Our project was conceived out of our discussion from the first reading, The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0. The manifesto discusses how digital mediums are becoming the main platform for news, information, and academic knowledge. It dives into the speed at which technology is advancing, and predicts that digital platforms will house almost all academic scholarship in the future, and what guidelines must be put in place for this to run smoothly. This prediction for the future of academia sparked a prominent question within our group: if we release academic knowledge through digital media, how will education look for those who have less access to technology? 

As this pandemic progresses, those who do not have access to adequate technology will fall behind as school continues to be held online, further deepening the education disparity. According to the article, The Digital Divide Among Students During COVID-19: Who Has Access? Who Doesn’t?, “one in five parents state that their children will not be able to finish their schoolwork because they do not have access to a computer at home” (Makori). Children who have access to lower functioning technology (computers, laptops, tablets, phones) and less access to internet connection will not be receiving adequate education.

In the recent year, class disparity has also been illuminated with the inequality of public education. According to the article "Opportunity for all? Technology and learning in lower-income families" by Victoria Rideout and Vikki S. Katz found that "most low- and moderate-income families have some form of Internet connection, but are under-connected...and with inconsistent connectivity" (Rideout and Katz). Those who are lower in income may have access to technology, but are limited to the types of technology they have access to. A question we raised during a discussion is, in a world that runs on technology, how might we give all children quality education while being online?

Expanding on this idea, we discussed how higher education is a major propellant for social mobility. If our world moves in the direction it has been moving, and technology becomes essential for obtaining a quality education, universities will be receiving better applicants from wealthier areas with better tech and internet, and thus better education. And in a culture where higher paying jobs value degrees, and degrees are more obtainable to the wealthy, we could be creating a culture with stagnant social classes. In America, a nation built on the ideal that anyone can achieve anything in this country, a culture like this would most certainly be considered a dystopia.

We have created a pamphlet that is an introduction to a future world in which social class is equated to high functioning tech and good internet speed. Better amenities and services are reserved for those who have better technology and the internet. These social class groups have become extremely defined and divided because there is very little social mobility. 

One thing we focussed on was how the digital gap and access to knowledge from the internet is furthered because of the lack of access. In our dystopian world, net neutrality –– “the concept that all data on the internet should be treated equally by corporations, such as internet service providers, and governments, regardless of content, user platform, application or device” (Investopedia) –– does not exist, and all technology is separated into packages that must be bought on a per hour basis. These packages would further segregate the hierarchy of people in our world based on technology, and would thus affect their access to housing. What is frightening is that the fight for net neutrality actually happened a couple of years ago, so our idea of a dystopian world where paying for certain services and access is not far from where we are now. 

REFERENCES:

Cary, B. (2019, August 08). Modern Home in a Gated South African Estate Community.
Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/modern-home-in-a-gated-south-african-estate-community-129437

Kenton, W. (2019, October 1). Net Neutrality. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/net-neutrality.asp

Lake, R. and Makori A. (2020, June 16). The Digital Divide Among Students During COVID-19: Who Has Access? Who Doesn’t?. Retrieved Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.crpe.org/thelens/digital-divide-among-students-during-covid-19-who-has-access-who-doesnt

Rideout, V. and Katz, V. (2016, December). Opportunity for all? Technology and learning in lower-income families. Retrieved Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jgcc_opportunityforall.pdf

Shannon Wilson. Shannon Wilson is a former Digital Content Associate for Builders Digital Experience (BDX). Her main role was to create video content. (n.d.). Is a Gated Community Right for You? Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.newhomesource.com/learn/is-a-gated-neighborhood-right-for-you/

The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2020, from https://www.humanitiesblast.com/manifesto/Manifesto_V2.pdf

Ura, A. (2015, September 30). High-Income Texans Find Homes in Public Housing. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.texastribune.org/2015/09/30/high-income-texans-find-homes-public-housing/