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[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Hi Unclewez,

I had completely forgotten about Pokémon Go, that was an interesting time when people all went out on the streets to look for Pokemon. I do remember the time people were getting hurt while playing the particularly that of a teenager who was hit by a car while playing Pokemon go. Like you have said a lot of games are violent but they also bring people together to collaborate and share interests which is really cool.

Ange

Game On!

Ass. 1b. Week 10.  Social Gaming: Playing the Crowd.

Social gaming. What is it? Social gaming is how we describe games that are predominantly made for playing on social media sites (O’Neil 2008). Though that may be the case, it would become clear that it has long since outgrown that description. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) have grown to the point that within themselves they have created a social network or social group. People do not just play the game, they team up, make plans, and execute them as if they were in the real world. Sure, going alone is an option, but enduring success is unlikely (Williams 2016 p.665).

Understanding the overall picture of the gaming world takes a lot more attention than a surface glance. When we mention online gaming, people automatically seem to think of violence or gambling. However, there are games out there that carry a far more positive aspect. Yes, games like Fortnite, War Thunder, Call of duty, and World of WarCraft call us to arms, to kill or be killed. However, it appears the hype of negative media forget the likes of Farmville, Words with Friends, and Pop Quiz entirely. All of these are social, and all stimulate our capacity to learn. Add Pokémon Go, that got people of their seats and out into the streets, and the benefits of online games become apparent.  

Okay, so we can justify the personal social side of gaming, but what about the issues? Like anything that involves human beings, there is always an issue. For example, online games usually involve an in-game currency. Fortnite had a case where it was accused of being used to launder money (Gershgorn 2019). Likewise, Eve Online has had a couple of scandals that saw players lose $300,000 worth of purchases over a simple in-game deal that went wrong (Thornhill 2014). Eve also encountered an issue when one player from the in-game council (the Council of Stellar Management), failed to step out of his game role and into reality during an online video post. The player, known as ‘The Mittani’, and for his violent and ruthless actions, made statements and threats that are not acceptable in the real world (De Zwart & Humphreys 2014 p.93). While the Mittani apologised, the damage was already done. 

Of course, this poses the question, are people able to distinguish between the virtual world and the real world? That will need to be thrown over to the psychologists and anthropologists of the world, while I go back to my game to fight an air battle over Great Britain.

References

De Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014, “The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online”, Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-99, viewed 17 January, 2019, <https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=225934593111540;res=IELLCC>.

Forbes 2019, Mew, [image], viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2018/06/15/you-wont-be-able-to-transfer-mew-from-pokemon-go-to-pokemon-lets-go/#48c8044f22e6>.

Fortnite 2017, Fortnite Battle Royale - Gameplay Trailer, viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gUtfBmw86Y>.

Game On 2019, GameOn, [image], viewed 29 January, 2019, <http://www.gameonlu.com/>.

GameSpot 2014, This is Eve Online - Gameplay Trailer, viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqoxRcP5kbo>.

Gershgorn, D 2019, The “Fortnite” economy now has its own black market, viewed 28 January, 2019, <https://qz.com/1528941/fortnite-is-reportedly-a-money-laundering-hotbed/>.

O’Neil, N 2008, What Exactly are social Games?, viewed 13 January, 2019, https://www.adweek.com/digital/social-games/

Thornhill, T 2014, EVE Online sees biggest ever battle involving more than 4,000 players, viewed 28 January, 2019, <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2547908/EVE-online-sees-biggest-battle.html>.

Williams, D 2009, “Groups and goblins: The Social and civic Impact of an Online Game”. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 50, no. 4, pp 651-670.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Hi nathanchid,

I like that you discussed body-shaming in your post. It’s not normally a topic people talk openly about and you have made some really good points about remembering how quickly things can turn ugly. This invasion of privacy is what people are forgetting about, and the law is starting to support those who fall victim to this type of behaviour. On the flip side, I do feel sad for those who sometimes do not realise what they are doing when they post this stuff online - perhaps in the milder cases, however, it reminds me of the time an Artist Shames Disrespectful Holocaust Memorial Tourists Using Photoshop. It was a topic of discussion for a long time and I don’t think the people taking the photos realised exactly what they were doing at the time. They will now!

Ange

Week 9: Visual Communities and Social Imaging

I think it’s fair to say that I thoroughly enjoy viewing and partaking in visual imagery online. I quite often post pictures on Facebook whilst out with friends and family so I can socialise with others who aren’t in attendance as they will quite often comment or like these uploads. And I also love to create funny messages or stories on Snapchat to converse with others via video or as a means of giving others enjoyment. Snapchat gives you an array of filters to use that change your face, voice and can sometimes be interactive; and therefore make socialisation more entertaining. As I work full time during the day, have study to attend to most nights and quite often can’t free up a weekend, I find this form of socialisation entertains me more so than a standard phone call and allows me to have visual real time connections with others.

There is however an issue with privacy with visual imagery online as people can post pictures and videos of others without their knowledge or consent and by the time it has been brought to the unwitting individual’s attention the content has already been viewed by numerous people or even copies made and distributed via other platforms. In the media recently there was a story where a young woman posted a picture on Snapchat of an older woman getting changed at the gym for which caused outrage and resulted in the content poster losing her job and facing possible jail time due to privacy invasion (France-Presse 2016). It’s from scenarios like these we must remember the power of the internet and how quickly things can turn ugly, and also that publicly shaming people is never a good move and creates the normalisation of unkindness. This example is an extreme case of public shaming, but we must also think before we post unpleasant pictures of friends as these may also cause distress in the act of being showcased to such a large audience. If they are for private viewing then keep them private, not everyone wants a joke between a small group of friends being shared with everyone you’ve ever met.

In regards to visual media, this plays a large role in giving the viewer a better sense of the story. Its interesting to get a visual of a protest, natural disaster or celebration to really get an idea as to the scale this event was felt. You can read a news story and make up your own mind about how this makes you feel but it’s not until you see some imagery of this that it really hits home and might make you consider doing something further.

France-Presse, A 2016, Playboy model faces up to six months in jail for ‘body-shaming’ photo of 70-year-old woman changing in gym, The Telegraph, viewed 24 January 2017, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/29/playboy-model-pleads-not-guilty-body-shaming-case/>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Hi williamcolvin,

This is a really good post, both funny and serious I like it. I laughed when you said No? Maybe that’s just the kind of company I keep then. Makes me think I need to go out and get some friends like you so that I know you’ve got my back if I am ever in trouble haha. Great post, your personal story is told well.

Angela

Week 8: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

How many times have you signed into Facebook after a devastating natural disaster or global event and seen your friends marking themselves as being safe - despite being on the opposite side of the world?

No? Maybe that’s just the kind of company I keep then.

Lightheartedness is a precious gift in a moment of crisis but, for all the fake check-ins and banter that goes on between friends, the real winner is society who now have the ability to instantaneously send a message around the world to anyone who may be worried about them with the tap of a thumb. No more waiting on hold to call through to crisis centres or spending days worrying with no way of making contact. All of this potential heartache has been eliminated by the global presence of social media and the unbreakable spirit that lives within us all.

