Reading Week 5

 

Response:

The Williams et. al. reading really got me thinking about the video games I played when I was little. It notes how characters in video games are predominantly male and white. I personally never saw representation as a problem until I got to Stanford. A lot of the problems, I’ve learned, affect children. The reading specifically discusses how underrepresented children can be disenchanted and “may have less interest in technology and its opportunities for class advancement.” This caused me to explore why I, although being a minority, was not affected by this since I am still exploring a career in technology. One of my theories was that I played a lot of video games where the main characters were aliens and creatures that weren’t real. Another theory was that my family had a large influence in my affinity for technology. Overall, this reading made me appreciate the potential of video games more. They’re a fun activity, that if utilized correctly, can be really beneficial for underrepresented children.