They Say / I Blog

In real life: Jordan Frith on the metaphors we use to talk about online life

Is our online life—our Twitter debates, our Facebook relationship status, our Snapchat streaks, our Zoom classes—real? And why does this question matter? Jordan Frith, the Pearce Professor of Professional Communication at Clemson University, argues in his July 2020 article that our digital life is very much real, despite common metaphors used in popular culture. The way we talk about our digital life, as if it’s separate, ends up diminishing the importance of what people do and say online, though the consequences are no less important.

Jordan Frith, "Pushing Back on the Rhetoric of ‘Real Life,’" Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society, 20 July 2020

 

Get out the vote: Jeanine Santucci about accessibility in the voting booth

Voting is a civic duty, an essential right in a democracy. However, as Santucci explains in her July 26, 2020 essay, people with disabilities face barriers to voting, even decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed. As you read, consider both Santucci’s immediate argument, about the pressing issues faced by people with disabilities, and the larger implications of inaccessible voting in a democracy.

Jeanine Santucci, "30 Years after the ADA, Access to Voting for People with Disabilities is Still an Issue," USA Today, 26 July 2020

 

Chance encounters: Steve LeVine on how Big Tech companies rely on spontaneity to fuel innovation

Sometimes the next big thing begins with a casual invitation to “talk more over smoothies.” In his July 13, 2020 essay, Steve LeVine explains how this kind of unscripted, casual, in-person networking drove the development of Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Google. LeVine asks, though, if this reliance on spontaneity, jeopardized now by work-from-home orders, is something that could—or should—be saved.

Steve LeVine, "How Remote Work Could Destroy Silicon Valley," Marker, 13 July 2020

 

Priced out of protection: Ana Santos Rutschman on the politics of vaccine distribution

Should countries attempt to get dibs on a COVID-19 vaccine for their own citizens, even if it comes at the expense of more vulnerable populations in other countries? Ana Santos Rutschman, a law professor who specializes in health law and emerging health technologies, asks this question in her June 25, 2020 essay published in The Conversation. Her analysis of how governments are jockeying to sign pre-purchase agreements with vaccine manufacturers demonstrates the danger of nationalist policies for global health.

Ana Santos Rutschman–"How ‘Vaccine Nationalism’ Could Block Vulnerable Populations’ Access to COVID-19 Vaccines," The Conversation, 17 June 2020

 

Privacy and public health: Sidney Fussell on smartphone surveillance

How do we balance protecting individual rights and safeguarding public health? This question is at the heart of the current response to the COVID-19 global health crisis. In his March 21, 2020 WIRED article, Sidney Fussell asks whether using people’s smartphone data to track the virus is an infringement on privacy or a necessity to secure collective health and safety.

Sidney Fussell, "How Surveillance Could Save Lives Amid a Public Health Crisis," WIRED, 21 March 2020

 

Out in theaters: Martin Scorsese on the movie industry

When you go to the movies, what are you looking for? To see something surprising, challenging, or unexpected? Or to be happily entertained, consuming a bag of popcorn along with the latest superhero sequel? Perhaps your expectations are shaped by the Hollywood film industry and their willingness to take risks. Martin Scorsese, award-winning filmmaker and director, critiques modern film franchises in his November 4, 2019 op-ed in The New York Times. Think, as you read his piece, about how Scorsese’s perspective on the purpose of films might be different from yours, and why that might be.

Martin Scorsese, “I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.” The New York Times, 4 November 2019

 

Mightier than the sword: Markham Heid on the benefits of handwriting

Most elementary schools in the US no longer teach cursive writing, and many educators, psychologists, and others have lamented the change. Philadelphia-based health and science writer Markham Heid summarizes some of the research showing the benefits of longhand writing and adds an argument of his own in this September 2019 essay in elemental+, a Medium blog.

Markham Heid–"Bring back handwriting: It's good for your brain"–elemental+, 12 September 2019

 

Getting unhooked: Nellie Bowles on screen addiction and responsibility

We already know this. People spend a lot of time—maybe too much—on their phones and other devices, and it’s a troubling trend. But who is ultimately responsible for changing the habits and fixing the problem? Does the responsibility lie squarely with individual users to make changes? Should designers and developers of apps and devices make modifications to their products to make them less addictive? Both? Neither? San Francisco-based New York Times writer Nellie Bowles explores these questions in this October 2019 article.

Nellie Bowles, "Addicted to screens? That's really a you problem"

 

Feeling famous: Taylor Lorenz on kids and their presence online

If I googled you right now, would I find any cute baby pictures or embarrassing (but adorable) anecdotes about you? If I found some (or didn’t), would you be pleased? disappointed? Kids born since the appearance of Facebook and other social media are just now discovering that they have online presences that they didn’t put there. Their responses to the discovery run a full gamut of emotions and raise numerous ethical questions. Taylor Lorenz, technology staff writer at The Atlantic, relates some of their responses and explores the issues in this February 2019 report.

Lorenz,  “When kids realize their whole life is already online”

To serve and satisfy: Lynn Stuart Parramore on sexist design of digital assistants

Siri. Alexa. It’s no coincidence that their voices carry easily identifiable traits of a young woman who is business-like yet eager to please. In this February 2019 essay from the NBC News blog Think, cultural historian Lynn Stuart Parramore argues that, as more and more companies introduce “she-bots” of their own,  “Big Tech is wiring the future with cultural signals that undermine the hard-won rights of women to be treated as human and paid as equals.” Read here what she thinks we should do about it.

Parramore, “Female digital assistants like Alexa and Siri remain popular in Silicon Valley. It’s time to boycott them."