boyd's Inequality: Can Social Media Resolve Social Divisions?

Danah boyd explores the topics of racism and inequality through social media in her piece, Inequality: Can Social Media Resolve Social Divisions? She focuses her attention on a school in Los Angeles, in which white students and black students are divided in much of the school. The students call these areas, “Disneyland” and “Six Flags.” boyd uses video to interview the students and to discuss why the students accept the normalcy of the segregation. boyd utilizes other methods such as personal examples and data to support her article. The fieldwork that boyd employs is up close and personal. She inserts herself into the conversation and story, and uses her commentary throughout the article to tell the story she creates.  Much like Jacob’s article Consider the Lobster, boyd uses first person narrative to speak to her audience and to create a “dinner table” type conversation. Boyd invites many of the students to the conversation by interviews and surveys in order to give their voice to the topic. By looking at social media, boyd explores how these platforms should be helping to eliminate racism but instead support it. She mentions that the friend groups and chats online are an indication of how segregated and divided the online world is. This exploration speaks to the modern reader and adds a relatable spin to the article. boyd’s incorporation of personal narratives helps to develop the pathos of the author. In comparison to Jacob’s article, boyd focuses mainly on interviews and in depth explorations of society, where Jacob follows a personal exploration of his views and how society should question itself. Both articles ask questions to society and follow an exploration of the question through research and fieldwork.