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11.3: Digital Costs - Assessment

  • Page ID
    316028
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    Digital Costs | Assessment | Digital Life Cycles & Me

    As we’ve explored this week, the creation, use, and disposal of digital technologies come with hidden costs that are easy to go unnoticed, from cobalt mining to data mining and everything in between. For this discussion, you’re tasked with exploring the ‘lifecycle’ of a technological device, tracing a digital technology of your choice (smartphone, tablet, electronic car, computer, gaming device, etc.) from creation to disposal in an effort to better understand how an important technology in your life came to be, as well as what will come once you’re done with it.

    Start by researching the four stages of the life cycle: extraction (mining of raw materials, for instance), production (manufacturing and labor conditions), use (both phenomena like energy consumption, as well as practices of data collection), and disposal (e-waste and recycling). Choose one stage to focus on and describe the following:

    • What happens during this stage?
    • Who (or what, or where) is affected (e.g., workers, local environments, global energy use)?
    • Why does this matter to you or society as a whole?
    • What solutions might you suggest (political, regulatory, personal, etc.)?

    Be sure to cite at least one source in your response, be it from our class session(s) or something you found on your own. Your post should be at least 250 words.


    This page titled 11.3: Digital Costs - Assessment is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by J. F. Lindsay.