6 Matching Annotations
  1. Last 7 days
  2. social-media-ethics-automation.github.io social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
    1. W3Schools. Introduction to HTML. URL: https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp (visited on 2023-11-24).

      This source provides a foundational summary of HyperText Markup Language (HTML), explaining that it is the standard markup language for creating web pages by describing the structure of a webpage through a series of elements. A key detail from the source is that HTML elements tell the browser how to display content, using tags like

      for headings and

      for paragraphs to label pieces of content.

    1. Open a social media interface (not the one you’ve been working with) and choose a view (e.g., a list of posts, an individual post, an author page etc.). First identify as many pieces of information you can see the screen (without doing anything). For each piece of information: What data types might be used to represent that data on a computer? How is this data a simplification of reality? That is, what does it not capture? Who does it work best for, and who does it not work well for? Did the user(s) directly provide that data, or was it collected automatically by the social media site?

      On Instagram, a single post distills complex human experiences into a structured collection of Strings (usernames and captions), Integers (like counts), DateTimes (relative post age), and Binary/Blob data (the image or video itself). These digital artifacts act as a significant simplification of reality by flattening three-dimensional, multi-sensory moments into a 2D frame that lacks the physical context, emotional depth, or the "unfiltered" events occurring just outside the camera's view. This system works exceptionally well for "influencers" and brands who benefit from highly curated, aesthetic-first storytelling that drives rapid engagement.

    1. 3.5. Activity: Find Lists of Bots# In order to get more of a sense of what bots are out there, try searching for social media bots and see what you can find. Try strategies like: Google: “Most useful Instagram bots” Google: “Funniest Twitter bots” Read through the Reddit “botwatch” subreddit [c35] Read through a list of registered bots on Wikipedia [c36] 3.5.1. Reflection Questions:# What bots do you find surprising? What bots do you like? What bots do you dislike?

      Several surprising bots focus on transparency, such as NYPDedits, which monitors Wikipedia for anonymous edits coming from police department IP addresses to ensure institutional accountability. Among the bots users often like are helpful utility tools, such as Musico Bot on Discord for shared listening experiences, or customer service bots that provide 24-hour support. Conversely, many dislike antagonistic bots that are designed for deception, such as those used for spamming or artificially manipulating public opinion. Ultimately, because these bots lack human intent, their actions are viewed as technical functions of their programming rather than personal choices, which shifts the moral weight of their behavior onto the developers who run them.

    1. How are people’s expectations different for a bot and a “normal” user? Choose an example social media bot (find on your own or look at Examples of Bots (or apps).) What does this bot do that a normal person wouldn’t be able to, or wouldn’t be able to as easily? Who is in charge of creating and running this bot? Does the fact that it is a bot change how you feel about its actions

      Expectations for bots focus on efficiency, speed, and rigid adherence to code, whereas normal users are expected to possess empathy, social nuance, and accountability for their "intent." For example, a unit conversion bot can scan thousands of posts to provide instant metric offsets that a task a human could not perform at that scale without extreme fatigue. These bots are typically managed by independent developers who use APIs to automate actions. Because a bot lacks personal will, we often view its errors as technical bugs rather than moral failings, shifting the ethical responsibility back to the person who created or ran the program.

  3. Apr 2026
    1. How often do you hear phrases like “social media isn’t real life”? How do you think about the relationship between social media and “real life”?

      How often do I hear someonthing along the lines of "social media isn't real life." Actually very often. It was a running joke in my friend group so much so that one of my friends made his bio "Instagram isn't real life." On some levels, I agree to this statement, and on others, I totally disagree. The things that people do and say on social media have adverse effects on their real-life circumstances. For example, the lady who lost her job because of a racist tweet. That had a real-world effect. On another level, the things people post sometimes just aren't reality. The unrealistic beauty standards for teens and young people are so far beyond what reality is that it tarnishes people's self-image and can lead to depression and alienation.

    1. Why did so many people see it? How did it spread? What enabled someone to be able to get a photo of her checking the phone at the airport?

      I believe that the reason so many people saw the tweet was that it was fringe in nature. Social media doesn't push out the most sensible takes. It shows the ones that get a reaction out of people. Then there was a snowball effect on the tweet, as it got more traction, it reached a wider and wider audience. I bet most people didn't even see the original tweet first. They saw someone who tweeted about the tweet. That's how the virality of social media works.