Hilgemann: CAPs #3

Social media is extraordinarily prevalent in today’s world of constant communication. According to Martin & Nakayama, almost 50% of Americans, including 83% of young adults aged 18 to 35, report using at least one social networking site (2012, page 305). The prevalence of these websites, most notably Facebook and Twitter, leads to a fluid cultural space, as opposed to the rigid structures that were present throughout history. Now, comments that may have been made in the past between small groups of friends are now posted across the internet for the masses to read. This fact is nowhere more apparent than the UNL Haters web blog.

                The purpose of the blog is to capture hateful comments that were posted on social media sites by people in and around the University of Nebraska system. In all honesty, I think my reaction to the content of the blog was slightly different than most. Yes, I agree that most of the comments noted on the website are in bad taste, and there are plenty of examples that are inexcusable, but I didn’t pick up any hatred towards particular groups. I think most of the posts can be attributed to a simple lack of awareness of cultural diversity. The website itself states that, "Not everyone featured are haters, many are simply ignorant/" Many students have not had significant international experiences, and they aren’t as open to doing things differently. Now this is still a problem, but I don’t think it’s rooted more in ignorance than a steadfast hatred of other cultural groups.

                It’s interesting to compare the UNL Haters the “StuffWhitePeopleLike” blog. Most, if not all, of the responses to the latter were positive. The general consensus seemed to be that the articles were well thought out satirical pieces of comedy. I will concede that the posts on UNL Haters are generally not very well thought, and the posts on StuffWhitePeopleLike seem to have a bit more of a purpose. However, it begs to question what your opinion would be if the content was switched. What if someone wrote a three paragraph satirical commentary on the number of Asians around campus, or a one line Facebook post about how there are always so many white people playing Frisbee behind Kaufman? Is there a double standard at play here or are our views solely based on context?

                In summary, I frankly don’t think UNL Haters exposes any sort of inherent hatred towards cultural groups, but it does show that students need to be better prepared to live in an environment rich in cultural diversity. Connecting this to the real world, I think the website points out a need for more intercultural education. I don’t think this sort of education can be gained in the classroom. Ideally, the best way to learn about international communications is to become part of the international community. I personally would like to see more students taking advantage of study abroad opportunities. Living in another country gives a person a completely different view of culture as a whole, and would help cut down on the cultural ignorance apparent in the UNL Haters blog.

               

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2012). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.