By this point in the day on a Sunday afternoon, it is likely that you’ve spent at least a little bit of time scrolling through social media. Whether it be Instagram posts of your friends or tweets about football, you’ve been exposed to a multitude of information. Have you been listening to this information? As Kate Crawford explains in “Following You: Disciplines of Listening in Social Media,” the way in which we actively participate in listening to social media “contributes to the sense of what is possible, as well as to the qualities of being” (79). Crawford touches on the ever-evolving landscape of technology and how it affects how we communicate over social media. She explains that, just as if we were to listen to one in a face to face conversation, we listen to the things people post about on social media. Essentially, what one puts out onto social media can be equated to their “voice.” Personally, I had never really thought about it in this context. I spend a significant amount of time on social media, but I don’t believe that I “listen” to what is being shared as attentively as I should, or the way I would if I was listening to someone’s physical voice. Crawford also brings to light the fact that, with social media one has the previously impossible ability of listening to the ideas and words of millions of other people, so our responsibility to listen becomes much greater. Nine years later and this point becomes exceedingly more relevant. Social media has grown tenfold since 2009 and millions more voices are being shared. So, just as the number of voices are rising, the number of active listeners should as well.
