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Trolling and Online Abusers - WEEK 11

In this day and age, everyone active on social media will be aware of the terms ‘trolling’ and ‘cyberbullying’. Society has such easy access to people's personal lives through social media as these social media apps have become a part of users' everyday life, we are now ‘always on’ or ‘always connected’, making behaviours like cyberbullying to be more common than face-to-face bullying.  ‘Technology violence’ is when technology is misused in a way to stalk, harass, abuse, intimidate and humiliate through a cyber space. In recent years behaviours such as ‘gaslighting’ and ‘trolling’ have become very common on social media. Women especially have been subject to these behaviours online, as online feminism has been on the rise. This is the dark side of social media and being part of the public sphere. 

‘Trolling’ can be described as, joking at the expense of somebody else; deliberately posting controversial or off-topic content, or maliciously arguing with another online user. “It is used nowadays as a blanket term for any type of negatively marked online content” (Hardaker 2010). Most of the time people “troll” as a way to target a response. Although trolling is considered misbehaviour, it gains a large amount of attention and online users find trolling entertaining, which in my opinion is part of the problem. 

‘Technology violence’ and ‘cyberbullying’ comes from the idea that power and control in the physical world can stem into the online world. This type of violence is common in intimate relationships. These sorts of social interactions put online citizens in fearful and threatening situations. The reason this happens so often these days is because this type of communication is computer-mediated, the lack of physical and social cues makes the online space prone to bullying and trolling. I believe that ‘technology violence’ needs to be part of the education system as technology is so powerful in the 21st century and this problem continues to grow and technology does. 

REFERENCES: 

Fuller.G, 2014, Cyber-Safety’: what are we actually talking about?, The Conversation, viewed 28 May 2020 <https://theconversation.com/cyber-safety-what-are-we-actually-talking-about-23505>

Gleeson. J, 2018, Explainer: what does gaslighting mean?, The Conversation, viewed 28 May 2020 <https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-gaslighting-mean-107888>

Hopkins, S, Ostini. J, 2015, Online harassment is a form of violence,  The Conversation, viewed 28 May 2020 <https://theconversation.com/online-harassment-is-a-form-of-violence-38846> 

Golf-Papez. M, Veer. E, 2017, ‘Don’t feed the trolling: rethinking how online trolling is being defined and combated’, Journal of Marketing Management, vol 3, iss 15-16, pp 1336-1354 

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Lady Gaga herself was cyberbullied by her peers in university, who made a Facebook group called ‘Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.’ Well bitches, look at this Grammy and Oscar winning queen slaying the entire entertainment industry. 

WE STAN AN ICON WHO IGNORED HER HATERS 

As I like to say: don’t let the bastards grind you down. 

Amy 

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KK Slider Animation made by Farrukh3D

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Video Gaming Industry - WEEK 10

The video gaming industry is huge and continues each year to develop more advanced technologies such as live streaming while playing video games in more recent years. Gamers are willing to spend a large amount of money on the enjoyment experienced while playing any sort of video game, whether it be a social game, MOD, competitive gaming such as esports or even arcade games. Gaming tends to be an industry that is very much male dominated. “...there is no question that gender inequality remains a significant issue in this historically male-domintaed space” (Massanari 2015; Salter and Blodgett 2017). Although this is true, the number of women gamers are always growing. According to Elisabeth Hayes however, women tend to play more ‘casual’ games such as Solitaire, Tetris or Sims, as opposed to ‘hard-core’ games such as first person shooter or fantasy games which are targeted more towards men. 

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) have grown in popularity on the internet all around the world. Players are able to customize their avatars they choose to play with as well as alter the roles they take on. MMORPGs include social interactions, group interactions and games goods trading. Creators of these games aim to satisfy players with a gaming experience and environment that allows them to interact with other players from around the world. Farmville is an example of a social game that is a MMORPG. It was created by Zynga and released on Facebook in 2009. Through the social media site, Farmville gained millions of players very quickly. The game was free to use however involved in-game purchases which players could choose to purchase or not. Players are able to harvest crops, decorate their farms and interact with each other. The game is based on responsibility and routine, through taking care of a Farm. In 2010, more people were playing Farmville than World of WarCraft. A.J Patrick Liszkiewicz argues that people do not play Farmville for the play itself, but for the rewards. Players are able to customize their farms and compare theirs with their friends and families. That seems to be the reason the game has received so much attention. Farmville creates a virtual community, which is very common in many video games. Video Gaming continues to become more mainstream around the globe as the industry has grown immensely during this last decade. 

