Reading his chapters, I felt more compelled to write about chapter 4. However I'm going to emphasize on the gender AND race issue. While it is important to understand that women are most likely to be harassed or assaulted, the way issues are handled and the way they are publicized is an issue of race too. What I'm going to begin talking about is the fact that white women have more privileges than any other race. African-American women have stigmas attached to them, whereas white women don't. The closest a white woman can get to being stereotyped is being too "basic" or "blonde-jokes". African-American women, on the other hand are sexualized or stereotyped into being someone who is 'sassy' or 'don't-need-no-man' attitude, taking both stereotypes into jokes. African-American women's cases are seldom to be heard on the news, they experience the blow of sexism with little or no help from publicity, as people are outraged with the many stories of white women, the reports of other women are rare to see on the news. This also applies to the recent case of Mike Brown, where black people are shown as 'not an angel' even when they are the victims.
Reed's comment on the default and unintentional white-created internet is a relief to read from someone with a professional background. People can claim racism is over or that they 'don't see color', when in fact, the internet is, by default, a white, male community. Their privileges expand across languages, dominating the web with English rather than all the other languages that exist in the world today. What this shows is that sometimes the presence of other races is not welcomed online as it should be. On tumblr, people are dubbed as SJW (social justice warriors) and while this sounds like a positive thing, many (mainly cis-white-men) cry out how we are femnazis or too sensitive. But they don't understand anything outside their bubble of delusion. They don't understand that they don't experience racism. What is sad is a concept of white feminism. And it prevails today. Many white women involved in feminism looks past the issue of race. When someone of color calls them out on bigotry, they are quick to defend themselves. They also don't understand issues that they should if they want equal rights for EVERYBODY.
Now, on a personal note, the problem with race and being a women, I encountered one first hand. I'm not sure if this is TMI, but I think it's innocent enough. I love clothes, but only Asian-fashion clothes. I find myself wanting to buy them, but unless I live in Taiwan or in Chinatown I don't have access to their style of fashion. So I like to look online and see if I can buy them from companies instead. I found myself enjoying their lingerie, more cute and airy than the ones westerners wear and sell. So I googled "Asian lingerie". Lingerie is a word in fashion, is a word seen in store bold for women to see. However, some part of me wasn't surprised, but primarily disgusted, at first it was just weird festish-y sites. Then on the next page I started getting pornography. Pages of pornography. I never did it again. Fuck the internet. Why must you sexualize my people and slap them on the front pages of the web, when I just want to look cute.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
When reading the first three chapters, what made the largest impression on me was his telling of the dark side of the electronics industry. He prompts us to think critically of the electronics companies which we buy our products from. And it makes sense. The companies constantly turns a blind eye and feigns innocence when approached with the subject of unethical work labor. As Reed puts it, the people on top are the dreamer and successes of a major discovery. The second tier are the app makers and such. The last one is the majority, Reed says, made up of mainly women who work below minimum wage in terrible conditions. The poor conditions range from working 16 hour days to committing suicide or dying in a fire.
These unethical standards only show the corruptness of large companies who take advantage of people's needs to work, especially poor people. They say corporations are people, but I highly doubt that. But a good point that Reed brings to the discussion about labor in factories is that the topic seems to die off after the scandal is exposed. As he says, the movement dies off from public view, easily wiped, like a memory from Men in Black or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
He also bring the issue of E-Waste that plagues the industry. People seldom forget that there are waste that goes beyond our islands of trash floating in the ocean. It is poisoning the workers, who deals with these toxins every day. He remarks that the workers are dressed in seemingly protective gear. However its not to protect them from the waste, but so the electronic device won't be contaminated by the human. It's an almost ironic situation.
I think this subject needs to be brought back to life. It's difficult to imagine a world without technology, but even more so about the people who work in shitty enviroments, creating the very base of what we hold in our hands.
These unethical standards only show the corruptness of large companies who take advantage of people's needs to work, especially poor people. They say corporations are people, but I highly doubt that. But a good point that Reed brings to the discussion about labor in factories is that the topic seems to die off after the scandal is exposed. As he says, the movement dies off from public view, easily wiped, like a memory from Men in Black or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
He also bring the issue of E-Waste that plagues the industry. People seldom forget that there are waste that goes beyond our islands of trash floating in the ocean. It is poisoning the workers, who deals with these toxins every day. He remarks that the workers are dressed in seemingly protective gear. However its not to protect them from the waste, but so the electronic device won't be contaminated by the human. It's an almost ironic situation.
