Our class has been using “They Say, I Say” by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. This is an educational text meant to provide writers with tips to improve their research skills and academic writing. In a recent class, we were asked to discuss Chapter 13 of this book and highlight things that we as students related to or found interesting. Chapter 13 is titled Don’t Make Them Scroll Up: Entering Online Conversations. It begins this discussion of how the internet has influenced the way we have conversations and how we respond to different questions. Most of the time the internet is full of people’s anonymous opinions, which can be beneficial or extremely detrimental. This chapter focuses on having beneficial and constructive conversations rather than reading an immature comment section. In this blog post, I want to apply different tools from Graff and Birkenstein to real-life scenarios we could encounter on the internet.
I do not think people would argue with the fact that the internet in combination with social media can be a very harmful place, but if we were able to teach children how to effectively communicate on these forums, it makes you wonder how beneficial that could be. The first suggestion Chapter 13 of They Say, I Say makes is that “not all online writers make it clear who or what prompted them to write.” Th.” This could be applied to social media interactions in that a person responds to a thread of comments without specifying who or what they are addressing. This leads to other commenters mistaking their words or assuming their perspective which could lead to hostility. The solution here would be for the commenter to address the exact person they want to address or begin a new thread explaining where and what inspired this idea.
Another idea discussed in Chapter 13 of They Say, I Say is “Linking to what They Say”. Writers should be supplying articles and links within their texts to help readers understand the point they are making. This could also be very applicable when conversing on social media when someone may seem to be posting “fake news” or making a false claim. Submitting links to different articles and studies can not only help the original comment fix their understanding but also help other readers know the truth. This topic could be related to Donald Trump and his postings about the 2020 election being rigged. This was clearly “fake news” after he had lost this election and people began flooding social media and his comment sections with research and article links about why the information he was stating was false.
The last section of this chapter is called “Juxtaposing Your “They Say” with Your “I Say”’. This simply means, allowing other readers to comment and respond to your idea. The way the conversation builds itself allows readers to see a “They Say” and your “I Say”. Different social media channels allow for different types of commenting whether it is just a thread or it is a way of “quoting” the original post. Quoting the post allows your “They Say” and your “I Say” to be present to all readers. A great example of this would be making a post about how much you love your teacher at school, but then having someone “quote” the post with the opposing side. This allows social media users to see where the “They Say” and the “I Say” originated from so they can informatively participate in the conversation.
Graff and Birkenstein have a great way of presenting this information in an easy yet sophisticated way. I believe the suggestions in Chapter 13 could be easily taught to more social media users so we can have positive and beneficial conversations online. Do you think social media is a toxic or welcoming environment?