REFERENCES:

Willson. M, Leaver. T, 2015, ‘Zynga’s Farmville, social games, and the ethics of big data mining’, Communication Research and Practice, vol 1, iss 2, pp 147-158

Maloney. M, Roberts. S, Graham. T, 2019, Gender, Masculinity and Video Gaming, Analysing Reddit’s r/gaming Community, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Switzerland

Kim. K, Yoo. B, Kuaffman. J, 2014, ‘Value of Participation in Social Gaming’, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, vol 18, iss 2, pp 11-50 

Hayes. E, 2005, ‘Women, Video Gaming, & Learning: Beyond Stereotypes’, TechTrends, vol 49, pp 23-28

Liszkiewicz.A.J, 2010, Cultivated Play: Farmville, Berfrois, viewed May 22 2020, <https://www.berfrois.com/2010/10/cultivated-play-farmville/>

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Online Activism and Campaigning - WEEK 9

This week I will be discussing digital activism and campaigning on social media. In today's society activism and campaigning gains traction very easily through social networks that we use everyday. Hashtags are an example of a way that activists are able to use social media technology to coordinate real world action. An example of this includes #MyNYPD, which started off as a campaign for the people of New York to share their good experiences with the New York Police Department. However this slowly turned into a hashtag that showcased instances of police brutality. According to Brooke Foucault Welles, normal people who do not have a large following on twitter were using this hashtag to raise awareness of the police brutality they have experienced in New York. The #MyNYPD campaign backfired when people online changed the context of the hashtag.  It started a huge trend which attracted the mainstream media, which meant suddenly the mainstream media were talking about police brutality stories like they never had before. As a public sphere, the online community came together to raise awareness on a topic that was not discussed enough. 

Another case of social media activism was  the twitter hashtag #SayHerName. This hashtag was used to raise awareness for violence against black women. “#SayHerName combines social media activism, political education, and protests to inform bring attention to violence against Black Women” (Ray. R, Summers. E, Fraistat. N). This campaign was created after the death of Sandra Bland, a black woman who died in police custody. She became a representation for the many black women mistreated by the criminal justice system. Through networks such as twitter and instagram, the campaign allowed black women to document, and inform the public as they seek justice for black women who are victims of violence. The campaigns aim was to “meet the locational standard of intersectionality by which the perspectives of the oppressed move from margin to centre” (Choo and Feree 2010, 138) 

Social media can be used as a tool for social movements through online activism and campaigning. As traditional protests still occur, online activism allows a form of protest to take place online through petitions, donations, verbal protests. Technological developments and social changes have allowed online activism to become much more widespread and reach a larger audience than tradition protests.  

REFERENCES:

Researching Online Activism using Social Network Analysis

VIDEO (Sage Research Methods) <https://methods-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/video/researching-online-activism-using-social-network-analysis>

Yang. G, 2009, ‘ONLINE ACTIVISM’, Journal of Democracy; Baltimore, vol 20, iss 3, pp. 33-36

Ray. R, Summers. E, Fraistat. N, 2017, ‘#SayHerName: a case study of intersectional social media activism’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol 40, iss 11, pp. 1831-1846 

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Digital Health and Cosmetic surgery on Social Media - WEEK 8

The content posted on Social Media these days has a strong influence on users, especially the young generation. When scrolling through my feed I see a lot of beautiful women embracing their looks and bodies. Although it is great to embrace what you have, a large amount of these pictures are unrealistic representations of beauty. According to RealSelf, which is an online research website that offers reviews of cosmetic surgery conducted a survey asking, “Has social media influenced you to consider or choose to have a cosmetic procedure?”. Almost half of the people surveyed admitted that their decision for cosmetic surgery was influenced by the content posted on sites such as facebook and instagram. This survey was conducted in 2015, therefore if done now, the results would most probably be higher. Social norms are influenced by other people in society therefore it is not surprising that people would be influenced to look like the ‘influencers’ they see online. These cosmetic procedures are becoming as mainstream as a haircut. (Marketing Weekly News) 

In 2017 a study was done to see how many plastic-surgery related hashtags were utilized on instagram. #plasticsurgery had 523,361 posts, #facelift had 224,235 posts and #plasticsurgeon had 128,194 posts. This suggests that people seeking plastic surgery information are looking on social media before their consultation. 

