The Importance of Inclusion in Tech

by Matt Perry

I just listened to episode 1 of the podcast where Professor Donig interviews the team behind Miracle Messages, and I think that through this episode, I realized that while technology has had life-altering effects in the way society works, the internet has provided a way of creating a community as no other technology has before it. Social media has allowed information to be shared and widely spread quicker than ever before for the average person, and in my experiences in social media have seen missing person reports be shared, and they have resulted in people being found. What blows me away was the experiment discussed where people sometimes won't even recognize members of their own family when they appear homeless, and it made me seriously consider how I react and talk about homelessness. Through the podcast, I couldn't help but feel the optimism towards helping those experiencing homelessness, but also the realism that many people in this country would be even closer to homelessness if they didn't have community, and it made me recognize more so the many ways people foster community, and garner support through social media. Whether it be widely shared photos of missing persons, GoFundMe fundraisers, or even through the discussions that can be held on these social media platforms.

While there are people connected through social media, Kevin Adler brings up how not everyone has been included in social media, and not everyone has access to these resources which are still heavily connected to having a permanent address, and it puts into perspective why what Miracle Messages does is so important to include those experiencing homelessness, in the community.  I think what this class so far has made clear to me is the importance of inclusion in technology, and more so how the disparities that exist currently could be shrunk and more people could be supported if money weren't such a driver in tech innovation, and more importantly government. 

I think the global technologic community that has been created still inherently is not fully inclusive as technology has not been made accessible to everyone. In an effort to ensure technology is accessible to everyone, I see that internet access cannot be treated as a luxury, as it is becoming integral to filling forms, banking, and even the way jobs are found. This serves to reason that one big push that needs to be prioritized is either creating more affordable ways to own technology to access the internet or by ensuring that there are ample public resources for anyone to access the internet such as those we see in public libraries. Services that are provided for the public need to consider that not everyone can contribute equally to them, but everyone should be able to interact within society, and with how integral internet access is becoming, not being able to access the internet will outcast members of society, and we cannot always rely on organizations like Miracle Messages to provide this interconnectedness to those experiencing homelessness. I feel optimistic when there are people working to better the resources available to people experiencing homelessness, and I can only imagine how much forward progress can be made if government agencies get in on providing better to the homeless population, and it is becoming clearer that technology is apart of this discussion.