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How Much Harm Can Gazing Do?
More than you know.
I’ve always been more of a looker than a joiner. I’d rather watch sports than play them, listen to conversations rather than join them. It’s part of my introverted personality.
When I started my last year of grad school last fall, I threw myself headfirst into the idea of the gaze. Particularly, how it’s functionality has changed so drastically in the last decade with the growth of social media algorithms.
This research forced me to take a good long look at how harmful gazing can be.
Defining the Gaze
Do you know what’s really hard to define? Looking.
Trust me. I wrote a whole thesis about it and still have issues defining it in a concise manner. My elevator pitch sounds more like an elevator drop. The trouble I encountered when trying to define the gaze can be (and most definitely will be) an article all on its own.
For now, the condensed version is the gaze is the act of looking at an object with judgment. Just know that there’s so much more that goes into that definition.
How is it problematic?
It’s no secret that we’re living in interesting times. Between COVID-19 and active BLM protests…
