For the first eighteen years of my life I lived in a four-bedroom, two-car garage, beautiful home, with a huge pool and patio out back. My elementary school was located down the road from us and my neighborhood was full of children that I grew up with, some of who are still good friends. This house was the best place for any kid to live- not just because of the safe, friendly neighborhood or the spacious backyard, but for the small space in the back of the house where most of my childhood memories were created- the playroom. Most families would call this extra room the “office” or guest room but in my house it was named more appropriately for it’s cause- the playroom. Respectively, any toy or gadget that my parents purchased went in the playroom where my sister and I would spend hours after school. Nintendo was the big thrill and most innovative technological device to visit our home until the day that changed my life, when my parents invested in their first personal computer. I vividly remember the day a group of men delivered the big, white, box that said “Compaq” in red letters across the front. It took a team of professionals to assemble the screen and monitor while connecting it to a plethora of wires and cables. At the time I was hardly interested and preferred to play with my pet hamster over sitting in front of the big white box, but little did I know that things would surely change.
“Magic Theatre” was the first program I ever used on a computer, which allowed users to create digital videos and stories with pictures, sound, and graphics. My first encounter on the computer was a creative experience to say the least. My breakthrough video was entitled “Snowball the hamster from outerspace” which featured a picture of my favorite childhood pet dressed as an astronaut, dancing to a catchy song while he roamed the moon. I still crack myself up thinking about what this video must have looked like. I would do anything to recapture that footage! This activity was the perfect introduction to the world of computers and my hamster story was a short summarization of what the world of technology has to offer: endless possibilities. The magic theatre was one of my earliest artistic endeavors in which I was encouraged to think out of the ordinary. I credit another computer program for my infatuation with the world of fashion, clothes, and accessories. This game allowed me to pick out and design outfits for one lucky electronic girl that appeared on the screen. She stood next to a closet of tops and bottoms that I would click and drag onto her perfectly computerized body. She looked like a Barbie doll with long, blonde hair, a skinny little body and a great tan. Not to mention, she owned some of the best clothing in the world. Other than sparking an interest in fashion and styling, the computerized doll was another figure I admired to be like. At such a young age I became envious of the girl on the computer program and her perfect everything. This incident probably contributed to a life of battling self-image issues and low confidence after striving to be Barbie doll perfect didn’t work. Looking back on childhood activities, most of my hobbies did not challenge me to be intellectual and innovative. I was not as entertained by the playground as other children and I would beg my parents to let me have extra time on the computer instead of going outside to play with friends. I was fascinated with the fun programs for the next few years before something else caught my attention. America Online.
My true digital literacy began to develop when I made my own AOL account. Learning how to type, click, send, receive, and communicate via internet was an educational task that came naturally with the use of AOL. However, the most challenging aspect of this procedure was to pick a screen name, which is essentially a person’s electronic identity. A screename is a title you give yourself that represents who you are, what you are about, and how you want others to view you. I dabbled under many aliases that seemed appropriate to me at the time, but now I would be embarrassed to say the least to call myself SpiceGirlFan, UnicornRachel, or HampsterGirl. Ironically, when it came time to pick an official screename I chose one that has stuck with me for more than two decades and is still to this day a pretty good description of me. Girlee220@aol.com. And that is still my primary email account to this day. As I ponder this incident I find the name “girlee” metaphoric to my personal identity and the role gender has played in my life. Before I knew anything about the internet or technology I wanted to be seen as cute and feminine and all things pretty, and there was no amount of technology or computer classes that could stop me from being who I am. To this day I think the word “girlee” best represents me; I am a professional makeup artist that has a passion and talent for all things beauty. I love fabrics with floral print and pink accents and cute little stuffed animals. Being “girlee” also has its drawbacks for me, as being technologically savvy did not come easily, if it even came at all. Technology and computers never interested me but I used them to feed my personal interests. My digital literacy has been strongly impacted by my gender.
My favorite thing to do on AOL was go into chat rooms where I would communicate with people from all over the world and make friends with similar interests. I recall there being a vast amount of chat room categories that covered all areas of interests. I usually attended the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen fan club chat room to talk about the twins with other young enthusiasts. The twins were my favorite childhood celebrities and I watched every movie and read every book they came out with. The chat rooms kept me updated with their personal lives and their newest products. Sometimes I would chat online with people who claimed to be friends with the Olsen sisters and I would ask them questions like “What is Mary-Kates favorite color?” I felt like I was closer to my idols than ever and I often bragged to my friends about knowing a friend of the Olsens. Interestingly, my Olsen obsession foreshadowed my future of interest in the entertainment industry and more specifically celebrity gossip. The internet has fueled my fascination with the media by providing unlimited access to personal stories of celebrities. Although the online world has expanded to provide so much more than chartrooms, I still utilize the internet as a primary source of entertainment news. PerezHIlton.com is the most popular and controversial celebrity gossip website, and I was a follower before anyone even knew who he was. I check Perez daily to see if anything exciting is happening in Hollywood or if any stars have publicly embarrassed themselves.
Using the internet as a media and entertainment resource has also made an impact on my self-esteem. The female prototype displayed on most websites is the typical tall, slender, model physique that I was just not born with. I spent many years searching for a magic diet or trick that would make me as skinny as the girls on my computer, and the internet was full of information on crash diets. I would say that my digital literacy developed through constantly researching about healthy eating because I learned to navigate the web and maximize my searches. In retrospect, I could not imagine life without computers. Becoming aware of the significance of digital literacy is important for younger generations and I appreciate the benefits it has made on my life.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Digital Literacy
When I think back on my use of computers, it starts very early. Some of my very earliest memories are from 1st and 2nd grade. We always had a list of activities that we would move through during the week such as Art, PE, Music, and Computers. I used to love going to the computer activity center, because we would have a small project that we would have to do to get us more comfortable on the computers, but then we would get "free play" and I always knew exactly what I would do with my time!!
This was the mother load of all kids art programs at the time! You could make all sorts of fun pictures using paint tools, but there were also stamps and special features you could use. One of my favorite things through was the special eraser. You hit the button and it made a crazy black and white swirl, almost made you dizzy if you were staring at it, and this crazy low mans voice would say " OH NO!" as it erased. I loved it, and will never forget that!
Then, when I got to about 4th grade we started to use a program called The Oregon trail, this was just an education game for students to learn about the people of the Oregon trail, and gave students a first hand view at some of the choices and decisions that people of those times had to make. I will never forget my teacher when we played this game. her name was Mrs. Cullen, she was always very animated, but I remember her acting out scenes in the game by putting desks together and jumping on top of them to give us little shows. It was hilarious,and definitely a fun and interesting way of learning.
I cant quite remember exactly when we got our first computer at home, but being a middle class white family, it didn't take my father long to put away enough money to get our first computer. I don't remember exactly what there was to do on the internet for kids at that point, and between my two older sisters and I, I don't remember getting a ton of time to be on it. But I do remember my very first "screen name" for a teen's chat room I was allowed to use. I called my self "littybit224" I was young, but I do remember how "mature" the content always was in these chat rooms, it is scary to think that those things were happening in "rooms" that were set up for kids 10-14 years old. it scary to think that pedophiles and people who shouldn't be accessing these chats can do it with such ease. Once I got into my late junior high and early highschool years, I signed up for one of the first social networking type activities available which was Live Journal. This was basically a website where you could write all about your day, like you would in a diary. Only difference was that you could share it publicly with your friends. without bringing your diary to school. It was also neat because depending on your mood, you could change your backgrounds for the actual journal, and you could add pictures of yourself, and of your friends.After reading your journal posts, your friends could comment on what you had written, you could always stay up to date on your friends lifes, and almost know more about them then you really wanted to!
