School Shenanigans

Q1: 

I would want to create a social media platform that would be hub that can be used for anything, almost like Reddit, Twitter, Tumblr and etc. It would be a place where one may post or talk about anything. This site however will have a age restriction must be of age 16 to make an account (since there are many ways to bypass that and we will not ask for any proof beside a birthdate (otherwise that would be asking for too much personal information), the site is not responsible whomever for ends up there and what is being posted there) <--will be in terms of service probably

Q2: 

The demographics the site would measure is age, sex, email, birthday, and topics of interest (gaming, movies, book, articles, news, artwork, and etc.) This is to see how many of the users are interested in the said topic while also telling the site their age and sex (this information is only seen in the site administration.)

Q3: 

The factors above will be weighted in this order:         1)age        2)date of birth        3)topics of interest        4)email

Q4: 

This site will not measure race nor religion. It will not show any personal information that the site asks for when making the account. What will be shown is only the topic of interest to prevent any information from being used.

Q5: 

The model will be updated twice a week by a team that will alternate so their is no one-person is at fault if an issue occurs and that information is relevant to the new laws or whatever needs to be altered to see fit. The team will also be regularly checked in with to see if they seem to have a strong bias towards a subject and will be removed from the team so that the site remains unbias to any one topic of choice. There will be many ways to connect with a site member if there seems to be an issue and respond as soon as possible 

Q6: 

The site will have no bias towards anything besides topics out of the terms of service and will be handle by a team whom is diverse. The team will be handled similar to that of the team handling updating the site and will also be checked in with regularly. The site will keep track of what written in the demographics and will constantly be monitored to confirm it accurate. Because of this, the algorithm should remain unbias and represent everyone whom has made an account and keep in track with every post to exclude anything from being overshadowed by the more popular post or etc.

Q7: 

This model will outlive unethical practices like the right to be forgotten and the access to private information. When a person is tired of said account, they may choose several options:

1) the whole deletion of said account with the user being prompt one last time to give the information they were asked when the account was made to confirm and prove that it is them and to avoid an accidental deletion of account. During this time the account will be deleted immediately and all their saved data will disappear and the person may safely exit their browser with no concerns. 

Q1: Is it fine to detain a person if they made a remark on social media, that seemed potential dangerous?

I would say yes and no, it really depends what was said. To completely detain a person for their comment on social media is a little much. However if they had a past with some acts of similar to that of the comment then maybe it would be worth investigating, more of a reason to act if they are still causing trouble. Assuming too much and too acting fast leads to nothing but court cases and waste of breath as most past cases of people seeming to be terrorist or a threat to society, end in the suspected personal being innocent. 

Q2: Should we be concern that the government has access to our phones and etc?

Yes we should be concerned, the fact that they have this power is quite scary alone it is an invasion of privacy and in most cases, I’m not really sure we were able to use it for any good recently. They say its for our safety but how much of that is really true? We have many cases in our backdoors of robberies and shooting and they is almost little to no action taken place. While I also understand that to handle all of Americans problems would seem a little much but you would think with this information that the world could be a much safer place, which makes me believe our information is not used for any good. 

Q3: Why do you believe the Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS) program failed?

I believe it failed because it shows how little trust our government and higher ups placed their trust in the people in American. While we have the good and bad people, having spies everywhere in our own home seems a little much. Just how would these spies determine suspicious activity? Would it be the way the guardians of our neighborhoods do so (Police) if so, no thanks. I am very sure people do not want any more police around especially undercover police. Not speaking above the police that do their job effective and efficiently but for the ones that don’t. All the people will have is more problems then we will already have. In conclusion, the TIPS would have been almost to little use and a waste of our funds. It would be much more better to fund a program that does not suspect it’s own funders or people literally!!

Q4: Why is the use of linking accounts, adding a phone number, or placing two step verification a good idea. 

In today society, no one is really safe on the web but there are a few ways that you can protect important accounts or information you have place on the web. One way could be using multiple accounts, by doing so not only can you link accounts you can also use one for non-work purposes and another for professional business. Another way would be adding a trusted or personal phone number so that every time you login in you must use get valid verification it is you trying to login. While this may be a hassle, it will stop people whom do not have access to this code away from gaining access in your account.

