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Blogpost #10: Wearables and the quantified self (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

The reading by Crawford, Lingel and Karppi (2015) examines the way wearable self-tracking affords users a sense of agency and self-knowledge. Wearable technologies provide data such as the user’s weight and sleeping patterns, which is also a form of feedback in turn allowing users to “better understand and possibly modify their activities and behaviour”. However, the authors question the transparency and reliability of these self-tracking devices. For instance, individuals have no control over how their data is used and distributed, and what is defined as the “normal” and “ideal” weight for many self-tracking devices is also problematic. Hence, while wearable technologies are marketed as devices aimed at self-improvement and instilling a disciplined lifestyle for users, there are actually many underlying issues of privacy concerns and surveillance of one’s personal data.

From my personal experiences with wearable devices, I do agree with the authors there is a lack of transparency and control over how my information and data is used. I purchased the Mi Band, Xiaomi’s wearable activity tracker in the form of a watch, in order to track my daily routines. The Mi Band provides me with information such as the number of steps I take daily, daily number of of hours of sleep, number of calories burned in a day etc. While Mi Band claims that the data provided to users will not be shared, other information such as the user’s phone number and location will be collected and can be used by the company. Before purchasing the Mi Band, users must consent to this, and users are required to allow the Mi Band to access call logs, location, storage and even contacts. As a user, I have no control over how Xiaomi uses all these information collected from my phone. The privacy policy also states that personal information can be used for “business interests” and even distributed and processed by “those third parties with whom we may share your personal information”. Hence, there is a lack of transparency as users are unaware of who and how their data is being shared and circulated. While the Mi Band does afford me with the agency through self-knowledge and to make lifestyle improvements, I do not have full agency over my data as a user due to such privacy concerns.

However, the Mi Band did lead to me modifying and improving my lifestyle. The data from the Mi Band pointed out to me that my sleep cycle and pattern was unhealthy, which made my more self-aware of my sleeping habits, in turn encouraging me to make improvements. The Mi Band provided me with a sleeping chart that tracks my sleeping habits. From there, I was able to see things like how I was only getting 6 hours of sleep which is below average, my irregular sleep schedule, as well as how my sleep quality was poor. This led me to fixing and improving my sleep schedule, and I eventually managed to have a healthy sleep condition according to the sleep chart. Thus, even though the authors do have a point on the downsides of wearable devices in terms of the lack of transparency and privacy concerns, its benefits cannot be ignored.

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Blogpost #8: Play (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

In the reading by Pelletier (2005), she asserts that games in the educational context actually “relates to wider social interests” and are influenced by various socio-political factors. Pellertier builds her arguments off Zizek’s work on subjectivity in the cyberspace, and focuses on the idea of interpassivity – the way users react and interact with digital technologies to fulfill certain objectives of the game, as such becoming passive users and giving control to the game. Pellertier brings up the 4 versions of cyberspace that interpassivity in games take place in:

1. Games as pain relievers – cyberspace demolishes traditional social hierarchies, awarding freedom to players to fully explore their identity and making learning enjoyable. 2. Games as sensual temptations – students become too immersed in games and the enjoyment that comes with it, resulting in no actual learning taking place. 3. Games as replicas of non-virtual life – When cyberspace offers boundless opportunities and possibilities for users without real life consequences 4. Games as dramatic stages for reality construction – Games are enjoyable as it provides instructions for users to follow and allows them to be passive.

I agree with Pelletier’s point on how games in the educational context eliminates hierarchal structures between students and teachers, thereby allowing students to have the freedom to explore their identity and construct their realities. One example is the game SimCityEDU, which is based off popular city building game SimCity. Similar to SimCity, SimCityEDU gives players the freedom to build and construct their own cities, but the goal of SimCityEDU is to create a green city free from pollution and environmental degradation (Schwartz, 2013). Classrooms have adopted this game to teach students about saving the environment. Students ultimately have full control and autonomy on how to design and manage their city without the interference from teachers. This shows how SimCityEDU allows for “dramatic stages for reality construction” as students are able to create a virtual world based on their observations in real life. Additionally, the game also allows students to exercise their creativity and portrays topics of environmental degradation in a fun and engaging manner, essentially allowing students to “retrieve the pleasure of learning”. The game also reflects Zezek’s notion of interpassivity, as students are required to achieve the game’s overarching goal of avoiding environmental degradation in their constructed cities. The game does this by providing six missions that students must complete before successfully finishing the game, and students are constantly responding and attempting to fulfill these objectives established by the game.  

