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To Life: Optimism Bias and Technological Ties in the Face of the Worst
Author(s) -
Cerulo Karen A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
sociological forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1573-7861
pISSN - 0884-8971
DOI - 10.1111/socf.12113
Subject(s) - optimism , conversation , optimism bias , face (sociological concept) , sociology , family ties , media studies , social psychology , social science , psychology , history , communication , genealogy
This essay addresses a recent media controversy. Two journalists actively questioned the appropriateness of a popular blog that chronicles a young woman's fight with cancer. Elaine Replogle ([Replogle, Elaine, 2014]) unfolds the facts of this case and discusses the role of fame and status in understanding the journalists' response to the blog. Here, I extend that conversation, exploring how our culture's optimism bias, as well as the increasing importance of our technological ties, informs our understanding of both the blog and its critics.