Maker Project Part 2: Digital Divides
The process of creating a sakura star may have been easy with the aid of the internet, but without online help it becomes much more difficult. Initially I simply looked at the picture of the sakura star, trying to figure out how to start. I remembered that origami paper is a square congruent on all sides, so I cut out a piece that I hoped would work. I have a friend who has some knowledge on origami, and he gave me a few tips and instructions to get started. The hardest part was attempting to fold my rather rigid paper into the shape I needed it to go. After making a few folding mistakes, I forgot which folds had been intentional and which I had tried to flatten out again. After some time of trial and error, I had gotten to a certain point in the process where I felt like it was going to be impossible to create the sakura star I had seen in the picture. My patience began to wane, and I started to feel increasingly frustrated that I couldn’t use the internet to watch a video tutorial. I started to realize how heavily we rely on online information, and how easy it has become to be totally dependent on a quick google search to get by. At least for a majority of us.
Many of us take for granted access to digital technology, as we accept our age as the age of information; the Digital Age. However, there is still a technology gap which leaves many people at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing the internet. Many variables factor into certain people being disadvantaged in the digital culture. For example, Pew Research Center states that only about 54% of Americans with a disability go online. Higher income households are much more likely to own desktop computers, smartphones, and gaming consoles. Black and hispanic people are more likely to be dependent on their smartphones for access to the internet. Other factors such as cultural background, geographic location, and generational status all have an effect on people’s privilege to internet access. While many Americans see going online as nothing more than a daily routine, there are still clearly divides when it comes to digital access. Without the internet, many things taken for granted become a little more tedious and often downright difficult to do.
As I attempted to create my origami star, scrambling to get help from my friend and any image I could find, I felt increasingly frustrated. This was probably due to the fact that I usually consult the internet for just about any problem I have that I can’t answer otherwise. Without that access, one starts to realize how different the learning process becomes. Asking friends, consulting a picture in a book, or even just using some trial and error. Traditional methods of learning that have often been displaced by the quick and effective Google search. With technology and the internet constantly changing and evolving, we get caught up in our daily interactions with our computers and phones and forget just how dependent many of us have become. Not only that, but we forget that there are still a surprisingly large group of people that have limited or no access to the internet. Considering I only had to create an origami star without the internet, I felt a little silly at getting so frustrated with myself. I still have the privilege to read the news, book a flight, look up a formula for math, or ask my friend 2000 miles away a quick question. And that in itself is not something that should be taken for granted.
My (attempted) Sakura Star. Definitely doesn’t look like the actual thing. First and second attempt..