However, this notion of interpassivity may not apply to augmented reality (AR) games like Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go is a game which integrates the virtual fictional Pokemon World with our reality, and players have to physically move to capture pokemons. Though players still have to fulfill the objectives of the game, the game cannot control their physical movement and they have the agency to move to spaces that they want to. Players are thus not confined by their devices and are able to roam around freely in the material world. Players are able to choose what pokemons they want to capture and where they want to capture these pokemons. Thus, Pokemon Go’s intersection between the virtual and material world allows players to have full control of where they are and what they see in the physical world, making them less passive and giving them more agency.

References Pelletier, C. (2005). Reconfiguring Interactivity, Agency and Pleasure in the Education and Computer Games Debate—Using Žižek's Concept of Interpassivity to Analyse Educational Play. E-Learning and Digital Media, 2(4), 317-326.

Schwartz, K. (2013, October 30). Let the Games Begin: Students and teachers dive INTO SIMCITYEDU. Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/32389/let-the-games-begin-students-and-teachers-dive-into-simcityedu

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Blog post #6: Precarity and labour (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

In Ravenelle’s “What is the Sharing Economy”, he asserts that while the sharing economy promotes itself as a one that prioritizes community sharing, it is actually capitalistic and profit driven. She supports her argument through three themes – the Gemeinschaft/ Gesellschaft trust divide, the increasing casualization of labor and risks, as well as increasing social inequalities. Firstly, Ravenelle uses the example of Airbnb and Uber to show how these two companies fail to include the Gemeinschaft practices of community interactions in their services. For instance, she brings up how many Airbnb hosts discriminate against African American which ruins this sense of community spirit. Next, she discusses the low level of economic security and the lack of benefits of many gig workers. Lastly, she argues that the sharing economy further benefits the wealthy, and many of them exploit these services to accelerate their wealth. As such, Ravenelle criticizes the sharing economy’s façade of a community spirit when it is actually driven by capitalistic and monetary intentions.

Personally after reading this article, I think the key question to ask is: who really benefits from the sharing economy. While it seems as though many companies like Grab and Uber benefit individuals without the necessary skills to enter the workforce through providing employment, I feel like these benefits are short term. For example, Grab intended to remove its Super Steady Streak incentive scheme in February, meaning that drivers will have less chances to receive income bonuses (Abdullah, 2020). This has caused unhappiness amongst many Grab drivers as they felt that the company’s priority was generating profit rather than caring for the welfare of the workers (Abdullah, 2020). Thus, this shows how many companies in the sharing economy are ultimately profit driven rather than focusing on establishing a sense of trust and community, leaving many of the workers financially vulnerable with an instable income. Additionally, another article revealed that many restaurants have to pay food delivery companies like Grab and Foodpanda more during the circuit breaker period, as these companies increased their commission rate to 30% (Ong, 2020). Despite this, many of the delivery workers have actually experience a drop in income with a cut in incentives, leaving many of them to struggle and experience financial insecurity (Ong, 2020).

However, the Singapore government also does monitor the activities of these corporations to ensure that the workers are treated fairly and that their welfare is being taken care of. For instance, even though Grab wanted to eliminate the Super Steady Streak incentive, this LTA (Land Transport Authorities) insisted to investigate this matter to ensure that this agreement was fair to the drivers as well. This resulted in the scheme getting extended till May. Thus, gig workers are still protected in Singapore to an extent due to government intervention and policies, but this does not reduce the precarity that they face. Therefore, I agree with Ravenelle’s claim that the sharing economy is extremely profit driven and does not prioritize the whole idea of a community spirit.

References Abdullah, Ahmad Zhaki. “Grab Reinstates Driver Incentive Scheme Following Criticism.” CNA, February 21, 2020. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/grab-reinstates-driver-incentive-scheme-following-criticism-12458490.