Power, M. (2010). How your twitter account could land you in jail. Mother Jones. Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/police-twitter-riots-social-media-activists/.

Q1: Does the internet actually help in social movements?

I would say it does to a certain extent and can sound very useful but can be overlooked based on that. The internet certainly has it’s limitations on what it can and cannot do, it always seem to be the the stepping stone for many to learn new things and sometimes can completely teach a person or inform someone on a certain topic. However this is where its limits are, whether the information is accurate or false that is completely on a fifty-fifty chance. Fuchs confirms with stating “....we live in a contradictory. As a consequence, their efforts are actually contradictory. They can dampen/forestall or amplify/advance protest or not have much effect at all.” In short it also depends on the people, some may try too hard to spread awareness and perhaps they are ill informed of the topic and other people are listening or paying witness to this. These people will be just as misinformed as the the speaker. 

Q2: Should we fear the power hacktivist have?

I believe we should fear the power hacktivist hold and although most hacktivists acts are usually for that of movements or just for clout, it something to be to be concerned of. Hacking in general can be seen as more of the negative side of the spectrum. Usually hacking involves with infiltration of another's or groups data base which in, turn is basically stealing. Granted the government has access to our information already but, these hackers or hacktivist are your everyday person, if said person used their powers or knowledge they have, the possibilities would be endless on what kind of information they can attain from you. 

Q3: Does the internet have a bias toward Blacks?

It would seem that way news articles, internet, and the TV are structured are seem to favor or cater the news towards the Black victims being at fault while the opposing side (mainly police) being the hero or victim whom was trying to defend themselves. For example, Lee states “Days following the deaths of Garner and Brown, news reports of the incidents characterized Brown as a thug, gang member, and lawbreaker. Garner was characterized as a repeat offender with news reports discussing his criminal history.” Base off this, it would be clear as day to see that the media or internet is bias towards Blacks.

Q4: Do you think that the bias on blacks or just any POCs will ever end?

Honestly I think the bias will never change, we have too many ignorant people and too many racially bias people in certain workspaces. With these people around it seems racisms in the world will be impossible to fully be taken care of. Unfortunately we seem to be on a never ending cycle of history repeating itself. Some racial problems gets looked at and on the slight chance changes happen but with the rate we are moving at, if there is a time when racism will be non-existent that will be a long ways from now that is for certain. 

Fuchs, C. (2018). Communication Power in the Arab Spring and Occupy Movement . In Social Media: A critical introduction (pp. 83–88). essay, SAGE.

Q1: What are trolls and why are they common today?

The word “troll” is derived from the mythical creature. It also takes the characteristics of the being into play, such as being in someone way or just disrupting other people in their actions. Troll in today society are people who go out of their way to either disturb people intentionally with unwanted actions while some may just be doing it to  Trolls are common today because it is attached to social media and that same media base is what everyone uses so many become trolls whether intentionally or unintentionally. 

Q2: What are some creative ways to combat trolls and trolling? What role do witnesses play?

Some creative ways to combat trolls are ignoring their actions or attempts to get a reactions out of you. Most trolls seek attention or loved to see the reactions of their targets while they are trolling. If you cannot ignore their actions you can also make sure to block or report the person immediately. Witnesses play a big role in trolls and trolling online. Whether the trolling is unwanted or playful, just being there in that moment means you acknowledge what happened during that incident and if the incident was unwanted, now you are at fault since you you did not take any sort of action to stop or report it while it was happening almost as if you supported the action of trolling from the troll.

Q3:  Why is cyber harassment and stalking worse than trolling in the cyberspace? 