Then, of course, I had to jump on the Myspace bandwagon, also like Live Journal, it was a social network where you could show off the amount of friends you had, and post how you were feeling . The difference, mostly was that you had to keep each update up to only a certain amount of characters. Kids need to know, that they need to be careful on things like this though, because child predators could easily try and seduce a child and convince them to come to their house, or give them personal information. These websites can be very dangerous.
My final destiny so far in social networking..FACEBOOK!
And I will be the first to say, I spend to much of my time on this website, and it is the death of any healthy relationship!
I began using Facebook in high school, and it caught on like wildfire. It originally was very similar to Myspace, but it was supposed to be for college students for social networking. But, the creator decided to open it up and allow anyone and everyone to use it. This site, although nice to be able to catch up with friends, and also keep in touch with friends from the past, has ruined some of my friendships, and caused struggles and trust issues in past relationships.I know it must sound silly to say that it can ruin friendships and relationships, but all Facebook did was allow men to contact women they shouldn't and encourage friends to play a live version of the game telephone all the time, it is honestly nothing but a gossip train in highschool.
I am so glad that growing up I was able to really experience computers and feel blessed that I was always able to have one at home to use, so I didn't have to go to the library or to school to do projects and enjoy the perks of the internet. It seems crazy to think of a world where internet and computers do not exist because we rely so heavily on this form of communication now. but I do think that eventually the world will step back from this type of communicating, and just like every trend, Facebook will eventually have to lose power by some other "new" trend. I cant wait to see how much my digital literacy will grow in the future!
My Digital Literacy...A Positive Work In Progress!
Growing up as a child my parents were divorced and I was raised by a single mother. Other than school I had never seen a computer nor did I know how to use one. I believe in middle school was the first time I was asked to type a paper. I remember my mom borrowed this huge typewriter from her job and brought it home for me to use. It was massive and I was scared! It made a lot of noise and I’m pretty sure I went through tons of paper figuring out how to work it. I used that type writer for years and I got pretty good at it I must say. Eventually after starting high school we had a library that had computers for students to do papers on and research things for class on them. I would do my papers on those but wasn’t really taught all the different things you could actually do on them. Finally in eleventh grade I had my first computer class and I really learned a lot about computers and all the wonderful things they could do. I would use the school library and the public library to write my papers and research things for school and that worked out pretty well for me. I sometimes would use my friends’ computers at their houses if I could not get to the library. Looking back it certainly was not easy not having a computer at home but I worked with what I had at the time. After graduation I didn’t go to college for about four years until 2005. Between the time of graduation and college I never used a computer I’m sad to say, except for my restaurant gig but those were not for anything other than sending orders to the kitchen. In 2005 when I moved to Florida and I started at BCC I was taken aback by all the different resources they had available. There were computer labs in almost every building and even some classes had computers available for each student. This may sound silly to some people but I just wasn’t used to that when I grew up. So many of my classes wanted papers typed I decided to finally buy my own lap top. I was so excited when I brought it home and I taught myself how to use email better, download pictures and music, and I even got myself a my space (it was cool at the time). I eventually bought an IPod and learned how to download the music from my computer on to my IPod. That was so much fun because music is my life and I got to take it everywhere I went. In 2007 I took a computer class at BCC and was taught how to use power point, excel, and use many of the features I had no idea were available for me at the time. I must say that class taught me so many things that I can not only use now but in my future career. I started UCF in the summer of 2010 and took two online classes which I had never done before. I really learned how to use computers even more when I did that. I learned to add attachments and post work that I had done. I really felt accomplished being able to take a class purely online by computer. I am still learning new things with computers today. I just recently learned how to blog for our class. Once I figured it out I enjoyed it a lot more than web courses because you can see everyone’s posts and comments on one page as you follow. I see many people even attach photos. I haven’t gotten that far yet but that is one of my goals by the end of the semester. Taking this class really opened my eyes to see how many digital components are out there at the touch of our finger tips. Usually new things that have anything to do with computers scares me but this semester I’ve learned that these new things aren’t really that hard once you figure them out and they can actually be fun once you do! As of recently I’ve joined the massive population of Facebook and see it as a great and easy way to stay in touch with family and friends. Last week I finally through my dinosaur phone out and purchased myself a smart phone. I still am trying to figure out all the different things I can do with it but it has been a fun learning process. I defiantly believe that I got a slow start on all the digital technology because my family really couldn’t afford it but I don’t think that I’m less intelligent than anyone else because of it. My mom did what she could and I could have been a lot worse off. I plan for my children to be able to have computers available in our home but the Internet these days scares me, so I do plan on having a “family” computer until they are old enough to be taught Internet safety.
Ten Mindful Ways to Use Social Media
http://www.tricycle.com/feature/ten-mindful-ways-use-social-media
For the last two years, I have provided a daily wisdom quote through a Twitter account called Tiny Buddha. Since the follower count has grown by leaps and bounds, people have suggested I tweet more often throughout the day. I’ve realized, however, that the greatest lesson we can all learn is that less is enough. In a time when connections can seem like commodities and online interactions can become casually inauthentic, mindfulness is not just a matter of fostering increased awareness. It’s about relating meaningfully to other people and ourselves. With this goal in mind, I’ve compiled a list of 10 tips for using social media mindfully.
For the last two years, I have provided a daily wisdom quote through a Twitter account called Tiny Buddha. Since the follower count has grown by leaps and bounds, people have suggested I tweet more often throughout the day. I’ve realized, however, that the greatest lesson we can all learn is that less is enough. In a time when connections can seem like commodities and online interactions can become casually inauthentic, mindfulness is not just a matter of fostering increased awareness. It’s about relating meaningfully to other people and ourselves. With this goal in mind, I’ve compiled a list of 10 tips for using social media mindfully.
1. Know your intentions.
Doug Firebaugh of SocialMediaBlogster.com has identified seven psychological needs we may be looking to meet when we log on: acknowledgment, attention, approval, appreciation, acclaim, assurance, and inclusion. Before you post, ask yourself: Am I looking to be seen or validated? Is there something more constructive I could do to meet that need?
2. Be your authentic self.
In the age of personal branding, most of us have a persona we’d like to develop or maintain. Ego-driven tweets focus on an agenda; authenticity communicates from the heart. Talk about the things that really matter to you. If you need advice or support, ask for it. It’s easier to be present when you’re being true to yourself.
3. If you propose to tweet, always ask yourself: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?
Sometimes we post thoughts without considering how they might impact our entire audience. It’s easy to forget how many friends are reading. Two hundred people make a crowd in person, but online that number can seem insignificant. Before you share, ask yourself: is there anyone this might harm?
4. Offer random tweets of kindness.
Every now and then I ask on Twitter, “Is there anything I can do to help or support you today?” It’s a simple way to use social media to give without expectations of anything in return. By reaching out to help a stranger, you create the possibility of connecting personally with followers you may have otherwise known only peripherally.
5. Experience now, share later.
It’s common to snap a picture with your phone and upload it to Facebook or email it to a friend. This overlaps the experience of being in a moment and sharing it. It also minimizes intimacy, since your entire audience joins your date or gathering in real time. Just as we aim to reduce our internal monologues to be present, we can do the same with our digital narration.
6. Be active, not reactive.
You may receive email updates whenever there is activity on one of your social media accounts, or you might have your cell phone set to give you these types of alerts. This forces you to decide many times throughout the day whether you want or need to respond. Another approach is to choose when to join the conversation, and to use your offline time to decide what value you have to offer.
7. Respond with your full attention.
People often share links without actually reading them, or comment on posts after only scanning them. If the greatest gift we can give someone is our attention, then social media allows us to be endlessly generous. We may not be able to reply to everyone, but responding thoughtfully when we can makes a difference.
