WGST320

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Blog Post Due 11/14

1. In what ways do virtual communities both positively and negatively impact individuals' identity and belonging?

Virtual communities have enormous influences in shaping individuals' identities and belongings. On one hand, there is a connectedness among people, an expression of oneself, especially among marginalized groups. Social media creates spaces for people to reconstruct their identities, and their bodies, with the curated creation of online personas, creating homeplace. Yet, this sense of virtual community runs alongside its own negative ramifications-for being toxic, moving spaces that more often than not distort and reinforce harmfully stereotypical ideas of the self. Gamergate became an example of how online communities can foster harassment and exclusion, taking a sense of belonging and making it divisive and hostile.

2. What role does profit play in the construction of ethnic online communities, and how does this possibly affect questions of authenticity and purpose?

Profit is also one of the key factors that shapes ethnic online communities and often directs the course they may take. According to Steven McLaine, the creation and maintenance of these online spaces are increasingly being driven by commercial interests. While these may function as nurturing communities with regard to cultural solidarity and common experience for subaltern ethnicities, commercialism could weaken the authenticity of such means and ends. Commercially oriented interests may commodify cultures to make money, even though more community oriented or culturally specific goals are also at stake in this regard. This tension between profit and purpose raises questions about whether ethnic communities are compromising their values to fit into a broader and profit driven audience.

3. What are the ethical issues raised in the construction of virtual communities, surveillance, privacy, and exploitation of users?

Virtual communities often raise a number of significant ethical issues to do with privacy, surveillance, and exploitation of users. Social networking sites need their users to constantly perform and divulge parts of the self, which raises a concern about privacy and the commodification of personal data. Moreover, most of these platforms track user behaviors, increasingly utilizing this for profit in a manner that has raised key ethical questions about surveillance. The commercial intentions of many of these sites that benefit off of the user's cultural identity. This kind of exploitation can destroy the credibility and legitimacy of ethnic online communities, begging the question of who benefits from these spaces, and at what cost.

4. How do the dynamics of online harassment within communities such as Gamergate point to the darker side of virtual community?

The dynamics of online harassment epitomize the darker side of virtual community with the very same spaces that afford agency for persons and forge solidarities can be those reinforcing toxic environments where harassment and abuse occurred. Gamergate centralized misogyny and racism in an online harassment campaign and demonstrated, in crystal clarity, how quickly such a movement ostensibly about gaming culture could spiral into a tool for cyberbullying. The toxicity can be further exacerbated by anonymity on the internet, where one could commit crimes without immediate repercussions. It also underlines the vulnerability of certain groups, especially women and minorities, within these online spaces. Moderation and community guidelines are important in combating that section of the virtual community.

Hathaway, Jay. What is Gamergate, and why? An Explainer for Non-Geeks

McLaine, Steven. Ethnic Online Communities

Lee, L. (2015). Women of color and social media multitasking blogs-virtual homeplace.

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Blog Post Due 11/7

1.What are some of the ethical challenges of digital activism in the era of social media?

There were many ethical challenges that digital activists faced in this era of social media. In such contexts, so much of digital activism relies on a dependence on not necessarily secure platforms in order to keep sensitive information private. It may result in endangering the activists and their communities they are trying to protect. The dissemination of false information or propaganda degrades the credibility and integrity of activism. The veracity of any information at all, being distributed by activists, needs to be something with which activists concern themselves. Inadvertently, some activist voices lift over others by some activists or movements, thus marginalizing less dominant voices within the activist community. It is particularly the case for intersectional movements, where already underrepresented groups-like women of color-do not have an equal presence. In those aspects, activists have to create frameworks that balance efficacy with ethical considerations, especially on privacy, transparency, and accountability.

2. What potential does digital activism hold as a transformative force in the struggle for social justice?

Activism can indeed be truly transformative for social justice since it gives voices to the marginalized, including mobilization in an inclusive manner, and accomplishes campaigns in real time. Social media, online petitions, and digital campaigns are examples of ways activists work their way around media gatekeepers, create global networks, and mobilize support on a scale unimaginable previously. This kind of democratization of activism is far-reaching; challenging power relations can amass concrete changes through public opinion, policy, and even corporate behavior. Digital activism makes people active agents of change irrespective of geographical or social confines.

3. How does Black Twitter function as a counter-narrative compared with mainstream media?

Black Twitter serves as a counter-narrative to mainstream media. It is the avenue by which Black people can express themselves, elevate their voices, and discuss issues of racial equity and social justice that are often underrepresented or poorly handled by traditional media. This is important because mainstream media has historically been biased against or misrepresented Black people and communities. By offering up an alternate platform, Black Twitter allows users to talk back to stereotypes and fills the space for activism and creates dialogue about issues usually hushed or sensationalized by the mainstream press.

