and it is painful to learn how this policy blatantly categorizes minorities and their areas (Benjamin 2019). Public policies based on demographics and areas may seem neutral, however that enables state lawmakers to be able to excuse White people based on the area they live in (Benjamin 2019). I would also like to comment on areas that are always called “ghetto”. So many people judge the citizens who live in the “ghetto”, but is it truly their fault that they live in such areas? How would people, specifically minorities, be able to get out, “improve”, or succeed if they are forced to live in bad conditions? It is because minorities are unable to escape from poor conditions that people unnecessarily stereotype them.

3.       What has contributed to the white people’s idea that they are the “superior race”?

Knowing that race is a social construct, I have always wondered what has enabled the white people of the past to believe that they are the “superior race”. Is it because their population was most likely the largest back then? Is it because they were able to reach the industrial revolution faster than other races? Is it because they are so war hungry that with every win it just feeds their mindsets that they are the best? There are so many factors in our world history that could have contributed to their ideology of white supremacy that it is so hard to pinpoint when or how it even started. I wanted to ask this question simply because I would like to discuss the psychological factors that play into this. What do you all think?

4.       How do videos like “Sh*t People Say* videos contribute to topics such as racism and sexism?

I remember in middle school watching “Sh*t Girls Say” actually and it gave me a strange nostalgic feeling reading about it in Senft and Noble’s book. Everyone I knew who watched YouTube back then has at least seen this particular video and never did I ever think it would be blown up to the extent it had, nor did I know of the sexism and racism that will follow it. I have never seen the other videos the book mentioned that followed the template “Sh*t Girls Say”, such as “Sh*t Black Girls Say” or “Sh*t Spanish Girls Say” and so on (Senft and Noble 2015). I do not even intend to watch them because I know just how furious I would be if I ever do. Jokes, memes, comedic shows, and funny videos may seem like they simply intend to make people laugh, and sure, some of them do have such sincere intentions. 

However, things like “Sh*t Black Girls Say” or a better example, a parody (by Nicole Arbour) of the song “This is America” created by Childish Gambino has tried to put a feminist look on the song. Originally, the song was made to shine a light on racial oppression and the violence African Americans face. It is safe to say with all the hate that flooded in that the parody did not do it justice at all. The problem with Nicole Arbour’s parody is that she did not even include how African American women suffer, she mainly based it off of white women’s experiences. If she truly cared and wanted a callout against sexism then she should have focused on all women’s suffering. Videos like Nicole Arbour’s or Billy Sorrell’s are examples of what is wrong with society’s comedic standpoint. Comedy that is intended to hurt someone is truly despicable.

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Hunsinger, J.; Senft, T. M. (2015). The social media handbook. London: Routledge.

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. Social Forces, 98(4), 1-3. doi:10.1093/sf/soz162

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Blog Post 9/30

1. How does the series “Shadow Warrior” play a hand in racism and sexism in the videogame community?

Upon reading Jeffery Ow’s article and of the mentioned game “Shadow Warrior”, I decided to search it up and decide for myself how I feel about it. As an Asian woman, I am absolutely appalled from what I saw in my searches and the descriptions the article provided about the game. I thought to myself, “If they’re using such an exaggerated Asian accent, then they must have hired an Asian voice actor right?” No, they hired Jason Liebrecht, an American white male who was born in Texas. I am not condemning him for voice acting an Asian character, but I am disappointed in the fact that the industry decided to hire him and come up with a script that’s meant to be said in an exaggerated Asian accent with blatantly disrespectful lines in this game. I’ve played my fair share of videogames where the main character you play is supposed to say witty lines and crude jokes, and it’s disgusting to see that sexual and degrading jokes made towards women and minorities are prevalent in them. The women characters in “Shadow Warrior” are always seen naked or doing something that should be in a private space, but even then, Lo Wang is created so that upon talking to these women, he would say something appalling and catcall them. It makes me so angry to see the hype about this game when it’s seriously disrespectful for me. To each their own of course, but I despise this game.

