Do you read
the comment sections on websites (besides this one of course)? Is the comment section the voice of the
people (as opposed to the elite: the paid journalists and columnists)? Do you
agree with this writer that the voice of the establishment is often the “West,”
those who look down on African and Asian nations as though they are on the edge
of collapse? How do you differentiate
between trolls and commenters if you do?
What is your own netiquette?
Hi. Welcome to the blog for my IB English B class at Jur Hronec High School in Bratislava, Slovakia. Below you will find links to other websites and discussion questions. My students are required to comment on one of these postings every month and also respond to each other's comments. Feel free to add your two bits, but be aware that all comments are monitored before being posted.
Personally, I do read comment sections under published articles on the internet, but I primarily read comments under YouTube videos or Instagram posts. I find it interesting to see how my opinion on the topic differs or aligns with the general opinion. Reading comments, especially on controversial topics, provides insight into different perspectives from average people rather than professionals. Comment sections are a valuable addition to these platforms as they allow anyone with internet access to share their opinions, even if their voices are often unheard in real life.
ReplyDeleteTypically, the comments I come across are from people in western countries. This may be due to the discrepancy in internet access between Western and non-Western countries, resulting in fewer active internet users per capita in non-Western countries.
Differentiating between internet "trolls" and genuine commenters is quite easy for me. Within the comments I read, it is usually obvious when someone is joking or not. Additionally, comments that are impolite or contain false information are often called out by other commenters. However, if I come across a comment with no replies that shares information I find to be untrue, I make sure to verify the information through my own research. Despite enjoying reading comment sections, I rarely leave comments on posts that would be visible worldwide. I prefer to observe rather than actively contribute.
-Veronika
I think I come from a very similar position as you do because I also mostly read the comment sections on YouTube and I like to see different perspectives on a certain topic. However I find it unfortunate that YouTube favors the comments because of the amount of likes on them. This means that usually one opinion is shown to you first and the rest of the comments with different perspectives are deep down in the comment section where you have to search for them. On one hand this algorithm helps you see less trolls, on the other hand I believe it can for instance hide a valuable criticism of a creator from most viewers.
DeleteWhen it comes to why the western ideas are pushed on the internet the most, I do agree that it definitely may be because of the lack of internet access in the non-western countries. Nevertheless I think that there are other factors too. For instance the fact that in Asian countries they have their own platforms and majority of the citizens decide to use those instead of the western ones. In some countries the western apps are also prohibited by the governments. To be specific China provides apps such as Sina Weibo instead of X (formerly known as Twitter), Douyin instead of TikTok or Zhihu instead of Quora.
- Mária