4. How does Black Twitter mobilize its use of humor and satire in handling serious problems such as racism, police brutality, and inequality?

Black Twitter uses humor and satire to deal with and call out much larger societal ills. Through humor, the users can make light of the absurdity of racism, inequality, and police brutality as they simultaneously critique and bring awareness to these subjects. This would loosen the tension but at the same time also be more attractive to people. Satirical comments on social media can serve to make difficult topics more palatable, even as they spur conversations and fight back against oppressive systems in poignant and effective ways.

Lee, Latoya. Black twitter: A response to bias in mainstream media. 

Classifying Forms of Activism.pdf

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Blog Post DUe 10/31

1.What are the psychological effects of trolling and hate crimes on victims?

The psychological impacts of trolling and hate crimes among victims can be grave and multifarious. Generally, victims undergo emotional turmoil-which may lead to anxiety, depression, anger, and in turn, social isolation and loss of self-esteem. Some may even exhibit signs of PTSD, like intrusive thoughts and hypervigilance that interfere with daily living. Stress may also be somaticized into health problems, such as sleep disturbances. Other after-effects include difficulties in trusting others and isolation from society, which may result in long-term consequences of poor mental health, with the need for counseling and treatment.

2. What does anonymity contribute to the phenomenon of trolling? This anonymity allows perpetrators to act without fear of judgement or repercussions, thus sometimes emboldening bad behavior. Inasmuch as it may protect the user's privacy and freedom of expression, anonymity lowers the barriers to such harmful behavior as trolling.

The anonymity that the internet grants can often lead to acting in ways that would not be pursued in life, often dislocated from the real-life negative consequences of one's actions and from any empathy toward victims. This creates a vicious circle wherein hate speech and trolling are normalized. This calls for a certain balancing on the part of platforms between user anonymity and measures for accountability.

3. How can both individuals and communities contribute to supporting victims in the context of trolling and hate crimes in digital spaces?

This might include offering a platform where sharing can safely occur, facilitating support for mental health, and working to change policy so that more extreme measures can be taken in such cases of online abuse. Communities can organize reporting and collectively counteract hate speech as a means of showing solidarity, making individuals who are victimized feel less alone. Encouraging bystander intervention provides venues where people can take individual, active actions on behalf of others who are targeted.

4. How does the understanding of trolling help in the prevention of hate crimes in digital spaces?

While the term itself, troll, carries negativity and can be pestering, there are benefits to trolling. Trolls build capabilities for adaptiveness and coping when situations seem stressing. In these cases, for individuals who do find themselves constantly subject to trolling on the web, it helps them handle stressful life situations. Moreover, trolling can create humorous posts or stories to share on social networks. However, such benefits cannot compensate for the harm that trolling brings to individuals and the community. Knowledge of the nature of trolling would avail strategies that can help avoid hate crimes by recognizing patterns and motives for such behavior. That is, by tackling triggers for trolling, such as a need to feel powerful or in control, and by crafting spaces that naturally bring out empathy and responsibility, communities might reduce the risk of hate crime. Educational programs that raise awareness among users regarding the repercussions of their online actions can be quite effective as well.

Citron, D. K. (2014). Hate crimes in cyberspace. Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England, Harvard University Press.

Phillips, W. The Origins of Trolling.

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Blog Post Due 10/10

What are some barriers that prevent women from reporting violence? The root cause of violence against women is gender inequality, which exists in almost every society. Some barriers that prevent women from reporting violence includes fear of retaliation, mistrust of law enforcement, social stigma, financial dependence on the perpetrator, and cultural barriers that further deter women from reporting. Many of them have concerns regarding repercussions on their children or family members. Many of these victims have never sought help from public services. The consequences of gender-based violence not only affect individuals or families but also negatively impact the economic development of society. Many women often suffer emotional, mental and physical injuries.

How does technology help and hinder efforts to fight violence against women? Technology can be helpful with the provision of a venue for awareness campaigns and also facilitating access to support services. In the same way, technology can easily make it possible to stalk and harass via social media or digital surveillance; hence, safe online practices must be promoted. In Miriam Hernandez's speech, people used social media for awareness campaigns to support the victims when there were many cases of violation against women in Mexico when the victims were blamed for their actions even after they were murdered.

In what ways can data collection practices be biased? According to Benjamin, technology is never neutral but instead reinforces racial biases and injustices. In this regard, the author insists on the urgency of considering how race interacts with technology by pointing to the consideration of the impact that technological developments have on society. Practices for data collection could be biased, hence driving underrepresentations that make inaccurate assumptions about particular demographics. Algorithms can also mirror particular biases in society that are currently in operation, leading to discrimination in recommendations regarding content or advertisements.

