The two leading social media platforms that I use are TikTok and Instagram. Over the past few weeks, my feed has been filled with protest ICE. The post reveals Mexican Americans fighting for immigrants who are being deported or at risk of being detained by ICE. In the protest, people are holding Mexican flags and signs that are anti-deportation. I think that the reason Mexican immigrants are the ones standing up is due to the president’s discriminatory remarks against people of Mexican descent and the fact immigration is stopping people from appearing Hispanic. Although xenophobia does not just affect Mexican or Latino immigrants, Trump is focusing on southern borders. There is ICE being explicitly spotted in areas that are predominantly Latino and Hispanic. On social media, specifically on my algorithm, immigrant policies are being portrayed as something cruel. The new policies will be separating families and taking people out of a country in which they have lived for decades, if not their whole life. There is a huge discussion that immigrants are increasing the crime rates, and that is the reason why deportation is necessary to keep this country safe. However, the argument is that immigrants have helped build this country to what it is now, and enabling legal paperwork would be more beneficial.Â
I watched CNN, and the coverage of immigration policies has been entirely different from what I see on social media. I do not see coverage of the protests that are taking place nationwide, but they are discussing Trump’s plan with immigration. I think it is informational to know the updates, but it does not completely cover what is happening. It is not sending the right idea to people who may not be as informed as others.Â
Should there be a limit to cyberfeminism when it involves the promotion of mental disorders?Â
Cyberfeminism has been beneficial for the world of feminism. It allows people who identify as women to express their beliefs and ideas online for others to see. It provides a safe place for women to turn to. However, should there be a limit when women are promoting mental disorders such as bulimia and anorexia-nervosa? The media has had an impact on the way adolescents and young adults view their body image. When there are people on the internet who are promoting these illnesses, it can put more people at risk of developing these disorders. In the article, “Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment,” Jessie Daniels states, “...pro-ana sites are engaging with Internet technologies in ways that are both motivated by and confirm (extremely thin) embodiment” (Daniels, 2009). Daniels is saying that women are promoting the thinness that comes with anorexia. It has almost become a competition to become thinner to be accepted into the anorexia community online. This can be very detrimental to women who utilize the internet to be influenced. It can be setting the wrong idea to women that having these mental disorders is okay rather than reaching out to attain the proper help.Â
How are complex integrated databases affecting minorities?Â
Intergrated databases are affecting minorities because they are constantly being surveilled. When low-income families get resources to support their financial needs or live in redlining areas, they are put into a database that watches their purchases or every move. In the chapter “Red Flags” by Virginia Eubanks, the author states, “People of color, migrants, unpopular religious groups, sexual minorities, the poor, and other oppressed and exploited populations bear a much higher burden of monitoring and tracking than advantaged groups” (Eubanks, 2018). This means that people apart from minority groups are much more at risk of being monitored based solely on the reason for being a minority. They automatically become part of an integrated database, which violates their privacy. Not only that, but it also paints them in a negative light for others. Eubanks argues, “It is intended to heap stigma on social programs and reinforce that cultural and narrative that those who access public assistance are criminal, lazy, spendthrift addicting” (Eubanks, 2018). This could be the reason why so many people argue against programs that are meant to help people who are classified as low-income. Rather than just viewing them as people needing help, they are viewed as people taking advantage of the government.Â
How is AI affecting law practices?Â
Artificial intelligence can help advance society, but it can also have adverse effects when inaccurate. Black men have been notoriously convicted of crimes that they did not commit throughout history. With the usage of AI, this has caused new cases to happen. In “Another Arrest, and Jail Time, Due to Bad Facial Recognition Match” by Kashmir Hill, the story of a black man who was wrongly identified in a crime and arrested is discussed. The man, Nijeer Parks, was convicted of a felony due to an error made by facial recognition technology. A picture of the actual man from the crime and his picture was put into facial recognition technology, showing that it was the same man when it was not. This proves that AI is affecting law practices because it is being used as a definite answer to who committed a crime and is also giving faulty answers. This could continue to harm the law system against Black men.Â
How has cyberfeminism benefited women coming from strict patriarchal communities?Â
Cyberfeminism has benefited women from strict patriarchal communities because they are allowed to voice their opinions through platforms that they deem safe places. Women who come from patriarchal communities are forced to live up to certain expectations, but with the use of digital media, the pressure subsides. It gives them the option to interact with women who have ideas similar to theirs. In the article, “Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment,” Daniels argues that “...the value of new technologies to further their agendas and to promote their brand of activism...” (Daniels, 2009). Women can promote the causes they stand for without needing to do it in real life. Some women are constantly being surveilled by their families and members of the community to stick to patriarchal morals, but this does not have to exist when they are their online persona.Â