Kylie Jenner is recognised for her beauty and style by her 37 million followers on instagram. In 2015 she admitted that she had had temporary lip fillers, at the age of 17 as it was an insecurity of hers. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 68,000 women in the US between the ages of 20-29 got lip fillers after Kylie admitted she had. After that she received a number of cosmetic surgeries which make her look more like her older sister Kim Kardashian, than her younger self. She now showcases her enhanced body parts on instagram while also advertising her makeup line and hair extensions. The young generation that are influenced by her are now encouraged by her to change their appearance and over sexualise themselves on social media. Plastic surgery is not something young girls should be considering, however influencers on social media make them believe that it is normal. 

REFERENCES:

Marketing Weekly News, 2016, Facebook and Instagram Selfies Drive Plastic Surgery Marketing Consultant To Create Google Advertising Campaign Training Video, Gale General OneFile, viewed 8 May 2020, <https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ps/i.do?&id=GALE|A446099177&v=2.1&u=swinburne1&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w>

Dorfman, R.G, Vaca, E.E, Mahmood, E, Fine, N.A & Schierle, C.F 2018, ‘Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilization on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 332-338

Georgina Lavan, 2016, Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s: Kylie's influencing image on teens, BodyMatters Australasia, viewed 8 May 2020, <https://bodymatters.com.au/keeping-kardashians-kylies-influencing-image-teens/>

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ashanti: Around the way girl…

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The Slow Fashion Movement - WEEK 7

In today’s post I'm going to be discussing fashion! The fashion industry is faced paced and always has new trends and emerging styles. I know I love to keep up with the latest fashion trends and social media helps me do that, especially through instagram. ‘Fast fashion’ is influencing how people produce and consume fashion these days as everyone is seeking for the cheapest, hottest trends. However there is a current global market that is growing a trend towards ‘slow fashion’ which focuses on quality and sustainability of fashion. 

‘Fast fashion’ has caused overconsumption and for consumers to buy more clothes than they need. This just leads to fashion waste and has an impact on social and environmental standards. “Over the past decade, companies have realised that sustainablity and ethical conduct have become to matter in fashion” (Moisander and Personen 2019). Nowadays fashion is very contradictory, as people say they believe in sustainability however continue to purchase inexpensive fashions. In the last few years ethical fashion/sustainable fashion has been a popular topic in the media. This has encouraged the growth of the ‘slow-fashion movement. Slow fashion involves the concepts of fast fashion, social responsibility, sustainability and transparency within the fashion system. “Fashion that is not time based, but is about producing, designing and consuming better” (Nakano 2009).

Slow fashion can be described as the ‘farmers market’ approach. “Each garment has a story and consumers have more appreciation and personal connection with their clothing” (Johannson, 2010). Slow fashion is very prevalent with fashion influencers. Jessica Stein (@tuulavintage on Instagram), an instagram influencer with 2.3 million followers promotes many slow fashion brands in her posts to her followers such as Spell and Anthropology, both ethically aware brands who focus on making slow fashion. Influencers like Jessica, are crucial to the movement to raise awareness and what slow fashion looks like, giving inspiration to her followers. Slow fashion practices can impact the future of the global fashion industry in ways that can improve corporate behaviour, corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

REFERENCES:

Pookulangara. S, Shephard. A, 2013, ‘Slow fashion movement: Understanding consumer perceptions - An exploratory study” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol 20, Iss 2, pp 200-206

Hall. J, 2017, ‘Digital Kimono, Fast Fashion, Slow Fashion?” Fashion Theory, Vol 22, Iss 3 pp 283-307 

Brewer. M.K, 2019, ‘Slow Fashion in a Fast Fashion World: Promoting Sustainability and Responsibility’ Laws, Vol 8, Iss 4

Jessica Stein <https://www.instagram.com/tuulavintage/>

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Me af

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Digital Citizenship and political communication through social media - WEEK 6

In my last post I discussed how Tumblr is a digital community for all. Users of Tumblr as well as other social media platforms form groups and communities to find a sense of belonging with people that share the same interests, opinions and values. Users who focus on safe and respectful behaviour in the online environment and practice digital ethics are considered digital citizens. The internet has allowed global citizenship to impact on global issues such as politics. “Social media has become an increasingly important source for political news in particular” (Enli 2017). Social media such as Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram have become politicians information channels, for campaigns as well as a way of interacting with voters. 