How has the internet contributed to the spread of white supremacist ideologies? White supremacy is a form of racism that maintains the superiority of whites over other races and believes whites should have the leading position in society at the cost of others. It is an ideology whereby white people feel themselves threatened due to growing non-white populations. It strongly agitates for the political and social dominance of whites. The internet allows the rapid dissemination of information and to create an echo chamber where extremist views can be fostered. Through social media and forums, people with particular views are allowed to get in contact with each other, share content amongst themselves, and recruit people away from the public eye. Therefore, the expansion of the Internet and social media has given white supremacy propaganda and recruitment an easy way to move forward, raising concerns about cyber racism and the reported uptick in racially motivated violence.

References: Benjamin, R. (2019). Race After Technology.

Miriam Hernandez' talk on Violence Against Women.

Daniels, J. (2009). Combating Global White Supremacy in the Digital Era. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

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Blog Post Due 10/3

How does online racism affect the mental health of the individuals?

Online racism can severely impact mental health, leading to emotional distress, anxiety, and depression. It alienates individuals from others, sets low self-esteem, and traumatizes them with chronic stress. Repeated experiences of racism can even trigger posttraumatic fears and hypervigilance. People who undergo such experiences may struggle to connect with other people. Others may still become even more unwilling to seek any kind of help out of fear of not being believed or further discriminated against, which can lead to increased alienation and a state of hopelessness.

What are the most promising strategies of individuals and organizations in counteracting online racism?

Effective strategies involve the promotion of inclusive content, stringent moderation policies, community engagement against racism, and resources to educate or raise awareness about the issue. Other efforts include collaboration with marginalized communities through which better amplification of their voices and experiences could be achieved. Such questions and answers can open up deeper discussions regarding the impact of online racism and explore effective ways to handle the issue.

How effectively does digital campaigns manage awareness of online racism and action mobilization?

Digital campaigns can be most effective in raising awareness and garnering support. They can reach very big groups of people quickly. In most instances, however, they are effective depending on the continuity created with regard to engagement, and how momentum online is translated into offline action and tangible change.

To what extent do social media algorithms influence the visibility of diverse racial voices?

Social media algorithms often privilege content that spurs engagement, and that might unwittingly favor majoritarian stories over ones that are plural or from the margins. This makes the absence of racially diverse voices all the more unnoticed, and a lot harder to gain the wider audienceship and larger conversations on race.

How does the digital activism effectively address racial injustice?

Digital Activism can be used to raise awareness, build support, or deliver resources to various causes of racial justice. Hashtags and viral campaigns, together with online petitions, have the potential to reach hundreds of millions globally in record time. In most cases, however, success is based on whether such consistent energy translates from the digital threshold into offline momentum and policy.

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Blog Post Due 9/19

What is intersectional feminism? Intersectional feminism focus on the “intersectionality” of the movement’s struggles. When looking at things through an intersectional lens, we need to recognize the historical context of an issue. Each individual or group may experience oppression differently – the intersection of the systemic social institutions in which they live. For example, a woman of color may not have the same experience as a White woman or a higher class White woman. Intersectional feminism center the voices of disadvantaged people who experience multiple layers of oppression rather than suppressing or marginalizing them.

2. How does intersectionality help us better understand the experience of women of color compared to White women?

Intersectionality is a term that has been highlighted by Kimberle Crenshaw in “Dermanalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex.” Women of color believe that their life experiences are different from those of white women, and they do not agree with the definition of gender equality that white women have created. Their needs and worldviews are different from those of both black men and white women because their identities are both women and people of color, they face disadvantages that come from racism, sexism, and classism in white supremacy. For women of color, their experiences are shaped not only by sexism but also by racism. In the TED Talk of Crenshaw, she take Emma’s story as an example of intersectionality when Emma experienced both gender discrimination and race discrimination at the same time when she applied for for a job and wasn’t get acceptance while that job hired both men and White women. 3. How do biased algorithms affect society? Biased algorithms affect society in various ways such as discrimination, distorted information, increasing inequality, etc. Algorithms have the potential to perpetuate prejudices towards specific demographics, such as those based on age, gender, color, class, or religion. This can lead to disadvantages in terms of employment, education, or service accessibility. Technology affect society when people using social media pretty much nowadays. The social media algorithms may prioritize some contents, leading to the leaking personal information without conscious. The biased algorithms also affect the society by increasing the inequality when it exacerbate wealth gaps biased toward large corporate and powerful individual, creating even broad loop of inequality. 4. Can technology ever be completely unbiased? Technology would be unlikely that it can ever be completely unbiased because algorithms reflect to the its data system that got influenced by human biases.

Reference:

Crenshaw, K. (2016, December 7). The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw | TED. YouTube. https://youtu.be/akOe5-UsQ2o?feature=shared

Crenshaw, K. (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality?. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ViDtnfQ9FHc?feature=shared

Benjamin, Ruha. 2019. Race After Technology.oble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. NYU Press.

