H2
text type: article
Assignments
1.
Outline the changes in relationships and communication brought about by social media as well as the associated risks.
20%
2.
Analyse the means and strategies Bogost employs to convince the readers to reduce their social media usage and to create awareness of the dangers social media pose for society.
40%
3.
Choose one of the following tasks:
3.1
You have read Bogost’s article and are convinced that the author’s idea “Wouldn't it just be better if fewer people posted less stuff, less frequently, and if smaller audiences saw it?” is an unrealistic approach to tackle the problem. You decide to write a letter to the editor in which you explain what kind of knowledge and skills people need to use social media responsibly and what society can do to support responsible and safe usage.
Write the letter to the editor. Use the quotation as a starting point and include your background knowledge.
3.2
“Technology and social media have brought power back to the people.”
Comment on this statement.
40%
“People Aren’t Meant to Talk This Much”
by Ian Bogost
1
[...] Your social life has a biological limit: 150. That’s the number – Dunbar’s number,
2
proposed by the British psychologist Robin Dunbar three decades ago – of people with
3
whom you can have meaningful relationships. [...]
4
We can reasonably expect to develop up to 150 productive bonds, but we have our most
5
intimate, and therefore most connected, relationships with only about five to 15 closest
6
friends. We can maintain much larger networks, but only by compromising the quality
7
or sincerity of those connections; most people operate in much smaller social circles.
8
Some critics have questioned Dunbar’s conclusion, calling it deterministic and even
9
magical. Still, the general idea is intuitive, and it has stuck. And yet, the dominant
10
container for modern social life – the social network – does anything but respect
11
Dunbar’s premise. Online life is all about maximizing the quantity of connections without
12
much concern for their quality. On the internet, a meaningful relationship is one that
13
might offer diversion or utility, not one in which you divulge secrets and offer support.
14
A lot is wrong with the internet, but much of it boils down to this one problem: We are
15
all constantly talking to one another. Take that in every sense. Before online tools, we
16
talked less frequently, and with fewer people. The average person had a handful of
17
conversations a day, and the biggest group she spoke in front of was maybe a wedding
18
reception or a company meeting, a few hundred people at most. Maybe her statement
19
would be recorded, but there were few mechanisms for it to be amplified and spread
20
around the world, far beyond its original context.
21
Online media gives the everyperson access to channels of communication previously
22
reserved for Big Business. [...] Finally, people could publish writing, images, videos, and
23
other material without first getting the endorsement of publishers or broadcasters.
24
Ideas spread freely beyond borders.
25
And we also received a toxic dump of garbage. The ease with which connections can be
26
made – along with the way that, on social media, close friends look the same as
27
acquaintances or even strangers – means any post can successfully appeal to people’s
28
worst fears, transforming ordinary folks into radicals. That’s what YouTube did to the
29
Christchurch shooter, what conspiracy theorists preceding QAnon did to the
30
Pizzagaters, what Trumpists did to the Capitol rioters. And, closer to the ground, it’s
31
how random Facebook messages scam your mother, how ill-thought tweets ruin lives,
32
how social media has made life in general brittle and unforgiving.
33
It's long past time to question a fundamental premise of online life: What if people
34
shouldn’t be able to say so much, and to so many, so often? [...]
35
The capacity to reach an audience some of the time became contorted into the right to
36
reach every audience all of the time. The rhetoric about social media started to assume
37
an absolute liberty always to be heard; any effort to constrain or limit users’ ability to
38
spread ideas devolved into nothing less than censorship. But there is no reason to
39
believe that everyone should have immediate and constant access to everyone else in
40
the world at all times.
41
My colleague Adrienne LaFrance has named the fundamental assumption, and danger,
42
of social media megascale: “not just a very large user base, but a tremendous one,
43
unprecedented in size.” Technology platforms such as Facebook assume that they
44
deserve a user base measured in the billions of people – and then excuse their misdeeds
45
by noting that effectively controlling such an unthinkably large population is impossible.
46
But technology users, including Donald Trump and your neighbors, also assume that
47
they can and should taste the spoils of megascale. The more posts, the more followers,
48
the more likes, the more reach, the better. This is how bad information spreads,
49
degrading engagement into calamity the more attention it accrues. This isn’t a side
50
effect of social media’s misuse, but the expected outcome of its use. As the media
51
scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan puts it, the problem with Facebook is Facebook.
52
So far, controlling that tidal wave of content has been seen as a task to be carried out
53
after the fact. Companies such as Facebook employ (or outsource) an army of content
54
moderators, whose job involves flagging objectionable material for suppression. That
55
job is so terrible that it amounts to mental and emotional trauma. And even then, the
56
whole affair is just whack-a-mole, stamping out one offending instance only for it to
57
reappear elsewhere, perhaps moments later. Determined to solve computing’s
58
problems with more computing, social-media companies are also trying to use
59
automated methods to squelch or limit posts, but too many people post too many
60
variations, and AI isn’t sufficiently discerning for the techniques to work effectively. [...].
61
Wouldn’t it just be better if fewer people posted less stuff, less frequently, and if smaller
62
audiences saw it?
Weiter lernen mit SchulLV-PLUS!
monatlich kündbarSchulLV-PLUS-Vorteile im ÜberblickDu hast bereits einen Account?
Note:
Our solutions are listed in bullet points. In the examination, full marks can only be achieved by writing a continuous text. It must be noted that our conclusions contain only some of the possible aspects. Students can also find a different approach to argumentation.
