Marginalized people with platforms face harsher expectations and worse criticism when it comes to parasocial dynamics online. CW/TW: Discussion of white supremacy, queerphobia, social exploitation of marginalized people By Shaanth Nanguneri In every Tiktok, Youtube video, and Tweet we consume, our parasocial relationships with content creators are evolving. The idea of a parasocial relationship in...
Tag: Social Media
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A Parasocial Love Story: Where the Intimate and the Performative Collide
As socialization increasingly shifts online, we are likely to form more (and more intense) parasocial bonds and see a blurring of the boundaries between the real and the parasocial. By Sohel Sarkar In 1893, when Arthur Conan Doyle shoved his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes off a cliff, fans went into public mourning, forcing the author...
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When Whiteness Invades
Whiteness is always invested in taking up more space. As a result, white people often do everything in their power to make every space they enter into more comfortable for whiteness. By Sherronda J. Brown and Lara Witt Wear Your Voice is a small publication. We are run by just a few people, we have...
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Big Tech is an Agent of Fascist Repression
Social media companies have also enhanced the technological prowess of the white supremacist carceral state in targeting Black, Brown, Indigenous and working class communities through ostensibly “colorblind” tech. CW: References to Police and Governmental Violence By Omar Zahzah If there ever was a point at which Big Tech’s supposed democratization of social relations and communications...
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‘The Social Dilemma’ Fails To Address Racism In Tech And Surveillance Capitalism
The Social Dilemma does a deep disservice to the complexities of racism and technology by ignoring the depth of issues that arise when examining the role big tech plays in the marginalization of BIPOC. By Manaal Farooqi This year, Netflix released The Social Dilemma, a documentary exploring the numerous negative effects of social media and...
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‘The Circle’ On How We Treat Black Women and Fat People Online
It’s an EmoBlackThot-sized lesson that ‘The Circle’ ends up showing to the masses. The lesson could have been more useful if it was intentional. Just under a month ago, I started watching The Circle with a dear friend and roommate. We were both bored out of our fucking minds after clocking out of our respective...
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The History of the Medical Industry’s Role in Oppression is Well Documented
Social media is reshaping the medical industry’s abuse or, at least, the extent to which that abuse can be shared. It also provides a platform where workers can reinforce dangerous beliefs. By Vanessa Taylor Tyra Hunter. 1995. Dead after EMTs withdrew medical care upon realizing she was a transgender woman. Barbara Dawson. 2015. Dead from...
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Social Media Will Be the Death of Me: A Black Sex Worker’s Lament
Sex workers are shadow-banned, locked out of our accounts, and even banned from the platforms that we helped bring to prominence simply for daring to exist. This essay contains mentions of r/pe threats, suicide, whorephobic rhetoric, and child abuse. By Adrie Rose “We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end,” said Rev....
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Nothing About Being Black is Easy, Including Our Hair Care.
Black people are allowed to be honest about our struggle with natural hair. Twitter is an interesting place. There are always arguments and debates happening, many of them inconsequential to my existence. But this week, I was stunned by a Twitter argument about natural hair that might seem small to most, but feels incredibly significant...
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How Using Memes Helped Me Deal With Depression
Memes are a valid form of expression and they can help us articulate the difficult, and often stigmatized, effects of depression. By Han Angus Memes in 2017 are a form of communication. We laugh with memes, we cry with memes and we express our annoyance with memes. I have over 500 of them saved on my...