The Global Impact of Digital Devices
What do click farms, e-waste dump sites, virtual gold farming, and mining of minerals in the Republic of the Congo have in common? They are forms of digital labour. Digital labour is a broad term that covers a huge spectrum of ideas centered around the creation of technology, usage of technology, discarding of technology, and the impact it has on all participants of this labour chain. These occupations exploit the labour of many individuals, which not only cause harm, but in some cases create conflict and hurt the environment in which they live in.
what if we’re the ones also at fault, not just corporations, for the exploitation of people in developing countries by buying devices built through exploitative means?
Workers, whom most work in developing countries such as Bangladesh, China, Congo, etc., work more hours and are paid lower wages than what your average American would consider reasonable. For example, people in the click farm industry, work all day just to get paid a dollar per one thousand likes.
How can we stop/prevent this exploitation?
Russell, the man in the video above, makes an interesting claim at the end of the video in which he says that his business is not to blame, but the people that commission it. I agree the people that do commission are to blame to a certain extent, what if we’re the ones also at fault, not just corporations, for the exploitation of people in developing countries by buying devices built through exploitative means?
Take a look at the Democratic Republic of the Congo for instance. People are murdered and live in impoverished conditions for minerals that are essential for the creation of our phones.
Some people argue that it is up to the nations that allow these types of exploitive labour to occur that should fix this, but people who claim this fail to consider the people that live in countries such as the Congo or Bangladesh see these jobs are just trying to survive making them easy to exploit.
Who is to blame & How can this problem be solved?
Unfortunately, I do not have a solution to the problem, but informing more people may help spread the word, which will help conjure up solutions.