I myself can recall a Saturday afternoon in February 2009 when friends and family all came within kilometres of raging bushfires. Black Saturday was just known as Saturday then and it wasn’t until now, looking back, I realise how we too were crowdsourcing information from one another. The town I lived in was on lockdown, nobody in or out, and as the sunset from our front verandah in between showers of ash you could see the ominous glow of a bushfire. There wasn’t much we could do but sit around and wait it out and I remained in contact with my friends, most of whom were closer to the fires path, through trusty old MSN Messenger. We all chatted and joked and fortunately for all of us the fires were brought under control and our lives carried on as normal. Looking back I realise the comfort that it gave me being able to speak with those friends and I realise now that without the internet that would not have been possible. In the context of our learning materials I realise that crowdsourcing is spoken about on a global scale, but it’s more than that, it’s as simple as two friends sharing a message to say that they are alright and telling each other what they have seen. The beauty of social media is that it amplifies this and those two friends messages can be shared amongst thousands and used to bring both comfort and knowledge to all around them.

References

Facebook 2015, Nepal Earthquake Safety Check, April 25, viewed 3 February 2017, <https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/nepalearthquake>

Homer on Hold [image], giphy.com, viewed 3 February 2017, <http://media.giphy.com/media/xT5LMtGgXDDnerda0g/giphy.gif>

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Your post is really engaging. I laughed at the picture of all the positions it really shows their true nature, doesn’t it! I too discussed the nature of votes and how a social media following does not necessarily transform into votes. I didn’t watch the full video of ‘Crush on Obama’ as I thought it was a little bit strange, but the video was effective as you say, “affecting politics in unpredicted ways” (TAPPER, J 2007).

Ange

TAPPER, J 2007, 'Crush on Obama' Video Rocks Campaign, ABC News, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3275802&page=1>.

The Politics Of Social Media

Week 5 - Politics and Civic Culture

Throughout the 20th century, many social media platforms were introduced to us, but it was not until the 21st century did we see the enhancement of growth within social media platforms and how each of them impacted our daily lives. The addictiveness of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter can affect the way one may behave, react and even think of themselves or one another. However, how does the use of social media platforms impact the political realm and raise important issues and messages? 

Many Australian Politicians have become a part of the social media world. Twitter and Facebook are platforms that many politicians use to broadcast from and raise important issues to the world. Moreover, are politicians always going to try to control their message or listen to their audience and go to where the people are? (Jericho 2013) 

In my opinion, i always thought the use of social media supported the political realm. It was a great way of advertisement and raising important issues because a voice could be heard. For example, the 2008 Barack Obama election is just one example that stood out for voters. During the year of 2007, following the lead up to the presidential election. Barley Political’s video “Obama’s Girl” got uploaded onto Youtube. Although it was not a benefit of political communication or democracy, it attracted millions of viewers, especially the under 30s demographic (Barley Political 2007). 

 Another example is the attention that Tina Fey’s Saturday Night Live impersonation of Sarah Palin received. Many media commentators believed that Palin had no chance of winning after the impersonation was uploaded on to Youtube as it gained more viewers than any of Plain’s youtube videos ever did. 

10 years on, to the year we are living in at this moment, 2018. Tina Fey takes on the role of Sarah Palin once again, this time focuses on headline-makers such as Stormi Daniels reminiscing about the regret for what they did for President Donald Trump. 

I’d like to refer these examples to our Australian Politicians, has the use of social media affected them the same way it did through the platforms used by celebrities during the lead up to the 2008 presidential election? Although social media is an essential way for issues to get raised and messages to be sent across one another the number of followers, viewers and likes do not translate directly into voted all the time, which is an import key concept to remember. We see this through the example of Fairfax’s use of social media platforms photograph “Social Media Stakes: Rudd vs. Abott” (The Sydney Morning Herald 2013) 

References

LexisNexis,’The Politics of Social Media’ [image], in Google, viewed 12 December 2018, <https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=657&ei=AoARXMTaKo7orQH7rrKIBQ&q=politics+and+social+media&oq=politics+and+social+media&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l5.314.3486..3621…0.0..0.227.3757.0j20j4……0….1..gws-wiz-img…..0..0i5i30.Ldr-0PZHDzI#imgrc=6Tz7oBzN-wf0VM:> 

Saturday Night Live 2008, Gov. Sarah Palin’s Press Conference- SNL, September 23, viewed 13 December 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0vVKZL-Z7I> 

SBS, ‘Recap: The last five years in Australian Politics [image], in Google, viewed 12 December 2018, <https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=608&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=5YARXKG2GpuoyAONmYWoCA&q=australian+politicians&oq=australian+politicians&gs_l=img.3..0i7i30l5.6859.8115..8228…0.0..0.175.1480.0j10……0….1..gws-wiz-img…….0i8i7i30.UN5ShgHkt5k#imgrc=k74U-2BVITHHIM:> 

The Key of Awesome 2007, Crush on Obama, 13 June, viewed 13 December 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU> 

The Sydney Morning Heral 2013, ‘Social Media War’, Fairfax Media, <http://images.smh.com.au/file/2013/08/07/4640158/Web_ElectionSocial/> 

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Hi legenwaitforitdarythoughts,

I really enjoyed reading this you certainly have a way with words. I laughed at the tree picture because I have similar thoughts to you. You say that real change requires action beyond the hashtag, like or share and this is true. This  “acceptance of what happens, without active response or resistance” (Oxford Dictionaries 2019), is what oversimplifies issues that need to be taken seriously.

You make a good point about the ‘I have a dream speech’. I too wonder if the message would have the same result. 

Ange

Oxford Dictionaries 2019, passivity | Definition of passivity in English by Oxford Dictionaries, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/passivity>.

Activism in the 21st century

When I think of activism, names like Doctor Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks come to mind, people who dedicated their lives to campaigning for human rights and social causes that brought about change on a large scale. As I began to read about activism in the digital age, I started to wonder what the activists of past generations would make of online campaigning. Would the ‘I have a dream speech’ been as potent delivered via a YouTube video instead of in front of a crowd in Washington? Would the message have had the same result, or would it have been lost within the millions of other videos? And would sharing a hashtag have brought about the same amount of change as the quarter of a million people who descended on the mall in Washington in 1963?

Today, through social media and the internet we are bombarded with charities, causes and videos showing horrific atrocities and society is quickly becoming desensitised and unmotivated to take real action. As a result, a new culture of activism is emerging known as ‘clicktivism’ and ‘slacktivism’ which Reddin (2018) defines as ‘armchair activism’ whereby ‘complex, serious issues are oversimplified to the point where viewership, likes and clicks is thought to be the equivalent of making a difference’. Scholar Evgenyi Morozov (quoted in Gerbaudo 2012) take this definition further describing slacktivism as ‘feel good activism’ that ‘creates an illusion of having a meaningful impact on the world without demanding anything more than joining a Facebook group’.

