Part 2: Digitized Lives: Culture, Power, and Social Change in the Internet Era

Part 2 of Digitized Lives: Culture, Power, and Social Change in the Internet Era starts off with chapter six titled, "Does the Internet Have a Political Bias? E-Democracy, Networked Authoritarianism and Online Activism" which discusses the role technology plays in providing a sense of "community" for political activism, as well as the cyber realms of terrorism, and government censorship. In the beginning of the chapter, Reed discusses the advantages and disadvantages to online voting. While online voting makes the voting process more accessible to some such as the disabled, those who did not grow up in a "digitized" society often are at a disadvantage in their mere inexperience and lack of understanding. As Reed puts it "the potential is great, but at present the drawbacks largely outweigh advantages" (122). One of the biggest problems technology faces is the issue of security. Although Reed notes that "voter fraud" is particularly low in countries such as the US and the UK, it still poses some risk (122). Digital political presence can also have advantages during campaigns as well as within the voting process. Some believe that the Obama campaign won largely due to the online presence of the Obama campaign organization. However, Reed notes that "Obama had a built in advantage with younger voters who are both more likely to vote liberal and more likely to be deeply connected to digital cultures" (123). Whatever the case may be, it is undeniable that political presence online creates awareness and is a tool for political advertising, though Cass Sunstein notes that "most people using the Web to follow politics do not seek out a variety of perspectives, but instead seek out informational and opinion sources that match their existing ideological biases" (123). I agree and disagree with this statement and believe it is an important facet of the text to discuss. Through the use of social media, I've come to find lots of articles and research on positions and political ideologies that I wouldn't have necessarily "sought out" based on my own personal political beliefs. A statement that really resonated with me in this chapter was that "likes become locks; zeroing in only on what a user already believes" (123). This profiling that is done through social media makes me skeptical to "like" anything. I don't necessarily like leaving a "social" footprint in public places, and especially not a political one. Chapter six also discusses the notion of political activism, and how using digital spaces for political reform can have great impacts on society. Reed notes in reference to globalization, activism has been a crucial role in maintaining freedom in digital spaces. The biggest protest to date which protested the U.S. war with Iraq was largely organized and communicated via online, which refutes the argument that online activism discredits actual face-to-face activism. This goes along with another issue raised in the chapter about e-petitions. As Reed puts it, critics argue "that the very ease of digitally signing an email or online petition has cheapened the experience, rendered it less impactful then personal letters snail mail the old-fashioned way (129-130). I would argue quiet the opposite, as later on Reed describes a group that simulates Harry Potter to fight for social justice and raise awareness about issues present in the face-to-face community. Different online petitions raise awareness and though it may be from a distance, it is still a tool for networking and exposing people to real issues offline. Other groups utilize what Reed refers to as "maptivism" to help raise awareness and gain a global target for things like domestic abuse and assault such as the organization "Hollaback". Another issue targeted in chapter six are the issues of hacking, cyberterrorism, and wiki-leaking. The chapter discusses how terrorists can utilize the internet to network with others in their group around the world as well as obtain confidential information from other governments to purposefully cause death and destruction in the online and offline world. Lastly, the notion of protests and digital murals are discussed, offering that digital murals are a way for a variety of people to view political art as they are able to be re-sized and reproduced.

