Digital Writing

Week 4- David

The intro of Verified brings up a few good points and explanations. It mentions that the internet was supposed to help solve problems, but sometimes it only hypes up content. I find this to be very true, especially with social media. Is easier to find someone seeking validation through likes or swipes, posting live streams, or finding ways to make money online, rather than finding someone posting a “how to” video.

Describing the sense of plausibility feels like common sense at a university student’s point of view, but it really sets up what exactly the book will help us do: find credible websites. When looking up sources and information within an infinite number of websites- some helpful and others not- we must ask ourselves the questions mentioned, “Does it seem true? Does it look credible? Does it feel authoritative?” Using other sources on the internet to check your sources will help get the most accurate information and find out if it is true or not.

Chapter one’s 3 contexts and “SIFT” method are also useful tools for research. I believe the reason this book explains these in full detail is to really get us thinking about the websites we choose. We cannot just assume a site is legit because it looks legit, we need to analyze everything about it. We must look for the date the article was published, who exactly the author is, if the website is meant to steer you in the right direction, or if it is just made for content.

It also requires a bit of common sense when acknowledging which sources are real and reliable. The question “Do I know what I am looking at here” is ultimately going to help you figure out if it should be used or not. Recognize the pictures and words used on the website. Trace the sources the author has used to find if it is reliable. Photoshopped or AI images can also help distinguish these false websites and articles.

It seems a bit time-consuming trying to figure out if your source is credible, but I believe in the long run it would be worth it because people will know what websites to watch out for. I was told that Wikipedia and “dot com” sites were not as reliable as “dot org” sites; however, this book makes a point on the way research should now be done. With fake AI articles and websites with information, it is a good idea to be extra careful in the way we use the internet.

Posted

in

by

davidninja

Tags:

Comments

2 responses to “Week 4- David”

  1. li_05 Avatar
    li_05

    It is very disappointing sometimes to see what the internet is. Espeically when I hear or read things about people’s intent for the internet and what it should be. It is so much easier to make and so much easier to find more “mindless” videos or content like you said.
    It makes me think about how attention is so important during more recent times. Choosing where you put your attention and who you give your attention to, content wise as well. It’s also important with figure out if a source is credible or not like you mention at the end.

  2. LKSOC1004 Avatar
    LKSOC1004

    I think it is good that Verified exists in the first place. I learned quite a bit from it. I think that it can be disheartening to see what people fall for on the internet, but I don’t think that the issue is a monolith. Surely, some people are just emotionally invested in a side. That means that they often won’t engage with anything in good faith. They have a conclusion they prefer prior to any chance at investigation. I do think that a lot of people are actually incredibly capable of investigating things. Verified is a response to an exigency after all. What I am getting at is that, while it may seem like people are just dumb, many people are very intelligent but lack the strategies and skills needed to verify things adequately. I would admit that I have easily fallen into the trap of stopping at “well, I don’t know what is true, but this sounds like it can/can’t be.” Granted, I would try to withhold opinion in those cases as best I can. Still, people lacking the skillset is a shame because most people are perfectly capable of employing the strategies in Verified. Someone just has to teach them how.

Leave a Reply