But is activism in the digital age all negative?

Absolutely not, modern movements like #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #MarchForOurLives, #Kony2012, and the Arab Spring are all grassroots causes that used social media in one way or another to further their mission and generate awareness. According to Youmans & York (2012), social media was a powerful tool in bringing about the collective actions during the Arab Spring providing a method to coordinate action, share information and raise public awareness of the issue on a global scale. Further, Rutledge (2010) strongly supports social media for facilitating sustainable activism suggesting that it brings together people who are passionate about an issue and provides them with a way to harness this collective energy and turn it into action.

There is no doubt that social media has a role to play in modern activism. However, as Sophie Egar cautions in her TEDx Talk, “social media activism is useless if it doesn’t create awareness that leads to action off the internet” (TEDx Talks 2018). Yes, real change requires action beyond the hashtag, like or share. We’re not going to change the world sitting in front of a computer.

I’ll finish with a favourite quote of mine – “it’s better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.” Actions do speak louder than words (or clicks).

Keep reading

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Online games in facilitating digital communities

Before I researched this topic, I knew very little about gaming. I always thought it was anti-social time-wasting behaviour of those who engaged in online games. However, research suggests that 55 percent of gamers play with others and that gaming is now recognised as a social activity (Crawford & Rutter 2007, p. 4). I can see that there are many benefits to social gaming including its capacity to bring people together.

Social computing is the social and interactive behaviour between computer users, includes social networking sites (e.g., Facebook) and multiplayer online games (e.g., fortnight). Although fairly new, fortnight is one of the most popular multi-player games at present and allows users to come together to fight off evil and fight off each other. Ertan & Medeni (as seen in EC JRC 2009) defines social computing as a “set of open, web-based and user-friendly applications that enable users to network, share data, collaborate and co-produce content”.

Some online games use the collaborative natures of gaming to structure the culture, norms and rules around how games are facilitated among users. EVE Online, a space-themed hugely multiplayer web-based amusement (MMOG), affords players a channel of correspondence with game managers and developers by effectively empowering player participation in game management (Zwart & Humphreys 2014, p. 77).

Online gaming facilitates digital communities because it brings people together through the value of shared experience. To form friendship and share interests with other users is what online gaming affords. Social media has enabled these connections to take place and grow through the now larger audience reach it provides. Social gaming is developing an important component in today’s social media sites with social networking sites offering a place for online games to progress in the virtual medium. (Aburahmah et al. 2016, p. 72). Now with the facilitation of social media sites, online gaming is continuing to grow as an opportunity to engage with others through communication and discussions.

According to Crawford & Rutter (2007, p. 1), 

“though the origins of digital gaming can be traced back to the 1950s, it was not until the late 1970s and 1980s that digital gaming began to develop as a leisure activity”. 

But with the benefits of online gamily producing digital communities, there are always going to be risks. Some say that people become addicted to the games and it changes the behaviour in adolescents, making them angry and at times lashing out in violence. Research Internet gamers reported 40% of massively multiplayer online role-playing games users categorized themselves as “addicted to the game’ with one in six reporting frequent problems in life due to “Facebook” use (Geisel et al. 2015, p. 2).

References

Aburahmah, L, AlRawi, H, Izz, Y & Syed, L 2016, ‘Online Social Gaming and Social Networking Sites’, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 82, pp. 72-79, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://ac-els-cdn-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/S1877050916300254/1-s2.0-S1877050916300254-main.pdf?_tid=e7680ead-c2a4-46e3-abb4-c7fecd7e5b4d&acdnat=1548820467_1fe91c293688c1d370fce69689da3908>.

Crawford, G. & Rutter, J., 2007, ‘Playing the Game: performance in digital game audiences’ in Gray, J., Sandvoss, C., and Harrington, C.L. (eds), Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World, New York: New York University Press, pp. 271-281.

de Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014,'The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-99.

Ertan, A & Medeni, T 2011, ‘A LITERATURE REVIEW ON TRUST, PRIVACY CONCERN AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES & ONLINE FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING GAMES’, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF eBUSINESS AND eGOVERNMENT STUDIES, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 21-29, viewed 30 January 2019, <http://www.sobiad.org/eJOURNALS/journal_IJEBEG/arhieves/2011_2/03asli_ertan.pdf>.

Geisel, O, Panneck, P, Stickel, A, Schneider, M & Müller, C 2015, "Characteristics of Social Network Gamers: Results of an Online Survey", Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 6, no. 69, pp. 1-5, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00069/full>.

Online Gaming [IMAGE], in GIPHY 2019, Sassy Star Wars Gif, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://giphy.com/search/online-gaming>.

Person gaming [IMAGE], in Tripwire 2019, The State of Security, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/vert/checklist-online-gaming-privacy/>.

Team Game Fortnight [IMAGE], in Fortnite 2019, Epic Games Fortnight, viewed 30 January 2019, <https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/home>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Affordances of Ephemeral Communication

Our lives both on and offline have meshed together as people sharing photos of themselves ‘on the go’ allows others to see how we live our lives moment by moment. As Lobinger (2015, p. 475) points out ‘Networked photography’ is photo sharing practices that share photos through mobile visual communication instantly following real-time photo capture that has become a pervasive communication routine for many.

Ephemeral Communication is “Communications that are deleted or otherwise not made available after a certain, relatively-short time period”. Social media tools that allow people to create cartoons of themselves, filters, lenses and send messages that self-destruct appear to be popping up everywhere. 

“The growing interest in platforms that are designed to erase communication artefacts after a short period are distinct from those associated with more permanent platforms” (Bayer et al. 2015, p. 957). 

Indeed, the ephemeral nature, enabled by these platforms such as those of Snapchat has gained traction for the possibilities of controlling the content one share with the audience. This “self-destructive” messaging approach affords users the capacity to communicate with close friends rather than an extensive network of more formal acquaintances, such as Facebook (Piwek & Joinson 2016, p. 365).

Facebooks highly publicised failure to acquire Snapchat twice has made it obvious that the key players in this industry are keen to progress into this field (Ganzenmuller 2014, p. 1242). However, with these affordances, there are also risks.  As Ganzenmuller (2014, p. 1241) points out this self-districting communication has enabled people to make poor choices as messages disappear users are left feeling immune to repercussions. Despite the risks, the affordance of ephemeral communication will continue to grow, and people will continue to enjoy sharing the ‘moments’ of their lives with whom they choose. 

References

Barack Obama Taking Selfie [IMAGE], in GIPHY 2019, Barack Obama Selfie GIF, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/m2J5d72A5xRXq>.

Bayer, J, Ellison, N, Schoenebeck, S & Falk, E 2015, ‘Sharing the small moments: ephemeral social interaction on Snapchat’, Information, Communication & Society, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 956-977, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1084349>.

Ganzenmuller, R. G. 2014, ‘Snap and destroy: Preservation issues for ephemeral communications’, Buffalo Law Review, vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 1239-1288, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/buflr62&id=1281&men_tab=srchresults#>.

