The Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp showed how the web could be segmented, reinforcing us in a biased view of the facts. This is what we explore in this week’s #Rule30 newsletter, from which this editorial is taken.
The internet doesn’t really know if I’m a girl or a boy. My theory is that I disturb the recommendation algorithms by my interests judged as too masculine. When I write an article about the crypto world or inquire about a PC configuration to build, my newsfeeds fill up with ads or content promoting razors or sports programs to gain muscle. On the other hand, when I buy make-up or clothes, people praise the merits of pregnancy tests or offer me videos to lose weight.
Because tech belongs to everyone
#Rule30 is a free weekly newsletter distributed by Numerama. You can subscribe to it directly in this article or at this link.
It sounds a bit cartoonish, but we are all experimenting with a segmented version of the web, whether we realize it or not. American journalist Rebecca Jennings recently offered her own concept in this regard: Girl Internet and Boy Internet. According to her, the Girl Internet is not necessarily frequented only by women, and the Boy Internet by men. But, these are two specific online cultures, which rarely meet. And if, in the collective imagination, the Internet belongs to men, ” Girl Internet is where all the important stuff happens,” notes the journalist.
“It’s where cultures are born, where social norms are debated, where aesthetics are dubbed and where web slang is shaped. This is where fandoms of unimaginable power clash and cause explosions that have consequences for the rest of the world. I find this reflection interesting, even if it must be nuanced: the Girl Internet of a 25-year-old black and/or lesbian woman will probably be different from that of a white and heterosexual fifty-something. However, it is an effective metaphor for becoming aware of the invisible borders of the web, over which we do not necessarily have control. When you’re on one side of the fence, it’s easy to forget that there are people behind it.
The data transmitted through this form is intended for PressTiC Numerama, in its capacity as data controller. These data are processed with your consent for the purpose of sending you by e-mail news and information relating to the editorial content published on this site. You can oppose these e-mails at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe links present in each of them. For more information, you can consult our entire personal data processing policy.
You have a right of access, rectification, erasure, limitation, portability and opposition for legitimate reasons to personal data concerning you. To exercise one of these rights, please make your request via our dedicated rights exercise request form.
The Heard/Depp case is an example of web segmentation
I thought about it while watching this excellent documentary on the handling of the Amber Heard / Johnny Depp affair, which I really recommend you watch. This story is a terrible example of web segmentation.
On the one hand, online masculinist communities (the most extreme corner of the Boy Internet, therefore) which have made actress Amber Heard a target to be shot down to attack the influence of the #MeToo movement. On the other hand, a subject which for too long has been considered peopletherefore shunned by traditional media, such as rightly remarks one of the speakers of the documentary, my colleague Constance Vilanova. The result is a campaign of violently misogynistic harassment and a massive operation to manipulate public opinion, the consequences of which are likely to be terrible for victims of domestic violence and women in general in the years to come.
Me, it was through Girl Internet that I first heard about this affair. My TikTok feed was suddenly overrun with pro-Depp content, often made by young women who made jokes about the trial (particularly shocking example: a fake karaoke on Amber Heard’s rape testimony). Young boys have been exposed to videos made by masculinists, potentially radicalized without their loved ones realizing it. ” If you have a teenage boy at home, I recommend you take an interest in what he watches online. rightly warns Brianna Wu in the documentary, video game developer and one of the first victims of the gamergate.
And then there are the people who haven’t seen anything at all. ” We did not necessarily follow closely, on the left, in France, everything that happened around this trial », admits author and videographer Usul on Twitter. ” When you follow feminist news or the debates of the extreme right on the networks, you could not escape it. But for many it was vulgar, too American, too YouTube…In other words, web segmentation is algorithmic and human. If we ignored the Depp/Heard affair, it’s not only because we weren’t on the good side of YouTube or TikTok, but also out of snobbery, class contempt and sexism. We voluntarily respected the borders. What do we look at on the internet, and what do we refuse to see there?
The data transmitted through this form is intended for PressTiC Numerama, in its capacity as data controller. These data are processed with your consent for the purpose of sending you by e-mail news and information relating to the editorial content published on this site. You can oppose these e-mails at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe links present in each of them. For more information, you can consult our entire personal data processing policy.
You have a right of access, rectification, erasure, limitation, portability and opposition for legitimate reasons to personal data concerning you. To exercise one of these rights, please make your request via our dedicated rights exercise request form.
Subscribe to Numerama on Google News so you don’t miss any info!