2. How is race a social construct?

Society is what people make it to be. We all do not choose what race we are nor what we look like, however, the concept of race was created by humans themselves. Racism, the term “minorities”, how people treat each other, etc. are all things that mankind has decided to create. When we’re born and growing up, we do not automatically think “Oh they’re a different race than me.” We are taught these tings in the society we live in. Our environment and society highly influence our thought processes. Our notion of what constitutes "white" and what constitutes "black" is a product of social context. Yes, the color of our skin is based on biological elements, but the ones who gave it any meaning is society itself.

3. How is the internet a strong front for white supremacy?

The internet serves for many a chance to be able to hide behind a screen and remain anonymous on many sites, whether to serve as a viewer or even a speaker. However, the problem with this is that the internet is such a broad platform that it is hard to pinpoint a threat unless you search hard enough. White supremacists can use the internet for its anonymity and create their own community, because unless people specifically search for these sites, we will not be able to find it. White supremacists may not be able to meet people with a similar mindset in their area, but the internet allows them to broaden their connections and close the distance gap. With the internet, they are able to create events that could lead to harm and even seek out protest events (such as the BLM movement) to simply ruin them.

4. What are some of the internet platforms that promote white supremacy or help them?

Some of the most popular platforms, while we may not know it, help to promote white supremacy. Reddit itself is a widely known site that has many different threads or communities where people can gather and speak about a topic, they are interested in. Facebook allows you to create groups and even events where people can meet in person and talk about why they have gathered together. As innocent these sites are and although they do not outright promote white supremacy, they allow such people to gather under false pretenses or even with their intensions shown. How do you guys think we can prevent it? Or is there even any way to prevent it?

Daniels, J. (2009). White Supremacy in the Digital Era. Cyber Racism: White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights (pp. 3-16). Rowman & Littlefield.

Kolko, B. E., Nakamura, L., & Rodman, G. B. (2000). Race in Cyberspace: An Introduction. Race in Cyberspace (pp. 1-13). Routledge.

Ow, J. A. (2000). The Revenge of the Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator: The Rape of Digital Geishas and the Colonization of Cyber-Coolies in 3D Realms’ Shadow Warrior. Race in Cyberspace (pp. 51-68). Routledge.

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Blog Post 9/16

1.      How can technology be biased? How can it be racist?

In the article by R. Benjamin, they bring up an interesting study in which computer scientists found that a popular algorithm is potentially racist (Benjamin 2019). This particular algorithm is made to focus on writing, and it’s been exposed that it “thinks” Black-sounding names are unpleasant, while White names are pleasant (Benjamin 2019). Technology, as “neutral” as it is said to be, is manmade. Technology did not come to be out of thin air, humans created it and with it came bias. Technology was created with “data produced through histories of exclusion and discrimination.” (Benjamin 2019)

Humans hide behind a screen to abuse their freedom of speech, creating racially divided algorithms to push their own opinions onto others. Even if technology has no real consciousness, there are human thoughts put into creating it.

2.      Do names hold power? Why are names so important?

Names, in a way, define who we are. People associate personalities, feelings, beliefs, etc. into names. Just to give an example, what does the name Kyle make you think of? I have seen many jokes and memes about the name Kyle, saying that it belongs to a white fraternity boy who likes to party and punch walls.

R. Benjamin emphasizes the importance of names as they either have cultural influence or even have the power to escape injustice (Benjamin 2019). For example, White-sounding names could have just as much White privilege as the person themselves. Benjamin points out that White-sounding names are more appealing to employers and receive more callbacks than Black-sounding names (Benjamin 2019). The thing is, people do not typically associate a White-sounding name with crime or even ghettos. It is almost always a cultural-sounding name, whether it be a Hispanic name, or African American, etc. People associate certain names to races, and with that comes stereotypes. I have come across many people who have called me Ling just because I am Asian. It’s as if one look at my eyes and my skin tone makes them think my name must be Ling and I just have to be Chinese. It is appalling how names have to be associated with racial stereotypes and how many people are suffering through it.

