Behind the Screen
Behind the Screen by Sarah T. Roberts, published by Yale University Press on June 25, 2019, is an illustrated exploration of the often-overlooked individuals who safeguard users from the darker aspects of the internet. This 266-page book delves into the world of commercial content moderators, who play a crucial role in filtering out harmful content from social media platforms. Through extensive ethnographic research and interviews with workers across various locations, Roberts sheds light on the human effort behind the algorithms that govern our online experiences.
Readers will find a comprehensive examination of the emotional and psychological challenges faced by these invisible workers, who are tasked with enforcing policies and training artificial intelligence systems. The book contextualizes the commercial content moderation industry within broader discussions of social media, internet culture, and the social aspects of digital labor. By revealing the realities of this hidden workforce, Behind the Screen offers valuable insights into the implications of globalization and labor in the digital age.
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An eye-opening look at the invisible workers who protect us from seeing humanity’s worst on today’s commercial internet
Social media on the internet can be a nightmarish place. A primary shield against hateful language, violent videos, and online cruelty uploaded by users is not an algorithm. It is people. Mostly invisible by design, more than 100,000 commercial content moderators evaluate posts on mainstream social media platforms: enforcing internal policies, training artificial intelligence systems, and actively screening and removing offensive material–sometimes thousands of items per day.
Sarah T. Roberts, an award-winning social media scholar, offers the first extensive ethnographic study of the commercial content moderation industry. Based on interviews with workers from Silicon Valley to the Philippines, at boutique firms and at major social media companies, she contextualizes this hidden industry and examines the emotional toll it takes on its workers. This revealing investigation of the people “behind the screen” offers insights into not only the reality of our commercial internet but the future of globalized labor in the digital age.
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