Promoting Inclusivity in tech and understanding those who can/do benefit from it.

     The Ted talk presented by Ivette Bayo Urban was quite interesting and I feel a big eye opener when tech is created. She discussed the importance of listening to people’s stories and learning to understand their point of view as to why they use tech and how to better serve them based on their needs/understanding. There was an experience that shared of one of the women she spoke with about how the phone is “smart, but she is dumb (Urban, 2016).” It spoke to me because it brought up an instance with my mother. She was not born in the US and always struggled with learning later in life. She would always put herself down and it really was an emotional time. When she did the transition from a basic phone to a smartphone, she was very apprehensive as she only used her phone for calls, and she was not able to read English well. However, through time and practice she began to have a better understanding of the smartphone and soon was able to use it like any other well versed smartphone user. Nowadays I feel technology has evolved greatly to the point where nearly most people are able to use them whether it be set in a different language or using solely voice options.

 

We shouldn’t assume that each technological creation is going to be used the same for everyone. She explains how “we can do the same things for different reasons, or the same thing for different reasons (Urban, 2016).” Social media for instance, some may use it to be famous, while others use it simply to communicate with loved ones. The same platform is used in very different ways. After listening and re-listening to her presentation, one thing that truly shines in her words is the need for inclusivity and understanding.

Citation:

    Urban Bayo, I. (2016, Dec. 23rd). We Are Our Stories: Is technology Rewriting Our Values? [Speech audio recording]. TEDxSnoIsleLibraries https://youtu.be/G7oN1zdS8HE