###### tags: `CDA`
# Reading Responses (set #2)

Checklist for a [good reading response](https://reagle.org/joseph/zwiki/Teaching/Best_Practices/Learning/Writing_Responses.html) of 250-350 words
- [x] Begin with a punchy start.
- [x] Mention specific ideas, details, and examples from the text and earlier classes.
- [x] Offer something novel that you can offer towards class participation.
- [x] Check for writing for clarity, concision, cohesion, and coherence.
- [x] Send to professor with “hackmd” in the subject, with URL of this page and markdown of today’s response.

## Reading Responses 5 out of 5
### Mar 18 Tue - Ads & social graph background

In our digital age, it is possible to find ads everywhere, from scrolling through Instagram, to watching Youtube, or reading an article online, always being targeted. In *How ads follow you around the internet*, Cleo Abrams explains how ads follow people around the internet by using tracking tools like cookies and behavioral profiling to follow what we look for online and the content we interact the most with. Even when this makes ads feel more relevant and interesting to the user, it does raise concerns about privacy since companies are manipulating our interactions online. This prevents people from having an authentic experience online and an authentic “for you page” that is created based on things we chose to watch and engage with.

There are a lot of different types of online ads, one of them includes the banner ads which are the ones we see as images and animations on websites while reading articles, etc. The interstitial ads, which are full-screen and often pop out between pages and before a video loads. The pop-ups and pop-unders that people often find super annoying since they open new windows and force users to visit their page when they have no intention to. The floating ads that move around the screen while scrolling as well, trying to catch the user’s attention. Wallpaper ads that change the site’s background to the ads design, and then map ads, which function is to show businesses on Google Maps based on people’s location (Strokes, 2013).

While this level of targeting helps brands to be recognized and reach the right people to engage with their content, it can get very intrusive and discriminatory. To avoid being overly influenced by some of the ads out there, it is important to know how ads work and take control of our data trying to share minimal information like turning off tracking, using ad blockers and just being realistic or skeptical to recognize some of them specially when they are advertising deals that are easily recognized as “too good to be true.”

### Mar 25 Tue - Bemused

Has anyone ever seen someone comment first on a post? Even when this sounds a little weird to think about, being early in an online discussion actually gives people more influence than expected. In *Bemused: WTF! Reading the Comments, ch=7*, the author Joseph Reagle explains how the timing of comments could actually affect what people see, believe, or buy as it shapes everything that follows. An example of this is present when popular YouTubers keep getting more subscribers because they’re already famous so they keep on getting more attention, that happens too when usually the first person to comment on a post gets the most attention. Based on the study talked about in the article, when a comment gets upvote early, it’s 32% more likely to keep getting positive votes, meaning the first opinions can set the tone on how the following comments in the same post are going to be even if they’re not very thoughtful or meaningful.

We can also find more examples of this on Amazon where special reviewers called Vine members get free products just to create and post reviews early, even if they’re not accurate. This makes the product seem like a good deal based on all the positive feedback given by other “buyers” and creates more revenue for the company itself. Another example presents sites like Slashdot, where one of the most-liked comments usually appears within the first hour which causes other comments that could be more genuine to be left out of sight for customers looking for a truthful review. All of this makes it harder for new voices to be heard, even when they truly are good comments about the product, the algorithm is designed to “ignore them” just in case.

### Apr 04 Fri - Algorithmic Bias

Algorithms shape and change the way we see the world, from what shows up in Google searches to who gets hired for a job. Many people could assume that computers make neutral decisions since they don’t deal with emotions or feelings, but algorithms often reflect and even worsen human biases. This happens unintentionally, when they learn from biased data that people put out there through different websites, and intentionally, when they are programmed with specific viewpoints to make those biases alive through the users.

