They Say / I Blog

Class in the metaverse: Nir Eisikovits on the challenges of building virtual reality universities

Virtual reality, widely used in gaming, is now being adapted for a range of purposes, including medicine, therapy, and sports. But could virtual reality work for higher education? In this essay, Nir Eisikovits, an associate professor of ethics at University of Massachusetts-Boston, explores the ethical and social challenges of virtual reality. He explains what is at stake for students and universities if campuses move to the metaverse.

Nir Eisikovits, "College Could Take Place in the Metaverse, but These Problems Must Be Overcome First,"The Conversation, 1 March 2022

 

Billionaires in space: Lucianne Walkowicz on making space exploration more accessible

In the summer of 2021, three billionaires – Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Jared Isaacson – made history as they blasted off into space on their own privately funded spaceflights. In her essay, astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz analyzes the implications of this new chapter in space exploration. Walkowicz suggests these billionaire-funded launches reflect current inequities here on earth, including rising income inequality exacerbated by the pandemic.

Lucianne Walkowicz, "Don’t Count on Billionaires to Get Humanity into Space," Scientific American, 23 September 2021.

 

An epidemic of teenage loneliness: Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge on the mental health impact of smartphones on Gen Z

There’s been a shift in how teenagers hang out, and you can hear it: the chatter that used to buzz through a high school cafeteria has often morphed into silent scrolling on smartphone screens, punctuated by tiny pings as teens message each other through their social media apps. The isolation many teenagers have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has made social media even more critical to how they sustain their relationships with each other. Yet there are questions about the long-term health consequences of social media and smartphones on teenagers. In this July 31, 2021 essay, Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge explain their research about the connection among smartphones, social media, and the mental health of teenagers, both in the US and across the globe.

Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge, "This Is Our Chance to Pull Teenagers Out of the Smartphone Trap," The New York Times, 31 July 2021.

 

Relying on robots to care for us: Anna Romina Guevarra on the consequences of automating the work of caregivers

Thanks to rapid advances in artificial intelligence, what used to be sci-fi fantasy is now reality: robots can now teach, provide therapy, and administer care in hospitals and other medical facilities. But as Anna Romina Guevarra, associate professor and director of Global Asian Studies at University of Illinois Chicago, asks, should they? In her August 2, 2021 essay in Boston Review, Guevarra explores issues of labor and bias to determine the “potential harm of automating care work.”

Anna Romina Guevarra, "Here Come the Robot Nurses," Boston Review, 2 August 2021.

 

A case for critical media literacy: Maytha Alhassen and Zaheer Ali on how viral misinformation could affect future historians

Some people might argue that what we do online is our own personal business. Historians Maytha Alhassen and Zaheer Ali, however, contend that online spaces are instead part of our “public life.” In this May 19, 2021 essay, Alhassen and Ali argue that it is our “civic duty” to be critical about what we consume and circulate online, as the constant retweeting and reposting of potentially misleading information has consequences for both our present moment and the work of future historians.

Maytha Alhassen and Zaheer Ali, "By Any Memes Necessary: A Case Study for Critical Media Literacy," Los Angeles Review of Books, 19 May 2021.

 

All alone in our screens: Jenna Wortham on the paradox of wellness apps

As people deal with the persistent stressors of pandemic life, they are increasingly turning to mindfulness apps like Calm and Headspace to soothe their anxieties. Corporate wellness programs have jumped on the bandwagon, sponsoring these apps as a way to promote well-being for their employees, whose lives have suddenly moved almost completely online. In this essay, Jenna Wortham details the complexities of corporate wellness programs and the mindfulness apps sponsored by them. As you read (or listen!) to Wortham’s essay, note the connections she makes among corporate wellness programs, surveillance capitalism, the gig economy, and rising pay disparities in the US.

Jenna Wortham, "The Rise of the Wellness App," The New York Times Magazine, 17 February 2021

 

Masters of their own fate: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie on why social media companies should self-regulate

For all the good that social media platforms provide – connection, innovation, a panoply of perspectives – there is also a darker side, evident in online harassment, deep fake video and audio manipulations, and the widespread circulation of disinformation and conspiracy theories. What responsibility should social media companies take for the content hosted on their sites? In their January 2021 Harvard Business Review essay, Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie argue that it is time for social media companies to self-regulate their platforms to secure “their long-term survival and success.”

Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie, "Social Media Companies Should Self-Regulate. Now." Harvard Business Review, 15 January 2021

 

Tracking your data: Maria Gardner and Alyson Youngblood on the risks of “Internet of Bodies” devices

From fitness trackers to internet-connected insulin pumps, more companies are marketing “smart” devices that gather, track, and store digital data on a person’s health metrics, body functions, location, and movement. Together, these devices comprise what is now called the “Internet of Bodies” (IoB). In this October 29, 2020 article from the RAND Corporation, Maria Gardner and Alyson Youngblood describe the benefits and risks of IoB devices and detail policies that could regulate how data from these devices are used by corporations, the health care system, and the government

Maria Gardner and Alyson Youngblood, "The Internet of Bodies Will Change Everything, for Better or Worse," The RAND Blog, 29 October 2020

 

In real life: Jordan Frith on the metaphors we use to talk about online life

Is our online life—our Twitter debates, our Facebook relationship status, our Snapchat streaks, our Zoom classes—real? And why does this question matter? Jordan Frith, the Pearce Professor of Professional Communication at Clemson University, argues in his July 2020 article that our digital life is very much real, despite common metaphors used in popular culture. The way we talk about our digital life, as if it’s separate, ends up diminishing the importance of what people do and say online, though the consequences are no less important.

Jordan Frith, "Pushing Back on the Rhetoric of ‘Real Life,’" Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society, 20 July 2020

 

Get out the vote: Jeanine Santucci about accessibility in the voting booth

Voting is a civic duty, an essential right in a democracy. However, as Santucci explains in her July 26, 2020 essay, people with disabilities face barriers to voting, even decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed. As you read, consider both Santucci’s immediate argument, about the pressing issues faced by people with disabilities, and the larger implications of inaccessible voting in a democracy.

Jeanine Santucci, "30 Years after the ADA, Access to Voting for People with Disabilities is Still an Issue," USA Today, 26 July 2020