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My food pantry experience

This is my first semester at Fullerton, and I live on campus. I have used the food pantry to stock my fridge over the weekends because I only have swipes for the dining hall during the week. The times the food pantry helped the most was when I got sick during the semester, being able to get free soup was very helpful. Also, as someone who doesn't eat most meats, there are still many options I can pick from.

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blog post #9

How can online communities push harmful agendas? 

Gamergate is an example of an online community coming together to encourage harmful behavior. It started when the ex-boyfriend of game developer Zoe Quinn posted a blog alleging that she had several sexual relationships with journalists in return for a positive review of her game. The post gained attention on 4chan, eventually turning into a massive harassment campaign that they felt advocated for gaming culture. They claimed to be angered by a lack of ethics in gaming journalism and progressive topics being integrated into games. Zoe Quinn was not the only person affected by the attack, anyone who tried to advocate for her was also harassed off the internet. In the end Gamergate affected more than just the gaming community; it taught many young men the power of coming together. It also played a role in recruiting young men into the alt-right pipeline. 

How can online communities specifically be noninclusive to people of color?

Even though online communities are mostly anonymous, they can still be exclusive. Many people of color report feeling singled out or unwelcome in online spaces, leading to them having to make their own communities or going undercover to fit in. An example of this experience is online queer spaces for queer youth. As a trans person of color, I found it hard to find spaces that related to my experience. It was hard to find resources as a young person because many of the perspectives I was reading about were written by white people. Especially information on how to pass as a trans person were typically written from the white perspective and didn’t work for a trans person of color. Small things like hair and clothing choices didn’t match for everyone's experience. I had to learn from experience that transitioning into a Black man is very different from transitioning into a white man. 

How can anonymity fuel hate speech online?

Anonymity is one of the main reasons people feel comfortable spreading hate speech and harassing others. Being able to hide behind an unidentifiable account gives the illusion of safety, allowing people to feel safer online. Using a profile picture of yourself or a username that reflects your legal name makes you an easier target, whether you are a victim or a troll. Researchers have proposed multiple theories connecting anonymity and digital aggression, some suggest the lack of physical social connection and social cues can amplify aggressive behavior because the aggressor is not seeing the reaction/effect of their actions. “Anonymity may offer an opportunity for the perpetrators to disassociate their online behaviors from their “real” identity to avert responsibilities and free them from societal norms, resulting in more aggressive behaviors than traditional bullying” (Patchin & Hinduja, 2006; Suler, 2004).  Online anonymity does provide protection for certain demographics, victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse survivors can use anonymous accounts to find support and stay in contact with family members. Apps like the Tea allow women to anonymously post warnings about men they have romantic or sexual interactions with. Online anonymity has also helped the identities of whistleblowers and political activists. 

What makes online communities harmful or educational?

Online communities can be helpful collaborative spaces that allow users to share stories, make friends, and feel supported through a shared perspective and opinion. In one of the readings for this week, Latoya Lee explains the importance of Black hair blogs and how they have become a space for discussion. Black women's natural hair has historically been perceived as unattractive and not appropriate for formal settings. Even within the Black community there is resistance towards loving our natural hair. The article references an incident with comedian Sheryl Underwood, where she made a discouraging comment about keeping Black children's hair after a haircut. After outcry on social media and discussion on popular Black hair websites Afrobella.com, BlackGirlLongHair.com, and CurlyNikki.com, she apologized. I think this is a great example of the importance of talking about self-love because it is very easy to make offhanded comments that are rooted in Eurocentric beauty standards.

Kim, M., Ellithorpe, M., & Burt, S. A. (2023). Anonymity and its role in digital aggression: A systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 72(1359-1789), 101856–101856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2023.101856

Lee, Latoya A. “Virtual Homeplace: (Re)Constructing the Body through Social Media.” Academia.Edu, 28 Nov. 2024, www.academia.edu/29417553/Virtual_Homeplace_Re_Constructing_the_Body_through_Social_Media.

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Blog post #8

Are video games truly escapist? 

