OK Boomer, Let’s Settle This in the Comments

a small town facebook group, with a lot to say

In 2015, my mom bit the bullet. As a longer time adversary of Facebook any everything it stood for, my 60 year old mother was finally asking me to make her an account so she could keep up with her book group. I obliged and helped her find the right pictures and privacy settings to use. My only condition was this: whatever you do, do not go on Winchester MA, Residents.

A Social Network or a Social Experiment?

At first glance, the group appeared to be a town Facebook page where people would post about lost cats, and promote local businesses. In the small affluent town of Winchester, MA, every resident in town could gain access to the page as long as they had a facebook account. It seemed benign; however to me, it was a fascinating social experiment.

Naturally, each member had a different level of digital literacy. In Social Media, Enduring Principles by Ashlee Humphrees, literacy is defined as “having mastery over the processes by means of which culturally significant information is encoded.” This definition translates to “digital literacy” by making these processes, resources, and cultural capital digital.

What happens when people with varying levels of digital literacy, different generations, and different political views enter the wild west of a private Facebook group?

Round One: FIGHT

In high school, I would come to school and hear people buzzing about the latest “debate” on Winchester Residents. The fights often resorted to petty back and forths and ad hominem. Many people trolled the comment threads with the intention to provoke. Others saw the page as a place to stand on a soap box and write essays about their two cents.

One of the most commonly recurring arguments was about the Town Mascot: the Sachem.

Inevitably, political differences took their toll on the discourse of the group. For a controversial post, the comment section would average 200-300 comments.

The issues with these threads are twofold: the quality of discussion and the effectiveness of discussion. The platform itself changes the way we debate. Instead of traditional town forums, the channel of communication dismantles any chance for compromise. Growing up, I observed that behind computers, people are bolder and meaner; they have access to sources reinforcing their view at their fingertips. 

In many cases, those with more computer literacy were fast to make their point with the cultural capital at their disposal. Those with less cultural capital seemed to double down on their beliefs in response

The Best Minds of Our Generation?

Ashlee Humphrees defines habitus as “the context into which one is socialized.” It is well known that Millenials and GenZ are more socialized in a digital environment than their Baby Boomer counterparts.

The generational miscommunications were too many to count but this was one of my favorites.

An AP US history student as the high school wrote a long declaration about why he believed we should have a snow day. He used a lot of flower language and historical references; he concluded it by saying “I speak on behalf of all my suffering classmates. We hope that Ms Evans reconsiders, and that our dystopian society will gradually improve. Sincerely, an advocate for Jacksonian democracy.”  

While the post seemed satirical to me and most of my other peers, many members of the older generation took it very seriously.

Being GenZ, I have been socialized to identify a troll or a meme when I see one. As is the case with many generational divides, things get lost in communication. On Winchester residents, I witnessed a clash of generations- a beautiful cacophony of miscommunication. I believe this little page is a perfect microcosm of the generational, political, and identitarian rift.

Ok, Boomer

The OK, Boomer meme represents something I have been privy to ever since joining Winchester Residents. The New York Times called it “the end of friendly generational relations.” However, the process of generational divide has been alive and well before Ok, Boomer; The process itself has been exacerbated by digital inequality.

Why does this matter? 

Suddenly we have a lot to talk about but we are not speaking the same language. We are woefully unequipped to talk about important issues online, not everything is as simple as a lost cat in a town Facebook page.

Many Winchester, MA Residents members featured in the screenshots have been banned from the group for rocking the boat, removed from the conversation all together. Is this our only solution?

How do we bridge the gap? And could we ever do so in the Facebook comments section?