Social Impact with Emma » Internet : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

We Are the Zoomers

August 20th, 2020

If someone had mentioned the word “Zoom” to me in 2019, I would have looked at them blankly, wondering what it was. When explained to me, I would have said vaguely, “Oh, that’s interesting,” and moved on. In 2019, we were meeting in cafés, holding retreats, signing up for various forums in hotels, caught up […]

COVID-19 and the “Digital Divide”

April 4th, 2020

We are supposedly “on lockdown” at this time. Nevertheless, with businesses and schools closing, we are turning inwards, and many have obeyed the instruction to “Tan Ah Yuh Yaad” (stay home). Many have not, but that’s a different matter. There is so little for them at home. Now, this is where social divides are highlighted. […]

Get Safe Online – and Learn Some Life Skills

March 8th, 2020

The Broadcasting Commission is doing a grand job with public education. I do love their television ads, which are vibrant, well targeted and have a big dose of Jamaican energy and humor. Their “What If?” commercial (here’s the hip-hop version) is very well crafted, targeting youth with their warnings about the use or misuse of […]

2019: A Year of Internet Shutdowns, Disinformation, and Distrust

December 28th, 2019

2019 has been the year of “Internet shutdowns.” No, I am not talking about Jamaican companies that fail to deliver the services that we pay for. I am talking about shutdowns initiated by governments that are afraid of their own citizens. The Internet has become the lifeblood of many societies in almost every country you […]

The Netizens of Global Voices Celebrate Fifteen Years of Activism

December 12th, 2019

Happy birthday, Global Voices! I am proud to be a contributor to Global Voices and a member of the “GV Family,” which is now celebrating its fifteenth year. What voices, and where, you might ask? Well, GV is an amazingly diverse network, a digital community populated by people you could sit down for hours and […]

What Really Is Fake News? And How to Spot It

June 6th, 2017

Today I joined a radio discussion on fake news. We have heard a lot about this, especially since the Trump era. That man labels any reporting he doesn’t like as “fake news.” In other words, I suppose, he is suggesting that it’s incorrect – because he doesn’t like it, and that we should all ignore it. […]

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