#gss320fall25

Q#1)

Many of this week’s readings talk about online communities and how they help people connect. How can online spaces help marginalized people and grow their communities?

In Ethnic Online Communities, Steven McLaine talks about using email newsletters to keep people updated. This helps users feel included and informed about what is happening in the community.

I think online communities should also use other ways to connect, like phone calls or call-in services. Some people do not always have internet access. Using phones can help more people stay connected. Community is about bringing people together, even if they are not online all the time.

Q#2)

In the article What Is Gamergate, and Why? by Jay Hathaway, online harassment is discussed. How can online spaces be kept safe?

People should speak up when they see hate or bad behavior. Calling out harmful actions shows that this behavior is not okay. Online spaces should be safe places where people feel free and welcome.

People can also report users who threaten or harm others. Platforms should remove users who continue to act badly. Online spaces can also use filters to block hateful words. This helps make the space safer for everyone.

Q#3)

Dr. LaToya Lee’s article Virtual Homeplace talks about how online spaces help the African American community connect and express themselves. What other ways can people build online communities?

Podcasts are a good way to build community. Like newsletters, podcasts help keep people informed. They are helpful for people who do not like reading or who learn better by listening.

Podcasts allow people to share stories and ideas. Hearing voices from your own community can make people feel seen and supported.

Q#4)

How have beauty standards changed over time? Can you give examples from today?

Beauty standards today still focus a lot on white and European looks. Many makeup ads show white models with straight hair. Natural hairstyles like curls or afros are not shown often, especially on Black women.

Many makeup brands also do not offer enough shades for darker skin tones. This can make women of color feel left out. Beauty companies should include all skin tones and hair types so everyone feels represented.

Refrences:

Hathaway, Jay. “What Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non Geeks.” Gawker, 10 Oct. 2014.

McLaine, Steven. “Ethnic Online Communities.” Digital Cultures Reader, edited by Sarah Banet Weiser and Victor Pickard, University Press, 2019, pp. 112 to 124.

Virtual Homeplace: (Re)Constructing the Body through Social

Media

Q1) What are some ways social media platforms can limit the impact of trolling in online spaces? A) One effective approach is for platforms to limit how frequently users can post and to use software that detects and blocks harmful or inappropriate language. This helps reduce impulsive, aggressive posting while keeping conversations respectful.

Growing up, I used an online platform called NeoPets, where everything users typed was monitored. The system automatically blocked foul language and froze accounts that broke the rules. Because of this, the space felt fun, safe, and well-protected. Platforms today can learn from this model by creating clearer boundaries, enforcing them consistently, and ensuring users know that harmful behavior has real consequences.

Q2) In Bergstrom’s “Don’t Feed the Trolls,” Reddit users responded to the account “Grandpa Wiggly.” Do you believe the user was engaging in trolling? A) Trolling can be defined in many ways, but several scholars describe it as behavior where someone pretends to be a genuine participant while hiding their true identity or intentions. Donath (1999) explains that trolls pass as legitimate members of a community, and Phillips notes that accusations of trolling can also function as a social deterrent against dishonesty.

In the case of “Grandpa Wiggly,” even if the user did not intend harm, they still created a false identity that misled the community. This made others suspicious and caused confusion, which is why people interpreted the behavior as trolling. It shows how easily trust can be damaged online even without malicious intent.

Q3) What effects can trolling have on individuals who are exposed to this type of behavior? A) In Maeve Duggan’s article Online Harassment, the data shows that exposure to trolling and similar negative behaviors can significantly affect mental health. Many people, especially those who spend time in online gaming or social spaces, experience increased anxiety, stress, and emotional exhaustion.

Because users can hide behind screens, individuals on the receiving end may face harassment, name calling, threats, or even sexually explicit aggression. For those without strong support systems or coping strategies, this kind of hostility can be overwhelming and may lead to long-term emotional consequences.

Q4) How can we better educate people who are exposed to trolling and harmful online behavior? A) One helpful approach is to talk directly with individuals who have experienced trolling and encourage them to reach out for support rather than facing it alone. Creating safe spaces for discussion helps people recognize that what they experienced is valid and that they deserve protection, not silence.

