Dr. Alice Marwick and Will Partin show that “bakers” work together to scaffold elaborate interpretations of Q’s drops. They don’t accept everything, and instead critically examine different theories and evidence. This “criticism” is not based on the same truths that you & I take as truth. Instead it’s a whole alternate epistemology, one based on rejecting mainstream media and instead reifying what we call “populist expertise.”
They argue that this entire process constitutes a “dark participatory culture,” calling into question the idea of participation as inherently good. The baking process relies on the same mechanisms as fan communities, & provide participants with similar social benefits.
Unless we understand these communities & what people get out of them, we can’t change them. And advocating for media literacy as a solution without carefully thinking through what that means is doomed to fail.
(Image credit: Gerry Popplestone, via Flickr)