Ong, Justin. “Food Delivery Riders Caught in the Middle, as F&B Outlets and Delivery Platforms Tussle over Commissions.” TODAYonline. Accessed March 4, 2021. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/food-delivery-riders-fear-shrinking-income-fb-outlets-push-pay-lower-commissions-likes.

Ravenelle, A. J. (2019). What is the sharing economy? Chapter 2 in Hustle and gig: Struggling and surviving in the sharing economy (1st ed.). Oakland, California: University of California Press.

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Blog post #5: Work and user generated content (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

In “Social Media as Participatory Culture”, Fuchs (2014) critiques Henry Jenkins’ view on participatory culture as reductionist and failing to consider aspects such as ownership, exploitation of online labor and the capitalistic intentions of corporations dominating the internet. Instead, Fuchs proposes that participatory democracy should be included when defining participatory culture. He defines participation as when individuals have the agency and ability to resist exploitation on the internet, and argues that the internet is not fully participatory as it is still largely controlled by large profit-making corporations. Fuchs supports this by raising an example of how Youtube exploits its content creators as part of their profit goes to Google as the company owns Youtube, and how the most viewed videos on Youtube are from large corporations which generates more profit for them.

I definitely agree with Fuchs that to an extent that big corporations do dominate the internet which has resulted in problems like digital exploitation. For example, Tiktok is a popular social media platoform that has set up a “creator fund” whereby the company will pay creators with at least 10,000 followers based on the number of views generated on their content. Tiktok did not specify the pay rates and there is not base salary for creators. However, this has led to some creators voicing out about the lack of transparency of the creator fund, having only been paid a few dollars despite receiving a large number of views on their videos (Matsakis, 2020). Additionally, Tiktok also received backlash for exploiting users through digital gifts. Tiktok launched a new initiative allowing fans to send their favourite creators gifts, resulting in many of them spending hundreds of dollars and many calling out Tiktok for exploiting and manipulating young fans (Tidy, 2019). Thus, this example demonstrates Fuch’s point that profit driven companies do engage in internet exploitation for their capitalist intentions.

However, I do feel that Fuchs did overestimate the amount of power that these corporations have especially in the context of today’s media landscape whereby audiences are not passive consumers that simply absorb whatever media they are exposed to. Fuchs states that “As long as corporations dominate the Internet, it will not be participatory”, but the question is – is every aspect of the internet fully controlled by corporations? Many of us today are highly critical of the media we consume, and there are many spaces on the Internet allowing for user generated content such as the comment section that is not controlled by corporations and allow users to resist corporate domination. One example is when Kylie Jenner’s collaborative advertisement with Pepsi posted on Youtube garnered criticism from netizens for being disrespectful towards the Black Lives Matter movement. Many have taken to the comment sections and other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram to respond and express their disappointment towards Pepsi and Jenner’s racial ignorance (Victor, 2017). Hence, this shows how corporations do not entirely control the internet due to the presence of user generated content whereby users are able to actively respond and express their opinions. Of course, corporations do have the power to delete comments or content that is not in their favour. However, this is highly dependent on cultural contexts as well. This may happen in countries like China whereby the government heavily controls and censors the media and there is a more one-way flow of information through the internet. But this does not hold true for other countries where the internet is a space for two-way communication between corporations and people.

References Fuchs, C. (2013). Social media as participatory culture. Chapter 3 in Social media: A critical introduction. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE. Pp. 52-66.

Matsakis, Louise. “TikTok Is Paying Creators. Not All of Them Are Happy.” Wired, Conde Nast, www.wired.com/story/tiktok-creators-fund-revenue-sharing-complaints/.

Tidy, Joe. “TikTok's Young Fans 'Exploited' for Digital Gifts.” BBC News, BBC, 2 July 2019, www.bbc.com/news/technology-48725515. Victor, Daniel. “Pepsi Pulls Ad Accused of Trivializing Black Lives Matter.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Apr. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/business/kendall-jenner-pepsi-ad.html.