In *This Is Why Some People Think Google’s Results Are Racist*, Fiona Rutherford and Alan White explain how Google’s search engine has reinforced some racial stereotypes at different occasions, not because it is trying to voluntarily be racist, but because the internet itself is full of biased information. When an algorithm is trained on inaccurate data, it unknowingly continues to share and integrate those patterns. In *ChatGPT Goes Woke*, Nate Hochman points out another type of bias like the political one. Hochman argues that AI tools like ChatGPT seem to favor certain ideological viewpoints, which could be a result of the beliefs of the people to create this AI tool or the policies of the companies that often sponsor them. At the same time, Cathy O’Neil, *in Weapons of Math Destruction*, describes an even bigger problem that highlights how biased algorithms can harm real people. These algorithms could influence decisions in hiring, policing, and lending, often making life harder for the various marginalized groups out there.

Unlike humans, algorithms don’t reflect on their choices or recognize when they’re being unfair or wrong, they just follow patterns blindly because that’s how they were programmed to be. Because of this, biased algorithms can quietly reinforce discrimination without anyone noticing or them even noticing it. The solution isn’t to get rid of them but to make them more transparent and fair. Developers need to test their algorithms for bias, use more diverse data, and allow people to question how decisions are made. If we don’t challenge algorithmic bias, it will continue to shape our world in ways that favor some people while hurting others.

### Apr 11 Fri - Digital Language and Generations

The internet hasn’t just changed how we talk, but it’s also changed who we are when we talk. As Gretchen McCulloch explains in Chapter 3 of *Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language* and in her NPR interview: *Our Language Is Evolving, 'Because Internet'* the way different generations use the internet shows how language evolves and adapts to new forms of communication. McCulloch describes how old internet people who were online before it was cool, were the ones that created the first internet slang like the word still used for young generations “LOL,” and emoticons like :-) as a way to show emotion through text without actually using emojis since they didn’t even exist. In full internet people, MCculloch explains how teens in the early 2000s used platforms like AIM and MySpace to chat with friends and express themselves, shaping new online styles like lowercase "lol" to soften tone or show sarcasm, making it seem cooler for their generation.

Meanwhile, semi internet people often referred to adults who joined the internet for work or news, used slang more literally and stuck to using things like email and Facebook. Even the older generations and users like pre internet people took their habits from handwriting and postcards and used them in their texts, like using lots of dots or dashes instead of emojis because that’s what they were used to. McCulloch’s whole point in her discussion is that internet language isn’t random or lazy as some people would describe it. It actually reflects how each generation uses the internet differently. Our online words are full of meaning, from the way we spell “lol” to whether we use a period or a smiley face.

This resonates a lot with me because I set my phone to only use lower case letters when starting a sentence, or even a word with the exception of words like names that would have to be capitalized. I started using this 4 years ago when I felt like it was “cool” and my sentences looked better. Now, I don’t really mind using capital letters at the beginning of my sentence, but my brain has adjusted to it from using it for so many years. Because of this personal experience, I think that instead of ruining language, the internet has created new ways to connect, show personality, and express emotion.

### Apr 15 Tue - Pushback

In a world where it feels like everyone is glued to their phones, there was a group of teens in New York who decided to do something totally different. In *Now in College, Luddite Teens Still Don’t Want Your Likes*, Stacey Morrison and Ricardo Gomez introduce this group that calls themselves the *Luddite Club*, and their goal is to ditch smartphones, quit social media, and focus on real-life connections. This group was started by Logan Lane at Edward R. Murrow High School, and the club meets weekly in Prospect Park, where they read books, make art, and just hang out with no screens involved which I personally think is the coolest thing ever and would be something I would love to be a part of.

These teens aren’t just trying to be rebellious for fun. They’re reacting to how constant scrolling, TikTok pressure, and nonstop notifications mess with mental health. It’s something we’ve touched on in class like how media consumption affects identity, perception, and relationships. The Luddites are basically applying that in real life. Some members were inspired by Chris McCandless from *Into the Wild*, a guy who left everything behind to live a simple life. But these teens aren’t going off the grid completely, they just want to use tech more intentionally and not waste their time scrolling on social media for hours. In *Social Media and the ‘Spiral of Silence’”* connects to this too. Alex Vadukol talks about how people often stay silent online if their opinions go against the majority because they’re scared of the backlash that comes with it. It’s easy to lose your voice when you’re worried about likes or getting canceled. The Luddites say “no thanks” to all that. By stepping away from social media, they’re choosing honesty and self-expression without the pressure and without trying to fit in with everyone else's expectations.