U3 Economics and Finance student @mcgillu | #musical fan | Love traveling, photography, reading | Amateur movie reviewer | Always find sunshine in the rain☀️
It is a way that brings strangers together, gathers people and inspiration, and it can be really powerful sometimes. We are also having access to various information that is unattainable offline. So I think as long as one has a good balance, the benefits overweigh. #315WeekTwelve
Finding the right balance seems particularly important. Over-relying on online activities could make people indifferent to reality. Living in a virtual world can be terrifying. But online participation does have a lot of benefits. #315WeekTwelve
"Always-on" has already been a habit. The first thing I do every morning is to check all the hot hits. During the pandemic, the only way to connect to people is via the internet. Not wanting to feel like being abandoned, I pay even attention to social media. #315WeekTwelve
I really resonate with Boyd's "always-on lifestyle", and the pandemic only enhanced it. Due to the affordance of the internet, I particularly don't want to miss any information. #315WeekTwelve
Totally agree. There's always this pressure of being left behind. Since I don't want to be the odd man or feel isolated, I tend to have "always on" tension. #315WeekTwelve
So it's interesting that sometimes I saw useful information on Wikipedia, but then I need to find the same piece of information from another source just because Wikipedia cannot be viewed as a sound or solid source. #315WeekEleven
My relationship with Wikipedia is quite complicated. While it is always the first and most direct source I turn to for research, I have been told several times that this is not an applicable source in a serious manner. #315WeekEleven
I totally agree with Lazer's view of the prevalence of fake news. Digital platforms enable broader people to create news at a low cost, and social media affordances spread the information at a rapid speed. #315fakenews
Moreover, people can see and respond to such information more easily. A couple of tapping and scrolling is all it takes. This helps spread the content further. And admittedly, such low cost makes people think less before taking action.
Shortly, other social news came out and people forgot about all this, but actually what has been done to the teacher could not be wiped away that simply.
My most memorable personal exposure to fake news is: a few years ago, a mother of an elementary school kid accused a teacher of abusing her child on Chinese social media, with bloody pictures and some chat history as evidence. #315fakenews
However, as police investigated it, it turned out the woman made up most of the evidence and distorted the truth. Then people quickly switched the target and did the same thing to the woman.
I really resonate with the pop culture fan activism. There has been this "crazy", unusually strong solidarity in fan groups, especially in Asia. Celebrities have a tremendous influence on their fans, particularly among the younger ones. #315WeekEight
One recent incidence is that right now is just in time for South Korea's general election. I read that many South Korean celebrities are being extremely careful with their words, clothing, etc, not to be misinterpreted as alluding to a party or impacting election using their fame
Within the fan groups, there are always leaders that organize activities and votings for various rankings. Fans would typically unite together, doing what the leaders say. If the celebrity himself appears and takes a position on some subject, then the impact would be even greater
My friends and I do use a variety of memes and gifs, images of Black people included. I think we were just focusing on if the meme fits the mood without thinking deeper. Jackson's argument really triggers my awareness that sometimes we are crossing the boundary. #315WeekSeven