It is also important to teach the consequences of harmful online behavior, whether someone is the target or the perpetrator. Monitoring online environments especially for younger or more vulnerable users can prevent further harm. Setting boundaries, modeling healthy digital communication, and limiting exposure to toxic spaces can all protect mental well being and promote healthier online communities.

Citations:

Bergstrom, K. (2011). “Don’t feed the troll”: Shutting down debate about community expectations on Reddit.com. First Monday. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i8.3498

Phillips. “Defining Terms : The Origins and Evolution of Subcultural Trolling.” The Origins of Trolling

Q#1) Why do media conglomerates pick and choose what stories to broadcast?

In my opinion, media conglomerates decide what stories to broadcast based on what they believe will capture the most attention. For example, the public may be more drawn to a story about new school safety protocols than to coverage about the rising homelessness crisis. Unfortunately, race can also influence which stories receive attention. A news report about white Girl Scouts selling cookies might be highlighted, while coverage about non-white girls raising funds through a lemonade stand could be overlooked. This selective storytelling creates an unfair and unequal reality in modern media, where certain voices are amplified while others are muted.

Q#2) How has media served as a tool for people of color to share their stories? Can you think of new ways news can be spread?

In Nicholet Deschine’s article, she describes how she accidentally encountered the #StandingWithStandingRockmovement while showing her children the land. This moment became important because video recordings helped spread information that mainstream media ignored. Similarly, in Professor Lee’s article, she explains how people of color use hashtags to circulate news that traditional outlets fail to cover. These digital tools become a lifeline for marginalized communities seeking visibility.

If I were to share overlooked news myself, I would use platforms like blogs and attach specific hashtags so others searching for those topics could find them. Another approach would be posting short articles in public spaces like school bulletin boards, libraries, or coffee shops places where people can discover news they might not otherwise encounter.

Q#3) How can we educate others about trustworthy media and reduce bias in coverage?

One way to educate others is by discussing how media conglomerates often choose which stories to share and why that matters. We can introduce friends, family, and classmates to media outlets known for more balanced coverage, such as Mother Jones, PBS, and NPR. These sources aim to be more inclusive and less driven by sensationalism, helping people develop a more informed and less biased perspective on the news they consume.

Q#4) Is hacktivism an ethical form of activism when used to gain media attention?

In Classifying Forms of Online Activism by Sándor Vegh, the author explains how online political activism has become a powerful tool especially for groups whose voices have historically been silenced. While I understand the motivation behind hacktivism, I personally do not believe it is ethical. It involves breaking into protected servers, which violates privacy and security, even when the goal is to bring attention to an important issue.

This dilemma becomes even more complicated when we consider how companies and media conglomerates already collect our data without full transparency. Devices like Ring cameras, for example, store voice recordings and video that may include people who have no idea they're being captured. Just as this raises ethical concerns, hacktivism does as well. Both sides demonstrate the ongoing tension between privacy, media influence, and the pursuit of visibility.

References

Lee, Latoya A. "Black Twitter: A Response to Bias in Mainstream Media." Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 1, 2017, pp. 26. MDPI, https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6010026. Accessed 5 March 2017.

Vegh, Sandor. “Classifying Forms of Online Activism: The Case of Cyberprotests against the World Bank.” Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice, edited by Martha McCaughey and Michael D. Ayers, Routledge, 2003, pp. 71–95.

Blog post #9 Week 12

How does Zohran Mamdani’s campaign exemplify the strategy of combining grassroots canvassing and online campaigning? 

Zohran Mamdani has done it. He has harnessed the fandom he garnered online (with the help of a social media team run by youngsters) into real political power that has catapulted him into the mayoral office of New York freaking City. I think it's important to mention that I do not think it healthy to worship or idolize political figures. I am trying really hard not to do that. But it is hard not to feel hopeful in the wake of his win. And with such a large margin too, the message sent there is… LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE! The people want affordable rent, free and reliable public transportation, $30 minimum wage, and universal childcare. It turns out that when you promise to transform and improve the material lives of your continents in real ways rather than imagined, you can move mountains. His online campaign has shown the world the power of connecting with people in the streets and understanding your base, and the power of using memes and TikTok to connect with people that would otherwise be apolitical. Mamdani offers a new vision of the future of politics and how young people can engage online, while simultaneously having their voices heard in very real ways. 

How was this platform, tumblr, influential in the BLM movement? 

