# Reading Responses (Set 2)
## April 8th - Bemused
Much of the odd and embarrassing behavior seen online can be ascribed to the “reactiveness” of such comments. We all know it’s easier to say something — even if it is something ‘weird’ or controversial — if it's said through a screen. On the internet, where comments are often anonymous and written in a split second, hot-takes and unpopular opinions are commonplace.

In this practice, the rush and slash effect most certainly plays a role. The rush and slash effect describes how the most privileged comments (the comments most widely rated, upvoted, and reacted to) are often the earliest comments on a post. Because of the rush and slash effect, commenters are encouraged to post quickly… too quickly. As such, these comments are often not well thought out, and may be exceedingly rambling, strange and/or controversial.

Another factor that may cause individuals to post strange and/or embarrassing content is the desire to trend. A trending post is a post that is widely circulated and gains lots of attention from other reactors and commenters in a short period of time. As stated by Reagle, the posts that gain the most attention tend to be those that make you go “WTF?”, causing surprise and befuddlement. Consequently, many individuals strive to post this sort of content to gain attention from others — content that is strange, controversial, or amusing. The social media app Twitter is largely based on this type of befuddling content. Many of the most viral tweets are those that make users think, laugh, and react, often resulting in high numbers of comments and re-tweets.

## April 11th - Algorithmic Discrimination
How can a machine exhibit a bias? Aren’t they supposed to be above that or not even be able to comprehend the reason behind it? The most logical answer is that they learned it, copied it, exhibit it. Rutherford and White were told that what made this come about was that the algorithms in place was a reflection of the biases in media.

The images google presents on their search engine are very Eurocentric and westernised ideas of what the “normal standards” are. Although there are many who blame Google for creating an algorithm with biases I am more inclined to believe that as the algorithm is programmed to continuously learn and adapt it makes a calculated guess as to what each person is looking for. It does this by calculating and organising the results of pictures that were most commonly shared or viewed previously. Now it becomes more of a chicken and egg situation. Did people’s westernised views of beauty standards seep into technology or did technology perpetuate a certain type of beauty standard.

It is hard to say. Nevertheless I believe that although it is just a reflection of societies views I do also feel that as technology grows and evolves there needs to be more accountability and stronger guidelines to ensure that a fair and equal representation of all races is present.

## April 19th - Collapsed Context

Self presentation on the internet allows people to create a carefully curated version of themselves and present that to the rest of the world. However, although the online persona is an amalgamation of the parts where people deem their best qualities, is this truly who they are.

When social media platforms were first coming out it was used as a support tool that allowed people to stay in contact with their friends and keep updated on their lives. It didn’t create a digital avatar of you. Nowadays with the abundance of social media apps all asking for different parts of your identity your online profile becomes more clear and realistic. Whereas before it was easier to have various personas online now they are all intertwined that it is hard to seperate one from the other.

Authenticity much like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Especially when it comes to online authenticity it’s all subjective. boyd and Marwick wrote that “authenticity as a construct” is due to the different ways we present ourselves online. It’s hard to say that someone online is authentic because they’re whole job is to present content they believe their audience wants to see. Authentic in the context of online communication is presenting yourself in the most unfiltered way just as you would in real life. I think there is such an emphasis on authenticity online because online you have the ability to edit yourself so when someone chooses not to edit or at least not as much they are seen as authentic.

## April 22nd - Authenticy, Work, & Influence
Fake it till you make it! I heard this countless times while growing up. Isn’t it just another way of saying lie to everyone? At least that’s what I used to believe it was. However, now I can understand the necessity to sometimes have to fake stuff until you actually become it. It’s similar to acting a certain way until you actually become like that. That’s a tactic many influencers use to make themselves look more successful than they actually are.

Although it sounds suspicious it is almost a necessity when looking at how much competition is out there nowadays. By pretending to give sponsored content for brands and tagging them it’s like an audition to become an actual brand ambassador. This begs the question of whether this kind of content is authentic or not. Personally I think it’s all subjective. Influencers deception is almost guaranteed today. Having said that even if the influencer isn’t actually sponsored by the brand it would at least be for a product that they actually use and like and want to be sponsored by. Therefore wouldn’t their review of the product be their honest opinion.

Furthermore whether it is sponsored or it only appears to be the fact is that the people watching get new content and at the end of the day that’s all both parties, influencers and viewers, want is to have content. Lorenz quoted Monica Ahanonu in saying that today there are so many fake sponsored ads mixed with the actual sponsored ads that it is hard to differentiate between “who is sponsored and who is pretending.” I honestly think this rules out the question of authenticity all together because whether they are pretending or not they are still giving the same content to the viewers the only difference is one is paid to tell you about the product and the other isn’t.

## April 26th - Pushback

“I just commented on your post!” “I’ll go like it!” Today we trade likes, shares and comments like currency. Many confound it to be a physical representation of people’s love and admiration for you. The whole intention of having a comment section is so that people can reply to you otherwise posting would be just like shouting into an empty void with nothing in return. Comments open up a platform for communication no matter where in the world people are. In that sense comments on a post are identical to conversations in person.

If we begin to frame online communication as a different variation of discourse the question of “Is online communication so awful?” and “Is it possible to opt-out of digital communication?” Become somewhat easier to answer. In everyday life there will be conversation that you don’t enjoy or don’t want to have. People will say and act in ways that you do not like. Now going back to whether online communication is bad, personally, I think it’s awful and horrendous but it can also be uplifting and helpful. Just like any real conversation.

Ultimately there is a difference between online communication and in person communication and it is that online you can choose not to read the comments or even disable them if you wanted to. However, as Reagle says that although you can disable comments as some sites have “it is not easily escaped.” If there’s a will there’s a way. With online communication it is hard not to leave yourself at least a little vulnerable. There will always be a platform where people could find you and in that sense it makes it very hard to completely not engage in digital communication. The fact is that with technology rapidly advancing and integrating more and more into our daily lives it is almost impossible to not participate unless you want to be ostracised by society.