“Similarly to Module 1, the second module will be focused on learning new things and going beyond your comfort zone. You will consider the readings from the Culture modules in the website for this class and follow the steps described in the modules overview and Module 1.“
Working for the Web
We use our phones and our devices for social media purposes, but do we ever think about the work that goes into producing our hardware, coding our software, or supporting the networks that make this all possible? From the mines where the metals are retrieved, to the factories that put the phones together, to all of the likes and shares we do each day, do we know how much of our labor goes into our social media and who does it?
It is often said that on the web, if you’re not paying for it, you are the product. Why is Facebook free? How is Facebook encouraging us to use their platform in ways that support their business model? https://dgst101.net/mod/labor/
Reflection:
I chose to create a project inspired by the “working from the web” section in the culture module. I got curious about the creation of computers and created the question, “What are some of the international relationships involved in the making of computers?” which is what I based my project off of. My project includes a slideshow that covers some basic/summed-up info that I have gathered in my research. Some of the topics I cover are: what materials and minerals are computers made up of, where they come from, who obtains(mines) the raw materials and manufacturers them, what are the biggest companies in the computer-making business, which countries are involved/ties to these corporations, and what is the relationship between the US and the countries involved?
While this was a very information-heavy research project, I aimed to try to show as much relevant material as possible. The applicability in real life is that The things we use daily are made by real people and undergo a very long process that we often overlook. Many, many relationships were needed for you to have the things you have.
The significance of this project for me was finding out how and where my laptop might have been made and where the materials came from. I think it is significant because a laptop is one of the things we use almost every day, yet most of us have no clue how it came into existence.
In our culture today we are disconnected from the things we use daily, and we often have no thought about the relationships needed to produce our everyday things & get them to us. I would love to do more research into the ethics of the making of the electronics I use.
would like to use that information to possibly (hopefully) find a company/place to buy from that doesn’t support/commit human rights violations and that doesn’t contribute significant damage to the environment and/or practices sustainability.