In 2020 the world was forced to quarantine due to the rapid outbreak of Covid-19. Many people felt trapped inside and used video games to escape from stress. Nintendo's Animal Crossing quickly became very popular because of its cute design, creativity, and the ability to play online with friends. But people who hadn’t played the game before quickly realized how synced it was with real life. Days and seasons progressed in real time, which was fun with holidays and birthdays but also was a reminder of the amount of time spent online (around this time I had around 240 hours on ACNH). It also incorporated mortgages, loans, and donations, a feature that could be realistically frustrating when trying to unlock other features. In the early stages of the game certain buildings can only be made after donating money, similar to the house expansions that require the first loan to be paid off to expand more. All games can be used as escapism, but they will always be tied to some form of reality and even capitalism. 

What are the negative aspects of digital activism? 

With social media encouraging trends and engagement, it is easy for superficial activism to be pushed instead of real information. Superficial activism is more commonly found on social media because it is easier to post, retweet, or like something without having to follow through on other actions. Trends like #BlackoutTuedsay or changing profile pictures tend to make the user feel better about themselves rather than make a real-world change. This is an ineffective way of spreading information that can also harm the way others learn about news. Companies also use social issues to promote products and market off of marginalized groups while simultaneously funding policies that harm the same people. 

How can a community fight against trolling? 

One of the amazing things about online communities is their ability to push for change. Anna Silman’s “A Timeline of Leslie Jones’s Horrific Online Abuse” documents the online hate and harassment of the comedian Leslie Jones on Twitter after her role in the 2016 Ghostbusters. She became the target of hate when an alt-right commentator and troll made a negative review of the movie. This fueled a surge of online hate that included fake tweets and hacking of her account. Twitter users and other celebrities banded together, creating a hashtag, #LoveforLeslie which helped get Milo Yiannopoulus permanently banned on Twitter. Because Jones continued to speak up for herself when being harassed, she gained a community that helped fight and support her, together they were able to make change. 

Has trolling evolved over time? What can users do to avoid getting involved with online harassment? 

Trolling has morphed into different forms of online harassment; some examples are ragebaiting and snark subreddits. Ragebaiting is similar to trolling, it is when someone intentionally antagonizes someone else for attention or profit. Sometimes rage baiting can be harmless and comedic, but sometimes users will intentionally post or comment hate speech, disinformation, or deliberately insulting opinions. Ignoring ragebait is the only effective way of getting it to stop because it is fueled by any type of attention. Snark subreddits are communities on Reddit dedicated to criticizing celebrities and content creators. They are often criticized for encouraging online bullying because they discuss personal information and harmful theories. Recently there has been more of an attempt to shut down snark subreddits, especially after the suicide of wildlife rehabilitator and YouTuber Mikayla Raines. Finding and reporting these communities is the most effective way of stopping intrusive online harassment.

Bogost, Ian. “The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing.” The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/04/animal-crossing-isnt-escapist-its-political/610012/.

Silman, A. (2016, August 24). A Timeline of Leslie Jones’s Horrific Online Abuse. The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/2016/08/a-timeline-of-leslie-joness-horrific-online-abuse.html

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blog post #7

How does race play a role in online trolling? 

In the Netflix documentary Antisocial Networks, most of the 4chan users/moderators being interviewed were white men. Although there was one person of color who participated in the community and the Otakon convention, he acknowledged the negative turn the community started to take and distanced himself. In contrast, the other members use the excuse of their age and the humor of the time to excuse their past behavior. Race plays a role in online communities even if users don’t acknowledge it, it is not unusual for online communities to assume the majority of participants are white or predominantly male. This can make members of color and women feel alienated or hide their identity in order to fit in. Two of the women interviewed admitted that it was challenging to fit in if you identified as a woman. Fostering the environment of an online boys club created an echo chamber of insensitive jokes and behavior under the guise that it was just jokes.  Although some of the members moved on to political activism, they are more focused on issues that they felt affected them. Even when they put a white supremacist in jail, it wasn’t because of his violent or hateful beliefs they simply targeted him because he was reactive. 

