Hello readers – since the pandemic began, we’ve become increasingly reliant on virtual platforms for work, school, and socializing – and for good reason. Maintaining our distance is critical to our physical health. But I’ve also been challenged by the ways in which our virtual world can be unhealthy. That’s the issue I want to focus on today.
For exercise, I play a game called Fitness Boxing on my Nintendo Switch. I love it – the game’s virtual coach keeps me motivated with helpful reminders that guide my workouts. But something’s not quite right: While I tried to design my coach to be a Black woman, I couldn’t actually do it. Sure, I could alter skin tone, but I had no ability to change hair style, body type, and facial features, making it impossible to create a coach who actually looked like a woman of color.
The game’s lack of diverse features is a reminder of how the virtual world falls short: It is both an insufficient substitute for reality and often a reflection of the real world’s injustices and biases.
In these socially distant times, virtual platforms have helped people entertain themselves, build relationships across distance, and manage complex projects. Yet, at the same, virtual platforms can exacerbate existing systems of inequality and bias, creating another medium where people of color rarely have the ability to see themselves represented. In “normal times,” these negatives would be easier to tolerate. But when the entire world goes virtual, with no end in sight, I feel compelled to face where virtual platforms and interactions are in desperate need of improvement.
In recent months, I’ve been asking myself questions to help identify weaknesses and opportunities to make our virtual landscape more open and inclusive place for all:
– Are we breaking down gender and racial barriers in the industries that build virtual platforms and media, like the biased video game I’m faced with every time I work out?
– Are schools sufficiently addressing the psychological impact on students stuck in remote learning, particularly as we enter a second school year of online education?
– Are policymakers adequately addressing unequal access to the technology – such as internet connections and personal computers – that increasingly serves as critical infrastructure for education, health care, and other basic needs?
– Are we breaking down gender and racial barriers in the industries that build virtual platforms and media, like the biased video game I’m faced with every time I work out?
These are among the tough questions we all must ask ourselves if we want to build a more productive, fulfilling, and equitable virtual world, and they’re exactly the types of questions RALIANCE will tackle in our blogs this month.
It’s hard to believe that the country has spent more than half a year relying so heavily on virtual platforms. But for as long as our virtual lives continue, I’m committed to learning how we can build a virtual world that truly works for everyone.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to check back next week for insights on improving our virtual world.