The hashtag #Auspol has become one of Australia's most popular used hashtags on Twitter to discuss Australia’s political conversations. This hashtag is a great way for Australian’s to engage and interact with each other about politics. A professor of media and communication at the Queensland University of Technology stated that “There are a handful of very active users which I would number 200 to 300 or so, who are using the hashtag to engage with each other…debating with each other, talking to each other about Australian Politics”. He believes that most people that use this hashtag are not actually professional politicians but they are ‘political junkies’ who like to express their opinions and values in relation to politics. Active users are continuously conversing and arguing with each other through this #Auspol which often results in spirited debate. The users that tweet with the hashtag #Auspol are using their digital citizenship to engage in the political process by sharing their thoughts about Australian Politics through social media. 

The use of social media has been a huge contributing factor to elections and voting. Gunn Enli from the University of Oslo in Norway, explores the social media campaigns of the Trump, Clinton election in 2016. The 2008 campaign was the first campaign that represented the first ‘social media election’. The 2016 election ran with this, and both candidates used social media to their advantage. Social media was primarily used for political marketing. Doing this meant that Clinton and Trump were able to engage with voters directly. Gunn Enli found “examples of personalisation, anti-elitism or populism in political communication on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.” Clinton and Trump both used Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram to communicate with the voters. 

The digital era has allowed constant political communication through social media platforms, which has been a great way for voters to promote who they're voting for and why, recognising the responsibility of being a digital citizen. 

REFERENCES:

Bogle. A, ‘#auspol: The Twitter hashtag Australia can’t live without’, Mashable Australia, 21 March, viewed 1 May 2020 <https://mashable.com/2016/03/21/twitter-australia-auspol/#4tvfXtsZUEqV>

Enli. G, 2017, ‘Twitter as an arena for the authentic outsider: exploring the social media campaigns of Trump and Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election’, European Journal of Communication, Vol 32, no. 1, pp 51-61

Crockett. L, 2015, ‘Conversation: Digital Citizenship’ Social Educator, Vol 33, no. 1, pp 39-43

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I love the quotes “connect [people] with [their] people” (Tumblr 2020) and “an online community of care” (Hawkins & Haimson 2018, p.75) as I feel like it really does describe what tumblr is about in such a good, simple way. I also definitely agree that tumblr has created a safe place for LGBTQIA+ community to post freely and connect with each other through Tumblrs large online community. 

How does Tumblr function as a Digital Community?

Known to be one of the most connected and content creative social media platforms, Tumblr functions as a digital community through encouraging individual expression and likeminded discussions. Since its launch in 2007, Tumblr has become an inclusive platform that allows for individual interests to “connect [people] with [their] people” (Tumblr, 2020). Through the use of messages, liking, tagging, images, GIFs and re-blogging (sharing to your own page), users are able to interact with any sort of content that inspires and interests them. With varied groups of people and an endless range of interests and subjects on the site, Tumblr has truly “[built] an online community of care” (Hawkins & Haimson 2018, p.75).

In its early days of being a new, up-and-coming social media platform, Tumblr was recognised as innovative in its unique way of interconnecting different communities on one platform. In creating these small niche groups of different interests, the platform became a safe space for “creative freedom” (Byron & Robards 2017). The LGBTQIA+ community makes up a large portion of Tumblr, as the platform offers an “intricate network that supports safe explorations of identity and a sense of self” (Byron & Robards 2017). With the virtual space allowing for any person to connect with others, the LGBTQIA+ community found a sense of belonging on Tumblr, as it embraces differences and connects those that “lack a physical community of support” (Hawkins & Haimson 2018, p.75). Topics such as body image, sexuality etc. are freely and openly discussed on the site, connecting people around the globe with what they want to see and talk about, solidifying Tumblr’s large digital community.