After the failure of the grand jury responsible for indicting Darren Wilson for the murden of Michael Brown, as protests were happening across the country, tumblr became a place to share information and keep the momentum of the movement alive. A lot of millennials grew up feeling as if they had no voice, and tumblr was somewhere where they could connect with one another, and movements spread quickly because most users had a common goal: uplifting one another and one another’s communities (to this day, I haven’t found another platform like it). Specifically, it’s ease of use with spreading all sorts of types of media meant that articles, gifs, photos, videos, audio clips, things from the BLM movement were being archived and shared, and the movement grew and grew. At the time, there were more than 200 million blogs on tumblr, and 50% of the users were between the ages of ~15-30, all across the world. The ability to rapidly spread information, across the globe even, igniting a huge movement… With the obvious racism and injustice taking place, people were seeing the brutality first hand.

What are some examples of social media being used to amplify stories of injustice that might otherwise be written off without digital, undeniable “proof”?

Social media allows for people to upload digital proof of injustice and circumvent some of the roadblocks that the US justice system often (read: almost always) imposes on Black and Brown people every day. Recently. I saw a TikTok of a Black woman named Cara Jones in active labor at Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite, Texas who was being denied care by a White nurse. The nurse’s name is Lacrista Vaughn. Cara’s mother says the hospital knew they were on their way because they called ahead of time. She tried to drop Cara off at the ER but the nurses denied her and said she had to go around to the front entrance. At this point, Cara was already in extreme pain and beginning to feel pressure. Once at the front of the hospital, the nurse at the reception desk denies Cara’s mother with aiding her in getting her daughter into a wheelchair. A police officer in the lobby gets up to help. Cara’s mother finds her daughter in the back of the vehicle, on her hands and knees, again, in active labor. Cara says again and again, “it’s in my ass”. She was contracting. She couldn’t move. Once it ebbed, she was able to get in the wheelchair, the police officer helped her into the building while her mother parked, and her mother says that once she returned to the lobby, there Cara was, sitting with a pile of paperwork in her lap, screaming in pain. Screaming, “baby is coming, baby is coming”. All the staff are looking around saying that they can’t do anything until she signs the paperwork. Cara manages to sign the papers, under extreme duress, and they agree to let her in a small examination room. There, Cara is again forced to sit and answer questions while the nurse ignores her screams and cries. The mother goes on to say that the hospital had planned to induce Cara that day, but didn’t have enough beds to room her so they told her to hold off coming in until her water literally broke and she had no choice. It is possible that the hospital is understaffed, overrun, poorly managed and the lot. But it would be despicable to not address the medical racism occurring here, and the severity of it. Cara very well could have died. 

How does this example demonstrate medical racism and the real dangers of it? How can social media aid in amplifying this story and the injustice at the core of it?

This stressful labor caused extreme duress for her child. The nurses there ignored her and were extremely callous. They told her mother that Cara was not a priority, and forced her to suffer. In the US, the maternal mortality rate for Black women is x4 higher than it is for White women. To be quite frank, that disparity is insane. It’s not negligence, it is systemic failure to respond to the racism in this country. This video has already garnered so much conversation, and the nurse captured in the video will probably face social repercussions as well. But that is not enough. Social media needs to be a tool in our toolbox that should be used in tandem with activism on the ground. 

Works Cited

Kelly, Makena. “Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Figured out How to Channel Fandom.” Wired, Conde Nast, 5 Nov. 2025, www.wired.com/story/zohran-mamdani-campaign-fandom.

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.

Safronova, Valeriya. “Millennials and the Age of Tumblr Activism (Published 2014).” New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/style/millennials-and-the-age-of-tumblr-activism.html. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025. 

Blog post #7 Week 10

Why has Steve Bannon’s weaponization of the gamers of GamerGate been so successful? Why does there seem to be a never ending supply of men who are willing to subscribe to these beliefs, even when it seems to ostracizes them from society and their community? 

