A great example is the use of "Latinx". My wife has been getting more liberal lately, gets her morning talking points by some email list, and she used that word. I pointed out to her that most Latino people don't use that and a large # object to it. I finally had to forward her a survey to make the point. Yet you'll see Latinx all over the place on Twitter!
Thank you for shedding light on a subject that dwells in the dungeon of online activity I have a lot of time to spend on-line, partly because I don't participate in any common social media such as Twitter or Facebook. I enjoy commenting on the subjects offered here on Substack by the writers I subscribe to, and a couple of blogs, but mostly, I just use my on-line time to seek subjects that interest me. I do notice that in real life, I encounter almost nothing that comprises the negative aspects of social media or my on-line bubble world. No racism, no biases, no hatred, no Karens. The people in my sphere are normal, decent people, friendly and helpful and fair-minded. I often think how fortunate I am to live in such a nice environment, but this essay made me realize that were it not for the world I encounter on-line, I would simply think most everywhere in the US is like where I live. Perhaps not in big urban areas. or big blue cities, but aside from those places, based on my experience, most of the US is made up of pleasant communities filled with good people. My work takes me to a lot of locations outside where I live, and even in places like San Francisco and Portland I haven't encountered anyone like those typically portrayed on-line. If I'm just lucky, then I'm grateful for that, but like you say, on-line isn't a real place.
A great example is the use of "Latinx". My wife has been getting more liberal lately, gets her morning talking points by some email list, and she used that word. I pointed out to her that most Latino people don't use that and a large # object to it. I finally had to forward her a survey to make the point. Yet you'll see Latinx all over the place on Twitter!
Thank you for shedding light on a subject that dwells in the dungeon of online activity I have a lot of time to spend on-line, partly because I don't participate in any common social media such as Twitter or Facebook. I enjoy commenting on the subjects offered here on Substack by the writers I subscribe to, and a couple of blogs, but mostly, I just use my on-line time to seek subjects that interest me. I do notice that in real life, I encounter almost nothing that comprises the negative aspects of social media or my on-line bubble world. No racism, no biases, no hatred, no Karens. The people in my sphere are normal, decent people, friendly and helpful and fair-minded. I often think how fortunate I am to live in such a nice environment, but this essay made me realize that were it not for the world I encounter on-line, I would simply think most everywhere in the US is like where I live. Perhaps not in big urban areas. or big blue cities, but aside from those places, based on my experience, most of the US is made up of pleasant communities filled with good people. My work takes me to a lot of locations outside where I live, and even in places like San Francisco and Portland I haven't encountered anyone like those typically portrayed on-line. If I'm just lucky, then I'm grateful for that, but like you say, on-line isn't a real place.
Good column, John.