Asian Americans & The Internet
Have you ever wanted to post about all the terrible events that happened to you on Monday, but decided not to because people might judge you based on that post? The article I am analyzing is, “Asian American social media use: From cyber dependence and cyber harassment to saving face.” This article has multiple authors; therefore, I will list them as Linda Charmaraman and others. The release date of this article is March 22 in 2018 but was later corrected on February 11 in 2019. First, the authors’ main point is to demostrate the important role social media plays in young people’s lives: increasing connections for individuals and within social groups, self-presentation through sharing both photos and experiences, and expressing feelings and emotions through status updates. Secondly, the article goes into depth about the connection between how social media usage can lead to negative effects (cyber dependence and cyber harassment). Interviews were done with Asian Americans and asking them questions revolving on their dependence on social media and also the harassment they may receive online. And lastly, the authors try to give an explanation on why Asian Americans may be less likely to be active on social media platforms. This limits their chances of making themselves noticed by the public by drawing relationships from the interview responses.
How Is Cyber Harassment Connected To The Lack of Asian Representation?
This article changed my thinking on this topic because it explained how Asian Americans are compulsive users of the internet, but the fear of cyberbullying and cultural expectations are leading factors into why media representation for Asian Americans is limited. Before reading this article, I did not take into consideration that there are more than just racist oppressors that are causing the lack of Asian representation in entertainment and media. The main argument of this source that is changing my perspective on this topic, and has extended my thinking on the topic is that saving “face”, and being bullied from your own community or family (not just Western racism) may be leading factors in why Asian Americans would choose not to be main focuses in the Cyber World.
Why The Sad “Face”?
Asian Americans may not be seen as being active on social media because they have to maintain “face”, which is different from Western racism. First off, according Linda Charmaraman and others, Asian concept of “face” is described as, “When one loses face, they gain a bad reputation, lose prestige or respect, and endure embarrassment or humiliation among the peer group.” In order to maintain “face” on social media, one must create social interactions and impressions that are positive. According to this concept, it would be considered losing “face” if you were to show any negative emotions, such as anger, annoyance, frustration, and depression. The rule is simple: if you do not have something positive to share with the world about yourself, do not share at all. The pressure is placed on the individual to either put up a persona that they have a happy and “perfect” life or to not be visible to the public or others, even if it is online. Being shamed by your own peers can be a result of posting something your peers consider “distasteful.”
Another example is, “For Asian American women, gendered and cultural expectations to make choices that reflect favorably on the collective family “face” may introduce difficulties with online impression management.” The idea of being an Asian woman trying to save your family’s “face” is not something I considered when I first started this journey to find the “secret” to why there is a lack of Asian representation in media. Bringing honor by placing your family’s wants over your own in remaining submissive and obedient did not even cross my mind. This idea makes me wonder if the reason why entertainment portrays Asian women as weak and submissive is connected to this cultural expectation of Asian women. The pressure placed on the individual of Asian descent on maintaining “face” may cause them to prefer staying out of the center of the action.
Community & Family Bullying
An individual can personally chose to not be visible on social media if they fall victim to oppression from people who are supposed to be supportive of the. Another contributing factor would be bullying from own community or family. Linda Charmaraman and others included a participant named Sheida, who stated, “Like when I publically talk about racism or sexism, I get very open rape and death threats from random people on Twitter because it is public.” Sheida, who is similar to a countless amount of other victims of cyberbullying, was being harassed and even threatened by a social media community (Twitter, in this case) that she is a part of. The fear of danger when posting about your own beliefs to a public audience is something that cannot be disregarded when it comes to why Asian representation is not clearly visible. If speaking up about the issues involving the injustice of your race and sex can get you killed, that is an extremely high risk that is not easy to take.
Another example Linda Charmaraman and others used was from another participant, Lily, and she explains that her family, being intensely religious from Pakistan, is not welcomed to snoop around and sees her Facebook activity, therefore she blocks them whenever they try to add her. She wants to remain private as much as possible, because they would frown at her social media actions, such as wearing short-sleeved shirts in pictures or taking pictures with a guy. She wants to avoid gossiping and cultural clashing with her family. Being the main topic of conversation with your own family members talking about you behind your back is not a desirable position to be in. Additionally, what you post onto the internet may affect how family members may view your parents’ teaching, which means posting about something that is considered “unacceptable” or frowned upon in one’s culture becomes a big deal and would be hidden or not presented.
What Else Will I Research About Going Forward?
There are a lot more factors I need to consider going forward in my research about the lack of Asian representation in media and Hollywood and also my upcoming argument paper. Before doing this post, I was stuck on the idea that it was Western culture causing oppression towards Asians, which led to the lack of Asian representation. However, now that I learned that the reasons could be from the oppression of the Asian individual’s own family and community, I will make sure I am open-minded in order to figure out other factors. As for what I need to learn more about going forward, I would like to research more about the effects of the lack of Asian representation, whether that is just for the individual or a whole community of people because I already have some causes. When it comes to learning about the lack of Asian representation, it is essential to learn about both the causes and effects.
Work Cited:
Charmaraman, Linda, et al. “Asian American Social Media Use: From Cyber Dependence and Cyber Harassment to Saving Face.” Asian American Journal of Psychology, vol. 9, no. 1, 2018, pp. 72–86. https://sfstate-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_apa_articles10.1037%2Faap0000109&context=PC&vid=01CALS_SFR&lang=en_US&search_scope=EVERYTHING&adaptor=primo_central_multiple_fe&tab=everything&query=any,contains,Asian%20American%20social%20media%20use:%20From%20cyber%20dependence%20and%20cyber%20harassment%20to%20saving%20face.&offset=0