His campaign to weaponize the young men of gamegate was obscenely successful because of the anarchic nature of this group. They specifically thrive off of chaos and madness, and even when interviewed, many insurrectionists at the January 6th storming of the capitol all report having very different reasons to be there, all of which are covered by the umbrella of MAGA – most America-first conspiracies can find a home with this community. These people were able to be mobilized because they felt like they had been left behind. People remember how you treat them, and in an era of equity and a growing minority demographic in this country, young white men are deeply afraid of losing their position in society. There is a seemingly unending supply of their members because the internet is further radicalizing people, either to the left or to the right, and when young men go online and see many women on the left pinning most of their problems onto young men of their own age, their male counterparts feel wronged, feel like they have been accused of something they had no part in. “Not all men!”, they scream, while ignoring the fact that the accusation isn’t that all men are evil, it’s just that most women have had scary interactions with them, and many of the ones who do not partake in this unsavory behavior also do nothing to stop their buddies from engaging in this behavior. They just like to parade around the fact that they themselves would never do that, and that they are “nice guys”. But when these outliers, “nice guys”, also don’t get any “action” from women (or bitches or sluts), they turn to their fellow comrades who are also involuntarily celebate, and together they form coalitions against women that solidify their justification for their scorn. 

How are content creators that are not themselves racist, homophobic, misogynist enablers of influencers who, definitively, are? How does continuing to share platforms with known bigots show complacency and complicity in their harmful beliefs?

A situation arose like this on social media this week, and while I was relatively unaffected because I don’t really enjoy watching gamers/streamers, the parties involved are all really popular female streamers, two of which are queer, and the third is an ex-mormon whose boyfriend is also a popular male streamer on twitch. The ex-mormon (QTCinderella/Blaire) was under fire for hanging out with a known homophobe, and QT was on live with her two queer friends (Vanillamace and KatieB), and was defending her friendship, saying that she can separate friendship from bigotry and that it doesn’t make her a bigot herself. Same for her family – she can love them and see their faults and how they are racist, but it doesn’t make her racist for not kicking them out of her lives. I mention the fact that she’s ex-mormon because I think it adds a lot of important context to the story – there is a lot of racism, white nationalism, homophobia, and sexism that happens in the Mormon community. It does not shock me at all that she does nothing to stand up to these people – if anything, it makes a lot of sense to me. She most likely grew up with a lot of folks that thought that way, therefor she is very comfortable because nothing about her identity itself is threatened by those people. It is much easier to say that you are an ally than to live it in practice – allyship can be a very lonely existence. But QT could use her platform to only uplift creators with similar values than hers that are more inclusive, if that’s as important to her as she says it is. The reason it’s important to hold influencers accountable is because… it's in their job description. Their job is to influence. And if their messaging doesn’t match their actions, than why should they continue to make money off of the backs of the communities that they claim to uplift? It’s also dangerous to talk out of one side of your mouth and say that you’re a feminist, but then not engage in intersectionality and realize that trying to diminish the severity of your lack of stance causes – these up and coming female streamer influencers are inspirational to a lot of young women and their messaging at a time like right now is vital – what do we value? Who do we allow in our inner circle? Which offensive jokes do we allow to slide without challenge or closer examination? These are things that a role model to tens of thousands of young women (QT) should consider. 

If kids are our future, what are the safeguards from them falling down these pipelines? What kind of content should we be showing our kids to combat the xenophobic conditioning of our culture? How do we challenge white supremacy at home, so that our kids go into the world with more holistic ideas of the world and those that are different from them?

There currently aren’t many safeguards. Even parental controls can be turned off by a precocious enough child. The problem with children is that it is in their nature to be curious. Free range access to the internet has made it harder to control how much (and to what) are children are exposed to. So if we can’t keep them off of social media, how to we monitor them? I think we should watch the same content that they are watching. No autoplaying, and every video has to be approved. Autoplay can allow some pretty nasty algorithms to get underway, especially on apps like YouTube, especially if they detect that the user is a young boy who is at all interested in politics. And, as someone who knows even just one little boy, I know that he is obsessed with war and has gone down a rabbit hole/ white nationalist pipeline. Joseph is in the third grade and obsessed with weaponry, war planning, generals, and historical figures known for their ferocity (never their generosity). At first, when I heard of Joseph’s newfound obsession with watching docu-length YouTube videos on history, I was excited to hear all he had learned. Most of what he had to report back to me was US propaganda: the US is #1, our army is #1, and I want to be famous. Famous for what?, my sister asked him. War, was his simple reply. And I know – young boys are like this. They say absurdist nonsense and then run away before we can interrogate it further. But when I mentioned my concerns with potential propaganda he was being fed, his mother assured me that she keeps a watchful eye on his consumption. But I know that’s a lie because I scrolled through his history, and she admitted she didn’t know he had watched half of those America-first documentary length videos! Our boys are in peril and I feel unable to effectively do anything about it.

