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Digital dictatorship: how it affects citizens

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Updated Timeline

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Original Timeline

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Portfolio Posts

OCTOBER STATUS UPDATE

During the first week of October, I shifted the focus of my project from exploring Computer Science beyond the classrooms at Emma to diving into digital dictatorship. I made this change because this topic has piqued my interest since a military coup occurred at home in Myanmar in February 2021. With the military coup came many military-imposed internet restrictions such as mobile data shutdown and mandates to some ISPs to shut down their services. This has greatly impacted how citizens communicate and how information is disseminated in communities. This month has been solely dedicated to research about what digital dictatorship is and how digital dictatorship is being imposed by the Tatmadaw in Myanmar. Some challenges included finding up-to-date information because media coverage on Myanmar has significantly slowed down. In addition, it is hard to find  reliable data and facts since information has been hard to get from the country. 

NOVEMBER STATUS UPDATE 

In November, I focused on coming up with a draft of an outline for my mini-documentary and researched specific laws that are enforcing digital dictatorship in Myanmar such as limiting the time Internet Service Providers can provide wifi and completely blocking social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Working on the outline was more challenging than I expected as I want to go into details (minutes by minute) for what I want to include in the mini-documentary as this will make my filming process easier. In addition, I have been struggling to find time to work due to the upcoming college applications deadline. During Thanksgiving break, I was able to meet with some people from Myanmar an who recently left the country to come to the United States and was able to gain some insight into the current conditions in Myanmar and get a deeper understanding of how the new technology laws impacted the everyday lives of Myanmar citizens. 

DECEMBER STATUS UPDATE 

In December, I didn't spend much time on my Signature project due to Revels and college applications deadlines. I mentioned my Signature project in my college application and trying to explain my project gave me more of an idea about what I want to focus on in the project. I researched more about patterns of internet shutdowns by autocracies around the world to suppress anti-authoritarian activities. and saw a pattern of rising digital authoritarianism globally, which resulted in economic losses for governments that imposed internet shutdowns. When researching, I came across a Bloomberg article with the title: "World's Worst Internet Clampdown cost Myanmar $3 billion in 2021" and learned that the internet shutdowns not only disrupt the flow of information but also prevent the operations of businesses and organizations. The most interesting insight of the article is that Myanmar's internet shutdowns was the biggest loss in the world. 

JANUARY STATUS UPDATE 

In January, my manager contacted me about the NPR podcast competition and asked if I would consider participating. I decided to shift focus onto a podcast because getting footages from my documentary would be more challenging than expected as I currently am not in Myanmar riright now. I began brainstorming for a podcast script and listened to some podcasts to get some ideas about how I want to relay the information. I decided on who I want to interview as part of my February assignments and the podcast. I will be interviewing a friend of mine who was in Myanmar the day the coup occurred and I will be asking her about the days following the coup when there was so much misinformation circulating, which was made even more challenging by the timed internet shutdowns. I will also be asking her about how the social media bans affected her. 

Portfolio posts

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I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you

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