Was Boyd Really Exploring A New Topic?

The purpose of writing an inquiry essay is to explore a topic you are not previously informed about but are interested in learning more about it. It is supposed to delve deep into areas you never knew existed and write about the ideas and brand-new concepts you come across. In all, you demonstrate your learning experience in which you approach the topic from all sides.

Boyd attempts to write an inquiry essay by answering the question throughout – “Can Social Media Resolve Social Divisions?” She goes about interviewing social media users – which are mostly teenagers – and ask them how they feel about their community and their atmosphere in social media racially. The interesting part is that she only includes the perspective of students who feel like their surroundings is racially divided, whether they know it or not. Each point she brings up is about boys and girls who are inclined to spend time with people from their own racial background because it gives them a sense of familiarity and safety in fact. This is also known as homophily, which means “the practice of connecting with likeminded individuals” (pg. 426).

Nowhere in her writing does she give a counterargument, where she finds an environment that is not racist. All the places she mentions, whether it be in schools or on the internet, have some form of racism that divides people because of the previous experiences and ideals. There are so many places on the internet that are inclusive of other races, such as particular forums that bring many people together because of one idea. In this case, race isn’t an issue because that is not the purpose of the group. Instead, she leans towards choosing lower privileged schools that are heavily segregated due to their skin color where they have nicknames for which racial group hangs out where. On the other hand, in my school background didn’t matter although the majority of the student population was white. Asians hung out African Americans, Indians hung out with whites as long as they got along in personality. My point is, Boyd did not research all places that could have gone against her main argument, which failed to show that she truly wanted to explore a new topic.