Strategizing Silence: Digital Non-Use as Agency for Marginalized Communities

Activity: Talk or presentationInvited talkAcademic

Description

Radboud University Sector plans theme “the human factor in new technologies”, Strategizing silence: Digital non-use as agency for marginalized communities
The deleterious impacts of networked technologies, including surveillance and control, polarization and discrimination, are increasingly recognized. Much of the discourse on addressing these issues has focused on monitoring and controlling usage behaviors on technological platforms. Such approaches largely ignore digital (non-)use as an expression of agency or the experiences of those affected. This talk elaborates on digital non-use as agentic strategies of resistance and resilience in the context of socially marginalized populations. The talk presents empirical evidence on varied global communities facing societal and digital discrimination, ranging from transgender sex work and forced migration. A conceptual framework for digital non-use is offered to provoke discussions on the potential of socio-structural transformation driven by the experiences of those on the margins rather being centrally mandated. A second provocation concerns debates on the effectiveness of invisibility and silence as a catalyst or subversion of agency.
Period4 Dec 2024
Event titleRadboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Event typeOther
LocationRadboud Universiteit NijmegenShow on map
Degree of RecognitionNational