This article describes the often-used trope of the "White Man's Burden" in media. This talks about the trope in which a person of color is taken in by a white individual or family and "saved." This perpetuates problematic stereotypes that people of color need help from white people and are unable to help themselves.

Americans are often criticized for their individualistic mindsets, so in different cultures, there might be more community-based social media sites.

This article goes over Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook's mission to get more people on Earth connected via the internet. This article begins with a description of Mark Zuckerberg's personality and history.

It was difficult to decide if some of the posts were harmful/dangerous or encouraged fun or funny content. Oftentimes, the results of these decisions created backlash from the users as they found them to lenient or too strict.

This article follows the aftermath of the #MeToo movement about a year after its pique influence. This article compares the process of the men who were called out as predators during this time, making public apologies to Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah that emphasize repentance and atonement.

I believe the most important factor in making an instance of public shaming bad is the intent behind the people doing the public shaming. If they have a genuine desire to see the person they are criticizing do better and want to teach them to be better, I can see where they are coming from. However, as this chapter says, large groups engaging in public shaming often do not have these types of positive intentions and instead just want to see the demise of someone they assume to be "bad."

This article shares the story of a woman who has had an internet stalker since the age of 12. She recounts the way she first met her stalker in her youth when they formed a friendship at summer camp. She then goes on to explain how she pulled away from their relationship after they communicated online for a few years, but he continued to reach out to her via social media and text message. His messages became more threatening and resulted in him making active efforts to interfere with her social and professional life. She accounts that despite her efforts to get law enforcement involved, they were little to no help.

This occurrence demonstrates the complexities of cancel culture and how it can be ineffective. In instances like this, people often see morally wrong doings occur and want to find ways to create justice for the situation, a noble act. However, sending mass hate or negativity to an individual usually does not result in them adjusting their beliefs or changing their lifestyle. It often results in insincere apologies issued to save face or stop hate. In this example, Dr. Palmer was not truly apologetic for his actions; he just wanted to end the hate coming his way. He did not learn from the experience, as he did the same thing 5 years after his first incident.

This article covers a positive case of crowd sourcing in which a photographer spontaneously captured a beautiful proposal between a couple she did not know. She used Twitter to find this couple and share with them the photos she took. Many Twitter users made an effort to make her post viral in order for the post to reach the couple.

I think moderating instances of crowdsurfing could help encourage good crowdsurfing rather than bad. I figure it is pretty easy for an online platform to track when there is a large number of users engaging in a singular activity. Using moderators to gauge whether this activity is positive or negative could be helpful.

This article goes into the difficulties Facebook moderators face in their profession, led by the accounts of one specific worker who faced mental health issues after being forced to enter her office during COVID. Her account highlights the lack of consideration of the higher-ups, who are the bosses of the moderators have for their employees.

Trying the moderating simulator showed me the difficulties of working under the pressure of a time constraint. Having the time I could spend carefully reading each issue, limited to a few seconds, made it very hard for me to properly comprehend the dilemmas at hand.

This article defines doomsurfing/scrolling as the act of obsessively reading scary or dystopian news online or on social media. Since this article was published in 2023, I feel that the term "doom scrolling" has evolved into something that applies beyond the political space. Doom scrolling can refer to any type of pointless, seemingly endless use of social media or phone time.

Social media is often very distracting for me and can make me very unproductive. This lack of productivity, especially because I am a student, often makes me very anxious, making it bad for my mental health. Since going to college, I have been separated from many of my best friends. Their activity on social media allows me to stay in touch with them, which brings me joy, bettering my mental health.

This type of content reminds me a lot of what we have learned about trolling. This type of non-sensical reaction-evoking content, often called rage bait, is made to prompt viewers to interact with the content and ultimately make the creator more money by getting them more views. I think it is interesting how emotionally invested people get in non-consequential, silly content that doesn't truly affect them.

I know there is a lot of content posted online that is created by people stealing others' work without crediting them. I don't think this is a just way to create content. When people's work is being reposted, I believe it should be credited as such. I have noticed some content creators adding watermarks over their videos to ensure people know where their content came from, despite the ways it is distributed. I think this is a simple way to ensure attribution.

This article outlines how retail companies, in this example, Target, collect customers' data and make assumptions about their personal lives based on what they are buying. This information has shocked and scared customers based on the accuracy of the data and the non-consensual nature of the way these companies are collecting this data.

I love to cook, and I also have celiac disease, which means I can't eat gluten. I've had a good experience with social media sites providing recommendations, such as my Instagram explore page, which often shows me gluten-free dinner or dessert recipes that I actually try and use.

This article defines the condition of tetrachromacy. Tetrachromacy is a variation in a gene that is involved in the development of the retina, allowing people to see more colors than the average person.

This is an interesting aspect to consider, as it points out that the burden is usually put on the person with a disability to conform to the standards society has created for them. They are often ostracized for not fitting in the way they are "supposed to" and then must pay a monetary sum or emotional cost to adhere to societal standards. Thinking about disabled individuals when designing items and tools for public use is extremely important.