IGI Global 2019, Communications, IGI Global, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/virtual-hoarding/60277>.

Lobinger, K 2015, ‘Photographs as things – photographs of things. A texto-material perspective on photo-sharing practices’, Information, Communication & Society, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 475-488, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1077262?needAccess=true>.

Piwek, L & Joinson, A 2016, ‘What do they snapchat about? Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging service’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 54, pp. 358-367, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0747563215301023>.

Snapchat app [IMAGE], in Getty Images 2019, Yahoo Set To Invest $20 Million In Snapchat, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www.gettyimages.ie/photos/snapchat?family=editorial&mediatype=photography&phrase=snapchat&sort=mostpopular>.

Stock Photo [IMAGE], in GIPHY  2019, Stock Photo GIF, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/xWfCVTBxb5FYBOD4Wp>. 

Vermeulen, A, Vandebosch, H & Heirman, W 2017, ‘Shall I call, text, post it online or just tell it face-to-face? How and why Flemish adolescents choose to share their emotions on- or offline’, Journal of Children and Media, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 81-97, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/17482798.2017.1386580>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Social Mapping; bringing people together in times of crisis

I first learnt about social mapping while studying professional communication. The unit discussed the different types of mediums that can be used when sending out messages to mass audiences. We talked about crowdsourcing, the act of engaging a ‘crowd’ toward a common goal, often towards solving a problem. We learnt about the Queensland floods and the Queensland Police Services use of social media to get information about the floods out to the public as quickly as possible. Within just eight weeks Queensland Police Services Facebook page had risen to 100 000 likes and generated 450 post views per second over the 24-hour period (Cenere et al. 2015). 

Turning to social media during times of crisis proves to be a useful tool in distributing important information quickly and effectively, not only in the case of the Queensland floods but many others. With the increasing use of mobile technology, internet connectivity, and social networking, information technology is playing a crucial and developing role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster response settings (Global Disaster Preparedness Center 2017). The internet allows people to know where you are and navigate their way around by developing crisis mapping through the Geoweb by gathering real-time information during conflict and disaster settings.

Crisis mapping was launched by Patrick Meier in 2008, as a form of disaster response known as Ushahidi. “Ushahidi—or ‘testimony’ in Swahili—has played a central role in coordinating responses to crises around the globe.” (Hyman 2014, p. 27). Meier’s map used satellite imagery and SMS to create in response shared area-based information about open safe houses, pharmacies, medical clinics and markets and was utilized by the U.S. military to save injured residents and deliver services (Dillon 2019).

In times of crisis, information is essential to effective and efficient disaster response that enable planning, response and readiness for crisis management. Chief Craig Fugate of The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent out a tweet about the Ushahidi map saying

“ it was the most comprehensive and up-to-date map available to the humanitarian community" (Hyman 2014, p. 27).

Social media has brought new ways for people to reach each other and offer support during times of crisis that was not available until now. This innovative technology-based approach conveys significant changes to the traditional data chain utilise in emergencies by blending authoritative and non-authoritative data (Goodchild 2009, p. 23).

“In times of crisis, innovative means are becoming available for facilitating and improving the flow of information among communities when and where they need it most” (Swinburne 2019).

References

Cenere et al. 2015, Communication skills for business professionals, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne.

Crowdsourcing Week 2019, What is Crowdsourcing?, Crowdsourcing Week, viewed 21 January 2019, <https://crowdsourcingweek.com/what-is-crowdsourcing/>.

Dillon, H 2019, Crisis Mapping: An Overview of Social Media Mapping Response to Disaster, PA TIMES Online, viewed 2 January 2019, <https://patimes.org/crisis-mapping-overview-social-media-mapping-response-disaster/>.

‘Flooding Facebook’ [IMAGE], in Research Gate, The use of social media during the Queensland and Victorian floods, viewed 21 January 2019, <https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Growth-of-the-Queensland-Police-Service-Facebook-page-likes-from-May-2010-to-February_fig1_263810598>.

Ford, H 2012, 'Crowd Wisdom', Index on Censorship, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 33-39.

Geothink 2012, Explorations in Geoweb – What is geoweb?, Geothink, viewed 21 January 2019, <http://geothink.ca/explorations-in-geoweb-what-is-geoweb/>.

Global Disaster Preparedness Center 2017, Crisis Mapping, viewed 21 January 2019, <https://www.preparecenter.org/topics/crisis-mapping>.

Hyman, P 2014, ‘Peace technologies' enable eyewitness reporting when disasters strike’, Communications of the ACM, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 27-29, viewed 21 January 2019, <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=7451ef49-d009-4420-b4af-ebc148c839c0%40sessionmgr4007>.

Swinburne Online 2019, ‘8.3 Social Mapping’ MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning Materials in Online Classroom, Swinburne University of Technology, viewed January 21, <https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/704/pages/8-dot-3-social-mapping?module_item_id=60094>

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Hi memoirsofaunistudent,

This is a really interesting read. You are right about people doing it for amusement. Studies have found trolling is intended to elicit an emotional response in the other user, for amusement (Mkono, M 2015). However, I don’t agree with your statement that “it doesn’t matter how famous, pretty or rich you are. You will get trolled.” Not everyone gets trolled, I personally have not been trolled and most of my friends and family have not experienced trolling either. Your post gives really good insight into a troll mind that you draw amusement from it when the other person on the receiving end isn’t enjoying it. Thank again great post.

Ange

Mkono, M 2015, "‘Troll alert!’: Provocation and harassment in tourism and hospitality social media", Current Issues in Tourism, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 791-804, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/13683500.2015.1106447?needAccess=true>.

Confessions of an internet troll

Where ever there is social interaction, there will always be both positive interaction and negative interaction such as bullying and now with the internet trolling.

According to Boyd (2014) ‘if you take pleasure in trolling you are most likely a sociopath’. Then I must confess I am a sociopath. I’m not actively looking for people to make miserable, but I cannot help but troll people who think that antivax or flat earth is a good idea. I don’t know how any one born in this century thinks the world is flat, but there they are on my Facebook sharing stupid content and I just can’t help myself. Trolling online is to embarrass, anger or disrupt often it is purely just for amusement (Dahlberg 2001). I confess I do it for the kicks too.

Anonymity of the internet has made it even easier to troll someone, to bully someone. People now hide behind their screen trolling one other. Internet trolling happens to everyone, people like you and me and even famous and public figures on the social media like between artists, actors and politicians.

Great example of it doesn’t matter how famous, pretty or rich you are. You will get trolled. A great example of this is by Jimmy Kimmel comedy skit, celebrities read mean tweets.

Trolling can happen anywhere, including this blog. Anywhere that allows for user to comment or leave feedback can be subject to trolling. Nowhere on the internet is safe, from site like reddit, your personal emails, YouTube video comments and literally any social networking site. With everyone of the internet subject to the possibility of internet trolling why do we do this to each other? I personal think it comes back to Dahlberg (2001) theory that people do it for amusement. I know I draw amusement from it when I have schooled someone in the past. But I’m sure the other person on the receiving end isn’t enjoying it.