Chapter seven titled, "Are Digital Games Making Us Violent and Sex Crazed, or Will They Save the World? Virtual Play Real Impact" discusses video gaming culture the the assumptions and truths that surround them. The main question that I believe Reed asks in this chapter is what do we take away from video games? Reed argues that video games are educational, and that much of what we do while were gaming helps us understand and process the real world. Reed argues that through theories of gaming such as "narratology, which focuses on storyline in games or ludology, concentrating more on interactions and rules shaping game play" (142) we can apply and utilize much of what we see in the gaming world and transcend it into our understanding of real life. Another theory that surrounds the gaming culture is called assemblage theory and has to do with the understanding that our avatars and digital roles we play in games do not define our identities outside of these roles online. Throughout the chapter, Reed addresses the notion of whether or not video games make us violent. His view on this matter is that they don't, citing evidence that I'll discuss later that serves as more of a correlation then a causation. In reference to education and video games, Reed states that "digital games teach you how to learn" (144). This is something that I wholeheartedly believe to be true. Through much of the stereotyping in video games, gaming can teach us about the outside world around us and the injustices we face. I thought Reed did an excellent job of highlighted the sexism and gender stereotyping present in games. The gender roles that are present in games somewhat reflect the oppressions that are present within current society. Whether it be depicting women as non-relevant roles in Grand Theft Auto, or increasing the boob size of Lara Croft, there are apparent gender stereotypes present within gaming culture, and gaining insight and awareness about these issues can teach us a lot about the offline world. Reed devotes a whole section in this chapter to the question of whether or not video games make us violent. To this notion, Reed states that "millions and millions of young men all over the world play violent video games, and do not commit acts of murder" (145). Sure, there are always correlations when looking at populations of people, however, the correlations are multiple, and honing in on one small, but present correlation skews the understanding of the issue at large. As Reed notes, "people don't watch pornography and then run out to commit rape" (146). In turn, Reed discusses how this argument for video gaming contributing to violence as it pertains to the military and the utilization of gaming by the military for personnel training. However, as the chapter notes, some military personnel worry that the depictions made by these shooter games do not actually depict warfare stating "concerns have been raised historically that pilots flying bombers that never see their bombs land on human targets may be shielded from the realities of warfare, and that they may suffer retroactively when that reality hits them" (149). This separation from reality and the gaming depiction of warfare can be dangerous, as can issues of race and gender in the gaming world. Reed offers that two things that can move us away from issues of race and gender are agency and complexity. Agency refers to "the ability to impact the world" (152). Depicting females in strong protagonist roles such as Lara Croft can help to achieve a sense of equality among gender in the gaming community. Complexity refers added dimension in a character and depicting them as strong and intelligent. Lastly, Reed addresses the question of whether or not video games can save the world. In this passage he quotes Jane McGonigal nicely, and I think it summarizes a general positive attitude towards approaching video games as a medium for growth and social change, stating that some people view "the real world as 'broken' in that most people experience the sense of excitement, accomplishment, or involvement in their everyday lives that they experience in games...in order to unbreak the world, to make it a better place, we need to learn from digital games how to transfer the elements of excitement, accomplishment and involvement found in games to solving real-world problems" (161). So well put!

Chapter eight titled, "Are Kids Getting Dumber as Their Phones Get Smarter? E-Learning, 'Edutainment' and the Future of Knowledge Sharing" discusses the educational impact of technology in the classroom. This chapter was of particular interest to me as this is a segment of composition that I am genuinely invested in. Reed supports the claim that children as learning digitally and I believe it is our role as educators to utilize that technology to help bridge the gap between what students already know to what they are learning in our classrooms. Although, Reed notes that as a younger generation, our youth are "increasingly resenting social media as a burden; many are fed up with the inanity and lack of privacy...though paradoxically they are sharing more personal information" (164-165). This awareness of digital presence and the notion that what you put out on the internet leaves a trail is a concept I'm glad to see younger generations recognizing. As Reed argues, "computers are neither the problem nor the solution to issues in education and the twenty-first century" (166). To me, it is how we utilize technology to promote engagement and understanding in the classroom is where the real difference is made. Reed consistently refers to computers as tools, nothing that "good teachers recognize that digital technologies create opportunities, but opportunities that only careful, thoughtful pedagogy can take advantage of" (166). One way to accomplish this is by focusing on the different learning modalities (visual, aural, kinesthetic, etc.), to which Reed argues "the great virtue in education is their capacity to individualize the learning process" (166). Much of what my research in my thesis focused on was the different ways in which we learn. By using technology to effectively illustrate these different learning styles, Reed argues we can enhance our knowledge and understanding of the world around us and the problems we face outside of the digital realm. To fuel this argument, Reed illustrates evidence that students learn more when they don't feel bored. By integrating technology into the classroom, students are utilizing mediums that they're already exposed to outside of the classroom, therefore as the text notes students and teachers can use/assign technology to depict their understanding of course content through what Reed calls "skillful use of multimedia digital pedagogy" (168). Perhaps what I feel the most relevant argument and issue Reed presents in this segment of reading is the notion that technology "personalizes situations where one-size-fits all education is foisted upon a classroom of 20 or 30 or 40 students, each of whom has a different learning style, pace and set of needs" (168). In my thesis, this was the entire basis for my argument of incorporating multimodal pedagogy into the composition classroom to teach literature. Many instructors teach within a liberal arts curricula where they see students with a diverse range of majors. By utilizing technology in order to effectively "reach" them and allocate for an understanding of course content, students are better able to make meaning and arrive at an understanding of the text. This is largely where multimodal projects come into play in the classroom, as students are able to illustrate their understanding of course content through their projects. Reed notes there is a difference between using technology and integrating technology in the classroom and that most teachers "use" technology but few are integrating it in a way that makes sense pedagogically and allocates for some relevance within the learning process. With this integration of technology, Reed argues that parents need to focus more on not what technology is present in the classroom, but rather how it is being utilize to foster and encourage learning in the classroom. To accompany this, the notion of online learning communities is discussed. Having taught a course entirely online, I will argue that there are some benefits as well as setbacks teaching an entirely digitized composition course. I agree with Reed that "the transition to online teaching has brought many college professors to think more carefully about pedagogy" (172). I have certainly had to think about the lessons I taught in a face-to-face classroom, and how they could needed to be adapted in order to be successful in the online classroom. Sometimes, after carefully analyzing the pedagogy behind my teaching I found that the revision of the course to better fit the online realm led to a revision of the face-to-face lesson as well. One thing is for certain, as Reed argues, online classroom spaces lead to more student interaction (172). Whether it is the ability of a less-confrontational way to participate, or rather the extra time to really carefully develop a response, online learning environments typically generate more thoughtful and course-specific discussion (much like a graduate seminar). Lastly, I was also happy to see that the chapter references HASTAC, which is a scholarship I plan to apply for, as I am interested in aspects of the digital humanities and how technology can bring learning communities together to achieve great things in the academic world.

