There was a lengthy debate. Some felt that the internet definitely gives a voice to the minority. They spoke about how you can research on things and hear their voice through movies, articles and posts that you may not have been able to experience if it was not for the internet. The internet also gives a sense of anonymity as to prevent a reader from knowing whether the person who created the article, post or video is of the ethnic or social majority or minority. This helps to eliminate biases based upon racism and sexism.
Their was another group who believed that the internet fits neither strongly on one side or the other. They agreed with all the things that the group above made but they struggled to accept that regulators of internet content in our country do not play a role in oppressing the thoughts of the minority. When you google something, google spits out an answer based on who pays more to be found by google or what has been viewed the most before. This limits the ability of under privileged and new views from being found and viewed, favouring the "Dominant White Male" Also the government limits and blocks certain things from our internet. In the USA the government has the right to track your internet use and use it to incriminate you. These types of things are definitely not privileging the minorities.I tend to agree that the internet takes a very middle ground on this issue of privileging the majority or minority. The internet is a representation of society at large but it is generally dominated by youth making it a glimpse at society in the future. This makes me happy because the internet my not provide complete equality for all people but it definitely provides more equality then society at large does currently.
The future with the internet looks good as long as it remains as open as it is and hopefully becomes better at representing minorities as an equal in the online society.
Hey, I really liked your last thought there:
ReplyDelete"as long as it remains as open as it is and hopefully becomes better at representing minorities as an equal in the online society",
because it hints at the reality that online we may have a nationality (an ISP?) that we hail from, but when interacting via social media we are part of a global society.
I think the bias that you were hinting at is a result of two things: (1) Western affluence and access to technology: over 78% of North Americans use the internet, compared to a world average of only 34%. We are as a developed world, so much more connected then the average global citizen.
And (2), the window you look through: Surprisingly, North American internet users only account for 11% of internet traffic. In comparison: Asian users dominate at over 48%, even though only 28% of the population has access. But I (and I'm assuming the majority of us) don't speak cantonese or mandarin or punjabi or korean or japanese or .... etc.
Woah, sorry that got long! Stats source here: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
I see both sides of the coin on this issue. The internet can, and does, provide a global audience for people, (assuming they can access it). Wealthy individuals or organizations have the means to influence society in ways that the average (not wealthy) person cannot. For instance, my blog allows my voice to be heard, but it isn't generating the traffic that an advertised blog does. I'm not going to have the same impact on people or society, as say, Kim Kardashian. People with the means (power and money) can control the internet when and how they want to. Plus, the internet allows people to be monitored more easily (conspiracy theorists unite).
ReplyDeleteYou are correct though, in that the internet does help facilitate a move towards equity and equality on a global scale. Thank you for your thoughtful insight into this subject Anna.
I think it is hard to determine the real impact of the internet... I can see how some people think it provides more voice... but if it is not providing that representation for everyone / culture (due to national policy, repression, etc.), there is going to be unavoidable bias. Getting info out of "closed" zones and exposing injustices are two valuable benefits that support moving towards more equality in the world.
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