As we peruse the cybernetic web called the Internet, we are constantly behind a screen. Clearly this is meant in a literal sense, but I refer to the fact that once you immerse yourself you become the person who you want to present to the world. This person is the “real” person that you create as you portray yourself through various ways of communications, amongst them writings, blogs, etc. Everything aside from you in the Internet is just words and identities. Such as yourself; they reveal themselves through what they want you to see. On the other hand, this environment allows racial encounters, although most of the Internet is crowded with white people. People are able to chose indistinguishably their race and protect it as they wish. However, going back to the premise of how the Internet is filled with white people, we have to go back into the past (approximately the 1980’s). It was a time where computers were being introduced into the schools curriculums. They were being described as “gateways to the future”, knowing how to use them and obtaining “computer literacy” (which gave importance to being able to use a computer, more than being able to write correctly, which also implied not being able to read adequately) was essential to become successful in the future workplace.
It was at this time that well funded schools began to create computer labs in which they would teach students to use these computers and gain the appropriate literacy to use them. Most of these well-funded schools were located where a majority of white people lived, giving them access to computers. On the other hand, there were also schools that were located in places where they wouldn’t receive much funding, usually more African Americans would attend these schools and would be without the access to this so called “gateway to the future”. This is where companies such as Hewlett Packard, Apple and the government began taking initiatives to give schools that were not as well funded access to computers. This did not go as smoothly due to the fact that giving away these machines was very expensive and the amount they would give to schools would be limited (For example: Apple proposed donating one computer to every school in the United States), this would question the utility that would be given to these computers as the students would probably not be able to use them or learn from them. Probably they would be used by the administration of the school and no real productivity would be achieved. This didn’t mean that no African American would ever be able to use a computer, many did and they were used to promote it to the public as people stated how the use of the computer would increase their self-esteem to levels that they could not reach without computers. This was at times hurtful due to the fact that they would question the intelligence of African Americans implying how “even a dumb black kid can master a computer”. However, as time passed computers were more accessible and more African Americans started to use them. It got to the point where these companies started marketing products directly to African Americans, increasing there presence in the internet, but not to the extent of being able to come close to matching the online presence of white people who were favored since the beginning (the 1980’s).
It was at this time that well funded schools began to create computer labs in which they would teach students to use these computers and gain the appropriate literacy to use them. Most of these well-funded schools were located where a majority of white people lived, giving them access to computers. On the other hand, there were also schools that were located in places where they wouldn’t receive much funding, usually more African Americans would attend these schools and would be without the access to this so called “gateway to the future”. This is where companies such as Hewlett Packard, Apple and the government began taking initiatives to give schools that were not as well funded access to computers. This did not go as smoothly due to the fact that giving away these machines was very expensive and the amount they would give to schools would be limited (For example: Apple proposed donating one computer to every school in the United States), this would question the utility that would be given to these computers as the students would probably not be able to use them or learn from them. Probably they would be used by the administration of the school and no real productivity would be achieved. This didn’t mean that no African American would ever be able to use a computer, many did and they were used to promote it to the public as people stated how the use of the computer would increase their self-esteem to levels that they could not reach without computers. This was at times hurtful due to the fact that they would question the intelligence of African Americans implying how “even a dumb black kid can master a computer”. However, as time passed computers were more accessible and more African Americans started to use them. It got to the point where these companies started marketing products directly to African Americans, increasing there presence in the internet, but not to the extent of being able to come close to matching the online presence of white people who were favored since the beginning (the 1980’s).
RSS Feed