Why we treat each other like this is interesting, because how many of us would speak out like this is the real world? How many of us would just randomly in the street mock others and just call them out for being stupid or just out right racism or sexism. Yet behind the anonymity of a keyboard, there we are calling each other names.

      References

Boyd, D 2014, ‘Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?’, in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp. 128-52

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Hi digital-danish,

You have a really good way of getting the message across. I think that people who came across this post who are being bullied online can be persuaded to think twice about their response. I personally do not take much to heart and yet I barely post much online and I know people who take a lot to heart and post a lot about themselves online. It’s kind of ironic because the people who seem to care less about what others think of them post less online so are less likely to be trolled and those who care most about what people think to post a lot online and seem to get trolled the most.  According to Mkono (2015), the best possible outcomes for a troll is to succeed by seeing the receive believe the rolls pseudo-intention(s) provoking them to genuinely respond. I do wonder how they find the time to behave in such activities and how they can get so much out of it but that a story for another day. Thanks again for your post!

Ange

Mkono, M 2015, "‘Troll alert!’: Provocation and harassment in tourism and hospitality social media", Current Issues in Tourism, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 791-804, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/13683500.2015.1106447?needAccess=true>.

A Realistic Approach to Combat Online Trolls.

[1B Blog Post 3: Week 7]

‘Trolling’ refers to the act of comments or posts online, especially within social media networks, which are aimed to disrupt normal discussion for the purposes of their own amusement. The term is often associated with negative connotations such as misleading or pointless conversation or to incite conflict (Klyueva, 2013). 

However, though initiates provocation, trolling should be considered ever-changing with its multiple and highly contextualised forms (McCosker, 2014). What this implies is that not all trolling is within the realms of necessarily having malcontent. Examples of this are as seen below:

[ via Omegle (Giphy, 2013) ]

[ via being Rickroll’d - a meme which consisted of clickbait to mislead a user into instead being directed to ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley (Dubs, 2009) ]

[ (Wendy’s Tweet’s 2017) often engaged in banter especially towards their competition ]

Did you have a chuckle at any of these? If so, you’ve just experienced the same sense of amusement trolls feel when trolling. While it mightn’t be on the same spectrum as what’s typically considered tasteful, remember that humour itself is subjective. Not everyone finds ‘Bridesmaids’ or ‘Seinfeld’ funny or even relatable after all. Granted, without question, a lot of trolling can and has lead to some severe cases of both online and offline harassment. 

Combat Tip #1: If it’s malicious, be judicious. Your safest bet is to not respond. The reaction is what they want from you - so don’t give it to them!

The general wisdom from the populace of the Internet would advise as such. This remedy stems from the belief that acknowledgement and interaction are what provides a sense of accomplishment when the intention is simply to gain attention. Potentially, this may also influence third-parties to become involved hence igniting the contestation (Wilson, Fuller & McCrea 2013). 

Viewer discretion is advised for the hyperlinked video attached [here], depicting a cautionary tale of the result of suffering this young girl, referred to as ‘Jessi Slaughter’, endured after having responded to online trolls (Zebrah, 2011).

Combat Tip #2: The ‘Key’ in Security. Removing yourself from harmful situations and better online account management. 

Boyd (2014) described the events in which a girl would threaten to put information online with the attempt to humiliate her sister. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, provided the presence of the Internet’s influence. Statistics show that 83% of Australian students, aged 9-15, who partake in online bullying also bully others in person (Bullying No Way, 2019). What can be taken from this is that from adolescence and even through adulthood, our sense of ‘digital citizenship’ needs to be moderated and held accountable for. We need to be more self-aware of what we post online and understand the functionality of online privacy. The purposes of blocking, muting and so forth are supposed to be here when encountering online harassment. Despite often being misused to maintain our biases and restrict constructive information or criticism, as further discussed in my posts Redefining Human Connection & Communities & Heart React for ReLOVEution ♡… but is it Really that Easy?

P.S: As an admin or moderator of various online forums, groups and servers I can also attest to this generally being the better courses of action. 

I hope you enjoyed your food for thought, with a serving of chocolate danish. Please come again!

[Please see /references for all sources]

Keep reading

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Trolling - is the government doing enough?

Trolling has become a topic of debate between government, society and theorists for a very long time.  Some people believe that trolling is as a form of free speech while others believe that trolling is illegal behaviour that goes unregulated. It seems the problem lies behind defining trolling and differentiating it between hate speech and cyber racism. 

Some theorists define trolling as “luring others into pointless and time-consuming discussions” (Herring et al. 2002); “a game of deception in which the troller tries to write something deceptive, but not overtly, to attract maximum responses" (Mkono 2015, p. 793). 

While the behaviour behind trolling is much broader, the difficulty in defining it on a case by case bases is what makes it so hard to mitigate. While the government is consistently extending the extent of direction for online networking abuse in the appearance of 'cyber-safety' and digital citizenship policies (McCosker & Johns 2014, p66), is the government really doing enough?

McCosker (2014, p. 203) states that the contention and resulting moral panics are regularly connected with the utilisation of YouTube by youngsters is frequently connected with the overall absence of constraints placed on commenting or posting videos.

With billions of active social media users who on average have more than one social media accounts and YouTube now in a position where its platform is structurally incapable of policing, perhaps we should take the lead from Danah Boyd founder of Data & Society Research Institute. Boyd (2014, p. 152) argues that we should be using this visibility not to punish but “to help youth who are actually crying out for attention”. Could Boyd’s theory be an effective new approach to mitigating trolling?

While Boyd's theory presents hope to fix the problems associated with trolling, it may also open the doors for those who partake in hate speech racism to call themselves the victims. 2017 saw the social media industry underlying business models failures as the spread of cyber racism became an important growing issue around racist, homophobic and terrorist messages (Jakubowicz 2017, p. 42).

While everyone scrambles to find a solution or a way out, stories like one of the trolls blaming mothers for their baby’s death continue to rise and destroy people’s lives. Understandably it is a challenging situation to deal with for all; however, it is my opinion that the government could be doing more toward digital citizenship policies that establish an online culture that is ethical and responsible.

According to Jakubowicz (2017 as seen in Berners-Lee, 2017, World Wide Web Foundation, 2017), the internet is now a place so progressively harmed by despise discourse that Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the internet, admits his hope of a free world had created a beast of hate, and now his mission was to set things right.

References

Boyd, D 2014, 'Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?', in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp. 128-152.

Herring, S, Job-Sluder, K, Scheckler, R & Barab, S 2002, "Searching for Safety Online: Managing "Trolling" in a Feminist Forum", The Information Society, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 371-384, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/01972240290108186?needAccess=true>.

Jakubowicz, A 2017, "Alt_Right White Lite: Trolling, Hate Speech and Cyber Racism on Social Media", Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 41-60, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://learning-analytics.info/journals/index.php/mcs/article/view/5655>.