8. Use mobile social media sparingly.
In 2009, Pew Research found that 43 percent of cell phone users access the Web on their devices several times a day. It’s what former Microsoft employee Linda Stone refers to as continuous partial attention—when you frequently sign on to be sure you don’t miss out anything. If you choose to limit your cell phone access, you may miss out online, but youwon’t miss what’s in front of you.
9. Practice letting go.
It may feel unkind to disregard certain updates or tweets, but we need downtime to be kind to ourselves. Give yourself permission to let yesterday’s stream go. This way you won’t need to “catch up” on updates that have passed but instead can be part of today’s conversation.
10. Enjoy social media!
These are merely suggestions to feel present and purposeful when utilizing social media, but they aren’t hard-and-fast rules. Follow your own instincts and have fun with it. If you’re mindful when you’re disconnected from technology, you have all the tools you need to be mindful when you go online.
Lori Deschene is the founder of @TinyBuddha on Twitter and tinybuddha.com, a multi-author blog that features wisdom and stories from people all over the world. Ten Mindful Ways to Use Social Media
Doug Firebaugh of SocialMediaBlogster.com has identified seven psychological needs we may be looking to meet when we log on: acknowledgment, attention, approval, appreciation, acclaim, assurance, and inclusion. Before you post, ask yourself: Am I looking to be seen or validated? Is there something more constructive I could do to meet that need?
2. Be your authentic self.
In the age of personal branding, most of us have a persona we’d like to develop or maintain. Ego-driven tweets focus on an agenda; authenticity communicates from the heart. Talk about the things that really matter to you. If you need advice or support, ask for it. It’s easier to be present when you’re being true to yourself.
3. If you propose to tweet, always ask yourself: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?
Sometimes we post thoughts without considering how they might impact our entire audience. It’s easy to forget how many friends are reading. Two hundred people make a crowd in person, but online that number can seem insignificant. Before you share, ask yourself: is there anyone this might harm?
4. Offer random tweets of kindness.
Every now and then I ask on Twitter, “Is there anything I can do to help or support you today?” It’s a simple way to use social media to give without expectations of anything in return. By reaching out to help a stranger, you create the possibility of connecting personally with followers you may have otherwise known only peripherally.
5. Experience now, share later.
It’s common to snap a picture with your phone and upload it to Facebook or email it to a friend. This overlaps the experience of being in a moment and sharing it. It also minimizes intimacy, since your entire audience joins your date or gathering in real time. Just as we aim to reduce our internal monologues to be present, we can do the same with our digital narration.
6. Be active, not reactive.
You may receive email updates whenever there is activity on one of your social media accounts, or you might have your cell phone set to give you these types of alerts. This forces you to decide many times throughout the day whether you want or need to respond. Another approach is to choose when to join the conversation, and to use your offline time to decide what value you have to offer.
7. Respond with your full attention.
People often share links without actually reading them, or comment on posts after only scanning them. If the greatest gift we can give someone is our attention, then social media allows us to be endlessly generous. We may not be able to reply to everyone, but responding thoughtfully when we can makes a difference.
8. Use mobile social media sparingly.
In 2009, Pew Research found that 43 percent of cell phone users access the Web on their devices several times a day. It’s what former Microsoft employee Linda Stone refers to as continuous partial attention—when you frequently sign on to be sure you don’t miss out anything. If you choose to limit your cell phone access, you may miss out online, but youwon’t miss what’s in front of you.
9. Practice letting go.
It may feel unkind to disregard certain updates or tweets, but we need downtime to be kind to ourselves. Give yourself permission to let yesterday’s stream go. This way you won’t need to “catch up” on updates that have passed but instead can be part of today’s conversation.
10. Enjoy social media!
These are merely suggestions to feel present and purposeful when utilizing social media, but they aren’t hard-and-fast rules. Follow your own instincts and have fun with it. If you’re mindful when you’re disconnected from technology, you have all the tools you need to be mindful when you go online.
Lori Deschene is the founder of @TinyBuddha on Twitter and tinybuddha.com, a multi-author blog that features wisdom and stories from people all over the world. Ten Mindful Ways to Use Social Media
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Digital Bio - Boy! How times have changed!
My eighth period class in high school was computer math. It was 1984, so I had no interest in computers or math, I did however have an interest in the fellow that sat next to me named Rob, this was the beginning of my social-networking. Rob and I became good friends; we socialized everyday in our computer math class by way of actual conversations. There were no cell phones, no facebook, no instant messaging and no texting – back in 1984 social networking was literal – we socialized face to face to network -boy how things have changed.
It has been an interesting ride on the technology wave to date. Because I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s I virtually was able to watch the changes occur right before my eyes. I’ve watched as technology changed with phones, computer games and computers in general. At home we had a rotary phone, not a cordless phone; however the cord was so long I could literally walk around the entire house, stretching the cord the 1000 feet it extended too. I did have video games; my favorite was pong. I could sit for hours and watch the ball bounce back and forth on the television – ping, pong, ping, pong. When I entered college back in the 80’s my graphic design course consisted of an exact-o-knife and a ruler, not a computer. I made it through the 80’s with little computer interaction. By the early nineties, I began work as an administrative assistant. I remember in the interview, I was asked, “Do you know how to work a fax machine?” (Could you imagine that being one of the questions in today’s world) I had to befriend the fax machine along with the computer to print invoices. The printer continuously got jammed, along with the “roll” of fax paper. I usually spent the better part of my day fixing the jammed paper.
Around the mid-nineties, I took a job in the publishing field. I spent the majority of my time faxing and corresponding with clients via the telephone; back then I actually spoke to clients. The latter part of the nineties was something of a “technology” boom in my life. I began using Window’s 95 at work, the majority of my coworkers used books such as “Windows 95 for Dummies” to figure out the programs. Unlike today whereas computer classes are actually taught in school, we had to rely on each other to “figure it out” Soon after came the cell phone craze. I tried to hold out as long as I could to not get a cell phone – I finally gave in when I reached for a pay phone and picked up a receiver full of gum. I have to admit, I don’t think I could live without my phone today.
By the millennium, I was still working in the publishing field. So I had the benefit of continuously learning new computer software – I had to, it was either sink or swim with the continuous changes in the computer and digital world. I have watched as phones went from a size of brick down to the size of a credit card, a computer the size of an entire desktop to a sleek small laptop. I remember when call waiting, was just as it sounds - you called a friend, it was busy and you waited until they got off the phone. I have watched the conversion of music from 8-tracks to cassettes to cd’s to mp3 players to just getting what you want off the computer. Soon I believe email will be a thing of the past, with instant messaging, Skype and texting to replace it. All this technology has been an interesting ride!
I can’t wait for the day I can say to my daughter…”when I was your age, I had to actually get up to change the channel.”
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Identity Online- weeks 5/6
Our society depends on the Internet as a means of communication which is relied on all around the world. This communication can take place in our homes, different businesses, schools and other institutions exchanging important and valuable information. However, the Internet has also become a tool for exchanging casual and personal information among individuals as well. This is true especially among young adolescence and teen girls mostly utilizing the Internet for staying in touch and connecting with friends.
Not only is the Internet used for girls staying connected to their friends but it also allows those individuals who have been displaced from their comfort cultural zone an opportunity for long distance communication. Our book uses the example of the diasporic Korean girls that use Cy World to recreate their feminine culture. It is an attempt to recreate the environment to which they feel accepted. "In the U.S. they are essentially labeled outsiders or underrepresented minorities" (GWW 92). Therefore they use Cy world (which allows them to actively participate with their friends from which they have become displaced) to recreate the nostalgia they yearn for. This form of communication gives these girls access enabling them to correspond with the girls back home thus making references and gestures that only the girls in that particular culture are familiar with. For example the Korean girls yearn for a small face, they base their idea of beauty on the face of the typical American model or actress. Therefore they have a universal language of making specific hand gestures which reinforces this particular belief.
