Text me when you get home safe.
Cross the street if you feel suspicious.
Put your phone down!

Our daily routine is deeply connected to our access to technology. From our Daily Mix on Spotify to our cell phone alarm, it is almost impossible to function without technology. Technology holds us accountable. We can’t wake up without setting an alarm, we can’t mindlessly scroll through Instagram to pass time, and it feels uncomfortable to walk outside without music playing. But is that all it does?

Jaysirrel is a young Black woman who finds herself dependent on various forms of digital media. As we follow Jaysirrel, we start to discover that her daily routine is not at all conventional. All aspects of her digital presence are precisely curated for the black female user. It is as if her computer has mapped out her entire day for her.

They are watching everyone, and it is not by accident.

 

(Please find a structural analysis for this video under the “Structural Analyses ” tab on this page)

“While digital technologies enable users to mask their racial identity through processes of anonymity, such masking tends to be overshadowed by a reinforcement of problematic stereotypes and racially coded content. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have promulgated a phenomenon of presenting the digital self in exaggerated forms and meme sharing as cultural reflection. Meme culture has legitimized the appropriation of racialized portrayals of emotion as a means of expression. While the Soulja Boy meme serves as a convenient example, a search for gifs related to “sassy” or “angry” reveals the prevalence of these portrayals. In this example, race is not mentioned or acknowledged, but  as we we have previously learned, race does not have to be explicitly indicated for notions of “blackness” or “otherness” to be present.”