I really enjoyed this reading. I not only found it fairly easy to digest but more applicable to my own life than some of our previous readings as we are currently in the second media age Poster describes. I was also intrigued that he was able to reframe aspects of the internet in ways that I hadn't previously considered-- which I would definitely classify as a feat considering there is a constant dialogue surrounding media and its uses. A quote that really stuck out to me was on page 445 in which he said,
"the dominant use of English on the Internet suggests the extension
of American power as does the fact that email addresses in the US
alone do not require a country code. The Intenet normalizes
American users" (1995).
While I'm sure the fact that I live in America and that the algorithm is somewhat regionalized has something to do with this, it is interesting that I struggled to name more than a handful of popular influencers or content creators that aren't American or don't currently live in America. I'm assuming that other countries have their own popular influencers that are nationally renounced, but all of the globally dominating media figures are American. In the text, Poster made connections between his theories and those of Lyotard-- I think that the quote above also provides an interesting connection. Could American culture be a totalizing metanarrative on the Internet? I think there's a good argument for Western pop culture being a dominant cultural ideology, and I think the global reach that the Internet provides is definitely one of the reasons for this.
This really changed my perspective of the Internet, I've always considered it as a place for individual narratives because it provides everyone with access to it the ability to share their experiences and opinions. And while I'm aware that the algorithm typically does boost the reach of those who subscribe to dominant ideologies (namely white, straight, cisgender individuals), my personal experience on the Internet is fairly diversified (or so I thought before I considered the lack of non-Americans) so I thought that there was ample way to avoid these totalizing narratives. Now, I am not so sure.
While reading Poster’s work, I also found his comment about the internet normalizing American users interesting. However, I never really gave this concept any thought prior to this reading. As English speakers, we tend to be unaware of the privilege we possess because people all over the world learn our language in order to be able to communicate with one another, but since we already speak English, we do not have to do work as hard. I also found it interesting how you brought up content creators and how most of the influencers you know are from America. This concept also goes into music because most of the musicians I listen to are from America and the lyrics are in English. However, a few years ago I visited Germany and stayed with an exchange family, and while listening to music with my exchange partner, I noticed that most of the songs on her playlist were songs in English that were also popular in America. However, I did not know any of the songs on her playlist in German. The reason that American songs are popular in other countries, but songs in from different countries do not get as popular in America is likely because of our lack of knowledge of other languages. However, because so much of the content we see on the internet is normalized for Americans, that can make it difficult to see the problem for users outside of the United States. I definitely think that American culture is a totalizing metanarrative on the internet, especially with English being a dominant language that people from many countries learn in order to communicate with the rest of the world. I also try to diversify the types of content that I see on the internet by engaging with content creators of diverse identities, and it definitely it important to seek out content from people of all backgrounds. However, the algorithms also have a significant amount of control over what types of content we view on the internet, and who those messages are coming from. Even though the algorithm does boost content of those who subscribe to the dominant ideology, being aware of this bias can encourage internet users to actively seek out content from non-American creators. - annaiswriting
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