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Blog Post Due 9/12

In what ways has technology become invasive in our personal lives? Technology brings much benefit to people at work and in life, especially in the case of people using technology in everything to make their work convenient, such as AI. However, the amount of damage technology is causing seems to be another challenge that many people are well conversant with. Smartphones and social media track location, habits, and personal information often without consent or proper awareness by an individual. This can then be used for better targeting of advertisements, or even for surveillance. With constant connectivity, the boundary between personal and professional life gets blurred, thus constituting it to several issues such as an imbalance in work-life. What are some potential risks of using AI in the management of marginalized groups?

Several risks might be associated with the managing of marginalized groups by AI affecting privacy, whereby there would be a need for data collection leading to misuse of personal information. Humanizing machines will create a risk that will lead to serious psychological problems for many people in the future when they are aware of data leakage, attack, and theft risks. When applying AI, consideration should be given to ensuring that a step of processing can be transparent to keep every process of information processing secure.

How are racial biases in technology?

Technology is seldom neutral, and that is usually not the case. The video "Race and Technology" by Nicole Brown teaches that technology reflects already existent racial biases. She claims that the algorithms and data systems reinforce stereotypes of racial inequalities through systemic discrimination. She also goes out of her way to make sure that one of the solutions in place for how racial biases can be mitigated in technology is diversified so that a wider array of perspectives is considered in development.

How does digital activism affect feminist activism and social movement?

Digital platforms have reshaped how feminist activism and social movements can be organized, mobilized, and raised awareness. A few concerns emanate further from the use of digital platforms are surveillance and online harassment.

References:

Daniels, J. (2009). Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment. WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly 37(1), 101-124. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/wsq.0.0158

Brown, N. (n.d.). Race and Technology. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uiAjigKy8&ab_channel=NicoleBrown

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Blog Post Week #2 due 9/6

What is the impact of media consolidation on news diversity and quality?

Social media development trends have become more important as most people get in touch with social media or cyberspace. Not only providing an endless source of information, cyberspace is also a place to connect human society, promote production, and business, and increase the value of life. However, cyberspace also become a favorable environment for the dissemination of fake news, and bad and toxic information. Fake news and bad and toxic information often tend to spread faster than official news from the media.

Furthermore, media consolidation has a big impact on news diversity and quality. While ownership of media has concentrated in large corporations, the contents become more homogeneous and are focused on profitability rather than journalistic integrity. Such consolidation restricts the range of viewpoints and in-depth reporting, limiting the media's role in fostering an informed, engaged public.

What is the role of the media in shaping public perception and political engagement?

The media has a particularly influential role in shaping public perception and political engagement through the selective diffusion of information and framing issues in specific ways. The media outlets are reflective of the interests of powerful elites and hence shape public opinion and political behavior.

What are the impacts of social media on political movements and activism?

Political propaganda plays an important role in modern society, and is an effective way to create consensus, contributing to the development of society in general. Along with the internet, social networks are now developing strongly and have great appeal to many different subjects in society. While social media may build upon or facilitate political movements or activism through organizing and mobilizing tools and raising awareness, the utilization of the platforms also has its downside. Social media can be used for co-optation and surveillance that undermine the efforts of activists. Algorithms and platform policies create echo chambers, limit reach, and suppress voices of dissent.

What does Critical Theory have to do with Social Media?

Critical theory is a specific form of critical thinking. It is a way to analyze social media platforms, considering them in larger social and economic environments by critiquing them. Through the use of critical theory, Fuchs understands social media, discussing how it contributes to power and ideological shaping of society, and how social media is a priority method through which these dynamics operate. It deconstructs how social media platforms reinforce power structures, influence cultural norms, and commodify user interactions. In this way, inequalities can be reproduced through social media, ideologies can be disseminated, and resistance opportunities can be created.

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Blog Post 8/30

A time when technology didn't live up to the hype and its promises:

There was a time when I had to do an Excel project due in the final week. The project contains many steps and the last thing in the project, also the hardest part in my opinion was to run a Macro program. The Macro was supposed to perform a series of tasks: Updating data, applying formulas, and formatting the output to save time and reduce manual errors. I have to run it over and over because I failed it. Soon after starting the Macro, the Excel application became unresponsive. The Macro’s processing caused the file to freeze and crash. When I reopened the file, my recent work, including all changes made before running the Macro, was irretrievably lost. I was so panicked that I reached out to the professor to talk about the incident. They tried to help with my situation and decided to extend my deadline a little so I was very grateful for that. Luckily, I was managed to finish them before the original deadline and able to turn them in without troubling the professor. That incident has taught me a lesson and made it a habit to save every progress when I work on Excel.