Cyber harassment and stalking are worse than that of trolling because harassment and stalking intentions are harmful and unwanted while trolling may be unwanted depending on trolls and their audience. Troll go out of their way to disturb the peace for their target while having a limit to their action, while cyber harasser and stalkers almost stop at nothing to go out of their way to cause issues of unwanted slander or in the name of “stalker” stalk their targets. These actions can go day by day and lead into months or even longer depending or the cyber harassers and stalkers. Citron quotes “ Marianna Taschinger, a twenty- two-year-old, said that she did not feel safe leaving her home after someone posted her nude photograph, home address, and Facebook profile on a porn site. “I don’t want to go out alone,” she explained, “because I don’t know what  might happen.”. These differences are very noticeable trolling can make you annoyed and mad but it does not get to the point of where you do not feel unsafe like in the provided quote. 

Q4: Who is Grampa Wiggly and how does it seem contribute to the trolls of society?

Grandpa Wiggly was a fake account made by a person who goes by another account called “Wordsauce”. Wordsauce would come up with a fake life for this Grandpa account gaining much popularity. However this popularity was undone by himself/herself when he/she came out as his/her original account stating he/she did not know his/her grandpa was a redditor, leading many to deep dive through the Grandpa account finding out that the account was a fake person. In the end as Bergstrom quotes “Wordsauce”, (the real owner of Grandpa Wiggly) “All I was trying to do was tell a story, to entertain, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. It was interactive fiction, plain and simple, kind of like a choose–your–own–adventure. There was no sinister motive behind all of this. I had no end game.” This internet troll would lose his/her popularity and would still be active although he/she has not posted anything since. To this day many seem to have followed in Grandpa Wiggly in making accounts for the same purpose, only these accounts would be more on the aggressive side trolling people whether with harmful or playful intentions. 

Q1: Are there any similarities in the way society views women and the way they are represented in games?

Unfortunately the ways society view women, is a very grim topic. From the past women were mainly seen as working bodies, not at workspaces but at homes or if they were in jobs, these jobs would be those that were classified for women to work in. In modern times while some of these still hold true, women have made it in workspaces never though true in the past and were given opportunities. In general, women are seen as different from man both body and actions. Because of this view, in games females are based off the women of today. Both in society and in game share similarities on how they view females. In society, it is standard and ingrained in our minds that females do not have penises and have breast at least that, larger than a male. In games it is very similar in the way the female is depicted, as Riordan explains “The femininity is symbolic, coded and read as expression, language, hair, actions, costumes, and colors...they are gendered through morphology. They are sexed, and then gendered in conflation, precisely through the shape of the pelvis, the lack of the penis ,and the excess of breasts”. Another similarity would be that just like in the past viewpoints of society, many games have usually created main protagonist as males. Times are changing and while this view is still ongoing, society and game developers have been added LGBTQIA genders in their span of genders. 

Q2: Was white supremacy online superior than that of it through print?

Yes I would say so, not only could online reach on a global scale, it was much faster than the print. The print took much more time to write out and be sent to be publish then sent out to the public eye to see. However for the time difference I would not necessarily fully support that it was truly superior, while online it was quicker and efficient, print would technically be the version of online at the time just incorporated with the modern technology advantages. The print still got the message across and even today the white supremist still communicate and exist today thanks to the print. 

Q3: Are humans becoming slowly becoming cyborgs?

I do not think so, while we do use technology in our everyday lives, in the past, through the start of humanity we slowly became what today’s society is now. Whether or not having the technology to survive in the past, humans always adapt to survive. Technology does aid in our survival but it is more as a means to make our life easier, not necessarily needed to live, Although many lives would be lost today for not having these advances in technology such as medicine or hospital equipment once again humans always overcome obstacles it is in our nature.

Q4: What are the differences between how white males and females handle white supremacy?

White males were are the forefront of white supremacy and were the most influential in public place and the online space. Women primarily aided in spreading the word in their workspaces and played little of a role in the whole picture of white supremacy. As Daniels states “ While the men in white supremacist groups tend to emphasize a cult of heroes and martyrs,15Blee found that the women in  the  movement  she  interviewed  express  comparatively  little  interest  in identifying with heroic figures; instead they report finding more satisfaction in  feeling  selflessly  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  what  they  see  as  right.”

O’Riordan, K. (2006). Gender, Technology, and Visual Cyberculture. Critical Cyberculture Studies (pp. 243-252). New York University Press.

Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. (354-359).

Q1: How are racist acts still happening today and what are some examples?

Racist acts happen everywhere, right in front of our faces literally or hidden. Racist acts seem to be everywhere because, although we have made movements to spread awareness and try to stop it. It seems as though we will never escape the acts of racisms completely, there will always be someone or somewhere inciting these racial groups or whatever it may be. For example, in the Oscars, they mainly award a white cast of actors for an excellent display of their works but where are all the POCs whom are famous and performed extremely well? There is also that incident Daniels talks about where A former Apple employee whom was asking about African American English speech for Siri, was told that Apple are for the premium market but this event happen one year after Dr. Dre sold his headphones company to Apple. The rundown of all this is that it was ironic how they devalued and valued Blackness (Daniels 9) No matter where it may be racisms seem to find you whether you want it to or not. While you are taking a leisurely stroll to the park, you may see a POCs pulled over and being question by a policeman, on online you may see racial remarks on the media. 

Q2: How are racisms showed through the internet?

On the internet you can find anything, unfortunately one of those thing are racisms. Noble states “ A second Pew report written in 2012, pronounced Asian America’s most educated and successful minority (Pew Research Center, 2012). Once again, scholars contested Pew’s definition of “Asian” as Chinese, Filipino, Indian. Vietnamese, Korean m or Japanese, noting that while those communities do make up 85 percent of Asian Americans, they don’t include those most at risk such as  Cambodians or Laotians.” This points out that they do not count all Asians as Asians and left out the bit that they deemed not necessary for their report. They also purposely chose not to address the other percent that was doing poorly and needed to be addressed. 

Q3: How does being ignorant of these racisms taking place equally as not caring about the situation?

This shows complete ignorance to a situation happening in the past and even now. Racisms are here and now, to feign ignorance with phrases such as “I do not see color” not only do they show they do not care, they also are not necessarily against it. To whom are ignorant of these racisms, they are almost like bystanders who watch the bully racially target their next victim with slurs or racial remarks who do not either help or may even be the bully themselves. These people also show that they display no sympathy to the POCs by thinking it is common for people to make they uncomfortable remarks as if normal and brush it to the side. These people also choose to not noticed the unbalance in social class the POCs are placed in while being in the high class of society. This is how our society came to be with it’s racial problems. Those born with privileges, stay rich and ignorant of problems, while the poor stay poor while trying to make changes. 

Q4: Does white supremacy online hurt the community as a whole?

Q1: How do video games play a role in promoting racism whether intentional or not?

Video games are sought out by many people to enjoy a different part of reality or as an escape. Some play video for the story, thrill, or just to have fun such as a person would watch TV/Movies. However there are subtle hints of racisms in the games we play that many fail to notice. Some of these include a white male/female protagonist in any game you can find. While some may argue that games are allowing you to create a character of your choice, there are also minor racisms in there as well, like that the voices for the custom character is  only voice by a white male/female or that only the white male/female characters have a wider selection of cosmetics and style while creating a POC (People of Color) character will only have one to five choices of hairstyles and etc. Another example would be as Fickle states “That it was not a black man but an Asian American one who ultimately fulfilled Akil's prophetic warning of Pokémon GO's lethal con-sequences for nonwhite players is itself illustrative of this dynamic.” What happened here was that a Asian American grandfather was shot and killed for alleged trespassing of near a country club while playing the game and Akil predicted when the game “Pokemon Go” came out that this game would not be safe to the to the non-privileged or POCs. Many games may not do it unintentional and that goes to show you racism is pretty much unescapable.

Q2: What are Cyberspaces and are they are cause for racisms?

Cyberspace is a place online as Kolko explains “ comprised entirely of O's and l's: simple binary switches that are either off or on. No in-between. No halfway. No shades of gray. All too often, when it comes to virtual culture, the subject of race seems to be one of those binary switches: either it's completely "off" (i.e., race is an invisible concept because it's simultaneously unmarked and undiscussed), or it's completely "on" (i.e., it's a controversial flashpoint for angry debate and overheated rhetoric).“ Since cyberspaces are made this way in can lead to many issues online regarding race and gender. People can judge whom you are by your avatar, way you speak or whatever you may have on your profile. A person can also see the actions you done and make a assumption off of it. This creates major issues because a male may be assumed to be a female online by how he chooses to address his profile or the way he would come off. 

