Social Citizens Questions

“Social Citizens” by Allison Fine
Respond in writing to the following:
1. What is Fine’s purpose in writing? What goal(s) does she have for this text? Who is her audience? Find a sentence/passage where she communicates the rhetorical situation and paste it below.
a. I believe one of the purposes of her writing is to re-examine certain aspects of culture and society that we believe to be set in stone. Another purpose of her writing is to explain who social citizens are. They are anyone who has three different characteristics; digital fluency, idealism, and immersion in social causes. I’m pretty sure a goal she has for her text was to convince older generations that millenails are not “generation Q”, that is, inactive and lazy, but are actually quite the opposite. They are engaged in social activism using new technology and social networking. A sentence in which she outlines a rhetorical situation would be when she talks about how people of other generations

2. Fine makes many, many assertions about “millennials” in her text. What is one assertion? How does she support it? Is the support effective? In other words, does it build her logos effectively? Explain. Based on your experience as a member of the “millennial” generation, do you agree? Explain.
An assertion that is made in her text is the reference to millenails as “Generation Q” in that they are too laid back and lazy regarding many of the pressing issues

3. How does Fine’s piece clarify some of the observations Spanier made in “Is Campus Activism Dead”? How does she account for millennials’ lack of interest in protesting.
i. It doesn't. She says that the millennials' lack of interest is due to technology and entertainment and their lack of commitment to important issues outside of the realm of entertainment.

4. What are some of the dangers/drawbacks of online activism, according to Fine’s text?
Some of the dangers involved could be the misuse of facts and information that are spun to make the issues sound different than they actually are. Another problem is legitimate sources of the information could not be legitimate at all. Personal research is key but also finding credentials and using proven legitimate databases are helpful as well.

5. Overall, do you think online activism is an effective means to evoke social change? Explain.
i. I do. More people than ever before have access to computers, telephones and the internet.

6. What cause(s) are you considering for your class project? What makes these causes attractive to you?
a. A cause I’m considering would be immigration reform because of all the illegal immigrants trafficking drugs and causing crimes along the border and throughout the U.S. Also, immigration laws need to reconsider whether or not the influx of immigrants is as beneficial as it once was.