The socio-rhetorical potential of the Ordinary Person Testimony in social media

In today's fragmented, visual public sphere, persuasive messages increasingly blur the line between private expression and public debate. This paper introduces Ordinary Person Testimony (OPT), a social media genre in which individuals share personal experiences, and examines its value for fostering critical thinking and media literacy. We report two studies with young Polish adults: a pilot study on recognition of OPT as a rhetorical genre, and a survey ( N = 69) of interpretations of and responses to authentic OPT posts. Results show that students view OPTs as credible and socially meaningful, yet hesitate to share them due to privacy and identity concerns. Participants identified key persuasive aims—informing others, offering support, and influencing attitudes—and noted the genre's potential to polarize public debate. The contemporary (social) media landscape is characterized by growing (inter)subjectivity and by the increasing importance of individualized stances in information selection, sharing, and commenting. This study contributes to a better understanding of social media users’ preferences regarding communication, information selection, and knowledge-construction habits.