Our solutions are listed in bullet points. In the examination, full marks can only be achieved by writing a continuous text. It must be noted that our conclusions contain only some of the possible aspects. Students can also find a different approach to argumentation.
1.
- Social media boost the number of contacts : close friends mix with casual acquaintances and stranger.
- Online relationships are predominantly focused on distraction or utility, and less on trust and support.
- Constantly interacting online and increasing the number of communications.
- Content can be shared worldwide and far beyond its original context.
Relationship and communication shifts induced by social media
- Seeking attention/obsession with “likes” and “followers".
- Internet criminality and cyberbullying due to insufficient or lack of control.
- Spreading misinformation and conspiracy (and radicalizing large groups).
- Job of content moderators demanding/ potentially damaging.
Risks involved
2.
- The author uses straightforward statements, direct engagement, and a focus on a specific statistic to highlight that online interactions often surpass the number of meaningful relationships people can realistically maintain.
“People Aren’t Meant to Talk This Much” (title)
- Inclusive language, comparative and superlative structures, and positively charged words emphasize the importance of close friendships.
- Judgmental phrasing, a negatively connoted adjective, and a generalization, supported by the use of a colon, simplify the complex issue of online communication.
- The article concludes with another rhetorical question, paired with a conditional and a comparative structure, reiterating the proposed solution: “Wouldn’t it just be better if fewer people posted less stuff, less frequently, and if smaller audiences saw it?” (l. 61-62).
Encouraging readers to minimize their social media activity
- Metaphors, comparisons, superlatives, and negatively charged nouns vividly illustrate the harmful effects of online platforms:
- The threat to democracy is underscored through enumeration, tricolons, parallel sentence structures, and personification, referencing past events:
- A similar structure—using enumeration, negatively connoted verbs and adjectives, direct address, and personification—depicts the risks to individuals and society, appealing to the reader’s sense of personal concern: “And closer to the ground, it’s how random Facebook messages scam your mother, how ill-thought tweets ruin lives, how social media has made life in general brittle and unforgiving.” (l. 30-32).
- The uncontrollable nature of social media and the toll it takes on those tasked with moderation are conveyed through metaphors and negatively connoted terms:
Raising awareness of the potential dangers of social media for society
3.1
Letter to the Editor
Ian Bogost’s suggestion — “Wouldn’t it just be better if fewer people posted less stuff, less frequently, and if smaller audiences saw it? ”—oversimplifies the challenges of social media. Instead of limiting activity, we need to empower users with the skills to engage responsibly and foster societal support for safer online spaces.
Introduction
- Understand risks like privacy breaches, cyberbullying, and misinformation.
- Develop critical thinking to fact-check, verify sources, and identify misinformation.
- Practice respectful communication, considering the impact of posts on others.
- Foster self-regulation by building healthy online habits, prioritizing offline connections, and taking regular breaks.
- Parents: Engage in open discussions about social media risks and provide age-appropriate guidance.
- Schools: Introduce digital literacy programs and train teachers to guide students.
- Communities: Host workshops and discussions to raise awareness and offer support.
- Social media platforms must enforce policies against harmful behavior, improve moderation tools, and ensure transparent reporting systems.
- Influencers should model ethical behavior, share balanced content, and promote authenticity.
Main body
Only through a joint effort can we create a digital environment that fosters responsibility, safety, and meaningful interactions.
Sincerely, ....
Conclusion
3.2
- The rise of technology and social media has transformed communication and reshaped societal structures globally.
- Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have made it easier than ever for individuals to share information, connect, and mobilize for causes.
- This democratization of access to information and freedom of expression has given people unprecedented influence, fostering political, social, and economic change.
- However, the extent to which this power is truly distributed to individuals remains a point of debate, with both opportunities and challenges emerging in the digital landscape.
Introduction
- Technology and social media have revolutionized connectivity, enabling people across the globe to interact and collaborate despite geographical and cultural differences.
- These platforms democratize access to information, empowering individuals to stay informed and participate in global conversations without relying on traditional media outlets.
- Freedom of speech is enhanced, as social media facilitates sharing experiences, opinions, and ideas while building online communities around shared causes.
- Social media amplifies marginalized voices, providing platforms for advocacy and social change (e.g., BLM, LGBTQ+ movements).
- Political engagement thrives as social media helps organize movements, foster political discourse, and ensure transparency through citizen journalism.
- Entrepreneurial opportunities expand with cost-effective marketing for small businesses and start-ups, creating new economic possibilities.
- Consumer empowerment grows, as direct communication and online reviews push businesses to be more ethical and responsive.
Arguments in favor of the thesis
- Digital inequality persists, as not everyone has equal access to technology and the internet, worsening socio-economic disparities.
- Government control and censorship can suppress dissent, limiting the freedom of expression and undermining the potential for political activism.
- Social media platforms are prone to manipulation, spreading misinformation and creating echo chambers that polarize opinions.
- Algorithmic bias perpetuates stereotypes, reducing exposure to diverse viewpoints and reinforcing filter bubbles.
- Privacy concerns arise from the collection and monetization of personal data, which is often exploited by corporations.
Arguments against the thesis
- Technology and social media have undeniably empowered individuals by fostering connectivity, amplifying voices, and enabling civic engagement.
- However, significant challenges like digital inequality, misinformation, and surveillance limit their potential to fully redistribute power to the people.
- Addressing these obstacles through collective efforts, equitable access, and responsible governance can ensure that technology and social media truly empower society.
Conclusion