Buck Response

I, like Ronnie, like to stay connected. I value texting because it allows me to keep in touch with those close to me. I don't text much, usually just my mom because she’s two and a half hours away, and my boyfriend while he’s at work. I update Facebook whenever I remember to, usually just to make special announcements. I can’t remember the last time I updated my personal Twitter. This is simply because I don’t feel inclined to share every little detail of my day with social media. I’m too busy trying to stay involved with my surroundings to be sharing them on a social media platform. I think this is how Ronnie and I differ. I do indulge in checking Facebook whenever I have time, but Buck describes Ronnie as “[i]ntegrating his daily offline activity into his online identity” (9). I know plenty of people like Ronnie who cannot go to an event without updating about it and being on their phone the whole time “staying connected” but ironically missing the opportunity to be connected with the real life around him. I know people like Ronnie who “on their walk to class in the morning, takes a picture of [fill in the blank] and tweets it” (9). These people seem to me like they are walking around looking for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram opportunities, and not just enjoying the walk to class. That is not me at all.

“Writing researchers need to consider how these literacy practices are connected to academic literacy practices and how these different influences on literacy work together.”

As Buck states in the next paragraph, developing a digital literacy can help increase academic literacy in that “students are not only writing more, but are also effective in crafting and communicating specific messages to specific audiences.” I think this is because posting a status on Facebook may not be the same as posting a tweet to Twitter. I know I am friends with older family members, employers, etc. on Facebook, but only my peers follow me on Twitter. Some subjects may be appropriate for Twitter but not for Facebook, and vice versa. Being able to craft a message specific to an audience helps in academic writing in knowing who the audience is and how to address the topic at hand.