# my reading response sets ##

#### “Did Media Literacy Backfire” by Danah Boyd"

The article, “Did Media Literacy Backfire” by Danah Boyd was actually a really interesting read. The article opens up talking about the need for media literacy and the instance that sparked this debate being the 2016 elections and since the interference of outside forces on our U.S. election process, misinformation has been spreading pretty easily. An argument for the need of more fact-checking and labeling false sources should be needed in the media. Boyd then tells a small anecdote of how easily misinformation is spread and believed, bringing up a story of a young girl who believed you can't get pregnant until you are 16 and one can spread aids through kissing. It is really interesting because the younger generation is taught that Wikipedia is bad so it leads them to believe anything and or any source that pops up on Google that isn’t Wikipedia.

However, the main idea is that trusting what sources to trust is in fact basic literacy education!

What also does not aid in the progression of media literacy is the great responsibility given to younger generations that we are the sole proprietors of our own knowledge. Concepts like that prevent people from really wanting to immerse themselves in the skill of media literacy due to the big responsibility that comes with it. Since the 2016 election, everyone has been obsessed with the term, “fake news” and detecting which information is fake news. However, in order to fix that problem, Boyd suggests we just call for social media apps to start labeling fake content. What can also aid into the bigger problem of misinformation is that people do not like to challenge their biases and tend to believe information that already confirms their prior beliefs.

#### Joseph Reagle, 2015, Gossip,” Reading

I found your “Gossip” section in the article to be very interesting in the scope of human interaction and the evolution of societal interactions amongst humans over time. He opens up this section talking about the relative state of the term gossiping. Dunbar claims that gossiping is important to understanding humanity. Which was initially a very interesting take to me as where I come from, gossiping is looked down upon. However after further reading I learned that you understand gossiping as more of an, “evaluative social chat”. Dunbar argues that gossip requires a sophisticated type of social recognition also known as the “theory of the mind”. The “Theory of the Mind” is just the concept of interesting the mental state of others. Similar to the concept of “reading someone’s mind”.

I also noticed that the 2nd, 3rd, and fourth order of intentionality was mentioned during that reading section so I figured I would search up what the orders of intentionality means. The orders of intentionality are listed to help understand the complexity of mental states and how we understand and process conversations amongst each other. It is also mentioned occasionally throughout the reading how Dunbar uses the number 150 as the cognitive limit of how many relationships a human can maintain based on their complexity. 150 people was regarded as the ideal size of the Church of England’s congregation and 150 people is also the ideal size for early farming communities. 150 people seems to be the perfect amount of people to create a functioning group of people.

#### Evita March, 2023, What kinds of people ‘catfish’? Study finds they have higher psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism
“According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), in 2019 Australians reported just under 4,000 romance scams, costing Australians over A$28 million. In 2021, that number was just over $56 million.” states Evita March, author of the article, “What kind of people ‘catfish’? Study finds they have higher psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism”. This quote holds the main theme of the article and the dangers in the rise of the epidemic of catfishing. This article mainly focuses on Australian online dating culture mentioning how the Australian government had to go to the lengths of hosting a roundtable talk regarding the state of online dating in their country and the safety precautions pertaining to it. Additionally, after seeing the stats that 3 out of 4 Australian dating app users who have been on dating apps have experienced sexual violence in the past 5 years- it was timely to have a discussion about it.
Catfishing is defined as someone who creates, or steals an identity with the purpose of deceiving and exploiting other people. It is very common for men to be catfishers more than women and a lot of the time catfishers scam individuals for financial exploitation. March mentioned how among many catfishers they have a “dark tetrad of personality”. Basically meaning that a catfisher usually possesses psychological traits like narcissism, sadism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism.”
Luckily, the March gives us six signs to note to recognize a potential romance scam:
1. They usually contact you first.
2. Seems too good to be true (it most likely is).
3. Love bombing.
4. They never call (or no video calls).
5. Strange communication.
6. They happen to ask for money.

