Social media platforms are another front in 21st century warfare, and people have increasingly turned to them to narrate and share their personal war experiences. From Syria to Ukraine, images and videos circulated on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok have chronicled the human impact of conflict in real time. In this essay, Kyle Chayka analyzes how these glimpses affect both those in the war and those watching it online.
Kyle Chayka, "Watching the World's 'First TikTok War,'" The New Yorker, 3 March 2022
- How do war videos circulated on social media help “create a sense of intimacy” between those in a conflict and those watching it? Focus on one TikTok video example from the war in Ukraine included in the essay. How might the feelings and sense of intimacy created by this video affect the various stakeholders in the conflict, such as civilians in Ukraine, people outside of Ukraine, governments, or corporations?
- What are two major drawbacks to using a social media platform like TikTok to share and consume information about a war, such as the conflict in Ukraine?
- Chayka uses metacommentary to organize his argument for his readers. Review the metacommentary templates listed in Chapter 10. Find an example of metacommentary in Chayka’s essay that you think works particularly well. What does this metacommentary do for Chayka’s readers? How does it enhance his writing?
- In his essay, Chayka references the work of Susan Sontag, an American philosopher who wrote about the politics and ethics of war photography. Watch this short interview with Sontag, in which she reads a passage from her 2003 book, Regarding the Pain of Others: “We truly can’t imagine what it was like. We can’t imagine how dreadful, how terrifying war is; and how normal it becomes.” (3:17) What strikes you as important in this passage or interview? How do you think Sontag might respond to Chayka’s essay? Do you think there is a meaningful difference between traditional war photojournalism and broadcast news and the user-generated videos and images shared on social media? Why or why not?
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