‘Melania trolling trump comment’ [IMAGE], as in indy100 2018, Melania Trump says social media is 'destructive and harmful' and everyone thinks she's trolling her husband, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://www.indy100.com/article/melania-trump-social-media-donald-twitter-us-president-first-lady-funny-viral-reaction-8500521>.

McCosker, A 2014, YouTrolling as provocation: Tube's agonistics publics, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.

McCosker, A & Johns, A 2014, "Contested Publics: Racist Rants, Bystander Action and Social Media Acts of Citizenship", Media International Australia, vol. 151, no. 1, pp. 66-72, viewed 14 January 2019, <http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA373886885&v=2.1&u=swinburne1&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w>.

Mkono, M 2015, "‘Troll alert!’: Provocation and harassment in tourism and hospitality social media", Current Issues in Tourism, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 791-804, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/13683500.2015.1106447?needAccess=true>.

‘Futurama talk Trolls’ [IMAGE], in e-Teknix 2018, Mikes Rant - The Over and Misuse Of The Word Troll 2018, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://www.eteknix.com/mikes-rant-misuse-word-troll-wip/>.

SkyNews 2018, 'A troll blamed me for my baby's death after I stopped cancer treatment', viewed 14 January 2019, <https://news.sky.com/story/a-troll-blamed-me-for-my-babys-death-after-i-stopped-cancer-treatment-11514401>.

Statt, N 2014, YouTube is facing a full-scale advertising boycott over hate speech, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/24/15053990/google-youtube-advertising-boycott-hate-speech>.

‘Trolling gif’ [IMAGE], as in Imgur 2013, The updated guide to trolling, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://imgur.com/gallery/rbMjYVg/comment/91624238>.

‘Troll taking different forms’ [IMAGE], in Medium 2017, All the different forms of Trolling, viewed 14 January 2019, <https://medium.com/media-ethnography/all-the-different-forms-of-trolling-bfc2926306e1>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

'Clicktivism' or ‘Slacktivism’

Activism 

“The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change” (Oxford Dictionaries 2019).

How activists communicate has expanded to an uprising of new media activism ‘Clicktivism’ - a way for activists to use the internet to support a political or social cause. While some believe that this has brought more opportunities to spread a message and support a movement. It has also brought to activism a sense of passivity - “acceptance of what happens, without active response or resistance” (Oxford Dictionaries 2019).

A real-world example of this passivity is the campaign of warlord Joseph Kony ‘Kony 2012’. Kony was a movement by non-profit organization Invisible Children was created to raise awareness about Joseph Kony and stop Kony and his violent militant army. The video became a huge viral sensation with over 100 million views and 1.3 million likes. 

You can view the Kony 2012 video below, warning video contains upsetting images.

So, what happened to this campaign? In the end, the viral sensation died to be replaced by the newest craze in social media. Invisible Children did not achieve their objective with Uganda’s military ending its pursuit of Joseph Kony in 2017. 

But really what was their objective?

According to Invisible Children, “KONY 2012 was an experiment” (Invisible Children 2014). To the people who suffered at the hands of Kony and the people who got on board the movement, many believed there was a much more profound sense in what they were trying to achieve. However, if you go on to the Invisible Children website to try access the video it says the film “no longer exists”. Between an experiment and a video that no longer exists, it becomes apparent why there is so much criticism around clicktivism. 

Some argue that the current disparaging utilisation of word clicktivism does not do justice to the concurrent advancement of creating innovation and modern-day methods of participation (Halupka 2014, P.116). Furthermore, Invisible Children (2014) argue that the Kony campaign still served its purpose which was to make him famous enough to get world leaders to act against the Lord's Resistance Army (Invisible Children 2014). 

So, what of the well-known form of activism culture jamming. The aim of culture jamming is for society to see their messages and adopt a social movement towards change. This is done through sabotage advertising and consumerism by introducing noise into transmitters to a receiver, invest ads, newscasts, billboards and other media artefacts with subversive meanings (Dery, M 2010). Why is there more criticism towards clicktivism when graffiti, a form of culture jamming, cost the Australian government 1.5 billion of dollars annually for its removal?

Culture Jamming is getting people consciously involved, ego’s aside.

When I ask people if they knew that clicking the like button on a movement on social media meant they had become an activist; they all said no!

For an interesting view into Clicktivism read Activism or ‘Slacktivism’? Can the #IceBucketChallenge really change the world? 

References

Dery, M 2010, Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing, and Sniping in the Empire of Signs, Shovelware, viewed 3 January 2018, <http://markdery.com/?page_id=154>.

Halupka, M 2014, "Clicktivism: A Systematic Heuristic", Policy & Internet, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 115-132, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/full/10.1002/1944-2866.POI355>.

Kony 2012, Invisible Children, 5 March, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc>.

Kony Meme 2019 [IMAGE], Clicktivism/Slacktivism, viewed 6 January 2019, <https://reflectionsoncampaigning.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/clicktivismslacktivism/>. 

Oxford Dictionaries 2019, activism | Definition of passivity in English by Oxford Dictionaries, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/activism>

Oxford Dictionaries 2019, passivity | Definition of passivity in English by Oxford Dictionaries, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/passivity>.

Slacktivism Meme 2019 [IMAGE], Slacktivism: Image Gallery, viewed 6 January 2019, <https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/slacktivism/photos>.

Youmans, W, & York, J 2012, 'Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements', Journal Of Communication, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 315-329.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

The growing relationship between political campaigns and social media

With more than 65% of adults now using social media – a tenfold jump in the last decade (Perrin 2015), it’s no surprise the relationship between political campaigns and social media is growing. As teenagers mature in the shadow of Web 2.0, eligible to cast their first vote, social media is playing an important role in their evolving lives (Kahne & Bowyer 2018, p.470). With the most important chance of winning a campaign being the message, some politicians are scrambling for wins by sending out tweets, that well they really shouldn’t.

With 74% of internet users turning to social media during the 2008 election to be in some way involved in aspects of the campaign (Smith 2009), social media may very well be a politician’s winning ticket. Political campaigns can take months to get off the ground, and as a result, politicians are increasingly turning to social media and bypassing reporters to Tweet or Post their message to social media.

Think back to the popular video below ‘Crush On Obama’ – what message does this send to the public? Could you envision such a video made about Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbot? Umm…. probably not! They just don’t portray themselves in this image. 

I think the reason a lot of people like Barack Obama is because he sends out the message that he is cool and liked by many.

Kevin Rudd’s and Tony Abbot’s Twitter, however, show two very different levels of engagement with Kevin Rudd having 1.56 M followers and Tony Abbot 647 K. I think this goes back to the point made before of the message.  Politicians are leveraging social media to send out verbal and visual messages as a strategy for representing themselves as a leader. Kevin Rudd’s strategy to winning public favour is by being fun and having a good time, remember his selfie strategy, who wouldn't want a president that's fun to be around right? Tony Abbot, however, has a lot less of a following then Kevin Rudd and I would say his strategy to winning the public favour is to take a more serious approach about matters of the country, but perhaps not a lot of people can take his seriousness at 6am in the morning.