#### Jacob Kozhipatt, 2022, Silk Road Was The Darknet Market Testing Ground For Bitcoin

In his article, “Silk Road Was The Darknet Market Testing Ground For Bitcoin” by Jacob Kozhipatt (2022), he mentions how, “Marijuana transactions totaled more than $46 million on Silk Road, while heroin sales were worth about $8.9 million; cocaine amounted to $17.4 million.”. This is a brief overview of the impact the Silk Road had on the internet, dark web, and the future business of bitcoin.
You may be wondering to yourself, “What is the Silk Road?”. The Silk Road was an online darknet marketplace where users bought and sold any kind of products (including some considered illegal- most often drugs) created by Ross Ulbricht. Ulbricht believed that governments purposefully use force to impede on an individual’s sovereignty. Many critics viewed the silk road as an enemy of the state but supporters of the silk road viewed it more as a progression of technology separated from the “corruption of government and big banks”. And for bitcoiners, the marketplace served as the first legitimate space bitcoin was used as real currency. To access the Silk Road, users would use a Tor browser to access the dark-web from there, then their IP addresses would be hidden from potential third party viewers. Although you could have gotten quite literally anything on the Silk Road, it did forbid the sales of things that could harm people or be used for defrauding people. In the same light however, the US government found hacking services there.
In 2013, the Silk Road was shut down. At the time, over 100,000 people were using it and tens of millions of dollars were exchanged. When the Silk Road was shut down, 70,000 bitcoin was seized, which would have equated to over 1.3 billion dollars. The creator of the Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht was convicted of seven crimes and received a life sentence in prison without parole. One of the reasons the Silk Road was important was because it served as the world’s first example of bitcoin and it being used as an actual currency.

#### Questions for Midterm (Reading Response #5)

**Multiple Choice Questions**

**Stochastic terrorism can best be described as:**
A. Terrorist attacks carried out by specific groups.
B. The use of media to indirectly “stir up” random acts of violence
C. Violence that occurs in virtual environments only
D. The use of anonymity to avoid accountability

**Answer:** B

**Social Information Processing Theory argues that:**
A. People can form strong relationships online, but it typically takes more time.
B. Online interactions are less meaningful than in-person ones.
C. Anonymity leads to aggressive behavior.
D. Media richness determines social presence.

**Answer:** A

**Short Essay Questions:**

**Compare and contrast the difference between disinhibition and deindividualization. How do these processes explain toxic and aggressive behavior online?**

Disinhibition and deindividualization are both psychological processes that explain why people may act more aggressively or inappropriate online compared to face-to-face settings. Disinhibition is the loss of control or restraint that usually guides a person’s behavior. Deindividualization occurs when people lose their sense of identity within a group setting. This can happen in large online communities, where personal identity sometimes feels suppressed. Together, these terms both help explain toxic online behavior.

**What are the main differences between the deep web and the dark web?**

The deep web refers to all parts of the internet that aren’t indexed by search engines. The dark web is a small section of the deep web that is intentionally hidden and only accessed through special softwares like Tor.

#### "How Ad’s Follow You Around The Internet”

The problem with third party cookies is that it tracks your online data across different websites, in some cases, all websites and once the data is collected there is no way of getting it back. The video, “How Ad’s Follow You Around The Internet” put a lot of things into perspective as my responsibility as an online user to be more knowledgeable of features like cookies on a website.
Cookies can store details like your location, shopping carts, email addresses, time spent on a website, and any clicks you make on a website. Third party cookies enable companies to band together to track and monitor everything we do online. Third party cookies collaborated with other websites to make better, more accurate information on you to give you ads (personalized ads). First party cookies are generally the more helpful and basic cookies such as remembering your login information or saving your passwords.
Through this process, advertisers can design and deliver personalized ads that seem to follow users wherever they go online. The video emphasizes that it's not just a marketing tactic but also a system of surveillance that users aren’t typically made aware of or privy to. After watching and listening to the video I became more aware of the value of my personal data and also the importance of managing and paying attention to my privacy settings. Understanding how cookies operate encourages me to be a little more cautious and intentional about what I share online and which permissions I grant to websites.