3.      What role does Google have in “technological redlining”?

Technological redlining is a term S. Noble uses to define how technology reinforces racial and social divides (Noble, 2018). Now, what does Google have to do with this? Both articles by S. Noble and R. Benjamin have found problems with Google’s “neutrality.” Firstly, there was a scandal that Google employees supported a sexist manifesto, and not only that, the man who wrote this actually worked for Google (Noble, 2018). Not only that, but as Noble Google searched “black girls”, they were stunned as pornographic sites ended up being the most popular results (Noble, 2018). For R. Benjamin, Google-searching Black-sounding names brings up criminal records, which are not the same as the results of searching White-sounding names (Benjamin, 2019).

In the end, Google’s algorithms were created to learn of people’s preferences and to use them as a reference for the best possible search result. The employees do not care enough to look at these results and they do not bother to fix the problem without some sort of public critique. Google can be biased and a medium for racists, but does the company do anything about it? Maybe even some of the employees support it, we never know. So, what are we to do when companies like these feed into discrimination and social divide?

4.      If technology plays a hand in oppression, how can we rise against it?

Technology can be used for activism as well. For the past few months, you may have seen the Black Lives Movement go viral and marches spread to all states of America. How did it come to be? Social media, news, people spreading information and links to events; all of it led to technology. People use social media as a call-to-action and has it worked before? Yes, according to A. Everett, the Million Woman March was greatly helped by the Internet which spread the news to all women in America, gathering more supporters for the movement (Everett, 2002). What we need to do is fight fire with fire, technology with technology. We have to make it so movements like these, fighting for equality and peace, should be the number one search result, and what everyone needs to be thinking of.

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the New Jim Code. Cambridge: Polity.

Everett, A. (2002). The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere. Social Text, 125-146.

Noble, S. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press.

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Blog Post 9/9

Trigger Warning: body dysmorphia and anorexia

What role does social media play toward the image of body dysmorphia that women have?

“Pro-anorexia” sites are online communities where some women gather to gain inspiration to become thin and to feel motivated to look like their favorite models (Daniels 2009). Though there are some women who do not think this is a “mental disease”, I would like to focus on the women who are suffering through this disorder. While pro-ana websites are used for “thinspiration” and for encouragement to get thin, it is also playing into women’s desires to become skinny however they can (Daniels 2009). It slowly becomes an addiction, a need to starve yourself so you can finally look like the ideal body that you want. Yes, there are people who know when to stop, but what of the others that do not? Social media have many people we deem as beautiful, people who we want to look like or even become. It could potentially deepen the body dysmorphic disorders that many have, and these pro-ana sites also could have a hand in this.

Have technological advances negatively impacted working class or poor citizens?

Although there are many positive impacts that technology has brought, it has also brought many hard times for the working class and poor. The first is from the personal story by Virginia Eubanks and her experience with the poorly made algorithm her insurance company has (Eubanks 2018). Eubanks has also said that there “is no requirement that you be notified when you are red-flagged.” (Eubanks 2018)

There are also many arguments that due to machines and technology, it is much harder for people to obtain a new job. When there is a job that relies solely on technology, you’d either need to be a good technician or look for a new job. Another example I would like to bring up are the issues that revolve around Federal Student Aid. I was one of the unlucky few that did not fit the criteria to receive student aid and the only option I had left was to take out a student loan. That is not to say that the people who have received free financial aid do not deserve it, but what of the others that do not fit the criteria but still need the money to pay for an expensive education? Even if their parents make just a little too much, it does not mean we are receiving any help from family. There is no human care that go into these students’ aid, only calculations and thinking they have enough for the tuition even without their help.

How has social media become a medium for Cyberfeminism?

There are many women-empowerment sites on the internet, and most importantly, social media has given women of color to speak against racial divide or gender inequality. The internet has given women a chance to connect with others, given them a platform to speak about gender equality issues, and to have them rise up, bringing on more activism towards equality for all. Social media allows us to create more communities where we can stay informed of these issues and to be able to speak against it in front of an audience. The internet has become a stepping stone for activists and is a huge step towards a better society.

