DigitalDigger

 I really struggled, initially, to find a comment war because 1. I'm not on facebook anymore and refuse to reactivate. It's a bit too much of a cesspool. 2. I think comment moderation is really strong on the platforms I use or the accounts I follow on instagram. and 3. Even posts on reddit's homepage have sort of turned into an echo chamber. Anything negative was so buried I couldn't find it, and I wanted some obvious arguments at the top of a post. So after some thought I suddenly remembered what kinds of posts I often see the most vitriol and unprovoked negative comments and that is... *drum roll* ... Women's sports! ESPN's instagram used to be a terrible place to read the comments on women's sports but I think they have moderators now that are really locking down on negative comments about women. Athletic women, especially ones with short hair, are pretty common targets on social media. Ilona Maher is an American Rugby player that was featured on the cove...

The Toulmin method breaks arguments into six parts: claim, data, warrant, backing, qualifier, and rebuttal. For example, if someone claims , “Renewable energy is the best solution to the energy crisis,” the grounds  might include stats on energy efficiency, and the warrant would connect those stats to reducing carbon emissions. Backing could come from scientific studies, qualifiers might add phrases like, “in most cases” or "many" and rebuttals could bring up issues like storage or availability. The Toulmin method makes arguments more logical and balanced, which can improve conversations and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings online. Using the Toulmin method online can have its challenges. There’s so much information out there, and online spaces can be emotional or filled with echo chambers. It’s hard to find good data and harder to get people to consider opposing views. It’s important to practice critical thinking, check sources, and stay open-minded. Slowing down and u...

Rabbit Hole is a podcast hosted by The New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose and produced by The New York Times. The podcast is an 8-part narrative that explores how the internet is changing and how that is effecting society, specifically through radicalization. It tracks the story of Caleb Cain, a young man with moderate political views who initially uses Youtube to watch video game content but is pulled deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, as it's called. (Roose, 2020) The rabbit hole is the effect on users who use the internet for research or entertainment but end up delving deeper and deeper into increasingly similar content. In the context of rabbit hole and youtube, it describes far-right radicalization taking place via YouTube's algorithms. Caleb's interest in online gaming content quickly spirals into politically charged material on Youtube. Youtube is specifically designed to keep users engaged for longer periods of time by suggesting content to maintain ma...

I would say in the last 15-20 years, the online landscape has dramatically changed the dynamics of public opinion formation and communication strategies. Online communication makes publishing of information 100% accessible to literally everyone for essentially the cost of nothing. When print media was at the forefront of communication you had to adhere to, at the bare minimum, professional and then ethical standards for any publishing company to back you. Of course you could print your own pamphlets or newsletters or what have you, at your own cost, but you could only share those with so many people and maybe they would share it with someone else. Print media was slow, costly, and selective. The implications of the rapid dissemination of information from anyone online can be quite damaging. Someone doesn't even need to disclose their identity, meaning they don't need to stand behind their name and face, in order to share information or misinformation online. I think removing yo...