Q3: Are there any similarities and differences between “the Terminator” and the Yellow-Face Terminator”?

There are many differences to the two rather than similarities. One the Terminator is a futuristic cyborg being whom is on the search to protect Sarah Conner and her offspring John Conner whom are the only ones who can save and prevent the world from Skynet (Evil enemies). As for the Yellow-faced Terminator, he is the complete opposite, his purpose is pure destruction and turmoil. As Ow explains whom the Yellow-faced Cyborg seems to entail, “... male monster rampages through a city, raping, colonizing, terminating all within his path.” As you can see they are completely different the only similarity is they are both male and somewhat “terminate” their enemies. Another difference would be that Yellow-Faced one is clearly Asian while the Terminator is white. In the Terminator there was mainly only white male/female Terminators, until recently when they brought in a Asian one in the films. A final difference would be one kills for good while the other kills for fun, no matter how you look at it both are not at all similar.

Q4: How has the game “Shadow Warrior” racialized Asian people?

The game Shadow Warrior created by Broussard Miller, is a game where the player plays as a Cyborg whom job is to colonize and dominate the opposition leaving none in its path. While creating this game it seem their intension was not to be racist the game and interview would say otherwise as stated by Ow whom quotes Miller ” We designed the game this way on purpose. In fact, we thought that our mixing of Asian cultures was so outright obvious that no one could possibly mistakenly think it was done from ignorance.... We are having fun with the whole Asian culture, and we blatantly mixed up all the elements and cultures to make a fun game. (Miller and Broussard) “ This blatantly shows that they clearly knew they were messing around with a culture and put its own twist to it to however they like. They clearly do not care how offensive it was because it was intentional for the game but unintentional to hurt the Asian audience. Two and two do not mix together you can’t have ill intentions and say it was what they intended. It would be like committing a crime and they would say “oh but no one was hurt or I just wanted to break into the bank but I did not do it for the money.” Having an Asian cyborg, go on a rampage, raping and pillaging it’s enemies sets a bad example on Asian people and it does not help they added what they call “Asian culture” such as ninja, kung fu ideas from movies and etc. It almost seems as though the game was created as a mockery of the Asian culture behind the image of being a game for the public. 

Kolko, B. E., Nakamura, L., & Rodman, G. B. (2000). Race in cyberspace. Routledge.

Fickle, T. (2019). The race card: From gaming technologies to model minorities. New York University Press.

Q1: Why do names have an impact on our lives?

When we are brought into this world, we are given names by our parents. These name have meaning to them within families such as being named after your great grandfather Charles who fought in WW2. In society these names also play a role in our lives and depending on what name your were given. For example Benjamin states “ “Alice Tang” comes from a family that values education and is expected to do well in math and science. “Tyrone Jackson” hails from a neighborhood where survival trumps scholastics; and he is expected to excel in sports.” The names given to us already give you a set role once you are born. Certain name can have social status affiliated with it giving them privileges while some can have have no meaning at all. it is almost as animals are labeled in a farm, One cow may provide more than the others and thus that cow is more valuable and place in high regard. These are what Benjamin refers to as “the new Jim Crow Codes” in “Race after Technology”. Even in names we are objectified and racially stereotyped. This type of misunderstanding leads to many not getting hired or placed on a watch list because their name is affiliated with racial stereotype.   

Q2: How do the online algorithms affect the way we view POCs?