So how effective is social media as a political campaign strategy for greater civic or political participation? I would say very effective! Social media helps people to feel their participation is important in the election process. And while it’s unlikely a large number of Twitter followers suggests that an election is going to be won or lost (Jericho 2012, p.263), it will support in delivering a campaign message during election time.

References

Barely Political 2007, Crush On Obama, 13 June, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU>.

Dancing Barack Obama 2018 [IMAGE], GIFER, GIFER, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://gifer.com/en/3VlO>.

Donald Trump's Tweet 2018 [IMAGE], Donald Trump’s Noteworthy Tweets, Newsday.com, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/donald-trump-s-noteworthy-tweets-as-president-1.12632966>.

Jericho, G 2012, 'How many votes are there on Twitter?', in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia.

Kahne, J & Bowyer, B 2018, ‘The Political Significance of Social Media Activity and Social Networks’, Political Communication, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 470-493, viewed 10 December 2018, <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10584609.2018.1426662>.

Perrin, A 2015, Social Media Usage: 2005-2015, viewed 10 December 2018, <http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/>.

Smith, A 2009, The Internet's Role in Campaign 2008, viewed 10 December 2018, <http://www.pewinternet.org/2009/04/15/the-internets-role-in-campaign-2008/>. 

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

I really enjoyed this read! You really point out areas of social media many of us have not thought about. It really is evident though in the younger generation the instant gratification they seek. I remember when I was younger I was always concerned about what I said in my posts, how many likes I got and cringe now when Facebook shares posts from years ago. Now older and I’m someone who posts on facebook once every 8 months or so and I no longer chase that good feeling and I definitely feel less scrutinised because of it. I personally feel like social media can get quite exhausting and I think it has a lot to do with how obsession that builds from it in such a short time from being on there.

Getting high on wifi

In Australia, 95% of 18-34-year olds own a smartphone, 35% of people check their phone within five minutes of waking up, and 70% admit to using phones during mealtimes (Deloitte 2017). According to boyd (2012, p. 71-73), we live in a world that is always on, whether literally browsing the internet, or just “always connected to the network” via our smartphones, we have “created an ecosystem in which people can stay peripherally connected to one another.”

A couple of hours without our phones (or less) and we start saying things like, “I feel naked” or “I’m having withdrawals.” For me, the biological and psychological reasons behind this incessant need to be connected is fascinating. According to Simon Sinek (2016) and Parnell (TED x Talks 2017) our psychological reaction to social media and digital technology can be likened to that of substance addiction, each time we receive a text message or get a like on a post, our brain releases the feel good, highly addictive, and numbing chemical dopamine. Simon Sinek (2016) states, the problem is not social media or the mobile devices it’s the level of use “if you are sitting at dinner with your friends and you are texting someone who is not there, that’s a problem, it’s an addiction,” he says.

I’ve always considered myself a light user of digital. I can switch off easily, and I am certainly not someone who is constantly glued to their phone. In fact, I often make jokes about those in my friend group, even my husband, who seem to always be on their phones – even in the toilet. However, as I listened to Sinek and Parnell and read boyd’s article, I began to relate to some of the symptoms. I chase that good feeling I get when I receive a text, or someone likes, shares or comments on my post, and almost obsessively check my phone throughout the day to see if the number of likes has gone up. I also experience the disappointment when a post doesn’t get as many likes as one I posted a week ago even to the point as Parnell said of deleting a post because it didn’t get enough likes (TED x Talks 2017).

Never have we exposed ourselves to such a level of scrutiny, where anyone in the world can essentially rate us/share their personal opinion on who we are and what we do, and yet, we crave it. Parnell refers to this obsession to achieve the attention of others as social currency or economy of attention where we allow people to assign a value to us altering our sense of self-worth and identity (TEDx Talks 2017). As a result, both Simon Sinek (2016) and Parnell (TEDx Talks 2017) conclude that our reliance on other people’s approval and the need for instant gratification is building a society that is more and more insecure with heightened rates of depression.

The question is, has digital become the drug epidemic of the millennial generation?

Keep reading

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Unclewez I have to agree with you! It does feel like they are all there to make money and nothing else. Instagram feeds are full of sales adds and youtube has also started putting adds half way through videos, and then posting these videos to Facebook. It really is an eye-opener that there are so many different opinions on the matter from the general public, our family and even the research. I agree some control is in the user’s hands, but it does concern me that people don’t realise that the choices they make when they communicate on social media does not affect just themselves but the whole of society.

Blog 1 week 3-4

Whose Platform is it?

Social media platforms and practices - I never knew the use of the word platform could cause so much dissent among academics and users. As far as I knew a platform was an operating system, any operating system, or a place to stand to look over the edge of the Grand Canyon. Turns out to be a platform one needs to have some form of neutrality. Tarleton Gillespie’s (2010) article on ‘The Politics of ‘platforms’” was an eye-opener for me. So much so I handed it to my 21-year-old son who lives and breathes the internet. We often discuss Reddit, YouTube and Google at the dinner table. His argument always being about the expansion of your friend network and how it is a world community now, I argue about how they are all there to make money…no other reason. 

Of course, this provokes the question, is it okay to make money off peoples ‘connections’? Well, it is a matter of ethics. To believe social media platforms are about ‘us’ is naive, but then again, the affordances of these platforms also come into play. Yes, these organisations exist to make money, but people can also use those platforms for purposes outside of the platforms original intended purpose. To that end, some control is in the user’s hands. While the likes of Reddit appear to be an open case of fair opinion and freedom of speech, it is not the case. Algorithms sort posts and comments, weighing them with different values that either moves them up or down the popular pages. While acknowledging some system needs to be in place, weighing new post with a higher value than older ones may throw things out of balance. Likewise, controversial posts are marked down (Emily van der Nagel 2013 n.p). Taking this into account, one needs to ask the question, wasn’t this a platform? Is it not meant to be neutral?

On another matter that is of interest, the use of social media as a communicative platform, and I use the word platform loosely, seems to have impacted our understanding of what a public is. According to dana boyd [sic], network publics have the following traits:

The audience is invisible, meaning you may never see them or even know they exist.

The context is collapsed, the lack of boundaries makes it difficult to identify the who, how and why of the group.  

There is a blurring of the private and the public, thus making it difficult to make a distinction between them (boyd 2010, pp. 39-58.).

I cannot help but think this is opposite to what has been taught in business units. Nearly all marketing and organisational behavioral units rely heavily on understanding publics as very distinct groups. Throw the idea of counter-publics into the mix, and suddenly you get a picture of one chaotic sector that is a mix of open communication with limited freedom of speech, on a platform that is meant to be neutral but is not, and yet this somehow works. We get what we want; they get what they want.  So much more to learn.

References

Anon 2018, What’s Your Platform, viewed 9 December, 2018, <http://wordshalfheard.blogspot.com/p/whats-your-platform.html>.

Boyd, D 2010, ‘Social Network Sites as Networked Publics’, in Papacharissi, Z 2010, A networked self: Identity, Community, and culture on Social Network Sites, Routledge, Hoboken, pp. 39-58.

