In Just Like Me!, Mary Stephan ventures two claims that call into question the widespread esteem for social networking sites. First, she contends that personal encounter with difference is a necessary—though not sufficient—condition for a deliberative democracy. Because current frameworks limit our ability to evaluate the prevalence of personal encounter with difference, Stephan proposes a novel methodology for assessing the prevalence of encounter with difference.
Second, Just Like Me! investigates existing personal encounter with difference online, and discovers that networks on social networking sites have structures that diminish personal encounter with difference. Furthermore, Just Like Me! details a number of mechanisms that have been instituted by corporations like Google and Facebook that exacerbate the deficiency of personal encounter with difference.
