In Favour!This is a question and answer article, interviewing Danah Boyd, a researcher who advocates for children using social media. It is important to note that while she is strongly in favour of children using technology, her work is funded by Microsoft. Boyd has recently authored a book and speaks about her qualitative research.
Memorable Quote: “(teens) want to be in public. But that doesn’t mean that they want to be public.”
Memorable Quote: “The Internet didn't cause our civic disengagement. We were well on our way to civic disengagement when Bill Gates was in grade school.” This is an article explaining that Facebook now has 50 different gendered terms and 3 pronoun choices when customizing your profile. This is an impressive step in the right direction, towards inclusivity and honouring peoples’ identities. This speaks to how important it is for people to be able to display the gender expression they identify with on their online profiles. Memorable Quote: "We applaud Facebook for making it possible for people to be their authentic selves online”
Memorable Quote: “there are real benefits to kids using sites like Facebook, including increased communication, access to information and help in developing a sense of self...Just as we prepare our kids for life in the real world, we should prepare them for life in the online world."
Memorable Quote: “We need to remember that the way we use technology and think about it is more important then the technology itself!”
Memorable Quote: “bridges the particularly awkward gap between personal diary and the public performance of self which makes it both trivial and important... maybe not important to you, but definitely to at least one person. The person who put it on Facebook hoping to advertise a specific idea, opinion, event, or who knows what else, or maybe more significantly, create a browsable digital self that they can use to gain a clearer understanding of where they've been and therefore who they are.” Video:
Memorable Quote: “Exploration is part of growing up, the online world just makes this experimentation a lot more interactive.” Video:
Memorable Quote: “It’s this open place, raw unfiltered... it is endangered because we are moving towards social networking, towards persistent identity, a lack of privacy really and we’re losing something valuable.” Video:
Memorable Quote: “Facebook profiles really do reflect our actual personality.” Video: |
Opposed!... or hesitant at least
Memorable Quote: “behind it lies a different kind of thinking—perhaps even a new sense of the self”
Memorable Quote: “The identity I stole was a fake! Boy, you just can’t trust people these days!” This article focuses on the complex layers of identity the internet permits us to have. It begins by discussing the positive aspects of anonymity including being able to voice things that otherwise would have put peoples’ lives at risk. But there are two major disadvantages: firstly, most of the online “hate” we see is a result of the inability to track a person's real life identity. Conversly, as we shift towards using our actual identities online, everything we do is permanent, from teenage mistakes, to accidental posts. (See video by Enriquez) Memorable Quote: “The offending individual hides behind a pseudonym, masking his or her true identity and protecting themselves from the repercussions of their actions.” Please view VIDEO at this link This article discusses the “isms” that are amplified by lack of accountability online. There are hundreds, thousands of abuse reports reported daily, posts by people typing aggressively under a false identity. It is argued that we need to shift from the anonymous bully to fostering public accountability. The author interviews two active online posters, contrasting their stories and opinions. Memorable Quote: “The pros of hosting a robust, freewheeling conversation had become outweighed by the cons of all the venom and nastiness, by people who are allowed to name-call without any obligation to reveal their own names.” King is an online Editor of independent.co.uk who wrote this letter as an explanation to the website’s policy changes. Due to the abuse of pseudonym commenters, they have had to change their sign in to connect with verified social media accounts for accountability. Memorable Quote: “Message boards have become havens for a level of crudity, bigotry, meanness and plain nastiness that shocks the tattered remnants of our propriety.”
Memorable Quote: “My generation will be the last one to remember life before the Internet.”
Memorable Quote: “Social media complicates interpersonal relationships in that it can seduce the user into thinking that online and in-person communication are the same.”
Memorable Quote: “the only people who will be racist online are, 1) people who are openly racist in the real world too, and 2) dumb teenagers who are short-sighted and solipsistic.”
Memorable Quote: “14 year old me really had no idea about internet safety... I guess that’s why when I googled myself I was shocked!” Video:
Memorable Quote: “You can only be anonymous for 15 minutes... and are therefor very close to immortality... How else can one threaten other than with death?..... Immortality.” Video: |