Today’s society is still facing issues such as racial algorithms online, however it gotten a much more better than it was in the past. The way people get their information is still the same as the past, however we are being more and more reliant on getting our information from technology. With that in mind, children, teens or anybody who is most vulnerable to believing what they are told get all their information from the web and with racial algorithms still lurking around this can really affect the way they view POCs. For example, Noble explains “In just a few minutes while searching on the web, I experienced the perfect storm of insult and injury that I could not turn away from. While Googling things on the Internet that might be interesting to my stepdaughter and nieces, I was overtaken by the results. My search on the keywords “black girls” yielded HotBlackPussy.com as the first hit.” If Noble was not the one to pull this up but it was her daughters, interested in “what black girls do” or whatever it maybe, this would not only be blinding as a child but it can make them believe that their role in the future is to be a “pornstar”. This is just one example of many, another example maybe when you search up Asians and it may say “sweatshop workers” or Mexicans saying “beaners”, anybody could believe what the online algorithm tells them and will address Asians and Mexican as what they found on the web. 

Q3: How has google “fixed” it prior issues in the past with its online algorithms?

Google, the web browser that many today use to browse for anything, had issues in the past. Some of these issues were it’s absurd online algorithms, this is not to say the algorithms now are great either but in the past they racially discriminated against POCs as Noble states “The first problem for Google was that its photo application had automatically tagged African Americans as "apes” and "animals.” The second major issue reported by the Post was that Google Maps searches on the word "N*gger” led to a map of the White House during Obama’s presideney, a story that went viral on the Internet after the social media personality Deray McKesson tweeted it.” In the article Noble further explains that Google took down an image labeling Michelle Obama as an “ape” and also took down the slurred White House search. 

Q4: What are some ways we can spread the awareness of Intersectionality?

Before answering that question, we need to understand just what is “Intersectionality”? Well, Intersectionality is the combined discrimination involving race and gender as explained by Kimberlé Crenshaw. For example, a case involving intersectionality as it problem would go like a African American women trying to get a job at a restaurant but is denied the job while an African American male and white woman are hired one after the other. It almost seems like there is nothing wrong with the situation and everything looks quite normal until you pay attention closely. This is a issue regarding intersectionality where there is a colored male hired so surely it is not discrimination by race and a white woman is hired so the employer is not being sexist so what is wrong? Well the problem is that there are little to almost no colored women being hire at this restaurant and that is what intersectionality is all about. Now as for how we can spread awareness to intersectionality, is that we can use our voices to support and spread the word to families, friends, and people you may know. Another way could be, being supportive of people whom, are of different communities, just being there, lending an ear or speaking out for them if they are facing public discrimination based on their race and gender. Other ways may include being respectful whenever you have a casual conversation with anybody, being aware that their background may be different or just have an open mind when socializing with them so you do not overstep any bounds or come off as offensive. Always remember actions speak louder than words. 

Benjamin, R. (n.d.). Race After Technology.

Noble, S. (n.d.). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism.

Q1: Do you believe face recognition technology is efficient enough to rely on, suppose you were the police trying to find a suspect. 

No, I do not believe face recognition has gotten far enough to be considered efficient in finding a suspect. It is clear that in that regard seeing how it has failed countless of times and many has fallen victims to being suspects to crimes they did not commit. (Kashmir, 2) Being falsely accused because of faulty tech is downright unfair to the victims and they have to suffer the consequences while the real perpetrator is still on the loose. If I was an enforcer of the law I would double check and be cautious around this matter of topic considering it is no joke to be throwing another under the bus because the machine or tech said they are a perfect match. In this case I would use it to narrow down specific targets but never let it decide final verdict on if one target was matching according to it.

Q2: How has technology/media helped create a movement for women empowerment?

Technology has been around for sometime now. It has been used for many thing but recently it has been used to start movements and spread awareness. After protests, people would get together and forms groups not just in person but online. These groups were composed of many ideas and one of them was women empowerment. Ever since women have been using technology as a tool to stop gender oppression and provides a “safe space” from dangers while trying to promote it offline. (Daniels, 108) These “safe space” also encourage more and more women to speak out against injustice that happened in the past but either were too scared to speak out or at the time thought nobody would budge after hearing her story. There are even sites all around the web that women can seek out for concerns regarding their problem.

Q3: Does technology hurt the way we look at people and our society?

