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Digital Reflection 1 - InfoGraphic


For our first reflection, I was able to focus in on the topics I wanted to use fairly quickly. I chose to incorporate the myth of digital universalism, digital colonialism, digital social activism, and the geopolitics of the physical internet into my design. These topics fit seamlessly together as we went over them in class, and they certainly seemed to be the obvious choice for this project. I feel as though the lines of these individual subjects blur into one another, which does make separating them for the written portion of this assignment considerably more difficult than combining them for the visual portion. 



The myth of digital universalism: 
Digital universalism is the idea that everyone on earth needs access to the same digital products in the same way. This line of thinking ignores the needs of individual communities and cultures, leading directly into the concept of digital colonialism.

Digital colonialism:
Oftentimes when wealthy people in western culture do look closely enough to notice the different ways of life around the globe, those differences are instantly seen as problematic. Instead of allowing other cultures to thrive on their own, western concepts of individuality are pushed into poorer communities through gifts that tend to come with strings attached. This is oftentimes referred to as a ‘white knight’ mentality, as though these communities need to be saved from themselves.

Digital social activism:
While not everyone in western culture feels a responsibility to redefine other countries’ cultural structures, stopping powerful people and ideas from moving forward seems to be near impossible. For many, the most powerful tool they have access to is social media. This is how many social movements begin, with one large event turning heads and granting previously unspoken ideas an opportunity to be heard. The unfortunate downside to movements like these is the sheer volume they come in. With so many important issues to focus on, if movements are not brought into the physical plain, they quietly fade out; having caused a lot of noise for nothing. 

The geopolitics of the physical internet:
While countless people across the globe enjoy the benefits of technology, the prices of these advances go widely unnoticed. As we constantly upgrade our gadgets, all of the discarded tech conveniently disappears. While the tech-hungry world presses onward, digital dumps grow in both number and size. Africa houses many of these dumps, bringing the people living in these areas to make their livelihoods sifting through these toxic piles.

Bringing them together:
Many people try to cultivate their digital image to reflect an idealized version of themselves, regardless of their real-world situation or actions. I felt this was well represented by the monk perched on a pile of digital waste. I chose to have the monk repeating hashtags in place of mantras, to highlight the way many people treat these digital movements. Unfortunately, many support these movements only to push their personal image, ignoring the state of things around them. Notice how the movements are also cheapened by the shallow hashtags that have been given the same power/platform. I incorporated gray clouds throughout the top portion of the image to not only help visualize the toxicity of digital waste, but also to show just how much this ‘monk’ is actually missing atop his perch. While he chants and smiles smugly, he imagines himself to be the central piece of this image. Unbeknownst to him, the most important element is a simple toilet-turned-planter. I personally find the toilet to hold a very strong message. Culture is not so easily erased, and the human mind is a beautiful thing regardless of location.







Image Citations: 

Gabbatiss, Josh. “World Throwing Away £50bn of Electrical Waste Every Year, UN Warns.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 24 Jan. 2019, www.independent.co.uk/environment/electronic-waste-recycling-un-report-landfill-phones-minerals-world-economic-forum-davos-a8744371.html 

 “Home.” Rubia Flower Market - Florist - West Lafayette, Indiana, 2019, rubiaflowermarket.com/ 

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