Nakamura Chapter 5-Racial Representation

Nakamura’s referencing of racial representation on the internet according to the PEW survey is troubling. It brings up several issues: The lack of emphasis on Asian position as a culture, and how they use the internet, social spaces, ethnicity, and gender as Nakamura mentions in the introduction (pg. 10). Pew’s survey characterized Asian’s as consumers (pg. 172), thus limiting the responses to what types of things they engage in. She suggests the study failed to address cultural production and types of graphical expression to name a few. This meager representation often creates bias and clearly adds to the digital divide. Pew’s survey’s for their demographics are done primarily through telephone communications and on paper. What are missing are the monolingual Asian populations according to Nakamura. With Asian’s considered the “wired” minority on the internet, this portion of the culture goes unaccounted for. The U.S. Census is attempting to change the way surveys are conducting in population representation and target both non-English Spanish and Asian cultures. But representation on the internet is that they’re the majority is an erroneous belief according to Nakamura. She suggests survey taking should encompass minority participation such as bulletin boards, activist sites, social media spaces for a more accurate depiction of internet use. She asks the question of social spaces and whether representation can be constructed culturally. The theory she suggests is that distinct nuances and concepts need to be developed in order to assess people of color and cultural diversity. This would give identity to the face diversity and culture.