The girls in the Middle East live in a conservative culture and must utilize Internet communication in a different way. With their culture having such strict expectations of women, it's imperative that they are careful when they interact on the computer. It is of the utmost importance for a girl to maintain a positive reputation in their culture. Therefore when they communicate via SNS they must be cautious not to pose such risk. Any harm to a girls reputation affects not only them but their family members as well. With that being said, the girls that choose to use Face book or any other type of SNS ( social network sites) are more interested in the network as a form of communication as opposed to a place expressing their self identity. Many of the girls that were studied in Qatar have no images of themselves on their network site and find creative ways to post images allowing some form of expression(GWW 34). Some use bumper stickers and exchange them among their friends. These virtual stickers are humorous messages and displaced on profiles showing personalities allowing them an opportunity to freely express themselves (GWW 34) in an anonymous way without potentially causing problems otherwise.
For the girls that live in cultures that have a more relaxed view of what is accepted behavior, they tend to utilize the Internet (IM) to communicate and keep in touch with friends expressing self identity in their own unique ways. IM allows them to multitask, performing many duties at once. Such as, they can be on the computer doing homework and searching the web while having a discussion among friends all at the same time. Many of these girls have advanced typing skills and are experts at performing multiple duties. Although this sounds like a great idea, it does at times cause problems. With the privacy of these conversations and the lack of adults to monitor, they can use inappropiate words or ideas, exclude and block friends, and even go the lengths of bullying or starting rumors among their peers. This is a problem and continues to grow in our society.
Although some girls rarely have the opportunity to experience computers and the convience of IMing due to the lack of computer access. With technology being so expensive, certain social classes don't have the chance to be connected to the virtual world ( II 123). This is known as the digital divide and can exclude an entire social class from the world of technology.
In conclusion, although the Internet is used to exchange information in our homes, businesses, schools and other institutions, it is also used to converse on a personal level among individuals. This is especially popular among adolescence girls and teens. This means of communication (IM) is widely used in our society. These girls rely on this communication in different ways determining on their geographical location and the culture in which they live. One aspect they do have in common is that they yearn for the constant reinforcement of their peers to which they are familiar with.
Not only is the Internet used for girls staying connected to their friends but it also allows those individuals who have been displaced from their comfort cultural zone an opportunity for long distance communication. Our book uses the example of the diasporic Korean girls that use Cy World to recreate their feminine culture. It is an attempt to recreate the environment to which they feel accepted. "In the U.S. they are essentially labeled outsiders or underrepresented minorities" (GWW 92). Therefore they use Cy world (which allows them to actively participate with their friends from which they have become displaced) to recreate the nostalgia they yearn for. This form of communication gives these girls access enabling them to correspond with the girls back home thus making references and gestures that only the girls in that particular culture are familiar with. For example the Korean girls yearn for a small face, they base their idea of beauty on the face of the typical American model or actress. Therefore they have a universal language of making specific hand gestures which reinforces this particular belief.
The girls in the Middle East live in a conservative culture and must utilize Internet communication in a different way. With their culture having such strict expectations of women, it's imperative that they are careful when they interact on the computer. It is of the utmost importance for a girl to maintain a positive reputation in their culture. Therefore when they communicate via SNS they must be cautious not to pose such risk. Any harm to a girls reputation affects not only them but their family members as well. With that being said, the girls that choose to use Face book or any other type of SNS ( social network sites) are more interested in the network as a form of communication as opposed to a place expressing their self identity. Many of the girls that were studied in Qatar have no images of themselves on their network site and find creative ways to post images allowing some form of expression(GWW 34). Some use bumper stickers and exchange them among their friends. These virtual stickers are humorous messages and displaced on profiles showing personalities allowing them an opportunity to freely express themselves (GWW 34) in an anonymous way without potentially causing problems otherwise.
For the girls that live in cultures that have a more relaxed view of what is accepted behavior, they tend to utilize the Internet (IM) to communicate and keep in touch with friends expressing self identity in their own unique ways. IM allows them to multitask, performing many duties at once. Such as, they can be on the computer doing homework and searching the web while having a discussion among friends all at the same time. Many of these girls have advanced typing skills and are experts at performing multiple duties. Although this sounds like a great idea, it does at times cause problems. With the privacy of these conversations and the lack of adults to monitor, they can use inappropiate words or ideas, exclude and block friends, and even go the lengths of bullying or starting rumors among their peers. This is a problem and continues to grow in our society.
Although some girls rarely have the opportunity to experience computers and the convience of IMing due to the lack of computer access. With technology being so expensive, certain social classes don't have the chance to be connected to the virtual world ( II 123). This is known as the digital divide and can exclude an entire social class from the world of technology.
In conclusion, although the Internet is used to exchange information in our homes, businesses, schools and other institutions, it is also used to converse on a personal level among individuals. This is especially popular among adolescence girls and teens. This means of communication (IM) is widely used in our society. These girls rely on this communication in different ways determining on their geographical location and the culture in which they live. One aspect they do have in common is that they yearn for the constant reinforcement of their peers to which they are familiar with.
Monday, February 14, 2011
History of My Digital Literacy
The main way I became exposed to computer technology was in elementary school. In first grade, I was required to take part in typing exercises and in playing Oregon Trail. Computer Class was a mandatory elective from the time in was in first grade until I left military schools in the 6th grade. I am not sure if it was normal for elementary schools to require computer classes in general or if this is was something related to military schools. Although it was in the school system that I learned typing and computer basics, I believe it was at home that I learned how to use the Internet to socialize or produce materials that I could display on the Internet.
In 1997 a friend of my mother created a website for me. Although she managed the html coding for me, I chose the content that would go on the site. Each page had games, website awards or a description of the things I liked. The Spice Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rugrats, and whales are examples of some things featured on different pages. One thing that I found interesting when exploring this site again was the About Me page. On this page, I explain the reason for this page was that I thought the visitors might like to know some things about me. However, on this page I explain that if they got bored they should feel free to move on to other parts of the sites like the games. I think that this statement really reflects the amount of low confidence I had has a young girl, especially with building websites. I think a part of me thought that as a young girl I could not produce anything of interest to a mass amount of people. Although I participated in many website contests I was always sure that mine would not win. Even though my mother encouraged me to keep up with this website I eventually lost interest in it.
Shortly after I stopped working on my web page, I started exploring GURL.com. This site is for young girls. It has a Q&A section, quizzes, articles and games. On these features, it addresses health, beauty, and dating issues that are relevant to girls. A lot of the reason I enjoyed this site was because I could talk to girls all over the United States. I actually made friends with a girl who was three years older than I was and we talked for several years on and off the site. It was on this site that I became aware how easy the Internet has made it to connect with people that are miles away.
During the same time that I was exploring GURL, my older siblings started chatting on a server called The Palace. This site was different from many of the chat rooms of the time. Most chat rooms consist of text flowing down the page. On this site, you were able to choose how you looked using avatars. You could move these avatars around which made it easier to see when exactly someone was talking to you. Even though I was far too young to be on this site, I would lie about my age because I thought the avatars were cool and because I wanted to converse with people that were older than I was. Eventually, I would go on to making my own “dolls” and this is why I started getting into web design again.
When my mother realized that I was trying to build a website on my own she helped me get started using a geocities account instead of an AOL account. She also showed me the website lisaexplainsitall.com. There are tutorials on the site explain basic and some advanced html and coding associated with building websites. When I started learning html and graphic design on my own I was thirteen years old. By the time I was fifteen, I had several sites that displayed graphics and layouts I had made for people to use. I also had learned to code layouts for livejournal. My main interest was still making doll avatars even though I did not use The Palace chat system anymore.
