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Responses

@demtheocyprus7: Hello! I do think that Social Media and the Internet give us a better chance of making changes through those channels because we are able to organize ourselves well and encourage others to take action. It is all just about who decides to take the first step and who will follow them.

yournurselora: Hello, I am unsure of what your entire question is because it got a little cut off, but nonetheless, I think that Social Media can definitely produce some serious waves and cause people to move forward in either a positive way or a negative way. I think that it is all dependent on who is in charge and who is willing to listen.

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Hi, Anna. Professor Lee also asked us to give some examples of the use of social media has not gone as expected. Have you answer this in your second paragraph? Are you suggesting that social media is deteriorating the racial discrimination and inequality in our society as the opposition of what it was supposed to do such as promoting equality?

Hey Steven! I attempted to but I suppose my answer was not as clear as it could be. There was a time in Social Media when a hashtag will be suggested that creates more friction then unity. For example, the #blacklivesmatter vs the #alllivesmatter debate. I am sure when #blacklivesmatter was introduced, people didn’t think it would generate a resistant response. However, it further proves the separation and inequalities found between races. I think that Social Media can hurt and further separate us racially because we have a louder voice in these spheres than we might have in public. This open and honest policy can lead to toxic fighting and the furthering of a searing hatred for others that needs to be replaced with love. 

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Response

Hey lovekri94, I definitely think that Social Media has effected Obama’s presidency. It has caused a lot of issues and caused many to disapprove of him because they feel things he says are not suitable or politically correct. I really do feel that it helped him in the beginning to get elected because of the copious amount of good press he was getting. However, it became an issue later on and caused people to create memes poking fun at him, etc. I think that Social Media has the power to really effect the lives of those who are in the public eye, even the President of the United Staes. 

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Hi, Anna. You said that virtual communities can help many lonely people to interact with others, but will this actually reduce their interaction with others in the real world? I think they feel lonely at the first place is because they have just little interaction with the society. I don't think virtual communities can really replace the important of the real society for them. What do you think?

Hey! I actually do think that it is true that it can cause people who are lonely to turn inwardly even more, but there are some cases where it can help them to gain friends or to become someone that they aren’t in real life. It can allow them to have another persona which could be good for them. I don’t think that for the mental health of anyone really not just lonely people, that virtual communities should replace real society. I think that there has to be some balance to it, so if you are really involved in your online community, you should also try to make an effort to become acquainted with those around you. You cannot live your whole life online, you know? Hope this makes sense!

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Blog Post #6

Social Media has helped many different groups of people come together for specific causes. It is a breeding ground for conversations and allows people to freely express themselves. However, aside from just expressing themselves, Social Media gives people the chance to organize themselves from a political standpoint. Activists can join forces online and plan ways to protest against an organization or cause and keep them organized and efficient without getting caught by the authorities. Our new technology gives us the ability to mobilize ourselves in order to support the various causes that are important to us. In Classifying Forms of Online Activism by Sandor Vegh, online activism is defined as politically motivated movement relying on the Internet. They take advantage of the technologies offered by the Internet to achieve their goals. Within this reading it also spoke of the various things that are able to be done because of our access to the Internet. These categories are awareness/advocacy, organization/ mobilization and action/reaction. The Internet can help people gain access to things that they otherwise would be unable to. It helps to get like-minded individuals organized. Aside from organizing protests and freely discussing political issues, the Internet can also be used for hacking and cyber wars. This in itself can be a political tactic because they immobilize parties from responding and can get a message across just as protesting in person would. Hactivism is defined as a “politically motivated single incident online action or campaign taken by individuals to express disapproval or call attention to an issue advocated by the activists.” This action shifts to cyber war when it is “elevated to the state level and when it becomes a sustained engagement between parties in order to dominate over an adversary.”

           For many reasons cyber war and hactivism can cause individuals to get into a lot of trouble because they can essentially wreak havoc over an organization or group of people. It is not something that should be taken lightly and is a tactic used along with or rather than just protesting. Social Media and the Internet have helped movements to push forward and to make changes in their communities or to take a stance as a whole for a particular cause. I think that it does have its down sides though as all things do and sometimes it can cause things to be misinterpreted or cause issues. When reading Have We Become Post Racial Yet by Anna Everett, I was very upset by what I read about some of the things said about Obama. The quote that upset me the most from it was, “It appears that desirable post racial politics obtains in America primarily to the extent that black and other people of color do not call out racist practices and utterances occurring in civil society, no matter how egregious” (p. 12). I think that it is unfair to expect that as a person of color you cannot express your feelings on the unfair treatment of those in your community. It is also completely uncalled for to say that the race card is being pulled when in all honesty these days, most things are really about race and it is naïve to try and take it out of the equation as though it doesn’t exist. It clearly does and we have to acknowledge it. In Tweets from Tahrir by Alex Nunns and Nadia Idle, we can see the use of Twitter for the mobilization of a revolution. There are times when the Internet is a very important breeding ground for just discussion but I think there is other times when it is used to effectively mobilize people and in times like that, it is truly remarkable. We have so much at our disposal to use and to learn. I think we just need to use it well.

