Googling Fingers

Dennis wakes up after a restless night of sleep and reaches for his phone. He's one of the <html><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/"target="_blank">64% of Americans</a></html> with a smartphone. Scrolling through his Facebook feed he sees a post his Aunt liked, "Be the change you wish to see in the world -Mahatma Gandhi" and thinks . . . [["Wow what an inspirational Gandhi quote"|The Young Cons]] [["I don't think Gandhi said that, let me whip out my googling fingers"|Alternate 1]]

Dennis clicks on The Young Cons <html><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungCons/?fref=ts/"target="_blank">Facebook page</a></html> to find more inspiration for the day. While scrolling through he stumbles on an article that makes his heart stop. Could this really be true he thought, could Planned Parenthood really be so bold as to capitalize on murder like this? He silently thanks god that this Facebook page has made him aware of the <html><a href="http://www.theonion.com/article/planned-parenthood-opens-8-billion-abortionplex-20476"target="_blank">$8 Billion Dollar Abortionplex</a></html>. Compelled to learn more, Dennis . . . [["Reads the comment section"|Ignorance]] [["Whips out his googling fingers"|Alternate Universe 2]]

Melissa Garber

Googling Fingers

Reading through the comments beneath the shared post, Dennis is confronted with the stark reality that this community had been dealing with for far too long. He had never entered a Planned Parenthood clinic before, much less really considered the <a href="http://www.blackgenocide.org/black.html"target="_blank">racially charged consequences</a> of abortion clinics pandering to minority women but @KimSturgeon made some really solid points in the comments section. Post after post she outlined the atrocities committed by Planned Parenthood - personal accounts of <a href="http://liveactionnews.org/stories-of-forced-abortion-all-too-common/"target="_blank">women forced to abort wanted children</a>, <a href="http://www.centerformedicalprogress.org/cmp/investigative-footage/"target="_blank">baby limbs sold on the black market</a>, <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/gop-senator-i-can-lecture-women-on-pregnancy-because-abortion-is-a-mens-issue/"target="_blank">men left powerless in the face of misanthropy</a>. She linked to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ProLife"target="_blank">r/ProLife</a>, a reddit forum where most of the shared information had come from. [["Dennis meets reddit"|Ignorant]]

Dennis quickly realizes The Onion is a satirical news site and that the Young Cons are an ideologue filled Facebook page. He sees that without completing his due diligence as a news consumer, creator, editor and curator via social media, he could easily propagate lies. He begins to understand that his role in the news cycle is not insignificant and that it is easy to fall into the rabbit hole of affirmation. [["So What Just Happened?"|What Happened]]

Dennis, being one of the 85% of American adults with <html><a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/28/15-of-americans-dont-use-the-internet-who-are-they/"target="_blank">internet access,</a></html> protected by Net Neutrality laws, decided to do some of his own research. He discovered that Mahatma Gandhi <html><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html"target="_blank">never ever said those words.</a></html> Not surprising, he thought to himself, quotes inscribed on memes tend to be falsely attributed and virally shared. Facebook feeds are regularly filled with seemingly harmless lies. When will people realize that what they share and like has real significance in this world? Dennis’s Aunt was always sharing articles on Facebook, Twitter and through chain emails. These cultural artifacts ran the gamut from railing against welfare queens, to begging Congress for <a href="http://33.media.tumblr.com/fd16042ece827d1fe0b445b979022a72/tumblr_inline_mmi46cHs1w1qz4rgp.png"target="_blank">student loan debt to be erased</a>, to pictures of disheveled people in restaurants accompanied by <a href="http://www.newsner.com/en/2015/12/homeless-lady-is-ignored-by-everyone-then-a-stranger-does-this-and-shocks-everyone-with-her-simple-act-of-kindness/"target="_blank">longform stories</a> about the poster’s charity toward the unfortunate. One woman gave her leftover chicken strips to a woman she had assumed was homeless, and then made sure to photograph the moment and let her Facebook network know just how good of a person she was. Dennis should . . . [["Tell his Aunt her posts are dumb"|Bad Idea 1]] [["Open up a dialogue"|Maybe]]

Dennis googles <a href="https://goo.gl/XePuAe"target="_blank">Abortion Facts</a> and clicks on the first site that pops up <a href="http://www.abortionfacts.com/"target="_blank">AbortionFacts.com</a>. He had originally thought that abortion should be allowed if childbirth put the mother at risk, but this site clearly laid out the facts that abortion actually puts the mother more at risk than childbirth. He went back to google and found even more horrifying statistics. Not only are women at risk of death or serious injury as a result of abortions, but also they are more prone to <a href="http://studentsforlife.org/prolifefacts/abortion-facts/"target="_blank">depression and suicidal thoughts</a>. But what really struck Dennis was the statistic that he had seen for the second time that day, that <a href="http://www.abortionfacts.com/facts/18"target="_blank">minority women were disproportionately affected by abortion</a>. Driven by his conviction for social justice, Dennis . . . [["Creates a reddit profile"|Ignorance 3]]