From learning how to make doll avatars, I made friends with a girl named Michelle who lives in Illinois. Her and I taught each other many things about building websites and making graphics. We also explored new music’s together and often recommended DIY clothing projects to each other. It was during this time that I no long used the Internet as a source of entertainment or for producing graphic content. By now, I was blogging and to this day, I am still what as known as a “life blogger”. This means that although I will occasionally blog about current events I usually write posts that consist of commentary on what is going on in my life and how I have been feeling.
I think that overall my digital literacy became fairly advanced at a relatively fast pace. I have learned how to use many different programs. I have used many of the social networking and blogging sites available on the Internet. Overall, I believe that it is because I started learning about computers and the Internet at such a young age that I now feel very comfortable learning when learning new things. When I am involved with activist organizations, I am always willing to help create and maintain online content. In addition, I use social networking to keep in touch with many friends and family members.
Just a girl in a Large Digital World
Ever since I could remember technology has always been a part of my life, although I don’t consider 19 years of life many, a big chunk of it has been influenced by my father. At the age of eight, within the confines of my father’s small Miami apartment, I was introduced to what we know as instant messaging. As I blissfully communicated with my mother back and forth via computer, I became fascinated with digital technology. A lot of my understanding and appreciation for the computer and technology is because my dad’s occupation has everything and anything to do with computers. So a lot of my knowledge is thanks to him.
Since that one time introduction to digital communication, I wanted more to do with the digital aspects of life. However, my mother was very restrictive and set limitations on everything we (my sister and I) sister did on the computer. About a year from then after we moved to Virginia, we were each given an account on AOL, and introduced to e-mail and I was reunited with instant messaging, or specifically aim. I was able to keep in touch with old friends who I had missed dearly from multiple times of moving from one place to another. It felt amazing to be able to quickly communicate with someone long-distance, without having to dial a telephone number. Around the same time my father began to bring stuff home from work, such as DVDs, various CD’s, and other technological goodies that I and my sister could enjoy on the computer, that didn’t involve the internet. We were exposed to many things including illegally downloaded stuff we were not aware of. It was a whole new world that we had to begin to learn about, including the wrongs and rights, but it wasn’t long till we were aware of most of it.
As I got older, more specifically when I entered middle school, students were required to become more involved with the digital devices the world started dishing out. Computer and typing classes were in demand and useful to everyone. I remember in 6th grade I took a computer typing class, where I was educated on how to properly type and where my hands should be placed and what fingers should touch what keys. I began to type more efficiently and faster, which helped me for papers and assignments that were dispersed often and needed to be completed on the computer. In addition to typing I was also acquainted with Microsoft Office programs, particularly Word and PowerPoint since these were overly used within school. I was finally becoming digitally literate, and it made me proud and confident.
In 2003 my family moved to Melbourne, Fl, my current residence and what I consider to be my home. Melbourne is where I entered my teenage years, ages twelve to my present age of nineteen, also recognized by me as a critical time for a person and technology. I entered the seventh grade when I first moved to Melbourne, and had no friends. I quickly learned what was accepted and popular with the kids here and wanted to be more like them. Within the digital facet of this time of my life websites such as neopets and xanga were “the thing” and very popular. I begged my mother over and over again to give me permission to be involved with these web places, only to often be rejected because of her strict limitations. Throughout school my sister and I were put under parental control restrictions, which in my opinion did us no good. I was never able to truly enjoy the popular aspects of Myspace and shortly after FaceBook as a high school student. This angered me and I felt socially awkward and so out of the loop with everyone, it didn’t help that I was a naturally shy person.
Nevertheless I made it through high school and graduated. I finally got my own laptop for college and was allowed to be involved in many social networks. However, not too long ago was I finally cut of most to all restrictions my mother set, and got to engage in one of my favorite digital aspects, the webcam. I came across skype and oovoo and fell in love with video messaging my best friends and family when I am away at college, in Orlando. Technology and digital literacy have really defined me and have become a big part of who I am.
My father may have introduced me to the digital world, but school and society have shaped my views on it, and my mother has mad e me aware of the dangers it involves. My interest and involvement as a digital literate person has been a big part of my future plans. I hope to become a successful journalist and surround myself with what not only the internet and media exposes but whatever the world has next to offer in technology.
word count: 826
Since that one time introduction to digital communication, I wanted more to do with the digital aspects of life. However, my mother was very restrictive and set limitations on everything we (my sister and I) sister did on the computer. About a year from then after we moved to Virginia, we were each given an account on AOL, and introduced to e-mail and I was reunited with instant messaging, or specifically aim. I was able to keep in touch with old friends who I had missed dearly from multiple times of moving from one place to another. It felt amazing to be able to quickly communicate with someone long-distance, without having to dial a telephone number. Around the same time my father began to bring stuff home from work, such as DVDs, various CD’s, and other technological goodies that I and my sister could enjoy on the computer, that didn’t involve the internet. We were exposed to many things including illegally downloaded stuff we were not aware of. It was a whole new world that we had to begin to learn about, including the wrongs and rights, but it wasn’t long till we were aware of most of it.
As I got older, more specifically when I entered middle school, students were required to become more involved with the digital devices the world started dishing out. Computer and typing classes were in demand and useful to everyone. I remember in 6th grade I took a computer typing class, where I was educated on how to properly type and where my hands should be placed and what fingers should touch what keys. I began to type more efficiently and faster, which helped me for papers and assignments that were dispersed often and needed to be completed on the computer. In addition to typing I was also acquainted with Microsoft Office programs, particularly Word and PowerPoint since these were overly used within school. I was finally becoming digitally literate, and it made me proud and confident.
In 2003 my family moved to Melbourne, Fl, my current residence and what I consider to be my home. Melbourne is where I entered my teenage years, ages twelve to my present age of nineteen, also recognized by me as a critical time for a person and technology. I entered the seventh grade when I first moved to Melbourne, and had no friends. I quickly learned what was accepted and popular with the kids here and wanted to be more like them. Within the digital facet of this time of my life websites such as neopets and xanga were “the thing” and very popular. I begged my mother over and over again to give me permission to be involved with these web places, only to often be rejected because of her strict limitations. Throughout school my sister and I were put under parental control restrictions, which in my opinion did us no good. I was never able to truly enjoy the popular aspects of Myspace and shortly after FaceBook as a high school student. This angered me and I felt socially awkward and so out of the loop with everyone, it didn’t help that I was a naturally shy person.
Nevertheless I made it through high school and graduated. I finally got my own laptop for college and was allowed to be involved in many social networks. However, not too long ago was I finally cut of most to all restrictions my mother set, and got to engage in one of my favorite digital aspects, the webcam. I came across skype and oovoo and fell in love with video messaging my best friends and family when I am away at college, in Orlando. Technology and digital literacy have really defined me and have become a big part of who I am.
My father may have introduced me to the digital world, but school and society have shaped my views on it, and my mother has mad e me aware of the dangers it involves. My interest and involvement as a digital literate person has been a big part of my future plans. I hope to become a successful journalist and surround myself with what not only the internet and media exposes but whatever the world has next to offer in technology.
word count: 826
Friday, February 11, 2011
Female Youth Programs...Not Enough
Kearney believes that the questions and comments posted by Girls Inc. to female youth through media literacy cirrcula suggest the teaching of an outdated and reductive understanding of media representations as direct reflections of, and thus direct influences on, reality (GMM p. 107-108). She seems to not agree with this because it's a representation of women's ideals that were shaped by white, middle-class, heterosexual women. Kearney believes that there is a need for more "positive" and "realistic" representations of women. I agree with Kearney that the cirricula that they teach shows a lack of exposure to contemporary theories of the relationship of gender to media representaion and consumption. As a result, the female youth who participate in Girl's Inc's programs are not motivated to problematize aesthetics or to understand fantasy as a primary component of media production and reception (GMM p.109). I believe young women need to know that the mass media is a group of people, many who are men, that get together to reach one common goal, which is to make money. Kearney also critiques Girls Inc. for not encouraging female youth to produce their own media texts, an activity that would allow them to directly challenge media representations they find problematic. I have always learned more about things when I am able to break them down and question their motives before I just accept what they say. It would be a great idea for this group to let these girls be their own judge of what they see and hear.