This article outlines the potential hazards and dangers of parents sharing photos and content of their children before they are old enough to consent. I believe this issue has only become more relevant since this article was published in 2020, with the rise of "family channels" and family-related content online. Parents are going beyond just sharing pictures; they are forcing their children into staged content, making them constantly perform the occurrences of their daily lives.

I find it interesting that this article was released in 2021, but the incidents cited took place in 2015. Does this mean these incidents in which Facebook employees abused their power were not open to the public for 6 years?

This article discusses recent advancements in AI to create technologies that can perform actions like identifying criminals and monitoring students' attention during class or tests via facial observation and recognition. This technology uses many problematic methods tied to phrenology and eugenics.

I found mine to be pretty accurate, as a lot of my online shopping takes place on my computer. Ads for a lot of the things I've been shopping for recently came up, as well as a list of my "interests." This makes me feel ok in some ways, as it makes it easier for me to find things for purchase that would interest me. However, it also worries me as it makes it easier for brands to target me with gouged prices, for example, with airline tickets.

This article gauges public opinion on the tweet posted by Jaboukie Young-White about Martin Luther King Day and asks the question of "funny or offensive?" to the website's viewers. An aspect of the article I found particularly interesting was a tweet in response to Jaboukie's saying, "Jaboukie got his account deleted in minutes for a legit joke, but an account I reported with the n-word in its header and tweets is still up 46 hours later." This says a lot about what type of content social media companies like Twitter or Instagram put their effort into censoring or banning.

I think this is an interesting distinction. I believe that women, particularly famous women or women in the public eye, probably experience trolling on social media more often than their male counterparts. There are clear similarities in behavior between trolls and abusers or stalkers, as this segment states, which makes me believe women are more directly affected by trolls.

One of the quotes that stood out to me was something said by Jacqueline Keeler of Pollen Nation about white and non-native individuals centering themselves around Native issues. She points out that it makes it even harder for Native American individuals to speak out when "frauds" are speaking for them. McLaughlin's choice to make her fake online persona a Native woman as a white woman is a startling and upsetting factor of this story.

I feel there are a few celebrities or internet personalities I feel a parasocial relation to. I love podcasts, especially the type in which people simply speak about their lives and opinions or tell jokes and comment on current affairs. I think that creating this type of content involves displaying your personality, or a part of your personality at least, on the internet. Consuming this content, it is easy to feel as though you know the individual you are watching and forget that the persona they are presenting is not their true offline personality.

This article explores the history of the subcommunity that has emerged from the social media platform, Twitter. "Black Twitter" has created a space where Black individuals can share their thoughts and experiences with a community of people from similar backgrounds.

Two ethics frameworks that would apply to the different ways social medias allow connections to others are Aztec Virtue Ethics and Relational Ethics. Each of these frameworks emphasize the importance of community and relationships to excel as an individual. The isolating nature of many social media sites directly opposes these philosophies. They would likely be against the individualized use of social media and advocate for not using social media or to use it in ways that help build or find community.

A detail from this source I found interesting was the implication that "ignorance has costs and benefits." The author argues that being unaware of some things allows us to live a life of joy; however, it also puts us in danger of being unable to understand new ideas and be successful as a society.

One example of pernicious ignorance that often comes from a place of good intention is sharing videos of violence in the name of spreading awareness, which can be psychologically damaging to those watching. During the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, this happened a lot. Many people, often white Americans, would reshare documentation of police brutality in an attempt to garner recognition for the cause, not considering the emotional and mental effects this would have on their African American friends or followers watching this footage. This specific example is a complex and often debated one, but it does show a lack of awareness of how this might affect some viewers.

This article describes the work of an app store ranking manipulation employee. The article describes this practice as something Apple has had issues with in the past. App developers looking for a high rating on their app hire individuals to delete and redownload apps on many different phones, strengthening their ranking.

I believe social media platforms allow the operation of bots for monetary reasons. The presence of bots on a social media site makes it appear as though there are more users on the platform. This makes it easier for brands to promote themselves to advertising companies, making them more money. Additionally, oftentimes users are not aware that they are talking to bots, making them quick to interact with the bots. This additional engagement is also good for the company's appearance.

Through further reading on Taoism, I have discovered that Taoists believe in spiritual immortality. Meaning they believe the spirit of the body joins the universe after death. This fact provides further explanation of the Taoist philosophy. Their faith in the universe seems to be rooted in their belief that they are a part of said universe.

More so than ever, the way people present online is drastically different from the realities of their daily lives, reinforcing the idea that "social media is not real life." However, the general public's relationship to social media has become more intertwined with what we consider "real life." Social media is now a part of almost every person's daily life. From consuming to posting, social media dictates the daily activities of many. What used to be a recreation enjoyed in passing is now, for a large part of our population, an indulgence that has real repercussions and effects. I believe the statement "social media isn't real life" is true to this day; however, it is dangerously regarded as real by many.