How is 4chan responsible for some of the online behavior we still see today? 

4chan’s behavior and lingo are ingrained in internet culture. For users who are not familiar with its impact, it is easy to fall for its trolling and toxic culture fueled by anonymity. The documentary explores how QAnon gained many followers through Reddit and 4chan by spreading misinformation and feeding into political anxieties. It reincorporated old memes, like cheese pizza, into full-blown conspiracies that led to events like January 6th. Raids are also integral to the history of 4chan, users have raided online games, servers, and websites. This behavior is still done online and has expanded into doxing and trolling. 

How does cyber harassment affect victims' lives? 

Although cyber harassment targets victims online, it can have extreme consequences in the real world. Victims of digital harassment are often affected by reputational damage, lose job opportunities, and risk of being doxxed. Cyber harassment leaves a digital footprint, making its victims' personal information, nudes, or false claims easier for others to find. Adolescent victims are even more vulnerable to cyberbullying and more likely to attempt suicide. 

How does cyber harassment affect women and men differently? 

Cyber harassment tends to target women in a sexually aggressive way, while men are often emasculated or made fun of for their ideas. The victims of cyber harassment are disproportionately women, as they more likely to be threatened with violence, rape, and/or sexual extortion. “ Women—and especially young women – receive sexualized forms of online abuse at much higher rates than men. Some 21% of women ages 18 to 29 have been sexually harassed online, a figure that is more than double that of men in the same age group (9%). Further, 53% of young women say that someone has sent them explicit images they did not ask for (compared with 37% of young men)." (Duggan, 2017). Women are more likely to report higher emotional impact and fear of posting online, while men are more likely to post online and feel less distress from their harassment. Part of this mindset is different perspectives on online harassment, “ Seven-in-ten women (70%) say they see online harassment as a major problem, compared with 54% of men. Younger women – those ages 18 to 29 – are especially likely to say this: More than eight-in-ten (83%) say it is a major problem, compared with 55% of men in the same age group."(Duggan, 2017).

Duggan, Maeve. “Men, Women Experience and View Online Harassment Differently.” Pew Research Center, 14 July 2017, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/07/14/men-women-experience-and-view-online-harassment-differently/.

“The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem” (2024). Directed by Giorgio Angelini and Arthur Jones

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blog post #6

How does social media censorship affect marginalized groups? 

When it comes to activism, social media can be used to reach more people and amplify voices. Movements like Black Lives Matter and the MeToo movement garnered a lot of attention through social media. Social media has helped plan protests, spread awareness through hashtags, while also providing a platform to post personal experiences. People use these platforms because they can provide anonymity when sharing personal beliefs. Safe spaces allow people to learn and communicate with like minded individuals and or people who share the same background. People also use social media to learn about specific news events that they may not see covered on the news. Although it might be biased I personally like seeing news events through social media because you can get some many different perspectives on the same event. Unfortunately content moderation is one of the down sides in participating in online activities. Content moderation and shadow banning often affect marginalized users by hiding their content without giving them proper reasoning for why. This can lead to their voices going unheard. 

How can online names be dog whistles?

Online names can be used in various ways, some are related to self-identity, while others can be used to draw in similar minds. Being able to spot dog whistles should be a part of internet safety. Usernames can include numerical codes or dates that tie back to historical tragedies, like 88, 1488, or millions must __.  Emojis are also used to represent beliefs, symbols like lightning bolts represent SS bolts, or the pine tree emoji, which has been tied to eco-fascist ideology. Even non-hateful symbols like crosses, food, or animal emojis can be involved in promoting alternative messages. Being able to recognize these symbols is important because it can help people avoid harmful content and people. 

Why is translocal whiteness integral to white supremacy? 

Translocal whiteness, a term coined by Les Black, is when individuals online connect and communicate nationwide. The internet allows white supremacist groups to share beliefs through online forums, creating virtual communities. Although they are worldwide, they are connected through shared ideologies. In chapter five, section choosing an online identity Daniels includes posts from StormFront.com where members explain the meaning behind their usernames; many try to connect their backgrounds to their Arynaness. Even members with mixed backgrounds insist on adding that they only want sexual relationships with white-passing women or come from neighborhoods that were predominantly white. They even go as far as to add that people around them were racist, implying their beliefs are normal in their environment. Translocal whiteness is integral in white supremacist communities because it validates their ideologies while also claiming to support their beliefs through historical context. 