Kearney states that the Girl Scouts introduced the media savvy Interest Patch in 1999, a California chapter of the Girl Scouts formed an alliance with the Museum of Television and Radio in Los Angelas to produce a workshop for scouts on television genres and girls' representation within the media. Another chapter of the Girls Scouts collaborated with the Austin Children's Museum in 2001 to produce a workshop on video for young scouts. The problem Kearney saw with this is that although both of these wokshops included components that facilitated the development of girls' critical viewing skills and knowledge of media technology, neither showed practical experience in the audiovisual texts. By organizing the workshops around adults who discussed media analysis and technology but did not have the scouts' engagement in the activities, these two workshops reproduced the conventional understanding that media criticism and production are practices in which only adults engage. Much of the Girl Scout's youth are not provided with enough information on how to make a magazine, website, or television program. So unfortunately the youth can't effectively start, much less complete, exhibit, and distribute such media projects (GMM p.110). When I read this it really made me sad. I thought that of all the groups the Girl Scouts would be the best informants to young women about what is avaliable out there. This group is supposed to be up to speed on the different outlets that are avaliable to our future media savvy women.
Kearney concludes that The Girl Scouts' and Girls Inc.'s narrow focus on developing girls' critical viewing skills has been replicated recently by several other girls' advocacy organizations. She states that it's not her intention to suggest that these programs are not useful to female youth because they have helped many girls with analytical skills and awareness of media representation, and broadened their skills. Nevertheless, most girl-centered media literacy programs are not committed to facilitating girls involvement in forms of creative expression and communication that might increase their audience and expand their cultural experiences beyond stereotypical female activities that result in them being seen not heard. It may also limit their understanding of the opportunities for resistance, opposition, and subversion afforded by self-representation (GMM p.110). I agree with what Kearney has to say. This world is moving at a face pace and the female youth needs to have every opportunity avaliable out there to help them succeed not only in their career but in life.
What different activities would you suggest these organizations provide young girls with so that they can broaden their thoughts and ideas?
Kearney states that the Girl Scouts introduced the media savvy Interest Patch in 1999, a California chapter of the Girl Scouts formed an alliance with the Museum of Television and Radio in Los Angelas to produce a workshop for scouts on television genres and girls' representation within the media. Another chapter of the Girls Scouts collaborated with the Austin Children's Museum in 2001 to produce a workshop on video for young scouts. The problem Kearney saw with this is that although both of these wokshops included components that facilitated the development of girls' critical viewing skills and knowledge of media technology, neither showed practical experience in the audiovisual texts. By organizing the workshops around adults who discussed media analysis and technology but did not have the scouts' engagement in the activities, these two workshops reproduced the conventional understanding that media criticism and production are practices in which only adults engage. Much of the Girl Scout's youth are not provided with enough information on how to make a magazine, website, or television program. So unfortunately the youth can't effectively start, much less complete, exhibit, and distribute such media projects (GMM p.110). When I read this it really made me sad. I thought that of all the groups the Girl Scouts would be the best informants to young women about what is avaliable out there. This group is supposed to be up to speed on the different outlets that are avaliable to our future media savvy women.
Kearney concludes that The Girl Scouts' and Girls Inc.'s narrow focus on developing girls' critical viewing skills has been replicated recently by several other girls' advocacy organizations. She states that it's not her intention to suggest that these programs are not useful to female youth because they have helped many girls with analytical skills and awareness of media representation, and broadened their skills. Nevertheless, most girl-centered media literacy programs are not committed to facilitating girls involvement in forms of creative expression and communication that might increase their audience and expand their cultural experiences beyond stereotypical female activities that result in them being seen not heard. It may also limit their understanding of the opportunities for resistance, opposition, and subversion afforded by self-representation (GMM p.110). I agree with what Kearney has to say. This world is moving at a face pace and the female youth needs to have every opportunity avaliable out there to help them succeed not only in their career but in life.
What different activities would you suggest these organizations provide young girls with so that they can broaden their thoughts and ideas?
Wendy's Digital (IL)Literate Bio
I can remember when my mom brought home our first computer. I was in either the first or second grade, (early 90s) and her boss gave her his old computer. I remember the computer seeming so big and fancy, yet I look back at it now and it was really small and insignificant in comparison to today’s technology.
My mom is the one who taught me to use the computer. She taught me to type and how to use the mouse for different things, specifically how to draw in the paint program. Then, when I was in the fourth grade I received my first laptop for Christmas. It was a refurbished Dell and I was so excited. The computer did not do much except allow me to play games, but it still seemed so advanced in comparison to our old computer.
My mom is the one who taught me to use the computer. She taught me to type and how to use the mouse for different things, specifically how to draw in the paint program. Then, when I was in the fourth grade I received my first laptop for Christmas. It was a refurbished Dell and I was so excited. The computer did not do much except allow me to play games, but it still seemed so advanced in comparison to our old computer.
About a year later we finally got a new desktop and dial-up internet. This was the year that I would first come into contact with IMing and Chat Rooms. A friend of mine had internet for a while and she came over to show me how to use AOL instant messaging and chat rooms. I remember thinking it was so cool how we could make up our names and ages and basically design a completely fictitious character and act like them in the chat room, and other people would believe that person really existed. We would have slumber parties and sit around decided what new character we would make up for our next “chat.” The last time I went into a chat room, however was only a few months after my first experience with them. My friend who had taught me how to use chat rooms decided that she wanted to talk to a guy we met on the phone. She gave him the number to my house and we talked to him over the phone for an hour or so that night. However, he then began to call at 2am in the morning non-stop until we answered and started saying perverted things to us. With the two of us being around the age of 11, we were completely disgusted and when we told my mother what happened she had to block his number. That was the last time I went into a chat room and my first learning experience when it comes to being careful what you say and who you talk to over the internet.
After this traumatizing experience I stayed away from a lot of internet areas. I IMed people, but only those I knew. Also, I am from a small town in Ohio where technology was, and still is not, a major focus of the area. The focus was more on sports, farming and the outdoors. No one was online during the daytime; it was only after their curfew that people would go on to IM each other. This is why I did not have my first experience with social networks until I moved to Florida about 4 years ago. No one could believe that I did not have a Myspace and my friends created one for me. The same happened when I got into college and my new friends wanted me to make a Facebook.
My experience with these have been okay, however, when I analyze the use of these social networks, I can see how they can easily harm someone emotionally. In my experience, there is so much pressure involved with having a Facebook page. Your profile picture must make you look “cute,” you have to have a large number of friends, even if you barely know the majority of your friend list, how many posts you receive on your wall on your birthday is an indicator of how “popular” you are. It is very much like a virtual high school.
Facebook has also become a way of publicly humiliating someone. I recently visited some friends in Ohio and one of my friends was in a fight with a girl she was friends with on Facebook. We were out having a good time until her phone started beeping to tell her she had a Facebook post. It consisted of this girl calling her names and so many people commented on it including a girl who my friend’s boyfriend cheated on her with. I think that today’s social networking, as far as Myspace and Facebook, has been just a new way of making girls feel insecure and lower their self esteem. I do not have much experience with blogging and that may be a better way of expressing yourself but I do not think that Myspace or Facebook are good outlets for expressing yourself.