Yes I believe it does hurt us in a way but it also help us, very similar to a double edged sword. For those whom are younger, it is sad to think that at a young age we are basically told what society wants us to know at a young age. With the spread of technology all around us, from children seeing ads that promote that violence is bad, to teens having phones while they are barely in middle school, While there are some benefits to this exposure to technology, there are also the downsides. For example, not all ads that teens get may be catered to them. If they were using their older sisters/brothers phone to watch videos, they may get an ad about makeup, displaying what is thought to be how men and women should model their bodies after and this creates insecurities at a young age. Another example is with TV and past news, there is a fear of minorities spreading around saying “they are dangerous people to be affiliated with” This does not just hurt the minorities and POC but almost everyone is affected except whites. In the light of some negativity stated above, it does benefit those who seem to need reassurance about making the “switch”, they seek out sites “...that affirm and solidify social identities along with axes of race, gender, and sexuality.” (Daniels, 110) This helps those in confusion and increases their confidence in defying social norms and being true themselves rather than be someone whom is stuck being someone they feel they are not. Overall, it really depends on the user and their mindset when choosing what they believe to be standard in their lives.

Q4: How do automated decision making do more harm than good in our society?

It does more harm by making it difficult for the POC and minorities groups to not be able to gain access to benefits and are regarded as easier targets to find an excuse to victimize. It paints a bad image on the poor and “intensifies discrimination” along with failing to follow with nations view of democracy and our rights. (Eubanks, 27) With automated decision making it give society a reason to potentially ignore the lower class people because of how the system works. The lower class always are being watched but not to actually be aided, only to be used as test subjects to check and find out if system really works.

Daniels, J. (2009). Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, gender, and embodiment. WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, 37(1-2), 101–124. https://doi.org/10.1353/wsq.0.0158

Eubanks, V. (2019). In Automating inequality: How high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor. Picador.

Q1. How does the origins of media explain the racial stereotypes we see today?

The origin of media originally was to be a medium as almost as propaganda to incite the public to agree with the way the government runs the country. It is explain by Gonzalez and Torres that they would use this method to create bad images or stereotypes of minorities This way, we believe what we are told without question and without any proof these said “events” ever took place. For example Gonzalez and Torres state that this method can be seen during Americas great territorial expansion outward. We were told that it was free land when the Native Indians clearly resided there and we were also told that these “violent non white” (Gonzalez and Torres, 2014, 3) individuals no longer needed the land and thus, we shall claim it from their dirty hands. 

Q2. Why are the amount of news reporters/journalist predominantly white?

This is because in the past as explained by Gonzalez and Torres , America has always kept minorities away from the limelight and in the dark where they could not compete with the superior power or even think of possibly obtaining a higher stature. Even now the media remains this way having little to a few minorities as journalist or reporters. There was never a need for the minority to step into the white mans playing field, “the content they produced was aimed largely at white readers and listeners” (Gonzalez and Torres, 2014, 8) in Today’s society it is not all that different, however you will see that there are a bit more minorities making their ways in the spotlight of being a journalist or a news reporter.  

Q3. What are the benefits of social media?

There are many benefits from using social media.. You can use it to communicate with family and friends who are if far distance as Fuch explains “ it is social to send an email or chat with a friend on Facebook. Communication is a basic feature of all societies and all human activity. We cannot live and survive without communication, just like we cannot survive without food and water. Communication takes place routinely in everyday life.”  You can use it to complete a project through Google Docs with group members or co workers. You can also use it to keep up with the latest news or keep up with your favorite celebrity. You can easily create a petition or start a movement using social media, this is seen to be very common in today’s society.

Q4. What kind of power does the media hold?

The media is quite an interesting platform. The usages, range from informing to communication to exploitations  It all depends on the user or writer. Depending on the user they can turn the media into almost anything. The media is a very power medium, if you can convince your audience and gain supporters you may become your own power both by verbally and now physical with the added support from supporters, However you can use this to develop a fanbase and as easily make the whole world despise you. To put it short to take advantage of the media you need to critical think and have the brains to comprehend what you can personally do with media.

Fuchs, C. (2014). Social Media: A critical introduction. Sage Publications.

Gather around folks while I tell a tale of mine about when I experienced tech failures...