I think this subject needs to be brought back to life. It's difficult to imagine a world without technology, but even more so about the people who work in shitty enviroments, creating the very base of what we hold in our hands.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
My focus on this blog post is going to be around a topic I'm fairly sensitive to: The family. I could easily write about activism which is another I enjoy, but family is something I have to write about so I can somehow bring my parent's stories into light.
I found the segment about Parent Helicopters fascinating, mainly because how true they are! As a highschooler I was constantly humiliated by my parents' constant policing. For my mom, she was upfront and blunt about me getting home late (late was apparently 10pm on a prom night, in hindsight, I WAS a sophomore dating a senior that my mom didn't trust, and she was right). My dad was extremely passive-aggressive, sometimes more scary than my mom. It is true what Tapscott evaluated, that parents do this because they're protective of their children in relation to the horrifyingly rising crime rates. I knew they just wanted the best for me, but in the end it became suffocating. I spent a lot of time online, just to find peace and solitary entertainment from my parents. It was to a point my father set an "internet curfew". The internet would turn off automatically at 1 am. Eventually he turned it off when I reached 17 years old. He didn't do so out of fear of the internet or anything, just so I can actually sleep at night, haha. I truly bonded with my family when I left for college, and ended up being miles away from them. It was...amazing. I did find freedom and found myself more productive in school, earning high grades, finding time for my own hobbies. I also found myself appreciating more of my parents. I made sure to call them once in a while, finding relief in being able to do so with technology. When I did go home, I didn't have the luxury in spending time with them, since they worked full-time, but when I did, we all kinda sat together with our computers or tablets and the tv on. But even with all this noise...we really still felt at home.
There are a few things that I've observed about my own family. We're not technophobes. Not at all. Not even in the slightest. That's what I want to talk about. My parents never gave me the sex talk, never gave me a talk about strangers online, or anything of that sort. The only talk they seriously gave me was about education and going to college and graduating, finding a good job. Why didn't they talk to me about all that other stuff? I never asked but I felt they trusted my sister and I at such a young age with the internet. Only recently when I told my mom about some online friends I met that were giving me gifts, was my mom concerned with my activities online. She was baffled at my willingness to give away my address for them to send me gifts. I reassured her, that it will be okay. And it was, it really was.
My entire family is not technophobes, not even the grandparents. My grandpa back in the days enjoyed tinkering with computers, even at 40 or 50 years old. My uncle and father both dealt with computers and my household had at least 5 or 6 computers running at the same time. My sister and I had individual computers, one in the "computer room" for my sister and I to play games on, my dad had one, my uncle had one, and I believed there was even one upstairs in the attic where my uncle slept. Our family had 9 people living under one roof in a three bedroom house, 1 story with an attic. 7 adults, 2 children. Eventually we dispersed but the number of computers in my household remains the same. Except this time it was laptops. We have 3 laptops, and at least 3 desktops in the house, and 3 tablets and 4 smartphones.
The fact we have this much technology is something my mom revels in. She's not even the one competent in computers. She loves it so much because she can talk to her family in Taiwan. She has no one in the United States. So being able to call them, Skype with them, and use the new app called Line to freely contact them with no payment. She understands technology better than those technophobic baby boomers in America. English isn't even her second language, it's her third. Is it America's obsession with our Westernization and traditional roots what's holding the baby boomers back from truly uncovering the extraordinary usability of technology? I believe my parents found themselves enamored with technology because it's something universal. A universal language, and they didn't need to learn fluent English to understand its importance and capabilities. My dad and uncle picks up fast in technology. They don't moan or groan about how absurd this is or how useless and harmful to children. They see us as intelligent and fast. I believe my father knows more about computer than me, and I'm the millennial, the one born into technology.
Oh, and I have to mention that my dad bought the NES without my sister and I even knowing what it was. He also bought a Playstation. We definitely had no knowledge of it. He played it, and we did too. My uncle frequently played Tomb Raider (the first one) and we would crowd around him and watch him play it avidly. He also played the Playstation a lot. I didn't ask for the Gameboy color. The only time I began asking for these high-tech gaming systems was when the GameCube came out. My parents really wanted to get the Wii and encouraged us to get Guitar Hero. They were the ones who asked us if we wanted Rock Band (they looked excited about it at Fry's when we saw it on display). Even recently, just 2 days ago, my mom called me about if I wanted a new camera, a nice one with wi-fi, but we both didn't understand why it needed wi-fi haha.