What are the dangers of youth coming across white supremacist content? 

Even though the internet has hate speech restrictions, it is pretty easy for hateful content to spread online. With younger people gathering most of the information from online content, they are more exposed to disinformation and harmful rhetoric. On TikTok I have seen several trends spread that are based on racist, antisemitic, and white supremacist beliefs. In 2021 I remember seeing videos about gnome hunting, users would post themselves in the woods often using mystical sounding music. The trend seemed harmless until some users started incorporating dog whistles, references like “millions wear hats,” skull masks, military uniforms, and hate symbols. People quickly realized that gnomes were a coded reference for Jewish people. A simple trend that many believe was about exploring with friends and finding magical creatures quickly turned into a proud form of hate speech. I found this trend very concerning because it seemed innocent and specifically targeted younger people; you didn’t have to be a Nazi to be recommended the videos. These types of trends put young people in danger by unknowingly guiding them towards the alt-right and neo-Nazi pipeline.

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Blog 5

How can games often accidentally alienate gamers of color? 

Video games can often alienate players of color through character customization and lack of diversity. Character customization games sometimes only offer limited skin tones and hair options. When creating an avatar, some players want to see themselves reflected in the game, an intended positive part of the game can cause controversy. When Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out, many players appreciated the black hair options but wanted more variety. One of the updates included more Black hairstyles, specifically Afro puffs. This sparked a heated discussion in the community when a white player mistook them for space buns. To some the fight seemed dramatic and directed unnecessary hate to someone who made a simple mistake, while others felt that it was exhausting not feeling acknowledged by games only to have something specifically made for them repurposed. Depending on the game, character customization has typically catered to white features. In some games it can be even easier to create fantastical creatures than creating a realistic Black avatar. There are multiple factors to this problem, lack of diversity in the game developing industry and technological advancements.

Has the internet made white supremacy more accessible? 

With the internet it is much easier to be exposed to hateful content even when you're not looking for it. Most people use the internet instead of libraries or rely on social media to hear about the news. This can be especially dangerous for youth when white supremacist content is easily available compared to historical content. Cloaked websites make it easier for white supremacists to be subtle but open with their ideologies, those lacking media literacy might find these sites, thinking they are legitimate. These sites use propaganda to push harmful ideologies and sometimes even incite violence. Jessie Daniels's book Supremacy in the Digital Era, includes multiple examples of planned shootings where the shooter was directly inspired by information they read online written by white supremacists. Since her book was written in 2009, there is definitely more data about the connection between certain shootings and white supremacist rhetoric. 

How does capitalism affect our online presence? 

With social media always pushing out new trends, companies have found new ways to push their products to viewers. After watching at least two or three videos, you normally get an ad, these are normally always targeted. It is normal to see an influencer marketing products that are sponsored to users, but recently I have noticed ads that are made by smaller content creators disguised as recommendations or advice. As an artist, whenever I interact with art accounts on TikTok, I will get constant ads for markers and other art supplies by small creators. It feels extremely targeted and makes me not trust a lot of the drawing content I see because I can’t tell if its paid promotional content. This strategy makes people feel that their interests are being used against them, by paying smaller creators to film these videos, it makes their audience question if that product is actually good or if the creator is just trying to make money. 

How do online personas reflect our identities? 

For many people avatars and picking profile pictures are a way for people to express themselves online. Avatars, profile pictures, and usernames can showcase interests while also keeping anonymity online. Many people connect online to share interests, it is easier to find something in common with someone by what they use to represent their online presence. I have always appreciated online personas because they show individual creativity. Sites like Reddit allow you to customize their mascot Snoo to your liking, while Snapchat has Bitmojis. I honestly love any kind of online customization feature. I think they’re fun even though they can sometimes be limited in options. When I was younger, I was very insecure in online spaces and often felt uncomfortable showing my race. On top of being treated differently, I felt like there were not many options to accurately depict myself. Nintendo’s Miis helped me rediscover pride in my identity while also allowing endless creative templates. This is why creative representation is important, it allows people to explore their own creative identity. 

