science

Online segregation

Online segregation is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Online segregation rather than just read about it. In short: Online segregation is the unintentional segregation of people on the Internet, which is often believed to be a democratizing tool used to bring equality among people. For example, popular social network services such as MySpace and Facebook have been argued to magnify social, political, and class divides that already exist in the real world.

Key takeaways

Online segregation belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Online segregation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Online segregation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Online segregation is the unintentional segregation of people on the Internet, which is often believed to be a democratizing tool used to bring equality among people. For example, popular social network services such as MySpace and Facebook have been argued to magnify social, political, and class divides that already exist in the real world.

Impression Management A study on respectability politics argues that "modern social media presents new challenges for self-presentation and impression management." In the media, people are often forced behave according to the White power structure and keep in mind the appropriate rhetoric, context, or style that fits the taste of White people. This accounts for the concept of "imagined audience," where social norms and social context impact the visibility of people—especially that of minorities—online.

See also Segregation (at Wiktionary) Racial segregation Age segregation Age verification Occupational segregation Echo chamber (media)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Online segregation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Online segregation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Online segregation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Online segregation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Online segregation

In research: Online segregation appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Online segregation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Online segregation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Internet culture, Racial segregation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Online segregation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Online segregation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Online segregation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Online segregation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Online segregation in simple terms?

Why does Online segregation matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Online segregation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Online segregation.