Fix the Internet by Exposing Injustices
My agreeability with and respect for Boykis’ piece “Fix the internet by writing good stuff and being nice to people” was cut short rather early in the post. Specifically, in a paragraph where she suggested a possibility of showing sympathy to a man who sexually assaulted a women. Questioning if a woman live tweeting her assault by this man was right in doing so, though rhetorically, was jarring. I believe this use of Twitter exemplifies one of the positive contributions of social media to greater society. I am of the opinion that a man groping a woman deserves to be publicly exposed to the entirety of the internet, that he deserves to have his “whole reputation ruined” (Boykis para. 13). While her opinion on this matter was not directly voiced, to even suggest something as absurd as a sexual assault victim doing wrong in exposing her abuser was distasteful.
The concept of the internet capitalising on our thoughts, content and time, however, is one I do agree with. “Our information is fragmented, hyperbolized, littered with advertising” (Boykis para. 24)
Boykis however suggests that the solution to this is to normalise paying for high quality information from trustworthy sites, following this with a list of ways we can “fight against bad content”, including a point that states “share good content.” I disagree with her suggestions - we regular individuals are constantly given the burden that actually belongs to media conglomerates and billionaires who are misusing their money simply on the basis of not directing it towards creating a social environment that values truth and doesn’t promote meaningless scrolling/internet addiction.
So, no. I don’t think we have to be nicer to people (although it wouldn’t hurt) or write “good stuff” to better the internet. I think it we need to advocate for the reconstruction of internet platforms to stop valuing shock factor and monetisation above all else. Instead they should create an environment where information is clear in its distinction between fact and opinion and facilitates open discussion without the echo chambers caused by targeted algorithms that seem to only become more intense as time goes by. And, we should use it’s virality to continue to expose the world’s injustices, such as the one aforementioned.
Vicki Boykis, Fix the internet by writing good stuff and being nice to people (Woman.Legend.Blog)
