🍎 True story time! I used to be a member of secret student WhatsApp chat communities when I was getting my graduate degrees.
Lately, I find myself thinking a lot about the dynamics of these secretive student online group chats in reference to bigger things like elections and the attention economy.
These student chat groups were often made at the start of a term and were usually specific to a course. There, students would share how boring the instructor was, how confusing the readings were, and how very tired everyone was.
I noticed there was a very small percentage of folks active in every chat who purported to understand "clearly" what was happening the course. These voices were often more listened-to than the instructors themselves, or even the course materials available on learning portals.
These vocal students were, afterall, authentic, PEER voices. Of course, authenticity and representation are ESSENTIAL in an attention economy. These elements are critically important among distractable, exhausted and mistrustful communities.
Some of the most vocal folks in the chat were often disinformers who had a very skewed and/or fragmented understanding of the course. I'd watch them share wildly incorrect course info to profuse 'thank you's' from other students.
From the erroneous conclusions about course activities to dead wrong deadlines, these loud, assertive voices shared their information with seamless, glib confidence.
Other vocal folks were disinformers in another way. They'd brag that they "didn't need to study" that that they "never did the readings" but were able to succeed regardless because it was "all about mindset". These voices too attracted a grateful and 'fascinated' following looking for shortcuts and lifestyle tips.
Then there were folks like me, smaller in number, who were the officious, pedantic rule followers who would attempt to fact-check and warn the others. We were often shouted down by the other voices, and their followers.
What we were selling wasn't any 'fun', we had no listicle-style advance or shortcuts to offer. Our information was often correct but dull. Our advice was, "Do the readings" and "Get started early". We were observably less popular in these groups.
The single largest group were the folks who only got their info from one of the 3 vocal groups in the chat: The 'Disinformers', the 'Shortcut Gurus' and/or the 'Nerds'.
This large group weren't necessarily getting their guidance from the source. These folks were too busy to visit the course materials, keep up with the readings or listen the lectures. They were, by choice or circumstance, aliterate; and too disinterested or tired to read.
It was understandable. Many folks had to work part- or full-time jobs. They had to commute 2-4 hrs a day. By necessity, they surrendered their control to the disinformers.
The rest were lurkers, quietly watching the fray, trying to decide which voice to listen to.
🙃 Now, I wonder: does any of this sound familiar?
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