What is the benefit of having these conversations? Why not just let trolls, troll? 

As in the case of January 6th, we know what happens when we let these “fringe” ideas fester in the margins of society – these folk feel forgotten and resentful, and eventually try to enact their wishes on the people against their will. That is the danger. When you do not fight back against harmful ideology, it allows it to take up legitimate space, and it legitimates itself. The same way that giving platforms to nazis to speak on, say, college campuses, is wrong. And saying that it’s wrong is not an infringement of free speech, because free speech does not include bigotry, racism, xenophobia, homphobia, transphobia. Free speech is not about having free reign to spew hate with no retribution. That is literally hate speech. 

Q#1) How has the term Cyborg influence todays world in technology and it's influence on individuals?

A)After reading A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway, I was surprised by how much technology can influence the way people think and live. Haraway talks about the idea of the “cyborg” someone who’s a mix of human and machine and it actually makes a lot of sense in today’s world. For example, in shooting games like Call of Duty or Fortnite, people don’t just play for fun they really get into it. They train their reflexes, memorize maps, and even start thinking like soldiers. Over time, that kind of connection to the game starts to change how they see themselves and interact with others. It’s like their real and digital lives start to blend. That’s kind of what Haraway means by being a cyborg letting technology become part of who we are and how we live every day.

Q#2) In the lecture the term cyborg maybe a bit confusing to be defined a certain way can you furture anaylse and it's interpertation to the word to people who may not be familar to it?

A)

The term cyborg can definitely be a little confusing, especially if you’re only thinking of it in the sci-fi sense, like half-human, half-robot. But in Donna Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto, the word means something much broader and more symbolic. Haraway uses cyborg to describe how technology and society are so deeply connected that they shape who we are our identities, our choices, even our politics.

A good example of this is how people have responded to the government taking away abortion rights. After major legal decisions like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, people especially women have turned to technology and social media to organize protests, share information, and speak out. Online platforms become tools of resistance and empowerment, helping people fight back against systems that try to control their bodies. In this way, they become “cyborgs” not because they’re machines, but because their identities and actions are tied to technology in a meaningful way.

Haraway’s cyborg isn’t about having wires or metal parts it’s about breaking down traditional boundaries. It shows how people use tech to push back against control, rethink gender roles, and form new kinds of communities. Especially in political struggles like the fight for abortion rights, the cyborg represents how human beings and technology combine to challenge power and create change.

Q#3) How do video games like Grand Theft Auto and social media platforms contribute to reinforcing harmful stereotypes related to gender and white supremacy online?

A)

Video games like Grand Theft Auto often portray poor urban areas where players complete missions that involve violence against marginalized groups, like slapping sex workers or killing people to earn money. This portrayal can reinforce negative stereotypes about people of color, suggesting they live in violent, hopeless environments, while often sidelining white characters or implying they lack opportunities in these settings. These representations shape players’ views on race and class, normalizing violence against marginalized communities and supporting white supremacist ideas.

Similarly, on social media, women of color frequently face targeted harassment that is both sexist and racist. Hate groups use online platforms to spread white supremacist messages, making it harder for these women to participate freely and safely. This shows how technology isn’t neutral it can reinforce oppressive ideas about who belongs in public spaces and who doesn’t. Understanding these examples helps us see how online spaces can reproduce real-world inequalities related to gender and race.

Q#4) How does K. O’Riordan explain the way women are shown in online spaces, and why should we think carefully about it? Can you give some examples from games or movies?

A)

O’Riordan’s explanation really clicked for me because I’ve noticed how women in games and media are often drawn to look a certain way big breasts, tiny waists, tight clothes and it always seemed like it was for the male gaze. For example, in Yu-Gi-Oh!, female characters wear revealing outfits and even the monsters are sexualized. At first, I thought it was just the style of the game, but now I see it’s part of a bigger pattern.

