Interpretive and Evaluative Questions - 9/16/15

Jasneel Chaddha

9/16/15

WRI-UF 101.023

Prof. Mitchell Jackson

Interpretive and Evaluative Questions

“Generation Why?”

Interpretive:

1.)      According to Smith’s article, what seems to be the fundamental difference between “People 1.0” and “People 2.0”?

2.)      Why does Smith believe that The Social Network does a poor job of depicting Mark Zuckerberg, or “nerds” in general?

3.)      Smith states a quote from The Social Network: “We lived on farms, then we lived in cities and now we’re gonna live on the internet.” What does this mean?

Evaluative:

1.)      Smith expresses that “we have different ideas about things. Specifically, we have different ideas about what a person is, or should be.” Does social media, like Facebook, cause us to make judgments about peopl? Are these judgments inaccurate or misguided, and do they often lead to discrimination?

2.)      According to Smith, “when a human being becomes a set of data on a website like Facebook, he or she is reduced. Everything shrinks. Individual character. Friendships. Language. Sensibility.” Is social media, or the internet as a whole, causing us to lose our sense of self worth and dignity? Does it contribute to constant self-consciousness?

3.)      Smith states that Facebook does not help to stay in touch with others; if we truly cared about others and wanted to see them or stay in touch, we would find better ways. She says that “what we actually want to do is the bare minimum.” How does this relate to the growing notion that the generation of New Millennials are extremely self-centered?