Chapter nine titled, "Who in the World is Online? Digital Inclusions and Exclusions" focuses on the notion of the digital divide, and who does (and doesn't) have access to technology, and as a result what that can say about us a culture as well as a global society. Reed reminds us that the World Wide Web isn't necessarily "World Wide" as many people do not have access to technology in even first world countries. According to the evidence presented by Reed "70% of the world's population have no engagement with digital culture at all" (180). This is a truly staggering amount considering the globalization that occurs through the use of technology. Reed attributes this lack of access largely to three main issues: "lack of economic resources, lack of computer literacy skills, and lack of information relevant to many cultural groups combined with a lack of information on the benefits of the Net for those groups, and lastly relative lack of linguistic and cultural diversity in the material available on the Web" (180). Within these populations, Reed notes that the predominant population that utilizes technology comes from North America and Europe (Anglo-European Cultures) (180). In reference to access, the notion of who needs the internet is discussed. Due largely to socio-economic disparities, we generally see a lack of access in people below the poverty line. In a time of what Reed refers to as a "digital divide" he argues that "the digital divide is the [human] rights issue of the 21st century. Why? Because the internet is (potentially) the greatest educational invention since the printing press" (183). This is a human rights issue because lack of access is a notion that is creating more discrepancy between social classes to which Reed argues "if not dealt with, lack of meaningful digital access will increase all forms of poverty (economic, social, and informational) and deepen all forms of inequality" (183-184). Mark Warschauer describes a way to combat this digital divide called "technology for social inclusion" which emphasizes a more proactive approach to new media (185). Within these digital inclusion projects, Warschauer argues that one must have "physical resources (hardware), digital resources (culturally relevant content to a full range of potential users), human resources (in terms of people competent to assist in helping users achieve techno-literacies of various kinds), and social resources (in the form of a supportive culturally competent cohort of fellow users)" (185). However, with the argument that access to the online world as a human rights issue, Reed also brings up the notion that people are simply putting too much online for the world to see. With this comes the notion of intellectual property rights, which fight to keep cultural traditions and practices akin and original to their origin (in other words, not be snatched up by users on the Web and taken or sold to gain profit. The chapter ends with the push for a conversation about why digitizing matters, and particularly how we can look to technology as a way of understanding (and being ready for) what's to come. However, in order to look to the future, emphasis on lessening the divide between the digital "have's" and "have nots" needs to close.

Lastly, chapter ten is a summative conclusion focusing on the concept of "Hope, Hope and Possible Digitized Futures". Reed begins the conclusion by noting that "which technologies get developed, which become widely used, and how they get used (to better our lives or make them worse) will be up to us, not to the technologies" (195). I think this is a really profound statement because it gives the ownership back to us, as humans and dismisses the notions that our lives are controlled by technology. We are in control of the technology we choose (or choose not) to incorporate into our lives. How dependent we are on those technologies is entirely by choice. Reed mentions the medical breakthroughs with technology and how technology can be utilized in a way that can sincerely benefit peoples lives in the medical world. Additionally, Reed also introduces the notion of Artificial Intelligence and what kind of implications such AI's can have on our society. Lastly, Reed leaves us with the task of considering what kind of world these new technologies will thrive in. Will it be a society akin to The Hunger Games? I certainly hope not. Or perhaps, as Reed notes, do we wish to "use our human intelligence and astounding technology to make the world a place where all beings, human and otherwise, can thrive"(198).

I like this image to portray this week's section of reading because I think it pairs nicely with the common perceptions and assumptions made in reference to technologies role in the classroom. Notice the far right picture which is the actual depiction focuses as the students using the technology, not the teacher. To me this is a successful integration of technology in the classroom and not just "using" it like you would a projector in the slide before it. The teacher is actually standing over the students, clearly directing them in what he wants them to accomplish.