Daniel Hales

Visual Literacy

Social Snapshot

            I decided to create a social snapshot of foreign students studying here in the United states, and to be specific I looked directly into Asian students and the single stories.  My first move was to look of specific hash tags on Instagram. Some of the most popular were #asians #asianstudents. After looking through the first page of photos I came across an Instaramed quote, it stated the following “if your phone gets wet, place it in a bag a rice. The rice will attract Asians who will fix our phone for you” I have always stereotyped all Asians as being great with technology. I feel like most Asians single story is that they are all the same, smart, hard working, really up to date with technology, and are trying to learn English. The truth of the matter, that isn't always the case. 

            I will openly admit that I often view Asian students through their single story described above. One must think about how many uniquely different people there are in Asian countries, and how different they view themselves from one another. I wonder if they view Americans in a similar sort of manner.  I’m sure that relative stereotypes that exist.  I believe that communication really strengthens their single story. It is really hard to get to know someone and their unique individuality if they struggle to speak the same language.

            I feel like all single stories start with some sort of disconnection, whether that’s is a disconnection from reality, or like my Asian student example, a language disconnection. To avoid single stories, we must do our best to avoid being disconnected with other cultures and people. Stereotypes can be dangerous and make us look life fools. Although some people might fit their stereotypes (some Asians are really good with technology) we must strive to be aware, and to see people more than just one single story.