In today’s reading about online content, I was introduced to the term “civil inattention.” This refers to a common societal norm in which people know not to interrupt or get involved in a conversation if they are not directly invited to do so by one of the original participants. The questioned posed, however, is whether or not this can be applicable or let alone possible online. Personally, I feel that it depends on how an online platform is being used, as there are several means of online communication that vary in terms of the privacy that they offer. For example, I feel that a significant portion of social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter promote public communication over privacy, as a majority of user’s posts are being made public and can be seen and/or interacted with by other users. In this sense, it is hard for civil invitation to apply. However, these same sites also offer a range of settings that make certain posts available exclusively to select users. If one wishes to receive even further privacy, they can even use direct messages to prevent anybody besides the recipient(s) from seeing their conversation. In the end, I feel that it is up the communicators themselves on whether or not they wish to make civil invitation applicable to their conversation; it all depends on which approach they decide to communicate with.
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| By EFF-Graphics (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 us (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons |
Hi Alan! I think it is really nice that you brought up and expanded upon the privacy aspect of ciivl inattention. When I first thought of practicing this concept online, I thought how I ignore many posts by others and don’t engage, but it is important to consider social media privacy setting as well. Every person will practice a different level of civil inattention online, and sites that offer a range of privacy settings aid in facilitating that.
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