Digital Refelection #2
The three class concepts I chose for my digital reflection are algorithm bias, predictive policing, and the complication of opting out. When reflecting on all three of these aspects I immediately thought of how attached society is to social media and technology and how easy it is to access our information.
I found the conversation about “the complications of opting out” to be very interesting. I never truly realized how public people have become about their lives until we watched a video about a woman trying to hide her pregnancy. She started by discussing how she could not post anything on social media. This was because algorithms and other things online could receive that information easily and she would then receive advertisements and coupons for baby supplies. She discussed how family members would message her on the “private” messages on Facebook and having to explain to them that the messages were not actually very private resulting in her deleting their messages and blocking them. This highlights how little people realize everything we post or say on social media can be seen. Also, she also ran into problems with buying items for her child. She could not buy things on the internet or with her credit card so she had to turn to other forms which resulted in the appearance that her and her husband were criminals. Although not true, it shows how difficult it was for her to hide herself from the internet in society today and that it can make you seem like a criminal. I never realized how much the lives of people in society today are so intertwined with social media and the internet.
Algorithms are also used in many different areas of life in society today. An algorithms is defined as, “A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer” (Lexico). I think it is very interesting how algorithms are used and can actually create bias based from things that can be completely out of one’s control. Algorithm bias is defined as, “systematic and repeatable errors in a computer system that create unfair outcomes, such as privileging one arbitrary group of users over others” (Wikipedia). This relates to the topic of privacy because these algorithms will take your information and use it to create outcomes that one may or may not like. It is hard to completely avoid bias in algorithms but a lot of the bias stems from social media as well. A quote form an article states, “companies such as Facebook—my former employer—Google, and Twitter have repeatedly come under attack for a variety of bias-laden algorithms” (Wired). When relating to articles read in class, it is interesting how a lot of our information is put into these algorithms and can be completely out of anyone’s control what bias is created.
The conversation about predictive policing can be very controversial in relation to privacy as well. In class we discussed whether or not it is okay for police to use information from social media in investigations. It is hard to distinguish whether or not that would be considered a privacy issue because people should have the freedom to post what they want but, is it ever really private in the first place? I would argue that it is not. There are many cases in which everything that you post or say on social media is being watched. The information disclosed on social media can be used against us in many different ways.
Overall, a major take away for me was how public our lives are truly becoming due to social media use and the internet in general. I thought all of these topics tied in really well to support the idea of privacy through our technology.
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/algorithm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_bias
https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-reason-tech-struggles-with-algorithmic-bias/
Digital Refelection #1
For my digital reflection I decided to create a visual representation of internet usage and how it varies depending on how accessible it may be to you. The three class concepts highlighted in this piece are: definitions of the digital divide, disability and accessibility, and digital production and consumption.
The definition of digital divide is the difference between those who have access to the internet or computers and those who do not. The first idea that came to mind when trying to represent this divide was an apple because it can represent technology (Apple computers) but also in this image represents how easy it is to get one in an area with a lot of growth/wealth. In areas where there is not much access to internet, I chose to represent with a tree that is not super healthy because it is harder to grow apples and therefore harder to get them. All together this represents how in certain countries and places around the world, areas that are poor or more rural have a harder time getting access to internet and in come cases technology. On the left side, you will see the healthy tree also has money, technology, and growth. It is to show that these areas with more growth/people with wealth are going to be more likely to have internet access as well. One of the percentages on the right side shows that 53% of the world does not have access to internet. That 53% of the world would be represented by the right side of the visual.
This also ties into the class concept production and consumption. In class we discussed how areas like Point Arena have very little access to internet although AT&T has a cable station in that small and rural town. The smaller and unhealthy tree is supposed to represent the less wealthy and less populated areas like Point Arena. They are less likely to have internet access because they do not have has much of population therefore not generating enough wealth. This is represented by the small number of apples and the tree not being as green because there is not as much people or money in the area meaning less access. The right side represents the 24% of Americans who do not have access to internet.
The final concept I am trying to portray with this poster is accessibility and disability. As you can see by the left side of my poster, the colors are bright, there are symbols of wealth, access to any technology, and power. But, for people with certain disabilities, they do not get to experience the access that others do when their needs are not met. They represent the right side of the chart as they do not get the access that other people are lucky enough to have. On a website called “Interactive Accessibility” I was able to find and provide all the percentages of disabilities in the United States that related to the internet. About 8.2% of Americans have difficulty lifting or grasping which could impact their use of a mouse or keyboard. Also, 6.3% have a cognitive, mental, or emotional impairment, 3.3% have vision impairment, and 3.1% have a hearing impairment. Altogether, it is a large percentage of Americans that do not get the same access that someone without disabilities would be able to easily receive.
I decided to title my reflection with “Which side are you on?” because with all of the stats provided about people who do not have internet access, it leaves many people on the right side rather than the left. For many people who have always had easy access, it is hard to understand how many people actually struggle not only in the United States but around the world.
Citation:
https://www.interactiveaccessibility.com/accessibility-statistics
All images are copyright free through Canva