I am not very digital literate. I have only recently been introduced to social networking and I have very little experience with blogging or Twitter. I think being digitally literate means knowing how to use all of these tools to effectively express yourself, as well as keep yourself safe from people you do not know. I am not quite versed in these aspects of the digital world so I do not see myself as digitally literate.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
VG Weeks 3/4: Media and Digital Literacy
Hello class:) This week we will post our reading responses and discussion to the blog and engage with one another this way. Please post your own initial blog response as a "New Post" rather than commenting on this (unless you have specific comments or replies to my prompts or discussion). It makes it easier to follow various discussions. Respond to one another and we will see how this goes.
I encourage you to pick one of the following questions and to develop a thoughtful response, integrating the texts specifically and making connections across texts. Don't feel that you have to tackle all the issues or questions presented. The process itself produces knowledge... Don't forget to integrate and engage the texts specifically, including quotes, passages, references, and/or examples. Feel free to include images, (hyper)links, and other resources. You may also use this blog to post interesting links, articles, etcetera as you find them.
Media / Digital Literacy
I encourage you to pick one of the following questions and to develop a thoughtful response, integrating the texts specifically and making connections across texts. Don't feel that you have to tackle all the issues or questions presented. The process itself produces knowledge... Don't forget to integrate and engage the texts specifically, including quotes, passages, references, and/or examples. Feel free to include images, (hyper)links, and other resources. You may also use this blog to post interesting links, articles, etcetera as you find them.
Media / Digital Literacy
Media literacy programs are based on two assumptions: 1) commercial media represents girls in narrow, stereotypical ways that are damaging to girls’ self-esteem, and 2) alternative, empowering representations of girls are rare if present at all in mainstream media (93). Teaching girls to think critically about the images and media messages that surround them is imperative to counter the deluge of visual and digital images surrounding them/us every day. Such media literacy programs encourage critical thinking but, as Kearney critiques, this is not enough.
- Address some of her critiques, how you feel about them, and why.
- What are some suggestions she makes to make the “girl empowerment” and “media literacy” movements more effective and relevant for girls (GMM 94)? What are some problems or concerns with the earlier media literacy movements such as those started by Girls, Inc.?
- What are some ways we can encourage girls in our own lives (and ourselves) to be more critical viewers and consumers of media? What would Kearney suggest?
- Based on your reading and research, what are some distinctions and/or connections between girls advocacy movements and grrrl power movements? Try to come up with a working definition for each.
1) integration: incorporating media texts and media technologies as alternative channels for delivering information to students
2) production: facilitating students’ knowledge and skilled use of media technologies for documentation, communication, and creative expression
3) analysis: a.k.a. media literacy—entails teaching students critical skills for analyzing and evaluating media texts
Protectionist approach to media literacy: “borrows the rhetorical strategies of conservative social movements of the past, positioning media culture as a cesspool and media literacy as an inoculation against such forces” (98). This functions counter to theorists who posit that media consumers actively produce meaning as they view/consume texts.
2) production: facilitating students’ knowledge and skilled use of media technologies for documentation, communication, and creative expression
3) analysis: a.k.a. media literacy—entails teaching students critical skills for analyzing and evaluating media texts
Protectionist approach to media literacy: “borrows the rhetorical strategies of conservative social movements of the past, positioning media culture as a cesspool and media literacy as an inoculation against such forces” (98). This functions counter to theorists who posit that media consumers actively produce meaning as they view/consume texts.
- How is the protectionist approach linked to class issues, according to Kearney? (GMM 99)
- How can a media literacy curriculum be disempowering to youth, according to David Buckingham (and Kearney)? Do you agree? Why?
- Discuss some critiques Kearney levels at media literacy programs. Are they fair critiques? Why or why not?
- Chart and connect early women’s social reform movements with the rise of girls’ advocacy and more contemporary girls’ movements, including Girls Studies.
The early '90s saw the rise of “girl” as “troubled” or “in crisis.” Carol Gilligan’s research in the early 1980’s, specifically her book In A Different Voice, prompted increased attention and research around adolescent girls. Her work and the research that developed as a result contributed to the development of the girls’ advocacy movement.
- What is problematic about the construction of girl-in-crisis? Is it useful? Necessary?
- What alternatives does Kearney provide regarding girls media literacy? What does she call for? Discuss one of her positive examples and why it “works.”
- Think about “empowerment” discourse. What does Kearney posit as problematic about the notion of empowerment and/or the ways it is deployed culturally and/or in educational/formal settings?
Cybergurls (239)New technology developments have dramatically changed the notion of media production, making it more accessible and easily distributed than ever. Girls have always been targets and consumers of media and technology but now they have opportunities to become active producers. Digital literacy goes further than media literacy—where media literacy focuses on critically consuming and viewing, digital literacy emphasized production and more active participation.
Some issues for consideration/discussion:
- the digital divide (class-based, race-based, other factors) (Kearney 241)
- computer culture as masculine or “male” (Kearney 244)
- Valerie Clarke writes that young women’s low level of interest in computer science degrees and careers is due to the “unquestioned values, beliefs, and expections” embedded in “the frameworks that structure popular discourse of gender and computing” (Kearney 245). What are some of the values and beliefs related to gender and technology in our (and other) cultures?
- What are some suggestions Kearney and other feminist media scholars provide? Do you have your own recommendations or suggestions for promoting new models of digital and media literacy for girls?
- Kearney focuses on online distro owners because their web development “allows them to merge, and thus blur the distinctions between, several practices essential to media culture: consumption, production, and community development (255). Can you think of other examples of girls’ participation online accomplishes this? Provide a link to such a site or project, if possible. You might find some of your own examples of distro sites, e-‘zines, blogs, etcetera to post.
“The Girls of El Seybo” (GWW 2.0)
Digital Inclusion: rooted within the human development paradigm established by the United Nations Development Program, digital inclusion involves expanding opportunities for all people through equitable access to the information society and calls for an end to “digital poverty.” Women are a key focus in digital inclusion (11).
- What are some strategies discussed in El Seybo for enhancing digital inclusion in girls and women in developing countries?
- How does the use of internet by girls in the Dominican differ from those in the U.S. and other developed countries?
- How is digital literacy a “new beginning” for girls in El Seybo (22)?
- What might a “safe space” for girls look like online? (143)
- How does the Digital Mirror camp try to accomplish this? (145)
- You might link this article to Kearney’s discussion about the cultural “construction of hierarchies that privilege the fine arts over commercial popular culture” (100).
- Do you think reading blogs and other online content is comparable to reading books or other more traditional texts? Do YouTube and social networks “count”?
- Is Jenkins correct in his assessment of “media landscape”?
- Think of an example of a specific media site and run it through his traits—does it fit? How might his inventory be useful in promoting digital literacy?
- Read more about participatory culture here. How does the notion of participatory culture relate to girls and digital literacy?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Digital Autobiography
I believe that my experiences with technology came several years later than the experiences of many of the girls who I have met in college. My parents had always had a computer while I was growing up, from their very first Macintosh purchased while living overseas, to the modern Dell desktop which sits in my mother’s office today. I generally ignored this strange piece of technology in favor of playing outside with my friends, bedroom dancing, and watching cartoons on T.V. It was not until I moved back to the United States at the age of eight that I had ever laid hands on a computer.
When I was in grade school, we were allotted a few hours of computer lab time a week, which rotated around other elective classes: art, P.E., drama, etc. Computer time wasn’t my favorite (art was) but it wasn’t my least favorite either. It was during this forty five minute interval that I discovered the great redeemer of boredom that was “The Oregon Trail.” The Oregon Trail was, and continues to be, a favorite of Generation Y adults such as myself for several reasons. For one, it was funny – you could name your characters after your friends and laugh as they came down with typhoid or yellow fever, diseases unheard of by us middleclass American kids. Secondly, it was hard, like… nearly impossible… to beat.
