Since Edward Snowden leaked classified documents about US surveillance, conversations of visibility in digital spaces and its ramifications have increased. But these ideas of surveillance and (in)visibility are not new to women who constantly live within the male gaze. Through examples of online harassment, such as #GamerGate, it has become abundantly clear that the Internet is a gendered space where women are not only more visible, but treated differently as well.
In this talk, we will examine the gendered nature of the Internet, and potential tools to build empathy and understanding. Intentional empathy building can work to change the gender imbalance in the tech, STEM, and media industries--the very heart of the knowledge economy. Particular focus will be given to ADAPT, a game developed by women to teach digital risk analysis, as a tool of empathy building and within empathy-building pedagogies.
Finally, we suggest that games such as ADAPT and other empathy-building pedagogies can be used to increase representation of marginalized groups and and greater recognition of issues related to marginalized groups in the pipeline for tech, STEM, and media industries. While this can best be done in higher education, such tools can be applied for younger audiences to develop digital skills and empathy at an earlier age.