Dennis dips his toes into the reddit community slowly, reading and commenting affirmations on the r/ProLife reddit, but soon he realizes that his influence could be a force for good. He could be the “change he wished to see in the world,” if only he would differentiate his knowledge and join the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/prochoice/"target="_blank">r/ProChoice</a> community. Reading through their site he came upon discrepancy upon discrepancy. The pro-choicers could not keep their facts straight. Google search after Google search reaffirmed Dennis’s convictions. These people were so focused on the violence inflicted on abortion clinics, that they could not see that violence begets violence. He didn’t agree with any violent acts, he believed in legislation and jail time but it was hard to sympathize with people who could not see the other side of the coin. Dennis posted the Abortionplex article on the r/ProChoice reddit. <a href="http://www.thewire.com/national/2012/02/congressman-falls-months-old-onion-story-about-planned-parenthood-abortionplex/48344/#disqus_thread"target="_blank">“Abortions by the wholesale,”</a> as Louisiana Congressman John Fleming had so aptly summed it up. [["In which Dennis enter a flame war on reddit"|Ignorance 4]]

Immediately fellow redditor’s debunk the Abortionplex article, revealing its satirical origins and chastising Dennis for not recognizing an Onion article from years ago. Unimpressed by their condescending tone, Dennis lists off in shorter order the atrocities committed by Planned Parenthood, with <a href="http://www.prolife.com/"target="_blank">articles</a> and <a href="http://www.nrlc.org/communications/abortionnumbers/"target="_blank">statistics</a> to back himself up. Who cares if that other article was fake, it obviously had some true undertones and regardless, it could be argued what Planned Parenthood actually does is much worse. The more r/ProChoice redditor’s argued against Dennis, the harder he clung to his newfound knowledge. [["So What Just Happened?"|What Happened]]

Every day internet consumers, like fictional Dennis, are constructing their world view with the help of an online community of collaborators. Despite R. Oldenburg’s (1999) insistence in The Great Good Place that, “The essential group experience is being replaced by the exaggerated self-consciousness of individuals. American lifestyles, for all the material acquisition and the seeking after comforts and pleasures, are plagued by boredom, loneliness, alienation,’’ (p. 13), we’re embracing the idea that social media can be the mythical “third place,” where “everyone knows your name,” (C. Steinkuehler and D. Williams, 2006). R. Goldman, J. Black, J. W. Maxwell, J. L. Plass, and M. J. Keitges (2012) argued in Engaged Learning in Digital Media: The Points of Viewing Theory that, “Using Perspectivity Technologies [like social media] learners/participants become collaborators, curators, creators, and builders, layering their viewpoints and becoming connected with each other in ways that enable commensurability (p. 338). Our socio-cultural perspectives have expanded beyond the confounds of our friends, family and the people we encounter in real life (IRL). Internet stranger’s form communities, like reddit, that challenge and affirm our convictions. But, as J. G. Greeno (2005) noted in Learning in Activity, “From the situative perspective, all socially organized activities provide opportunities for learning to occur, including learning that is different from what a teacher or designer might wish.” (p. 80). In Dennis’s case, we journey through the confirmation bias that plagues the internet. Not to say he is without critical thinking skills, which are symbolized by “Googling Fingers,” but the importance of prior knowledge comes into the foreground. As M.P. Driscoll (2005) in the Psychology of Learning for Instruction, says, “What learners bring to the learning situation indicates to a large extent what they will take away from it.” The internet provides the material needed to confirm or deny any viewpoint. If we enter the situation with a bias, or are confronted at the outset with a misconception, which can be dangerous, it becomes harder and harder to accommodate new information. As J. D. Bransford and D. L. Schwartz (1999) in Rethinking Transfer: A Simple Proposal With Multiple Implications Note, “The multiple embedded social settings within which people's lives unfold have a powerful effect on the degree to which they are supported in letting go of older ideas and practices and attempting new ones,” (p. 81). Dennis is a skeletal example of how easy it is to go astray, even with the wealth of information available for dissection. Collaborative learning environments can demonstrate distributed cognition through a sometimes vicious form of hive mind. Knowledge, as an entity existing “independent of individual knowers,” manifests in online communities throughout the internet landscape (M. Scardamalia and C. Bereiter, 1991, p. 254). It’s easy to focus on how surface level application of what is learned in schools can go wrong. Dennis’s situated learning environment, glommed together through Facebook, reddit, and the multitude of articles and websites devoted to his cause of the day, are structured around the idea that there is “one truth.” If you Google for that truth, you’ll find what you are looking for. Bransford and Schwartz (1999) gave rise to the idea of “knowing with,” explained as “the educated person thinks, perceives and judges with everything that he has studied in school, even though he cannot recall these learnings on demand,” (p. 12). And given that, and the fact that traditional K-12 schools are structured around the idea that there is a truth, and it should be taught, it is no surprise that unleashed from school hallways, student’s of the world are always looking for proof. And furthering that, as Bransford and Schwartz (1999) confirm, “people actively adapt their environments to suit their needs,” (p. 82). Scardamalia and Bereiter (1991) called for learning environments that enable students to construct knowledge together, where they do not need to learn the same material, rather they can build off each other's knowledge and construct new knowledge together. It’s possible, in this story, if the “opposing” side had more delicately addressed and worked with Dennis’s misconceptions he could have expanded his perspective. Along similar lines, Goldman’s (2012) POV-T is in practice every day, as the nature of social media encourages users to add to the “thick communication,” of daily life. Viewpoints are layered, but with the glut of information available, it can be difficult to know the difference between an agenda pushed as news, and news pushing an agenda. [["Author's Note"|Author's Note]] [["References"|References]]