I’m pretty sure whoever designed it made it impossible so that kids could play several hours a week for an entire school year and never beat the game, thereby saving teachers the aggravation of having to create an entirely new activity for half of their computer class. Other popular games included Number Crunchers and, for the more advanced, Dune (although I don’t think we ever played this one at school). I primarily saw computers as a way to waste time in the same sense as worksheets or “reading time,” were devised to keep students busy while teachers held conferences or graded papers. However, with the rise in popularity of the internet and my graduation to high school, my experiences with computers were about to broaden significantly.
When I was thirteen, a girl named Katie moved in next door to my parent’s house. She was a couple years older than me, already wearing make-up, hanging out with boys, and of course chatting online with strangers. To say she was a bad influence would be an understatement. Both of our parents worked so every day after school, we would go to her house, dump our bags at the door, and use AOL dial up to get online and hang out in chat rooms. I guess we both liked the attention that we thought we were getting from boys because we had screen names like “Shorty2Fly4U” and we would enter into a chat with our “a.s.l.” (Age, sex, location). Sometimes we would lie and say we were sixteen, or that we lived in California, or make up other fantasy lives just for fun. Never once did I consider meeting someone from one of these chats but I’m fairly sure Katie had and did more than once. In retrospect, I think the time spent with Katie those two years was something of a loss of innocence for me because prior to AOL chat I’d never seen a penis, much less had any kind of real-life sexual encounter. I only tried chatting once at my parent’s house and after giving out the family e-mail address to a person who I thought was a boy my age our inbox was spammed with an influx of porn sites and viruses. My mother told me to never use chat sites again, explaining that older men use them to prey on young girls. Ironically, I’d never even considered that I might be talking to a middle aged pervert! But the porn invasion was enough to scare me away from the internet until it became crucial to my academic life.
When I was fifteen, my parents divorced and my brother and I moved with my mom from Virginia to Florida. I arrived at Oviedo High School in March of 2001 and went from being confident and popular, to shy and alone in just a week’s time. I didn’t understand much of the curriculum and failed my favorite subjects. I was ignored by my teachers and peers. I became extremely depressed and continued to struggle with these issues of loneliness and abandonment even into my adult life. Back then, it was the internet that saved me from the misery of not fitting in by introducing me to the central Florida rave scene.
Ravers are not much different than punks. Both feel an alienation from mainstream culture, anger towards parents and teachers who’ve let them down in one way or another, and a DIY attitude towards identity formation. My particular subculture operated primarily through the internet via e-mail messages and forums. Mass e-mails would be sent out and forwarded by members alerting others to the location of the rave. We’d change the names of the forums regularly to avoid attention from law enforcement and connect with each other using aliases. All night dance parties had been deemed illegal by the “Rave Act of 2002” which you can read about here if you’re interested http://emdef.org/s226/. Sometimes you’d meet someone at a rave and know them for several months or even years only by their alias. This was a wonderful, eye-opening, mind-expanding time for me. I made some amazing friends and don’t regret a single minute I spent “partying.” This community of misfits literally saved my life.
So, I guess there are two things that I’ve learned here from recollecting my own history of digital literacy, the first and most important being that identity is something that is always evolving and being influenced by time, people, and place, and the second that the internet has the ability to open doors for people who are otherwise shut out from society. Fortunately, the identity I created during those difficult high school years via forums was genuine and transpired into real life friendships and experiences. Though my rave years are long behind me, I continue to represent myself online as an actual person via facebook, forums, twitter, and now, blogs. A combination of safety and honesty makes the internet a viable medium of identity formation for me and women worldwide and I sincerely hope that young girls receive the necessary education to navigate the internet to their advantage.
When I was in grade school, we were allotted a few hours of computer lab time a week, which rotated around other elective classes: art, P.E., drama, etc. Computer time wasn’t my favorite (art was) but it wasn’t my least favorite either. It was during this forty five minute interval that I discovered the great redeemer of boredom that was “The Oregon Trail.” The Oregon Trail was, and continues to be, a favorite of Generation Y adults such as myself for several reasons. For one, it was funny – you could name your characters after your friends and laugh as they came down with typhoid or yellow fever, diseases unheard of by us middleclass American kids. Secondly, it was hard, like… nearly impossible… to beat.
I’m pretty sure whoever designed it made it impossible so that kids could play several hours a week for an entire school year and never beat the game, thereby saving teachers the aggravation of having to create an entirely new activity for half of their computer class. Other popular games included Number Crunchers and, for the more advanced, Dune (although I don’t think we ever played this one at school). I primarily saw computers as a way to waste time in the same sense as worksheets or “reading time,” were devised to keep students busy while teachers held conferences or graded papers. However, with the rise in popularity of the internet and my graduation to high school, my experiences with computers were about to broaden significantly.
When I was thirteen, a girl named Katie moved in next door to my parent’s house. She was a couple years older than me, already wearing make-up, hanging out with boys, and of course chatting online with strangers. To say she was a bad influence would be an understatement. Both of our parents worked so every day after school, we would go to her house, dump our bags at the door, and use AOL dial up to get online and hang out in chat rooms. I guess we both liked the attention that we thought we were getting from boys because we had screen names like “Shorty2Fly4U” and we would enter into a chat with our “a.s.l.” (Age, sex, location). Sometimes we would lie and say we were sixteen, or that we lived in California, or make up other fantasy lives just for fun. Never once did I consider meeting someone from one of these chats but I’m fairly sure Katie had and did more than once. In retrospect, I think the time spent with Katie those two years was something of a loss of innocence for me because prior to AOL chat I’d never seen a penis, much less had any kind of real-life sexual encounter. I only tried chatting once at my parent’s house and after giving out the family e-mail address to a person who I thought was a boy my age our inbox was spammed with an influx of porn sites and viruses. My mother told me to never use chat sites again, explaining that older men use them to prey on young girls. Ironically, I’d never even considered that I might be talking to a middle aged pervert! But the porn invasion was enough to scare me away from the internet until it became crucial to my academic life.
When I was fifteen, my parents divorced and my brother and I moved with my mom from Virginia to Florida. I arrived at Oviedo High School in March of 2001 and went from being confident and popular, to shy and alone in just a week’s time. I didn’t understand much of the curriculum and failed my favorite subjects. I was ignored by my teachers and peers. I became extremely depressed and continued to struggle with these issues of loneliness and abandonment even into my adult life. Back then, it was the internet that saved me from the misery of not fitting in by introducing me to the central Florida rave scene.
Ravers are not much different than punks. Both feel an alienation from mainstream culture, anger towards parents and teachers who’ve let them down in one way or another, and a DIY attitude towards identity formation. My particular subculture operated primarily through the internet via e-mail messages and forums. Mass e-mails would be sent out and forwarded by members alerting others to the location of the rave. We’d change the names of the forums regularly to avoid attention from law enforcement and connect with each other using aliases. All night dance parties had been deemed illegal by the “Rave Act of 2002” which you can read about here if you’re interested http://emdef.org/s226/. Sometimes you’d meet someone at a rave and know them for several months or even years only by their alias. This was a wonderful, eye-opening, mind-expanding time for me. I made some amazing friends and don’t regret a single minute I spent “partying.” This community of misfits literally saved my life.
So, I guess there are two things that I’ve learned here from recollecting my own history of digital literacy, the first and most important being that identity is something that is always evolving and being influenced by time, people, and place, and the second that the internet has the ability to open doors for people who are otherwise shut out from society. Fortunately, the identity I created during those difficult high school years via forums was genuine and transpired into real life friendships and experiences. Though my rave years are long behind me, I continue to represent myself online as an actual person via facebook, forums, twitter, and now, blogs. A combination of safety and honesty makes the internet a viable medium of identity formation for me and women worldwide and I sincerely hope that young girls receive the necessary education to navigate the internet to their advantage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)