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Blog post 4: Media Industries (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

In the reading “The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception” by Horkheimer and Adorno (2012), the authors’ main claim is that culture is becoming increasingly commodified with the rise of capitalism and is now a profit driven industry rather than a space for artistic expression. The authors explain that this standardization of cultural products is due to the need to satisfy similar demands from consumers all over the world. This has inevitably resulted in a lack of imagination and individuality amongst members in society. An example raised to support this point is the film industry, whereby characters have to fit a certain mold and possess a “sameness” to appeal to the taste of consumers in order to ensure the film’s success. Hence, Horkheimer and Adorno are resistant to the impacts of capitalism on the culture industry as it reduces creators and works of art to merely profit-making machines.

While I agree with Horkheimer and Adorno that there is indeed a standardization of the culture industry, I cannot fully agree as the authors assume that consumers are passive when in fact, many of us are critical of the media that we are exposed to.

There is definitely a degree of homogeneity amongst the cultural products today. One example is the Disney business model that has propelled franchises such as Frozen to success. Disney’s main appeal amongst consumers is the family friendly nature of Disney films that champions stories of friendship, bravery and kindness (Yao, 2019). On top of that, Disney films unfold in a storytelling like manner to add to this fairytale, magical effect (Yao, 2019). This has worked well for Disney for many years and till today, the company is still producing films based on this model. Personally, I do notice this storytelling trend amongst many old Disney films such as The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella where there is always a scene of a storybook with a narrator beginning with “Once Upon a Time” at the start of the film. The more recent films such as The Lion King also contains voiceover narration to unfold the plot. Thus, it is obvious that many Disney products are standardized with the same style, structure and themes in order to cater to the taste of consumers and generate profit for the company.

However, many consumers nowadays are increasingly critical of the media we consume, rather than merely passive consumers that blindly take in whatever we see in front of us. Even though majority still enjoy the homogenous, standardized nature of cultural products, there are a group that appreciates and values products that deviate from the norm. Using the example of Disney again, while many appreciate Disney films, there are some who find Disney films boring, repetitive and disliking the overall style of the films:

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/6lb5io/i_cant_stand_most_disney_movies/

Additionally, the rise of the indie music and film industry essentially counters Horkheimer and Adorna’s main point. Indie musicians and directors create art that deviates from the conventional mold as they are not produced under big companies, while fans of indie creators genuinely appreciate the work for its artistic qualities. Nowadays, more and more consumers are also starting to appreciate indie films rather than the standard Hollywood blockbuster. This can be seen from the fact that many indie films are being nominated from prestigious awards showing that they are valued by many and considered to be of a high standard in society. For instance, indie film “A Marriage Story” was an Oscar nominee for best picture. The Independent Spirit Awards was also created to honor indie artists.

References

Horkheimer, M., & Adorno, T. W. (2012). The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception. Chapter 4 in M.G. Durham & D. Kellner (Eds.). Media and cultural studies: Keyworks (2nd ed.). Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.Media and cultural studies: Keyworks, 53-74.

Yao, R. (2019, July 26). The shifting business models of Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2021, from https://medium.com/ipg-media-lab/the-shifting-business-models-of-hollywood-b0036a3b4326

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Blogpost 3: Mobile Media (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

The reading “Portable Objects in Three Global Cities: The Personalization of Urban Places” examines the way mobile media has transformed the way we interact and think of public spaces and our surroundings. The study was conducted in three different cities – Los Angeles, London and Tokyo, and it was found that mobile devices has changed the way people experience urban locations. This was due to the three genres of presence – cocoons, encampments and footprints. Cocooning is when mobile devices provide a “cocoon” to shelter and create a barrier between individuals and the external environment. An example of cocooning raised in the reading is when individuals in Tokyo and London using headphones when taking public transportation as a means to detach themselves from the outside world. Encampment is when individuals situate themselves at an ideal and desired space with their mobile devices for a period of time, such as doing work at a café. Lastly, footprinting is when organisations track the actions and interactions of the customers with the brand through loyalty and reward cards.

