I know I said I would talk about Digital Identity in my next blog post, but a couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon this TEDtalk through Twitter, where Eli Pariser is talking about social media and digital platforms as spaces. It has prompted me to think about what kind of space we would like the different digital platforms to be, and whether it is even possible to construct digital spaces in such way. So, this blog post will largely be inspired by Eli Pariser’s talk instead, and if you want to take about 15min out of your life to have a look at it yourself, I will insert it below for your convenience.
One of the things Eli talks about, is how spaces shape behavior. For example, neighborhoods with parks have a different effect on their community compared to neighborhoods without parks, but behavior at a library is also different compared to behavior at bar. The same applies to digital spaces; users’ behavior is vastly different on LinkedIn than for example Twitter. Eli compares Twitter to a “cluster of all sorts of different things happening at once, where the owner gets paid more the louder the noise is”, whereas the behavior on LinkedIn is strictly professional. This could be an interesting concept to explore with students in a classroom – what kind of spaces are the social media platforms they are using? Can any of them be compared to physical, real-life spaces? What kind of space is Instagram, for example? Or TikTok? Do we communicate differently on these platforms?
Something else Eli talks about in his TEDtalk, is how increasingly harder it is to tell truth from fiction, and that social media is “tearing at our civil fabric”, pitting people against each other at a time where we need more tools and avenues to come together and stand united. But how can platforms bring people together in a meaningful and caring way, especially now that there is so much divisiveness going on, not only online, but also on the streets? Eli believes that rather than focusing on what tech platform shouldn’t be doing, we need to focus on what we do want them to do – what do we actually want these platforms to do? What can they do to improve our online experiences? Eli draws inspiration from cities, and how cities are constructed, since he believes that well constructed cities have been able to host a large amount of people than don’t only co-exist, but thrive together. Digital Urban Planning could potentially improve our online experiences, and Digital Architects would do planning for the people, rather than money.
While I think his idea seems sincere, it is rather idealistic. I don’t necessarily think that cities are as great as he describes them – most certainly not all cities. Don’t most cities have higher rates of crime and violence than smaller towns or rural areas? Besides, cities also tend to have more homelessness, and how would that translate online? I think it would be interesting to explore the concept of online spaces as cities, countries or physical spaces, though, as this could organically make students think about what all these spaces entail and how they are constructed. I think it could be fun to divide digital spaces into countries, cities, and neighborhoods, and explore what such an activity could inspire. You could make a Digital World Map! Which countries are thriving, and why? Are there some “neighborhoods” that we want to stay way from? Why? Are there any “universal” spaces online? Are there “oceans”?
Eli talks about social media being a little bit like Burning Man – “an amazing city that rises from nothing” – and while it’s great for a week, it’s not somewhere you would like to live in. Social media, however, has in a lot of way become a sort of home for many. A lot of people spend a significant amount of time there, and while I doubt many people spend their entire time on a single platform, I feel like you can loosely refer to it as a “home”… maybe a digital home? That could also be an interesting activity to do with students; have them describe their Digital Home. What does their digital living room look like? Do they have a kitchen? Bathroom? Do they live in a house, or an apartment building? This activity would make students reflect on their own digital usage, and how it fits in their daily lives. Maybe this could also branch out to an activity where students try and envision their ideal Digital Community, making them reflect on what it is we actually want from digital spaces.
In Eli’s TED talk, he sees it important that we have Digital Environments that we have some ownership of, because people are “giving up on online public spaces, the same way some people gave up on cities” (see, even he doesn’t agree with cities being perfect). One way of having more ownership over the digital environment you’re in, is simply by reflecting on the kind of platforms you use, what purpose they serve, and how you interact on there. By becoming more mindful about digital environments and educating your students on these, they will more likely be more aware of the influence the digital world has on today’s society, and take ownership over how they want to spend their time digitally. If there are platforms where there is no sense of ownership, there are privacy concerns, and people seem to only be arguing and putting each other down, is that truly a platform they want to keep using?
Eli signs off by saying that public digital spaces shouldn’t be places you just want to visit, but somewhere you stay at and bring our kids. But let’s be real… this is the real world, and just like in physical spaces, there will always be areas where you either don’t want your kids to go to, or don’t want to bring your kids with you. And isn’t it nice to take a vacation every now and then? In real life, it is not as easy – or cheap – to travel, as it is online, and maybe that’s the whole appeal of digital spaces – there’s something out there for everyone, and you don’t necessarily have to commit to spending all your digital time on one single platform.
Sorry this was a lengthy one, but hopefully it was worth your time.
– Martina
Martina’s Marbles 