Reed Chapter 9

Reed's chapter 9 addresses the topic of the digital gap. What it generally entails is the fact that the world is not entirely connected to the internet, which creates a gap that separates cultures from the modern era of technology. Reed makes some case points: the lack of representation and diversity on the web is jarring and discouraging, given that the population of China is much greater than the United States, yet English is the most predominant language on the web. Reed also refers to the fact that there are less Japanese speakers out there but they are over-represented. The term "have-nots" is something that refers to people who do not have access to the internet.

I'm not sure how much I felt about Reed's chapter, but since we are on the topic of the digital divide, I'd like to also discuss what I learned from a book I read last semester: "Crossing the Digital Divide: Race, Writing, and Technology in the Classroom" by Barbara Monroe. She made sure to make it clear that there is a difference between the "have-nots" and "want-nots". Just because there are people out there that do not have access to the internet or technology does not mean they are unintelligent or poor. There are people out there that feel they do not need these things, instead they feel a need to have necessities, such as food, water, and shelter, rather than technology.

Monroe created many different case studies to show the many cases of the digital divide, and race does play a major part in it. She had a case study that had college students become tutors to inner-city young African-American students. They had a large discrepancy between styles and use with technology. The African-American students were inadvertently being put down as the white college students did not realize their privilege over the African-American students. Thus it was found the African-American students avoided using AAVE and sometimes fabricated stories of wealth to appear similar to their tutors.

The digital divide is long from being bridged, but one has to remember that it's not tragic that people do not have access to these technologies or the internet. Having the lack of access does not imply anything of the individual themselves, but more of the government they are under.

Sometimes the lack of technology and internet can be seen as an economic issue, that poor people just can't afford it. And this is true, however the individual cannot be seen as unintelligent (like they can't figure out how to use a computer) or lazy (why they can't just get a better job or go back to college). This is because poverty is systemic problem.

Nakamura Chapter 1

I have a confession to make. Nakamura's article brings it up right away: the fact that the internet has the potential and anonymity to create a genderless/raceless environment. However the moment we enter (if we had not already boldly claim our identities), we are assumed to be white, able-bodied, cis males. Now here is where my confession comes in: no matter what video game I played, I chose to be a white male avatar. I am an Asian-American woman, and for some reason I was more compelled to be a white male when I had been given the chance. This reinforces my own oppression of my race and gender. However, while I still do this occasionally, I had to step back and realize my own wrong-doings. Being an Asian character is not bad at all. I had such deep hatred for my "Asian" looks (small eyes, a flat nose, dark eyes), that I believed the video game avatars were ugly when they were anything but white.

These racial-aggression only dug the self-hatred deeper. (And it does not help that any time an Asian character is, they are seen as a stereotype: kung-fu master, dragon lady, cute and innocent, a geisha, school girl, nerd, quiet, etc.) I didn't help my case by continuing to deny my own identity online. However this all changed when I encountered Tumblr where many communities of minorities are built to gain solidarity and support. I still create a white male character occasionally, but I took a conscious effort to create characters of another gender and race.

But there is always a double-edge to self-identification online. I had an OKCupid account at one point, and I typed in the fact I was Asian, and I received a shit ton of responses. And I strongly believe it is because I claimed my identity. I was flattered and getting a boost of self-esteem, but then I realized the amount of fetishizing I have encountered. Men enjoyed the fact I was Asian, which was really fucking creepy. So on Tumblr I found this graph of data retrieved from OKCupid:



Race plays a huge part online. Evident in dating websites. And this is just the surface of it. This stems from cybertyping, which came from stereotypes drawn in from the real world. Asian women are seen as exotic and submissive, a mail-order bride, or school girl, cute and small, so men gravitates towards them. And Latina women are seen as "spicy" and "sexy", while black women have been oppressed by even black men. (Proof on twitter where black men have slandered black women in favor of white or light-skinned women).

Nakamura also discusses the issue of the model minority, and I strongly believe it was a ploy by the white people to pit minorities against each other. There is no lie, the model minority term emerged in the newspapers in the 1960s (when the civil rights movement was ongoing), and ultimately it served no justice to the Asian-Americans themselves but rather has a warning, an attack on the African-American community. It was ultimately made to further support the white supremacy, while keeping the Asian-Americans quiet and degrading the African-Americans at the same time. Killed two birds with one stone. (Link to a short Tumblr article that sums this up better than me.)

Digitized Lives: Reed Chapter 1

It is understandable that Reed's first chapter is used to define and set up the context for the rest of the book. While I feel, that indeed, it seems to be a non-engaging discussion in light of the future topics, it still seems necessary to include. I find his take on technology to be somewhat refreshing. Simply because outright he clarifies that he will attempt to avoid biases where he would sound like he inherently praises technology like a god, or criticize it like a technophobe. He does makes some good points about how technology is shaping our world faster than ever. And he does delve into the fact that technology is blending into the real world. Our vocabulary is becoming more expansive, and not in the sense that we have bigger words, but we have simplified words that gets points across without extra flourish.

Information is certainly very important in today's society, and the internet is a plethora of gaining it. I do like his comparison of the internet to a wave. While a experienced web surfer may find what they need exactly and branch out from it with ease, I feel they might be limited in what they can come across. People who just ride the wave where it takes it, I feel are more prone to stumbling across random bits of information. The internet seems to hold so much more than libraries out there can. If you think about it, libraries consists of books that have went to publishers and have been proof read before it was printed. However, in the internet you can find personal blogs, where people can speak their own mind and personal experiences.

It seems that there can be no censorship in these types of writing, which is exciting (and sometimes boring or offensive). To be able to communicate with others and share their lives with each other seems to form pen-pals more efficiently and more frequently than before (where in grade school we get assigned one and we wrote letters). I do like the fact that you can see pictures too. To have imagery alongside with text creates a multi-medial space for more engagement and personal connection.

I am curious, however to what the future can hold, but part of me is afraid of the new things we can come up with. Apparently with all the new technologies coming forward, I can definitely see our lives becoming more public rather than private. I can't imagine anyone being open to constantly under scrutiny by their peers. One can isolate themselves, but it will be at a cost of not being able to connect properly with society.  n other words, Reed is right about the prospect of internet, and that it holds a lot more than our previous technologies can ever have. While this sets up for illegal and disgusting things people can put up (hint: the Shadow web; absolutely disgusting), it also provides a connectivity that we have never imagined to come across. I say we're very lucky to have all these technology around us, and I'm grateful for the culture it built.

DTC 475

From further on, my posts will be for my DTC 475 class.