I definitely agree with the authors’, as cocooning, encampment and footprinting are such common practices in Singapore. In Singapore, many of us take the public transport such as the MRT and bus, and many of us definitely retreat into our own “cocoons” when we commute. Most people will be looking at their phones, with many wearing headphones or earpieces. This culture of cocooning is also encouraged by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the picture below shows Hush Hush Hannah, a cartoon ambassador as part of LTA’s graciousness campaign to remind Singaporeans to use headphones instead of playing their music out loud when commuting:

Hence, this is evident that cocooning is extremely normalized in Singapore. This shows how mobile media has also shaped social norms and what is considered appropriate behavior in public spaces. As for myself, I often watch Netflix programs on my phone when commuting. I definitely retreat into my own “cocoon” when doing so as I seem to be immersed into the world portrayed on the screen rather than my physical surroundings, at times even missing my stop because I was too absorbed with my show. I also agree with the authors point on how individuals “make efforts to maintain the boundary of their cocoon” (Ito et al, 2017), as I often try to position myself such as others are not able to look at my phone screen. I feel like this is because the phone provides me with a level of privacy and comfort where I am able carry out the activity of watching shows on my own in a public space. Thus, I make the conscious effort to maintain that level of privacy.

As for encampment, I too occasionally study at the Starbucks near my house. This particular Starbucks has many charging pods and isn’t too crowded, which provides sufficient resources and a desirable ambience for me to camp at when doing my work. In the readings, it was mentioned that one of the participants uses views the spaces where he camps at as “a space of retreat that differs from his weekday worker identity” (Ito et al, 2017). Similarly for myself, I would say that my mobile devices that allows me to study at Starbucks has broken the monotony in my life of studying at home everyday due to online classes. It is always refreshing to study at Starbucks as I can finally step out of the house and experience a change in environment.

Lastly, a recent example of footprinting that emerged as a result of the COVID19 pandemic is the tracetogether token that is used for contact tracing. Our locations and data are being tracked and recorded using tracetogether in order to control the spread of the disease. The tracetogether application on mobile phones also keep a history and record of locations visited that users can view, as well as areas frequented by the user that could have possible exposure to the virus. The tracetogether application on my mobile phone has definitely changed my relationship with public spaces, as I am now more careful and aware with where I frequent. For instance, I will avoid areas whereby I had possible exposure to the virus, and whenever new COVID cases are announced, I will scroll through my frequented areas to check if I was at the same location as those infected. Hence, the tracetogether application has increased my awareness and resulted in me paying more attention to my surroundings.

References: Ito, M., Okabe, D., & Anderson, K. (2017). Portable objects in three global cities: The personalization of urban places. In The Reconstruction of Space and Time (pp. 67-87). Routledge.

Picture credit: Lee, Marissa. “Bag-Down Benny and Hush-Hush Hannah Join LTA Graciousness Campaign.” The Straits Times, January 19, 2016. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/bag-down-benny-and-hush-hush-hannah-join-lta-graciousness-campaign.

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Blogpost 2: Domestic Media (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

The reading by Spigel (2015) examines the way the television influences the “spatial geographies” of our daily lives. She explores the television’s impact in the domestic sphere through its ability to shape familial ties and interactions. She raises the example of how television watching as a social activity can facilitate bonding and increase intimacy amongst family members, but alternatively can also cause divides and strain social relations. Additionally, Spigel (2015) also argues that gender relations and norms also play a role in the television viewing experience, whereby males play a more active and dominant role by deciding what television programs to watch while women were mostly at the sidelines. Lastly, Spigel (2015) also touches on the concept of “telepresence” and the rise of the mobile television. “Telepresence” is the television’s ability to immerse audiences into the worlds portrayed onscreen, allowing them to be transported to a different place despite being physically in their homes. The rise of portable and mobile televisions through devices like smart phones have also allowed people to bring the habit of television watching, which is an activity done at home, to the public sphere.