Tumblr’s digital community can be recognised as part of a “Public Sphere,” which is the idea that any individual can come together with others to form a large group and share their opinions, which is accessible to all people (Haberman, Lennox & Lennox, 1974). Unlike other social media platforms, Tumblr gives every user the option to remain anonymous and hide their profile from the web in order to secure their privacy and safety. Tumblr (2015) described the new feature as a simple layer of privacy to let you better control who gets to see your stuff and who doesn’t, encouraging every user to feel supported on the platform that was made to express and explore (keeping the trolls out). The digital community on Tumblr is so large due to the simple fact that the platform supports and trusts its users, as the small “communities [are] self-policed” (Watercutter, 2019) and everything to anything is “shared and shareable” (Watercutter, 2019). Through tagging, reblogging, noting (liking) and messaging about topics from cats, celebrity fandoms, body image etc. the digital community within Tumblr has one of the most “open, self-governing exchange of ideas” (Watercutter, 2019) seen on any social platform.

To summarise, Tumblr remains one of the most openly supported digital communities on the internet today. Through encouraging sharing creative content and individual expression, Tumblr has maintained the growth of their digital community, welcoming anyone to share their thoughts and find their feeling of belonging.

References:

Byron, P, Robards, B 2017, ‘There’s something queer about Tumblr,’ The Conversation, 29 May, viewed 19 April 2020, <https://theconversation.com/theres-something-queer-about-tumblr-73520>

Habermas, J, Lennox, S & Lennox, F 1974, ‘The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article 1964, New German Critique, no. 3, p. 49, viewed 19 April 2020.

Hawkins, B & Haimson O. L. 2018, ‘Building an online community of care: Tumblr use by transgender individuals’, GenderIT ’18: Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Gender & IT, NY: Association for Computing Machinery, New York, p.75.

Tumblr 2020, About Tumblr, viewed 19 April 2020, < https://www.tumblr.com/about>

Tumblr Staff 2015, ‘we’ve built a new toggle for you,’ Tumblr, 30 September, viewed 19 April 2020, < https://staff.tumblr.com/post/130227819960/weve-built-a-new-toggle-for-you-tumblr-now-you>

Watercutter, A 2019, ‘The Internet Needs Tumblr More Than Ever,’ Wired, 14 August, viewed 19 April 2020, < https://www.wired.com/story/tumblr-reinvigorated/>

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“Portions of this site and the works within it are being produced with the intention of critique and/or educational use under Australia's 'fair dealing' exceptions to copyright (Section 40 & 41). However, if you feel your IP is being infringed, please contact my service provider (tumblr) with the appropriate DMCA requests, as I, the single author take full responsibility for the content of this site.”

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How Does Tumblr Function as a Digital Community? - WEEK 1-5

Tumblr is a website that allows people to post text, photos, audio, video, links and quotes. After users make their posts they are able to re-post or in other words share other users' posts onto their own tumblr page as well as follow other users. This is a way tumblr is used to create a digital community. Fandoms (who are the community that surrounds a television show, movie or book) are key contributors to tumblr as there are many blogs that are dedicated to characters of television shows or movie franchises, etc. According to Hillman, Procyk and Neustaedter of Simon Fraser University, who created a study on Tumblr fandoms and communities, they found that “Every participant interviewed described a key component to tumblr as being a place for people to “strongly unite over something ``''.  Although tumblr was created for the purpose of web blogging, it has been changed by the tumblr community to be so much more. 

Tumblr has been found to be a place where mostly teens feel comfortable for people to be who they  want to be. It has become widely popular with feminists, queers and trans people as it creates a safe space that provides privacy, community, respect and support online, which Keller analyzes in her research. She also finds that “Tumblr’s flexible personal profiles, often structured around pseudonyms rather than “singular” or “real world” identities, allows users to experiment with marginalized identities they may want to keep quiet”. Through the platform people are able to express themselves through the content they create or reblog which has become a creative community. Focusing on aesthetics rather than “personal profiles” and “friend networks”, users are able to communicate through their blog posts. 

In Kellers research of how tumblr has created a platform for young feminists, she explores the fact that “Tumblr offers opportunities for moving beyond one’s local community”. Young feminists find Tumblr a more comfortable online community to be able to post about feminism without fear of internet trolling. It is an alternate space to twitter and facebook as it grants girls more opportunities to engage with feminist topics that are seen as unsuitable for other platforms. Through Tumblr users are able to be part of a community which allows them to be more themselves within fandom communities as well as others such as feminist communities.

REFERENCES

Hillman, S., Procyk, J. and Neustaedter, C., 2014, ‘Tumblr fandoms, community & culture’, In Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing, pp. 285-288 

Keller J, 2019, “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist” : Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girl’ Social Media Feminisms’, Social Media + Society, Vol 5, iss 3, pp 1-11

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