If my parents, strict and definitely loomed behind me every step of my life until college, understands technology, then I shake my head at technophobe baby boomers. They simply don't want to learn, don't want to accept the age we're in. The only difference I can see is that my parents came to America with hope in their hearts and stars in their eyes. My mom said tears were in her eyes when she ate her first hamburger at Burger King (the Whopper). My dad playing video games with a large smile on his face. My parents yelling at me to get off the internet when someone was calling. My uncle showing me for the first time, video chatting across the world to Taiwan. My dad getting a ping-pong table and how he and my uncle would sometimes play until they sweated. Family is important to me, and their stories bring pride to be a first-generation child. I relied on technology to get where I'm at, and so did my parents.
Tapscott, he's right in many ways, but I can't truly connect with all his statements. Simply because I'm a lucky millennial who grew up with parents that understood technology and foresaw the dangers of increased tuition, so invested in GET to pay for 4 years of college without the cost of inflation. They're smart folks, and I love them. I only hope baby boomers will understand stories like this. Immigrants and first-generation children also make up this technological world. It's not only limited to the Western world and their obsession with tradition. It's time to move on. And the world is waiting for us.
I found the segment about Parent Helicopters fascinating, mainly because how true they are! As a highschooler I was constantly humiliated by my parents' constant policing. For my mom, she was upfront and blunt about me getting home late (late was apparently 10pm on a prom night, in hindsight, I WAS a sophomore dating a senior that my mom didn't trust, and she was right). My dad was extremely passive-aggressive, sometimes more scary than my mom. It is true what Tapscott evaluated, that parents do this because they're protective of their children in relation to the horrifyingly rising crime rates. I knew they just wanted the best for me, but in the end it became suffocating. I spent a lot of time online, just to find peace and solitary entertainment from my parents. It was to a point my father set an "internet curfew". The internet would turn off automatically at 1 am. Eventually he turned it off when I reached 17 years old. He didn't do so out of fear of the internet or anything, just so I can actually sleep at night, haha. I truly bonded with my family when I left for college, and ended up being miles away from them. It was...amazing. I did find freedom and found myself more productive in school, earning high grades, finding time for my own hobbies. I also found myself appreciating more of my parents. I made sure to call them once in a while, finding relief in being able to do so with technology. When I did go home, I didn't have the luxury in spending time with them, since they worked full-time, but when I did, we all kinda sat together with our computers or tablets and the tv on. But even with all this noise...we really still felt at home.
There are a few things that I've observed about my own family. We're not technophobes. Not at all. Not even in the slightest. That's what I want to talk about. My parents never gave me the sex talk, never gave me a talk about strangers online, or anything of that sort. The only talk they seriously gave me was about education and going to college and graduating, finding a good job. Why didn't they talk to me about all that other stuff? I never asked but I felt they trusted my sister and I at such a young age with the internet. Only recently when I told my mom about some online friends I met that were giving me gifts, was my mom concerned with my activities online. She was baffled at my willingness to give away my address for them to send me gifts. I reassured her, that it will be okay. And it was, it really was.
My entire family is not technophobes, not even the grandparents. My grandpa back in the days enjoyed tinkering with computers, even at 40 or 50 years old. My uncle and father both dealt with computers and my household had at least 5 or 6 computers running at the same time. My sister and I had individual computers, one in the "computer room" for my sister and I to play games on, my dad had one, my uncle had one, and I believed there was even one upstairs in the attic where my uncle slept. Our family had 9 people living under one roof in a three bedroom house, 1 story with an attic. 7 adults, 2 children. Eventually we dispersed but the number of computers in my household remains the same. Except this time it was laptops. We have 3 laptops, and at least 3 desktops in the house, and 3 tablets and 4 smartphones.
The fact we have this much technology is something my mom revels in. She's not even the one competent in computers. She loves it so much because she can talk to her family in Taiwan. She has no one in the United States. So being able to call them, Skype with them, and use the new app called Line to freely contact them with no payment. She understands technology better than those technophobic baby boomers in America. English isn't even her second language, it's her third. Is it America's obsession with our Westernization and traditional roots what's holding the baby boomers back from truly uncovering the extraordinary usability of technology? I believe my parents found themselves enamored with technology because it's something universal. A universal language, and they didn't need to learn fluent English to understand its importance and capabilities. My dad and uncle picks up fast in technology. They don't moan or groan about how absurd this is or how useless and harmful to children. They see us as intelligent and fast. I believe my father knows more about computer than me, and I'm the millennial, the one born into technology.