Movies like Batman show this too. Catwoman’s character is sexy and dangerous, but she’s also kind of reduced to her looks and sexuality. It’s frustrating because it feels like women’s abilities or personalities take a back seat to how they look.

Reading Haraway made me think about how these images limit how we think about gender. It’s not just entertainment it affects how society views women in real life. I’ve started paying more attention to these portrayals and why diversity and more realistic representations matter so much.

Citations:

Daniels, Jessie. n.d. “Gender, White Supremacy and the Internet” 

Haraway, Donna. 1985. “Cyborg Manifesto” 

White supremacy on the internet

Is white supremacy on the rise? Did it ever really go away? Why do we enjoy so much media about dystopian dictatorial worlds when we have them right here at home?

This week, I want to dedicate this blog post to the rise of white supremacy on the internet.. It is not hard to come up with these examples, in fact I had to choose between the several stories I wanted to speak about and narrow it down. And I think we should address why this is – why is it that racism, xenophobia, and intolerance are never too far beneath the veneer of society? Because our society is built upon it, of course! One thing I find incredibly frustrating about capitalism is its resilience; it has the ability to handle critiques of itself, over and over again, withstanding blow after blow and still remaining the foundation of Western metanarratives. I’m thinking of series like The Handmaiden’s Tale, The Hunger Games, Squid Games, Severance… all of these shows seem to display a unique ability to critique this capitalistic world that we all live in, and yet nothing changes with the creation of these shows. Why is it that we are so ill-equipped to actually change the world around us?

How can we address the topic of growing white supremacy in the U.S., and how can we combat it?

If we take a top-down approach with this topic, how can we blame our youth for being so apathetic and hateful while growing up in a world that doesn’t give them any good examples of how to do better? The official White House’s X account frequently features memes depicting undocumented immigrants as subhuman, or cartoonishly garish, labeling them as sexual offenders and criminals. One specific tweet from September 8th of this year featured a photo of a product resembling a Labubu toy, labeled "Deported Edition Labubu." The image included a cartoon of a handcuffed man, with text reading "Sexual Predator, Illegal Alien, Arrested by ICE" and a "Deported!" label. The post was captioned, "WTF. Maybe Labubus are demonic," accompanied by a red devil emoji.” I myself and many others saw this post and balked – surely we have not slipped into a timeline where this is morally acceptable behavior from the standing president of the United States. But is it! It is. We have arrived in that universe, in fact we’ve been here for a long time. Like I’ve mentioned before, George Floyd and even Anne Frank’s images have been bastardized and used in AI memes that pick fun at the absurdity and misfortune of it all. To make matters worse, Donald Trump has designated October 14th as a day of remembrance for Charlie Kirk. This is also George’s Floyd birthday. I can agree that it's a strange coincidence, but something about it doesn’t feel completely incidental. There is something more sinister at large, and it is our institutions picking fun at historical moments or figures and making a mockery of their images. It sanitizes history and makes a joke of it. I have a friend who works at an elementary school, and she can recall the teacher giving the students an introduction to Anne Frank and her story, and the kids being confused because they had seen her in memes before with George Droyd, and his partner Anne Clank.

What is the real harm of these AI videos of Anne Frank and George Floyd, and these people using their likeness? Whose naivete is being exploited?

Cyborgs and AI videos meant to amuse people on instagram reels and nothing more. But there is something more. This is SO SINISTER. This week there was a story about a group chat between members of The Young Republican National Federation and their leaked messages. People were disturbed to read some of the horrible, Hitler-adoring comments that these young men were casually messaging back and forth. I am here to say: this is the new normal. Especially with a Trump administration that is not afraid to use AI to generate damning images against their pundits – even when they are some of our most vulnerable.

Is it possible to live as Cyborgs? How do these power relations in media embolden us to be cruel to one another, and what does this widening chasm of separation of factions online mean in the real world?

