Preamble: In this section I'd like to give a brief overview of the context of this particular event, but also an equally brief overview of the conversation going on about social media. Unfortunately, this is a new area of study for me (although I think it is also the new direction I'll be going for my dissertation) so I am a bit scholar/resource light. However, I know just from the news, social media (yes, I acknowledge the irony there), and through my husband (who is much more up to date on current events than I) that social media is seen as having great potential in disaster scenarios. However, my perspective is that it can also induce panic, as it did in this (and other) situations. So, I want to quickly cover that with a few recent incidents and hopefully a scholar or two. (Suggestions are appreciated.)
The Dialectic/Questions: If I'm understanding the directions, I think that my question can remain larger (Is there serious risk of social media, like Twitter, to make certain situations worse?). But I'm afraid this may be too broad/general. Thoughts? But if my question is broader, then my example and discussion can be about this specific example that I want to explore. Or should I ask my question about the specific example? (Is it possible to counteract panic spread on social media? Should underage social media users be monitored by parents/schools/etc to avoid harmful behaviors?) I'm also trying to think about what might be most beneficial to me moving towards my dissertation.
Regardless, I think most of my dialectic will be about the specific high school incident, which means I should address questions like these:
- If rhetoric really is a blend of knowledge and action (Bacon??) then why is social media seen as so effective at causing action? (Or should this be my initial question?!)
- What is an example of this? ALS challenge, disaster preparation, Twitter chatter-lead panic regarding a clearly dissolved bomb threat.
- How else could we interpret this scenario?
- What do you think causes this to happen?
- What are some of the long-term effects?
- What should we do to change this or can it be changed?
I guess at this stage, my biggest concern (unless you see something that is off base here) is getting my initial question down. I tend to think too big for these sorts of things. I am also trying to work towards a "so what?" in terms of this assignment, my presentation, and my dissertation. I see thing thing happening, but I'm not sure what I want to argue about it, so I'm' still working on this aspect.
One word: ebola. Nothing has sent people into more panic recently.
ReplyDelete"Is there serious risk of social media, like Twitter, to make certain situations worse?"
If you pick a very specific situation (like ebola), I think your broad question will refine itself because you're framing the boundaries. If you choose, say, bomb threat I would refine again like "bomb threats in public schools." This will also help you answer the "so what" question - especially as a parent.
I would love to read more about this particular high school that was involved in panic to the point of missing many classes. Maybe you can send me a link. Of course, there is a lot of thinking right now about a bola and panic. There are many who try to profit on other people's fears. I find that very dissed tasteful of course. But it happens on many levels, including untenured professors. Think carefully about the shift of emphasis in rhetoric and rhetorical theory from and if it says on the word or logos or rationality, to that of the reader or affective or reception theory. Certainly there is a shift from deductive to inductive reasoning in which plays a role. Are these
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