Oh, and I have to mention that my dad bought the NES without my sister and I even knowing what it was. He also bought a Playstation. We definitely had no knowledge of it. He played it, and we did too. My uncle frequently played Tomb Raider (the first one) and we would crowd around him and watch him play it avidly. He also played the Playstation a lot. I didn't ask for the Gameboy color. The only time I began asking for these high-tech gaming systems was when the GameCube came out. My parents really wanted to get the Wii and encouraged us to get Guitar Hero. They were the ones who asked us if we wanted Rock Band (they looked excited about it at Fry's when we saw it on display). Even recently, just 2 days ago, my mom called me about if I wanted a new camera, a nice one with wi-fi, but we both didn't understand why it needed wi-fi haha.
If my parents, strict and definitely loomed behind me every step of my life until college, understands technology, then I shake my head at technophobe baby boomers. They simply don't want to learn, don't want to accept the age we're in. The only difference I can see is that my parents came to America with hope in their hearts and stars in their eyes. My mom said tears were in her eyes when she ate her first hamburger at Burger King (the Whopper). My dad playing video games with a large smile on his face. My parents yelling at me to get off the internet when someone was calling. My uncle showing me for the first time, video chatting across the world to Taiwan. My dad getting a ping-pong table and how he and my uncle would sometimes play until they sweated. Family is important to me, and their stories bring pride to be a first-generation child. I relied on technology to get where I'm at, and so did my parents.
Tapscott, he's right in many ways, but I can't truly connect with all his statements. Simply because I'm a lucky millennial who grew up with parents that understood technology and foresaw the dangers of increased tuition, so invested in GET to pay for 4 years of college without the cost of inflation. They're smart folks, and I love them. I only hope baby boomers will understand stories like this. Immigrants and first-generation children also make up this technological world. It's not only limited to the Western world and their obsession with tradition. It's time to move on. And the world is waiting for us.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
In the second part of the book, near the end, the author revisits the "The Dark Side" and I'm glad of it. If anything about this book strikes me as impacting, is his immediate presentation of the "The Dark Side" in the beginning of the book. It was the one thing that made my blood boil hotter than the sun. However, Tapscott goes back and responds to each one effortlessly and much more positively. I especially enjoyed the segment about stealing. He basically described his ideal music platform like Zune Pass, I believe. ( I don't think Pandora and 8Tracks count, as they are radio-esque). But he makes a point, as a generation, it becomes...a money waster to spend $1 per song you want to download. Considering how much music is being put out these days, and how much music form other countries are gaining popularity, it certainly adds up.
On the topic of pirating, basically, a famous author Neil Gaiman says this, "We took “American Gods,” a book that was still selling and selling very well, and for a month they put it up completely free on their website. You could read it and you could download it. What happened was sales of my books, through independent bookstores, because that’s all we were measuring it through, went up the following month three hundred percent." He realized that pirating, like a case in Russia, was practically free advertising for him, and when people read his works for free, they were more inclined to purchase the material and anything he published in the future. For the net-gen, we've become more and more frugal and weary of where we're spending our cash (well at least the middle-low class). So it comes down to the point that we're curious about products, and want to have it for free to see if we'll like it. We don't want to spend potential rent/grocery/laundry money on a movie we buy and end up hating it, and you can't resell your ticket, digital copy, or DVD.
The Net-Gen is remarkable I think, nothing wrong with narcissism either. What may appear as narcissistic behavior for the baby boomers, is strange, since isn't this self-esteem celebration? Why is it considered hazardous for someone to embrace their chubby bodies, or dark skin? To look good and feel good?
And the response from net-gens about the book "Stupidest Generation" are so snarky and on-point. Which is awesome.
On the topic of pirating, basically, a famous author Neil Gaiman says this, "We took “American Gods,” a book that was still selling and selling very well, and for a month they put it up completely free on their website. You could read it and you could download it. What happened was sales of my books, through independent bookstores, because that’s all we were measuring it through, went up the following month three hundred percent." He realized that pirating, like a case in Russia, was practically free advertising for him, and when people read his works for free, they were more inclined to purchase the material and anything he published in the future. For the net-gen, we've become more and more frugal and weary of where we're spending our cash (well at least the middle-low class). So it comes down to the point that we're curious about products, and want to have it for free to see if we'll like it. We don't want to spend potential rent/grocery/laundry money on a movie we buy and end up hating it, and you can't resell your ticket, digital copy, or DVD.
The Net-Gen is remarkable I think, nothing wrong with narcissism either. What may appear as narcissistic behavior for the baby boomers, is strange, since isn't this self-esteem celebration? Why is it considered hazardous for someone to embrace their chubby bodies, or dark skin? To look good and feel good?
And the response from net-gens about the book "Stupidest Generation" are so snarky and on-point. Which is awesome.
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