I don’t think it’s possible at this time to liberate ourselves from our binary lives and live freely as cyborgs. I say that because we are living in a unique time where our humanity is slowly being stripped from us – the rise of AI makes us feel obsolete, we are losing our attention spans and ability to think creatively, and with our impatience comes intolerance. We are not patient, gentle, or kind with each other. The internet and the anonymity it brings emboldens users to be hateful, viscous, even outright cruel at times. That’s not to say there isn’t anything worth saving about humanity. If anything, the most moving thing about humanity, in my opinion, is the indomitability of the human spirit. I see it in resistance efforts across the globe, and in my own personal circles. People show up for each other. People love each other fiercely. We just haven’t been given many incentives to show up for each other – because it’s inconvenient, and it costs us something. Our time. But more and more, our time is going to be our most valuable asset. What causes we choose to spend our time and energy on, what stories we listen to, who we lend our ear. At this time, it is not possible to live as cyborgs. But I would like to spend my next however many years imagining that world for my sister’s child, and maybe, one day, my own.

Works Cited

Beeferman, Jason, and Emily Ngo. “‘I Love Hitler’: Leaked Messages Expose Young Republicans’ Racist Chat.” Politico, 14 Oct. 2025, www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/private-chat-among-young-gop-club-members-00592146?fbclid=IwZnRzaANbdIpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHqjvZJLV3RLGnUE09tQ4qAGL4fHU_CWORfpDgBnA_LrVOEH8mP-00IyrrZno_aem_iuc5_9p0tzOyQZuFRcWOOQ.

Q1: How has social media and its users created biases in everyday life, especially on dating sites?

A: Social media platforms, especially dating sites, were designed to help people connect virtually. Users create profiles, upload photos, write bios, and use hashtags to catch others' attention. While it's optional to leave your profile blank, users who do so typically receive fewer responses.

A common feature of dating apps is the "spotlight" function, which highlights certain users who are deemed popular in a given area. However, these spotlighted individuals are often white, and rarely people of color.

In the article Race and Social Media by T. Senft and S. Noble, the authors examine how the dating site OKCupid matches users based on similar traits and values. However, despite this design, white users tend to be more selective favoring other white users. The authors refer to this as a reflection of the so-called “post-racial” era of online romance, where racial bias still thrives under the surface.

These biases are deeply embedded in media platforms especially dating sites and often go unchallenged, particularly when it comes to race.

Q2: Why do you think frequent gamers design their avatars a certain way? Do you think they are trying to hide something?

A: In my opinion, many gamers design their avatars as a form of self-expression. For some, it’s a way to represent themselves in a virtual space where they feel more comfortable than in real life. Others may choose avatars that reflect how they wish to be seen, or how they feel inside especially if their real-life identity feels too vulnerable or private.

Are some people hiding behind their avatars? Maybe. But for many, it's about freedom being able to explore identities they can't comfortably express in real life. For example, some may present as a different gender in-game because they don’t feel safe or accepted doing so in public.

Speaking from personal experience, I play Pokémon Go, and my avatar is a stocky, dark-skinned guy in comfy clothes representing how I like to dress. I also gave him a lucha mask to honor my Latino heritage, which I’m proud of. So for me, my avatar is both personal and cultural.

Q#3 Which term from this week’s readings stood out to you and why? How does it affect our daily lives?

A: The term that stood out to me most is white privilege. It refers to the unearned advantages that white individuals often have simply because of their skin color. These privileges are built into our social institutions, from schools to workplaces to the justice system.

For example, when you walk into an Apple Store, it's not uncommon to see staff gravitate more toward white customers possibly assuming they have more money or are more likely to buy something. That’s white privilege in action.

Another example is in politics. Many elected officials, especially during and after Donald Trump's presidency, have been white individuals, reinforcing a system that favors whiteness. Representatives like Congress Woman Jasmine Crockett of Texas speak out against this imbalance, highlighting how white supremacy still shapes access to healthcare, criminal justice, and economic opportunities. White privilege isn’t just a buzzword it affects real people every day.

Q#4 What do you think motivates people to spread hate or bias online based on race?

A: The motivation behind online hate is often rooted in a desire to uphold white supremacy and suppress racial equality. Many people build biases based on skin color alone, without knowing anything about the individual they are targeting.

Social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) give people the tools to spread this hate anonymously. Sometimes these individuals have been raised in environments where racism is normalized and passed down through generations.

Meme and hashtag culture also plays a role. Racist ideas can be spread under the guise of humor, making it easy to share harmful content without understanding its impact. These tools allow hate to circulate freely, often without accountability and that’s dangerous.

References

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the New Jim Code. Polity Press.

Daniels, J. (2018). White supremacy in the digital era: An introduction. Routledge.