As expected, letting his Aunt know he thought her social media life was dumb created boundless family tension at Thanksgiving. Dennis's Aunt previously enjoyed her social outlet, it let her explore positions she had never considered, and gave her hope when she found uplifting stories celebrating humanity. Her nephew's callous interpretation of her Facebook feed left her questioning her relationships both online and IRL (in real life). She didn't always agree with what she shared, but she was always looking for a new viewpoint to see the world through and liked to share these perspectives with her nearest and dearest. [["So What Just Happened?"|What Happened]]

Dennis learns that his Aunt doesn't necessarily agree with everything she posts, instead she uses her social media presence as an opportunity to share different perspectives and reflect on the world around her. By posting controversial articles, she is exposed to the different viewpoints of the people she loves and is able to explore issues through multiple lenses. She hopes her followers are able to do the same, layering each other's thoughts, opinions and personal narratives together for a more nuanced look at the world. Dennis lets her know that without context, her posts can foster a social media presence she may not have intended. Not every quote she posts is true and not everyone can infer that she does not in fact believe that welfare should be abolished. It's hard to pick up on subtlety and sarcasm on the internet and maybe she could consider prefacing her posts without clouding their message. Many trust what she shares and posts and likes because they trust her. [["So What Just Happened?"|What Happened]]

Ultrasounds of living, breathing humans not deserving of the Planned Parenthood chopping block flooded his screen. But Dennis remembered these impassioned, but perhaps misguided, images from his undergrad days. He knew from his pass/fail Women’s Studies course that this kind of propaganda existed to rev up emotions and block out the facts. Not one to blindly fall into hive mind, Dennis sifted through the r/ProLife threads for evidence. It didn’t take long for videos of Planned Parenthood staff <a href="http://www.centerformedicalprogress.org/cmp/investigative-footage/"target="_blank">selling fetus’s</a> to surface, along with <a href="http://www.aul.org/2015/06/aul-releases-the-new-leviathan-the-mega-centers-report-how-planned-parenthood-has-become-abortion-inc/"target="_blank">charts</a> detailing the rise of abortion services to the fall of other “preventative health care” the clinic claimed to administer. User’s argued the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/prolife/comments/3vjq69/why_are_prochoicers_obsessed_with_zygotes/"target="_blank">semantics</a> of Pro Choicers and their need to dehumanize the child by referring to unborn babies as “zygotes,” or “clumps of cells.” It wasn’t just the personal narratives of women and men traumatized by abortion, there were facts, videos and philosophical arguments to back up the Pro Life agenda. Thread after thread, link after link, drove Dennis to finally . . . [["Whip out his googling fingers"|Ignorance 2]]

Writing this story involved my own googling fingers, and I was able to find exactly what I was looking for with ease, regardless of factual integrity. Whatever agenda I wanted to push was at my fingertips. While the story is fiction, the articles and statistics linked throughout are all too real.

References Bransford, J.D., & Schwartz, D.L. (1999). Rethinking transfer: A simple proposal with multiple implications. Review of Research in Education, 24, 61- 100. Driscoll, M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. [pages 134-150] Greeno, J. G. (2005). The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. R. Keith Sawyer(Ed.), Learning in Activity [pp. 79-96] Goldman, R., Black, J., Maxwell, J. W., Plass, J. L., & Keitges, M. J. (2012). Engaged Learning with Digital Media: The Points of Viewing Theory. In W.M. Reynolds & G. E. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Pintrich, P. R., Marx, R. W., & Boyle, R. A. (1993). Beyond cold conceptual change: The role of motivational beliefs and classroom contextual factors in the process of conceptual change. Review of Educational Research, 63, 167-199. [NYU library] [Google Book] Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1991). Higher levels of agency for children in knowledge building: A challenge for the design of new knowledge media. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 1(1), 37-68