Daniels, Jessie. Cyber Racism : White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights. Lanham, Maryland, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009.

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Blog post #4

How can hate spread through online games? 

Dr. Nakamura goes over the five types of racism in online spaces. Something I noticed in this TED Talk was how racism evolved with technology; in her second example, she explains how introducing headsets into games magnified racial, sexist, and homophobic hate speech. Headsets allowed players to verbally insult other players just by the sound of their voices. This hate was so extreme it caused some people to stop playing, like MMA fighter Rampage Jackson. This problem is linked to a lack of moderation online, without moderators, online gaming spaces can be filled with hate speech and create a toxic environment. This is dangerous because it leads to indifference, an example of this is the phrase “you wouldn’t survive a cob lobby.” For some players this is just trash talk, but for women and people of color it’s alienating. 

How do we contribute to digital labor? 

We contribute to digital labor by interacting with anything on the internet and social media. By accessing anything on the internet, our data is being harvested to be sold to third-party companies. It is easy for companies to see what users are interested in due to trends, trends push new brands, locations, and activities to constantly update what is popular. Our data is then used against us to get us to buy things we have interacted with. I think everyone has experienced looking something up and then immediately getting ads for similar or the exact item. This makes us consumers and producers, creating a never-ending cycle of exploitation. We have all become prosumers because all the platforms we use make us participate in participatory culture. Our digital footprint becomes our unpaid labor. 

What labor goes into AI programming, and who is negatively affected? 

AI is becoming an inescapable force that has taken over everything. Its accessibility makes it seem effortlessly creative, but it is important to remember where its data is coming from. AI is trained through patterns of data, transcripts, photos, and endless different forms of content that must be processed by workers and then taught to generative AI. Tatiana Dias’s article, How We Investigated the Human Labor Behind AI, breaks down how companies have found a way to minimize costs by paying Brazilian workers to complete microtasks. The workers are tasked with repetitive tasks and compensated with very little pay. This is called crowd work, when large amounts of tasks are broken down into small tasks and given to online workers. Crowd workers are often paid per task, usually only making a few cents in wages.

Can we use digital labor for our own benefit? 

Through content creation and freelance work, people have been able to monetize off of their own digital labor. Posting online can often push careers forward by spreading their content to a wider audience. Content creators use platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Patreon to directly profit off of their creative outputs. Collaborating with sponsorships, creating subscription services, and ad revenue are just some of the ways people can directly take control while profiting off of their own labor. I think this is a double-edged sword, as relying on social media as a full-time job can be challenging. It is difficult to keep up with trends and have a formulaic upload schedule. In order to achieve success, you must be accustomed to constant change or face the reality of burnout. Keep in mind that content creation does not come with stability, security, or health care benefits, so do we really benefit or are we trying to negotiate with an exploitative system?

TEDx Talks. “TEDxUIllinois - Dr. Lisa Nakamura - 5 Types of Online Racism and Why You Should Care.” YouTube, 11 Oct. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT-G0FlOo7g. 

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Blog post #3

How do memes find their way into politics? 

Memes are the evolution of political satire and comics; they are able to combine comedy, criticism, and social commentary. With the use of social media, memes have become a way for politicians and political campaigns to try to reach the younger audience with memes to show that they are relatable. The rush to get Gen Z into politics has resulted in targeted content that often pushes disinformation and slander. We saw this start during the 2016 US election, where memes were used to create community on various social media sites like Reddit, 4chan, Twitter, and more. Pepe the Frog is a popular example of a meme that has turned political. Originally from a web comic, Pepe the Frog has now been used by the alt-right as a white supremacist and antisemitic dog whistle.

How can memes and meme culture affect marginalized groups?

