How Web 2.0 Changed Everything
Web 2.0 changed everything. Oh yeah, you already read that in the title. But, my point stands. Everything is different now. It unlocked an era of user-generated content. An era that allows me to be sitting here writing this piece to share with you. Gone are the days when we may only passively view content. So, sit back and passively view this story while I spend some time user-generating this content.
An Active Internet
Web 2.0 ushered in an era where we are not only reading but also writing content. This matches more closely to the view of the World Wide Web’s founder Tim Berners-Lee, who wanted the internet to be a “collaborative medium.”
Another huge development within Web 2.0 is hypertext and the interactivity it provides. Understanding Digital Literacies states “A key feature of hypertext, then, is that it allows readers and writers to make use of hypertext links to organize electronic text in a non-sequential way depending to a large extent on the reader’s choice.” Hypertext allows for immense flexibility as readers can choose their adventure in the order they read. They can also look at the sources that the writer used and draw conclusions themselves, allowing for more active participation in internet browsing. In this, readers are expected to make choices and browse in a non-linear fashion.
More than clicking on links, Web 2.0 allows browsers and surfers to actively participate in web content. That might be commenting, tagging, liking, or even creating a post themselves. Not only can readers comment on an article or piece of content, but the author can comment back. This opens up an unprecedented and immediate dialogue between content creators and consumers. Though, Understanding Digital Literacies brings up concepts like that of “letters to the editor” in print newspapers. However, the immediacy of Web 2.0 overshadowed the need for that in time.
Web 2.0 also allowed for transformative work within online spaces to take place. This is known as creating a mashup or a remix. This new technology allowed people to make copies of original works, and transform them into something new. The possibilities here are endless and are still being explored today. This is seen widely on YouTube with commentary videos and in comedies like that Saturday Night Life. Starting with work and adding your spin is now a hallmark of our culture and a pain in our legal system.
Enter copyright. Copyright does not apply to work that is commentated on, used for satire, or critiqued. Though, some artists believe that this allows for their work to be profited on by others and will try to exercise this law anyway.
A Place for Subcultures
When these technological aspects emerged, as did numerous subcultures inspired by corners of the internet. People found personality traits and whole identities from content they found online, and they weren't alone. The internet quickly became a place where people could find communities of like-minded individuals.
Finding communities like this can be a solace, but it can quickly become dangerous. Subcultures on the internet can become echo chambers, allowing no room for progress or change of opinions.
But what are these online cultures? According to Understanding Digital Literacies, these are online affinity spaces “where people can meet, interact, and build relations and communities.” These spaces allow people with similar interests from across the globe to share a community or a set of ideas. The internet allows us to find communities that were not possible before. It allows us to find the few other people in the world that match our opinions perfectly.
But we were not meant for that. We are meant for our opinions to be challenged and questioned. When we are sequestered into like-minded communities, miseducation occurs and deadly acts take place.
Though, subcultures are not all bad. They can bring communities to the lonely and allow connections when we otherwise would be isolated. We can interact with people from diverse backgrounds.
Web 2.0 prevents immense opportunity coupled with immense responsibility. Joining a subculture is a great way to express and develop one’s identity, but it is when that subculture becomes all-consuming that the danger lurks.
Education
Web 2.0 also brought with it a new way to learn. We no longer have to sit in a classroom with an instructor to glean information. We have the world within our laptops. Passive reading expanded to active participation. We can annotate documents on the web, watch videos asynchronously, video chat in class, and manage all of our assignments online. I am a college student it has been years since I have had to put pen to paper.
Web 2.0 also allows for a great amount of personalization in learning. Students can work at their own pace, contact instructors quickly, and find supplemental resources to complete their work online.
Web 2.0 shifts the burden of teaching from the professor and pushes it toward the student. This is not to say the instructor is obsolete (if so, most of my family would be out of a job), but rather teaching is more about curating information and resources for students. We know are freer to draw our conclusions, work at our own pace, and grapple with concepts separately. One study states that “The e-learning 2.0 implies that those who learn, rather than the those who teach, are the ones who contribute with content and discuss those contributions with their contacts, whether these are classmates, professors or friends; engages their contacts as repositories of information; and socializes to strengthen bonds of trust with their contacts.”
Another study found that Web 2.0 tools, when used well, can promote communication and learning. It also can strengthen instruction outside of the classroom. The key here is thoughtfulness. For technology to be successful in the classroom it must be integrated thoughtfully. It makes all the difference.
The Importance of Conscientious Digital Citizenship
Now that I have taken you through a bit of a history lesson, perhaps you see the value in being vigilant about the content you view online. Radicalization is often only a few quicks away. As soon as the algorithm learns about you, your opinions will be influenced. The extent to which that happens is up to you.
The best way to monitor this is by being a conscientious digital citizen. This concept probably sounds overwhelming. We go on the internet to relax, unwind, and maybe learn a bit on the way. Vigilance is not something that I like to have during my alone time. However, when the world’s information is at your doorstep, so is misinformation. These can be narratives that are not only incorrect but also harmful to the way you view the world.
As Jessie Daniels says, “social media is a haven for hate groups, who use the instantaneous medium to organize and troll. So why do the platforms continue to protect them and not those they abuse?”
So what is digital citizenship? At its most basic, it is responsibly using all aspects of technology. The internet is a world of its own. As a user, you are a citizen of it, only digitally. Being a resident in a world requires a certain amount from you, and that is where being a digital citizen comes in,
It is not enough on the internet to simply browse and believe everything you find. One must investigate and evaluate the sources to ensure what one is getting is correct. One way to do this is by using the SIFT method.
The SIFT method stands for stop, investigate the source, find better coverage, and trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context. Going through these steps allows for quick evaluation of information and offers peace of mind that the source is trustworthy. A good digital citizen knows that the information they come across online is worth their time and energy to interact with.
For public writers, digital citizenship is even more vital. Digital writers are there to share information with the public in various forms. What would then happen if these same writers used misinformation to back up their claims? Credibility is everything for a writer. The moment you lose credibility, you lose respect and viewership.
Being a digital writer is not merely reserved for those that do it as a career. It is for the blogger, the posters, the students, and many more. It transcends disciplines and age. All you need is a computer and internet connection and boom, you are a digital writer. What it means to be a writer is different now, and the way we do research has to be too.
If not SIFT, find another way to make it work. Knowing how to navigate information effectively makes your writing better. It makes your writing something you can be proud of even more. The better we get at sifting through this information, the sooner we can make the internet a better place to be.
