Category Archives: Social Media

Tik-Tok-BOOM

I’ve been swamped lately, and one of your peers, Naomi Simpson, has offered to help construct blogs that can stimulate productive argument. Kudos to Naomi! Here’s her first proffering: On March 13th, the United States House of Representatives passed a … Continue reading

Posted in National Politics, Pop Culture, Social Media | 1 Comment

Lies, Damned Lies, and Social Media

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding whether or not social media platforms have the right to moderate content. First Amendment purists seem to believe that such platforms have become the equivalent to a 19th Century town square; … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Social Media, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Vindicated

Back in the Dark Ages, talking with a friend on the phone required me to use a landline, which meant being in the kitchen because the phone there had a 20-foot chord that allowed me to pace as I spoke. … Continue reading

Posted in Social Media | 15 Comments

What’s Real?

Imagine a classroom where a student gets so sucked into Mech Arena that he doesn’t hear the teacher ask him a question. What’s more real to the student: the classroom, where he’s surrounded by other members of his own species, … Continue reading

Posted in Ethics, Science, Social Media | 14 Comments

Seeking Organizational Advice

Next week, I plan to order 15 new podcasting mics for students in the podcasting course to use. This will address the biggest criticism of the course from last year: that I had way too few mics to accommodate the … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Social Media | 19 Comments

Balances of Power

Students have watched closely as Russia invaded a neighbor in a manner every bit as brazen as the start of the world’s last thirty-year war, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Some have worried whether or not other nations will be pulled … Continue reading

Posted in National Politics, Social Media | 7 Comments

Doing vs. Having

American literature students who have read Thoreau generally remember two things about Walden: that Thoreau spent $28.125 building his cabin, and that he deemed the four necessaries of life to be food, fuel, shelter, and clothing. Cell phones did not … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Social Media | 18 Comments

You Have the Right to Stay Silent

Last month, a tenured professor of English I know posted the following comment on the social media page of an elected official who wanted public input on Covid-19 vaccination policies. “At this point, as vicious as it sounds,” she wrote, … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Pop Culture, Science, Social Media | 22 Comments

Where Do We Go From Here?

In this evening’s 60 Minutes interview, former president Barak Obama pushed back against the notion that politicians and social media are solely to blame for the bitterness displayed during the recent election cycle. I think he’s being too nice. Once … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Social Media | 17 Comments

The Internet and Privacy

Earlier this week, Congress sent to Pres. Trump a bill that would allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to sell data regarding users’ searches and browsing history to third-party advertisers. This made me wonder, once again, what expectations computer users should … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in National Politics, Pop Culture, Social Media | 38 Comments