What changes do you think the government should make to prevent unfair “red flagging”?

Eubanks has said that there is no “sunshine law that compels companies to release the inner details of their digital fraud detection systems.” (Eubanks 2018) 

I feel that the government should implement certain policies that allow them to inform their citizens of “red flagging” and just how they determine fraudulence. There needs to be more information on how to avoid being red-flagged and what to do if you are red-flagged. The government needs to take responsibility for their unfairness and to have more care towards their citizens. What changes do you guys think they should make?

Daniels, Jessie. (2009). Rethinking cyberfeminism: race, gender, and embodiment. Women’s Studies Quarterly. 37, 101-124.doi: 10.1353/wsq.0.0158

Eubanks, Virginia. (2018). Automating Inequality Intro

[katerynree]

Blog Post 9/2

1.     Does the social aspect of social media distract people from learning about real-world events?

Many people use social media for several reasons. Whether to see what their friends and families are up to, to communicate with other people, or to look at different kinds of posts just to pass the time. They can also use social media to gain new information or even to check on the news (Fuchs 2017). Current news or events can easily be posted on social media platforms in forms of videos, articles, or a simple picture. However, even with how easy it is to access newsfeed, most of its readers simply skim through articles or even skip reading it all together. As convenient as social media is it distracts us from what is happening in the real world. Teens and young adults mostly use it to communicate with people or to see the funny videos that are posted for our amusement. We do not truly seek out information and are distracted by the things social media gives us.

2.     Is social media or any news outlets a credible source for what is happening in the world today?

Although news channels are made to inform the people, there were problems of bias that revolved around their information (Gonzalez 2012). It is hard to learn the truth when the things you are learning are just opinions of people who are able to spread them. Social media can easily control what we see or do not see when scrolling through our daily feed. A vast majority of people create fake news with exaggerated storylines to gain attention for their sites or articles, making it harder for us to seek out authentic information. Although there are real news out in the social media world, it is harder to find them when there are many other insincere articles screaming for the attention of their readers.

3.     Does social media implicitly apply a political filter on news or world events?

When scrolling through, say Facebook, you may have noticed a few political posts posted on your feed. The political articles we have seen are bound to be authored by a person with the ideology they are showcasing in their words. Many people can easily show their ideologies in what they decide to post, whether it is to show support for a presidential candidate or to show support for their political party in general. However, it is also a way to show political bias towards real world events. There are many posts who take what has happened in our world today and uses it to push their agenda.

4.     How can we stay informed of real-world events?

Despite the bias that may affect the news we seek out; it is important to stay informed. Social media can give us a lot of information, but it all depends whether we research further and truly try to learn of the truth. Google is a platform that allows us to search up anything we are curious about and can be used as a form of research. Facebook also has many news posted on its platform and could provide more information. It truly just depends on us to stay informed and to look and share any credible news for our fellow peers.

 Fuchs, Christian. 2017. Social Media: A Critical Introduction. 2nd Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Gonzalez, J., & Torres, J. 2012. News for all the people: the epic story of race and the American media. Verso.

[katerynree]

The time when technology failed me

So fun fact, I have about like a million alarms on my phone. Think of a time that ends with :30 or :00 and I will most likely have that time set as an alarm on my phone. Now, I have these alarms so that whenever I need to wake up or do something at a certain time I can just go on my phone and switch on that alarm. 

I had a big event I had to help at at my high school. It was for the seniors that was graduating that year and I was required to help. I had to be there by at least 6am. See, I lived like a solid 15 minutes from there so I could just wake up at 5:30am and have it be no problem. 

I turned on like five alarms (5:10, 5:15, 5:20, 5:25, 5:30), all in preparation for the big day coming.

And when I woke up, it wasn’t to my alarms. It was to my mom bursting in my room and screaming at me to wake up cause I was late to school. I turned on my phone to see if I actually slept through my alarms, and turns out they didn’t even go off.