Gillespie, T 2010, “The politics of ‘platforms’”, New Media & Society, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 347-364.

Quora 2017, viewed 9 December, 2018, <https://www.quora.com/Which-is-the-best-theatre-in-Chhattisgarh>.

Reddit 2018, Global Community Manager, viewed 9 December, 2018, <https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemongo/comments/4vpbmi/global_community_manager/>.

Van der Nagel, E 2013, “Faceless bodies: Negotiating technological and cultural codes on reddit gonewild”, Journal of Media Arts Culture, vol. 10, no. 2, viewed 9 December, 2018, <http://scan.net.au/scn/journal/vol10number2/Emily-van-der-Nagel.html>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

Affordances of Social Media

A friend of mine had a conversation with someone in a chat forum for 8 hours……. 8 HOURS! I have no idea what they were talking about, and I did not ask for sheer worry that I might still be there 8 hours later listening to the story. But what he did say was that he never thought he would be the kind of person to form a bond with someone he hardly knew over the internet. And yet we see this all the time.

Thanks to the emergence of social media and Mark Zuckerberg’s mission to “Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together” (Chaykowski 2017), the way in which we communicate has changed. Some believe we have become disconnected from the real world and social media has made us go from a time of close bonds, sharing family recipes and cookbooks to uploading a picture of your apple pie to a mass audience on Instagram.

Instagram's online community is not the only space growing. Blogging is a growing space where people talk about food, art, film, sports and any subject that interests them and their audience. As a powerful communication tool with over 1 million blogs posted every 24 hours, bloggers are popping up everywhere with personal expression and a chance to describe their own experiences the main reason people start blogging (Cross 2011, pp. 37-40).

These communities see the digital world is shifting from ‘neighbourhood communities' to ‘communities' which consist of networked households and individuals. These online communities feel like home for many who submerge themselves into the world of social media. People are turning to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to socialise with peers and mark their identity known as ‘networked publics'.

The three central dynamics that shape networked publics and those interactions that take place are the invisible audiences, collapsed contexts and the blurring of public and private (boyd 2010, pp. 39-58)

These three central dynamics bring up various questions about how people communicate, and the affordances of social media. Unlike traditional methods of communication where you know who you are talking to and your message is subject to the audience, you are with. In this context when people post content online, they don't always know who is present or who they are sharing their story with and this is causing people to craft content for specific audiences. Some would say that this is lying about who you are and that people do not show their true self on social media. However, the affordance of social media “is the possibilities for action that it offers” (Graves 2007, p.336). The point is the affordance of social media is what it allows people to do and this affordance is certainly making us rethink the meaning of sociability, neighbourhood and community.

References

Boyd, d 2010, ‘Social Network Sites as Networked Publics’, in Papacharissi, Z, A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites, Routledge, Hoboken, pp. 39-58.

Chaykowski, K 2017, Mark Zuckerberg: 2 Billion Users Means Facebook's 'Responsibility Is Expanding', viewed 5 December 2018, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2017/06/27/facebook-officially-hits-2-billion-users/#5a6a30643708>.

Cross, M 2011, Bloggerati, twitterati, Praeger, Santa Barbara, Calif., pp. 37-40.

Graves, L 2007, ‘The Affordances of Blogging’, Journal of Communication Inquiry, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 331-346, viewed 5 December 2018, <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1177/0196859907305446>.

INSTAGRAM IS DOWN just describe your food to me [IMAGE], Quickmeme 2018, viewed 5 December 2018, <http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3pxlfe>.

Interaction-Design.org 2011, Affordances (Don Norman, 1994), 15 February, viewed 26 September 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK1Zb_5VxuM>.

[adigitalworldstudent-blog]

disConnected

“To be immersed in your computer to the point of no distraction” 

According to the Urban Dictionary (2018), this is the very meaning of being ‘plugged in’.

I believe this is the point Sherry Turkle was trying to make in her talk “Connected, but alone?” (TED-Ed 2013).  

Turkle believes we are becoming so immersed in the connection we have through technology that it is leaving us disconnected from the real world. Turkle expresses her concerns for the way people use technology to decide the relationships they have with others and that it “is taking us places that we don’t want to go” (TED-Ed 2013).

So why has this talk become so popular? Is it because Turkle says things that we all know but too afraid to admit?

While watching my two-year-old son playing with his toys and his imagination running wild, I wonder how he will be spending his time 10 years from now. With technology being so powerful, I ask myself how I can teach him technology does not replace human interaction and that communication is not about how well you “maintain eye contact while texting” (TED-Ed 2013).

Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist and philosopher, who discovered two types of social groups during the 1880’s; Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Tönnies & Harris 2001). Gemeinschaft is about community and is natural and spontaneous. Gesellschaft is about society and is rational and impersonal.

I believe the connection here is that Gemeinschaft is the real word and  Gesellschaft is the digital world.

Digital technology is providing new tools that are revolutionising relationships and the way society operates. We use our phones to connect with others who share our interests allowing us to build friendships with people who make us feel important, loved and less alone. 

Experts believe this connection helps us to build and maintain strong relationships and satisfying social lives (Pollet, Roberts & Dunbar 2011, p. 253).

On the contrary, we can’t deny we talk less to the people who pass us by, who are on the bus, who are waiting in line and even our children when we are on our phone’s neglecting our loved ones. And we can't deny that being ‘plugged in’ reduces intimate interaction and meaningful conversations. 

Evidence suggests this is true! 

People report being less lonely, have a greater sense of relatedness and are generally happier when they have more intimate interactions and more meaningful conversations (Sandstrom & Dunn 2014 p.911).

So where does this leave us, are we Connected, but alone? It appears that we are all still in debate over the matter.

What do you think? Let’s have a conversation about it, leave a comment below!

References

Kushlev, K, Proulx, J & Dunn, E 2017, ‘Digitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 76, pp. 68-74, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0747563217304132#bib39>.

Pollet, T, Roberts, S & Dunbar, R 2011, ‘Use of Social Network Sites and Instant Messaging Does Not Lead to Increased Offline Social Network Size, or to Emotionally Closer Relationships with Offline Network Members’, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 253-258, viewed 30 November 2018, <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=4c6d3390-80ce-492a-a82f-01b0c95a4602%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=59930297&db=bth>.

Sandstrom, G & Dunn, E 2014, ‘Social Interactions and Well-Being’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 40, no. 7, pp. 910-922, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1177/0146167214529799>.

Tech Advisor 2016, 25 best technology memes: The funniest tech memes on the web [image], viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/feature/internet/25-best-technology-memes-funniest-tech-memes-on-web-3634008/>.

TED-Ed 2013, Connected, but alone?- Sherry Turkle, 19 April, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv0g8TsnA6c>.

Tönnies, F & Harris, J 2001, Community and civil society, Cambridge University Press, EBSCOhost, p. ix.

Urban Dictionary 2018, Urban Dictionary: Plugged in, viewed 30 November 2018, <https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Plugged%20in>.