Can Social Media Resolve Social Decisions?

            In Danah Boyd’s book titled “Inequality: Can Social Media Resolve Social Decisions?” the audience experiences the different ways that Boyd analyzes inequality with social media. One of the primary ways that she goes about this is through her personal interviews with high school teens and their reactions to inequality through social media. While talking with these teens, she discovers that social media is not assisting these teens with expunging inequalities. As she continues to conduct her fieldwork, she finds out that racial segregation is almost inherent in schools even though it is unintentional. It is part of the social norms that were established by the students from previous years. She also researches information from other sources to assist her points. For example, she discusses the controversy behind Langdon Winner’s essay “Do Artefacts Have Politics” (304) Even though this doesn’t have too much to do with social media since it was written in 1980, it shows the racial classifications that had developed. By bringing in outside information, she is able to establish ethos to make her audience believe in her various points.

            The final way that she is able to drive her arguments home is by giving her own personal opinions on the topic. From the get go, the audience understands that she doesn’t believe that social media will eradicate inequality. The interviews that she had with the teens instilled in her this belief that social media couldn’t possibly have an effect on the disappearance of inequality. She looks at all of these views from a variety of different angles so that the audience can get a good look at what is happening with this topic. Her masterful writing and the viewpoints she gives the reader really assist her in the analysis of social media’s effect on inequality.