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?
Goals:
- Learn about invisible labor issues around technology, particularly around race and gender
- Share an awareness to others
Suggested Readings:
- The price of connection: ‘surveillance capitalism’
- Media Matters
- When Everything Works Like Your Cell Phone
- I Work for The Web
- Content Moderation
- The Predatory Search And Exploitation of Free Labor
- How Tech Devalues Social Media Workers
- Apple, Samsung and Sony face child labour claims
- Social Media and Academic Surveillance: The Ethics of Digital Bodies
Suggested Tasks:
- Simplified Map My Device
- I Work for The Web activity
- Track Your Work on Social Media
