Anna Bowman

BY  ANNA BOWMAN What online identity we curate on social media sticks with us for the time that we spend on the internet. It's no secret that our privacy on the internet is not exactly secure--by looking up a user's IP address, other internet users are able to narrow down where another may live. Due to social media, our real life identities are linked with our accounts; within the massive abyss that are internet databases, our names, phone numbers, browsing history, job history, family relations, and many other things are stored. The internet has become so integrated into our daily lives that we don't realize the impact our online activity can have on our real lives. Jack Morse analyzes this phenomenon online in a Mashable article aptly titled "It’s a mistake to think that our online and IRL lives are separate" , where he states that we "are what [we] tweet." Once upon a time on the internet, the term "in real life" posed some sort of ...

The EA press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Image: EA.com. BY  ANNA BOWMAN The gaming community has always been chided for incidents specifically aimed against women and minorities involved. Whether in voice or by text, this breed of "toxicity" is rampant through in-game chat and even broaches into social media. Gaming companies have made many attempts to combat the insurgence of hateful speech in their multiplayer platforms, yet their attempts have been meager--not exactly at the forefront of their agenda.  However, Electronic Arts (EA) is determined to set a different precedent for the gaming community. Announced at the Building Healthy Communities Summit --a conference where the company discussed what efforts they're making to improve online player experience--and at its panel during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), EA brought together 230 gaming influencers to form the Game Changers , a conglomerate of company partners who aim to impr...

Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Image: Inc.com  BY ANNA BOWMAN Two weeks ago, a YouTube content creator by the name of Steven Crowder was called out on Twitter for his usage of homophobic and racial attacks against Vox reporter Carlos Maza. In a slew of support for Maza, Twitter and YouTube users took to rallying against Crowder and demanding the website to take action against allowing hate speech on their platform. However, YouTube issued an apology for his hate speech but ultimately did not scold Crowder's deeds in any way.  (3/4) As an open platform, it’s crucial for us to allow everyone–from creators to journalists to late-night TV hosts–to express their opinions w/in the scope of our policies. Opinions can be deeply offensive, but if they don’t violate our policies, they’ll remain on our site. — TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) June 4, 2019 Reported earlier this week in a Mashable article by Johnny Lieu , YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said at CodeCon that she felt l...