The example that will be discussed in relation to this reading is the role of the television during the COVID-19 lockdown. During the lockdown, I could definitely see how the activity of television watching has allowed my family to become closer and bring my family together. Since we were not allowed out, we would spend hours watching the television together to fill our time and pass by the day. For instance, during dinner times we would watch Chinese dramas on the television together while eating, and it was always an activity that all of us look forward to. Thus, I agree with Spigel’s argument on how the television can be used as to deepen social relations and intimacy amongst family members. Due to the pandemic, many large-scale events such as National Day Parade (NDP) and Pink Dot were being televised due to safe distancing regulations. I remember watching the NDP with my family on the television and still feeling the patriotic atmosphere and mood despite not physically being at the parade. This clearly demonstrates telepresence, showing the television’s ability to transport us to another space and bring the public sphere into our private homes. With extremely clear and sharp visuals and powerful audio systems provided by my television at home, I was entirely immersed into social environment portrayed onscreen and felt as though I was part of the audience there physically. I also remember how the recent NDP has a segment to pay tributes to frontline healthcare workers, whereby everyone was encouraged to go out to their corridors or balconies to cheer and applaud them. This initiative was broadcasted to the public through the television, and it was also meant to show the unity and collectiveness of Singaporeans during this difficult time. During this segment on the actual NDP, while watching the televised broadcast featuring other neighborhoods clapping and cheering, I was also able to participate in this initiative and see and listen to the applause from my neighbors. This further deepened the sense of “telepresence”, was also a sort of “spatial hybrid experience” whereby I was able to feel a sense of connection with the public sphere despite being confined in my house. Therefore, I agree with Spigel’s argument on the concept of “telepresence” and how the immersive experience offered by the television transforms the way audiences experience the private and public space.

References: Spigel, L. (2015). TV and the Spaces of Everyday Life. In Mediated Geographies and Geographies of Media (pp. 37-63). Springer, Dordrecht.

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Blogpost 1: Mediatization (Lee Li Xuan Cheryl, A0201220L)

The reading by Couldry and Hepp (2017) examines the media’s increasing influence on the process of shaping and understand our social world. The social world is understood as the product of the collective experiences and actions of humans, and it is becoming increasingly “mediatized” as the media now plays an important role in creating our social realities. Our social realities are constructed through the process of “institutionalization”, whereby facts are being produced when people regard them as reality. The impact of the media on our social world has also changed and broaden the process of institutionalization. Coundry and Hepp (2017) also mentions the concepts of “materialization” and “naturalization”, and how these two processes aid institutionalization. Materialization focuses on the function and the types of communication of a medium, while naturalization is when certain functions of the media used in our daily routines and lives are gradually viewed as normal and essential.

The example that will be discussed in relation to the reading is the adaptation of Zoom, a video conferencing application, during the COVID19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, lockdowns and strict regulations have been implemented all around the world and many schools and offices are closed down, forcing many to rely on online platforms like Zoom to work or attend classes from home (Evans, 2020). As for myself, Zoom has become a “new normal” and now a necessity in my everyday life. With strict COVID restrictions and enforcements in Singapore, most of my classes are conducted on Zoom, as well as large scale events like CCA meetings. Firstly, institutionalization takes place when organizations such as universities, companies and even individuals accept and adapt Zoom to carry out day to day activities. Zoom is regarded as the go to app amongst everyone to carry out virtual meetings and discussions, showing its acceptance and institutionalization. Secondly, the process of naturalization has also taken place with the adaptation of Zoom. Zoom is so commonly used to the point that it is seen as the dominant and main form of virtual meetings, and it is only natural for people to rely on Zoom to carry out online conferencing sessions. Additionally, the pandemic and the adaptation of Zoom has definitely accelerated the mediatization of our social worlds. This is especially so during the lockdown when it was mandatory for everyone to stay at home, my only form of interactions were through Zoom. In a way, these online Zoom interactions were my social reality during that period, where I had to adapt to the different features and functions of Zoom. Therefore, the above example shows how I agree with the authors’ point that our social worlds are becoming increasing mediatized. With the ongoing pandemic, many rely on and turn to Zoom for various everyday activities, showing how the media is intertwined with our social realities. It is no doubt that the pandemic has fueled the process of mediatization, and ultimately blurred the boundaries between reality and our virtual social worlds.

Word count: 495

References: Couldry, N., & Hepp, A. (2017). The social world as communicative construction. Chapter 2 in The mediated construction of reality. Cambridge, UK;Malden, MA;: Polity Press. Pp. 15-33.

Evans, Dain. “How Zoom Became so Popular during Social Distancing.” CNBC. CNBC, April 4, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/how-zoom-rose-to-the-top-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html.