University of California, Irvine
Jackie Ku is a Ph.D. candidate with the department of Political Science at UC Irvine. His research focuses on issues of digital communications in democratic theory, digital citizenship, political economy of data, and sovereignty in cyberspace.
What processes affect the political meaning behind violent displays communicated on the Internet? How do these factors change the impact of violent display on intended audiences? I argue that the political meaning of digital violent displays becomes distorted as users change the original display to fit their personalized social media needs. I suggest that more conscientious platform design, and greater user discretion in engaging with digital political information, could help remedy these erosive effects on violent displays online.
Existing digital technologies offer tools for democratic practice online, but digital users are failing to use them with common good in mind. Why is civic investment and obligation currently so weak among users? I argue that the lack of clear boundaries between public and private digital space negatively affects civic investment among online users. Our modern reliance on network services draws users into clientelist habits that are detrimental to those of a digital citizen. I suggest that we design hardware and software to partially disperse the negative effects of server-client networks -- by making clearer distinctions between public and private digital space.
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