The business of fake news: How algorithms influence our opinions
Scout Hutchinson, Columnist
October 15, 2020
The spread of information, news, personal ideas and stories through the internet has created a world where it seems like everything is at your fingertips. However, these online spaces have also created one of the biggest landscapes for business and uncontrolled capitalism. Information and knowledge have ...
Neutrality in the age of the quantified self
Victoria Helmer, Columnist
October 8, 2020
From test scores to fitness trackers, many of us are quantitatively evaluated on a daily basis, and these ratings can come with a host of spiritual side effects. A classic example of this is social media. As ex-Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya has stated, “We get rewarded by hearts, likes, thumbs up and we conflate that with value and we conflate it with truth....
Gen Z: We’re doing more than you think
Ava Liponis, Columnist
September 24, 2020
Gen Z is the largest and most racially diverse generation in the United States; we distrust power and dislike authority; we are masters of technology and pioneers of social media. With that said, Gen Z has inherited a mess of a world, from 9/11 and the war on terror, to two of the worst economic reces...
The healing nature of digital minimalism
Victoria Helmer, Columnist
September 17, 2020
With so much going on, we can easily feel as if we are trapped in a bottomless pit of apocalyptic news, and this sentiment rings especially true if we compulsively check our devices. Since many facets of our lives have moved online, we are now extra susceptible to spending more time than we’d like to o...
Controversial social media posts cause Whitman Athletics backlash
Tate Cadang, Staff Reporter
September 17, 2020
Recent social media posts by the athletics department of Whitman College have produced negative feedback from alumni and current students despite the intention to demonstrate support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Kim Chandler, Whitman’s athletic director, stands behind the message of the posts...
Numbness in the information age
Gavin Victor, Columnist
April 30, 2020
The principle is simple: repetitive stimulus leads to the human being needing a greater amount of stimulus for the same effect. This phenomenon occurs in many forms, but I think that it is critical to look at the effects of exposure to a constant flood of “information” — a term that has become so n...
Man who trades in iPhone for flip phone likens himself to contemporary Thoreau
Ann Karneus, Aroused
November 7, 2019
Although technology in the digital age provides us with instantaneous connections and a wealth of information, the sheer volume of these resources can lead to a life full of distractions. Sophomore Josh Frederickson is combatting this dilemma by deciding to give up his silver iPhone X for a sleek Mo...
Social Media
Claire Reichle, Feature Editor
November 16, 2018
The Whitman community is formed in many ways - a common Encounters experience, living together in the dorms and even simple things like a walking across Ankeny every day. Students are forging new ways to create community on campus through social media — specifically Instagram and Faceb...
WWU Grapples with Blackface Incident
Martina Pansze, Editor in Chief
April 5, 2018
Just before the student body of Walla Walla University departed for Spring Break two weeks ago, a racist photograph with the school’s logo circulated through social media. The photo is a publicly posted snapchat screenshot of six individuals, five of them wearing what appear to be black facial masks. The photo has a WWU logo filter and the caption #prettyHurts, as well as the w...
Crossing the Street
Nikolaus Kennelly, Opinion Writer
October 29, 2017
Binge walkers, unlike most other compulsive types, have the rare quality of being able to think about the object of their compulsion without experiencing anything like self-doubt. That is, in a society where urges and vices usually go hand-in-hand, walking stands nearly alone as an activity that is both...
Putting Down Your Smartphone
India Flinchum, Columnist
September 10, 2017
Social media can be a temporary distraction, but its long-term effects are shocking; they’re what ultimately turned me away from excessive social media use towards infrequent and unreliable social media engagement. I deleted my Instagram account this summer and have, quite honestly, only regretted it ...
Insidious Advertising Corrupts our Lives
Peggy Li, Opinion Editor
February 16, 2017
In childhood, it started with the commercials on all of our favorite TV channels, but as we’ve gotten older, advertisements have morphed and adapted with us and to us. Lately, no matter where you’re trying to go, you’re being sold something. Instagram has started its sponsored posts, with man...
