Digital Literacy

Digital Rhetoric and Digital Literacy

Whether we realize it or not, our perceived experience of the internet is very intentionally shaped by online creators. Political memes, YouTube tutorials, and AI-generated images all might be persuading you to feel or believe certain things unknowingly. My goal today is to beg the question(s): What makes these messages persuasive? How does digital rhetoric affect our actions and beliefs? Should we be worried that we’re being manipulated?=

What Is Digital Rhetoric?

We all know that just blindly slapping a definition on something without sufficient understanding of it can be dangerous. With that being said, digital rhetoric needs a base for our understanding, so let’s get into it. Simply, digital rhetoric is the art of using language and other forms of media to persuade a digital audience. As Eyman stated, digital rhetoric involves applying traditional rhetorical theory to digital media. Confused yet? If so, that’s alright, it’s a bit of a tricky topic to grasp.

Digital rhetoric encompasses more than simply how we communicate online. It is the basis for how all messages are created and received. Digital rhetoric is the cornerstone for digital literacy, so it’s crucial to understand the basics.

Digital Rhetoric in Everyday Life

There is a pretty good chance that digital rhetoric has already influenced you today–likely unbeknownst to you. 

• Did you scroll through Twitter today and see anything about Jimmy Kimmel? Maybe using his cancellation to make a political argument?
• Did you click on any YouTube videos with intentionally deceiving thumbnails to drive engagement(clickbait)? 
• Did you watch any TikToks using a trending sound in order to get more mainstream exposure?
  

These are all examples of rhetorical strategies being applied in digital form, through design, messaging, and emotion; it’s all intentional to make you feel something, and it works really well.

Digital Literacy & the AI Era

Digital literacy is a key component of understanding digital rhetoric. After all, you need to be able to understand what it is exactly you’re viewing, what the goal of its messaging is, and how/what it’s trying to persuade you of if you want to consider yourself knowledgeable in digital spaces. One pressing example that comes to mind is the ability to distinguish the difference between AI-generated and human content. 

I will now hastily transition to my point to spare my mother from having to relive the chat we had about why consuming AI content is bad. The ability to distinguish between real and AI videos is a form of digital literacy in and of itself. It is a skill all of us should possess in this digital age, and unfortunately, one we can not take for granted that everyone possesses. I do not think I need to explain why AI content that can be relatively passable as real by the general public is dangerous. 

One real-world example that came to me is the fairly recent trope of older people not being able to discern what is obviously AI. Admittedly, I took a rather uncharitable approach at first. Seeing Gen X and Boomers on Facebook and other online spaces willingly interacting with OBVIOUSLY AI-generated content as if it were real was humorous to me. I really did think that only a fool could be shocked, amazed, and even moved to tears by AI content. Then it happened to my own mother. I went into her room to ask her if she needed something from the store, only to find her with her eyes closed in an almost meditative state, listening to an AI-generated Nelson Mandela reciting a motivational mantra on how to de-stress your life. 

Why It Matters

In our very digital world, the ability to understand, create, and safely consume digital messaging is a vital skill. This goes not only for marketers and college students, but anyone who interacts with media online. 

By understanding digital rhetoric, we can traverse online spaces more thoughtfully, and most importantly, more safely.