Memes can be damaging while also affirming for marginalized groups. Because the internet is diverse, there are niche communities for everyone. An example of this is Black Twitter, where Black Twitter users will share thoughts, memes, and experiences centered around their experiences. On the opposite side of the spectrum are harmful memes that play into stereotypes. When I think of harmful memes against marginalized groups, I think of how they are the same recycled “jokes” just upgraded as time passes. Memes joking about Black children's names still appear in media, and even though the Black community laughs at these jokes, they are still damaging. In Ruha Benjamin's Race After Technology, she shares studies that have shown Black employees are less likely to be hired than their peers because of their names. Even though the community can laugh together at these jokes, it doesn’t eliminate existing biases.

How can we evaluate culture through memes? 

We can learn about culture through media, especially memes. Memes reflect what is current in pop culture. With social media we are constantly seeing news from all over the world. It's not uncommon for people to feel overwhelmed and burnt out. I feel like I see this feeling in a lot of memes describing the world burning, but you have to just go on with life. Currently my favorite form of these memes are mecore edits which are a compilation of various scenes from movies and TV with a song playing in the background. At a first glance they might just seem like various unrelated clips mashed together, but I think that is what makes them special. Being able to recognize the clips connects you with the creator. I’ve seen accounts dedicated to these edits blow up with thousands of followers. I think these memes garner attention because it's a way for strangers to connect through common interests. In the digital age it is easy to feel lost in the overflowing amount of information constantly available to us, memes help us reflect and process what is going on through a creative outlet. 

 How can algorithms reinforce misogyny?

In Safiya Umoja Noble’s book Algorithms of Oppression, she documents how search engines repeatedly fail girls and Black women. She writes about how simply looking up the term "Black girls" while trying to connect with her daughters and niece only resulted in pornographic content. Not only is this disturbing for anyone to find when they are not looking for that type of content but it is harmful for young women. If search engines only connect young women with sexual content, it only reinforces harmful stereotypes and damages self-image. Noble’s work reveals how profit-driven algorithmic systems can reinforce discrimination and misogyny.

Noble, S. (2018) Algorithms of Oppression. NYU Press. 

Benjamin, R. (2019) Race After Technology. Polity. 

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first blog

The times technology has disappointed me the most are definitely save file failures. In 2023, I spent hours playing a Chinese dress-up gacha game called Life Makeover. It was a guilty pleasure download because I have a love-hate relationship with dress-up games. I told myself I would only download it if I used it to improve my drawing skills. When I first started playing the game, I was asked how I would like to save my data; the choices were to create an Archosaur account, Google Play, or link my account to Twitter. I skipped this part opting to use a guest account and telling myself I would figure something out later.  In the game the player could customize their avatar and decorate their living space while also solving murder mysteries. Like most gacha games, it was pay-to-play, personally I try not to spend money on mobile games, especially when they involve gambling. This resulted in me spending many hours trying to get a perfect score on every level while also keeping track of all of the event missions to get free in-game currency. When I wasn’t grinding through the levels, the dress-up portions and customization quickly became a creative outlet. My avatar started to become an original character that I felt secretly proud of. I found the game very immersive and probably spent at least three hours a day on it. Unfortunately, at the time I had an iPhone 8 Plus, which could barely run the game, causing my phone to overheat often. Every time they promoted a new event, I would be filled with anxiety instead of excitement, wondering if the next update would break my phone. After a couple of months, my phone could barely run the game. The app would either refuse to start or my phone would become so hot that I would have to stop using it. I figured the only thing that might work is if I deleted the app, so I tried to link my account to Twitter, another app that I used as a guilty pleasure. I quickly linked my account and deleted the app, forgetting Twitter had just become X. When the app finally downloaded again, the account hadn’t linked and I had lost all of my progress. Honestly, I was devastated. I hadn’t realized how addicted to the game I was and with the customer support page mostly being in Chinese, the only place I could turn to was Reddit which of course was not helpful. Although losing everything was a heavy blow, it was probably better for me in the long run because it forced me to face how much time I was spending on a screen and the effects games had on my phone's lifespan.