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Response 2

samantharizzo said: Hi Anna, do you think virtual communities wouldn’t be so popular and long lasting if people felt more comfortable with who they were and didn’t need these forums to feel comfortable expressing themselves

Hi Sam, I think that it probably wouldn’t be as long lasting if that were the case because people would be more focused on spending time with friends and just being themselves with those around them. This would cause people to possibly not have as much time to spend focusing on their virtual community because they feel comfortable being open with those around them.

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(Question Mark)

Hey y’all, I am having weird issues with my keyboard, when I press shift and question mark it keeps exiting me out of what I am writing which is REALLY ANNOYING. So, I am staying away from it peeps. Just know that if I say (question mark) I mean, insert a mental question mark lol because my computer is torturing me and won’t let me! 

Okay, thanks!

Hope you are getting prepared to have an AWESOME weekend!

-Anna

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Response

Hi! You said a con was that people in parts of the world was unable to have access to virtual communities. You don’t think that is one of pros because they will have the opportunity to live what we were living for so long and be exposed to that experience? - @demtheocyprus7

I think that it is a con because everyone deserves to have access to the things that we do. I do agree that in some ways life without the Internet is a lot more pure and genuine, but I also think that there are a lot of good things that we have access to because of our technology. It should be something that we all get a chance to experience. 

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Pro tip: Just because you don’t find something racist and offensive does not mean it’s not racist and offensive.

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Hi Anna, Do you agree with the article A Latin American Experience in Social Networking page 201 paragraph 3 that another con could be that the Internet lack minority languages?

Hi! I do agree with that. I forgot to mention it, but it did bother me that the lack of diversity in languages was a hinderance for some people to gain access to information. I definitely think it is something that needs to be changed. 

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Hi, Anna. I read your post 4. You said that we become cyborg by using social media. Professor Lee actually reminded us in her post that there's no dominating class among cyborgs. Do you think we are equal on social media? why?

I think that to some extent we are equal online because we are able to all share our ideas, thoughts and feelings. However, I agree with Professor Lee in what she said about cyborgs, I feel that I have a better understanding of how to interpret the meaning of cyborg now. We all bring our different experiences from real life with us when we go online. I think in some ways, being online helps us to better express how we feel, even though there may be repercussions for what we say. 

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Blog Post #5

          Virtual communities, or MUDs, have become a big part of modern day society. People are consistently entering these worlds, joining a community of like-minded individuals. In the article Are MUDs Communities by Heather Bromberg, she states, “The user steps out of the cheering crowd and becomes an actor, virtually realizing personalized dreams. Herein lies the possibility of transcendence.” This quote and many other statements from the article suggest that once we enter these communities, we lose our sense of self. In some ways, I understand this viewpoint. It is easy to log on to an online community, such as Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook and get sucked in. We can easily lose our sense of time and stay on these sites for hours on end engaging in communicating with friends or just watching videos. However, I personally don’t think I ever lose sense of who I am or where I am. I feel these feelings may be more related to playing a virtual game, where you are completely immersed in that setting. As Professor Lee mentioned about the idea of a cyborg, I now feel that we do not become cyborgs when we enter Social Media. We can only become a cyborg when we are completely void of the characteristics of ourselves in the real world and personally, I have never experienced that while on Social Media. In relation to becoming immersed in our virtual communities, there are both pros and cons to these online spaces.

           One of the pros of being involved in a virtual community is the ability to be in a space where you feel that you can be yourself. You are able to engage with people who have like-minded ideas and aspirations. For example, in Are MUDs communities, Heather Bromberg states that “Players seem to gain much personal insight through exploration on MUDs and chat groups.” Many people are lonely and desire to interact with others. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to. These virtual communities can help them to do that and to remain positive because they know someone else cares. Another positive thing about virtual communities is that it can help build political groups to positively bring change or to organize peaceful protests. It can help groups of people who are otherwise ignored in a political sphere gain their voice. On the other side of things, one of the cons of virtual communities is that it can sometimes cause people to withdraw into themselves and reinforce deeply held prejudices, which is an idea that was brought up in The Radicalization of Zeke Spier by Larry Elin. I think that in a lot of ways this can be true. In some spaces, when people are really comfortable expressing their dissent or approval of something, it can cause a number of things to happen. One of these things is that they can band together and feed into their ideas. These ideas are often not positive and can fuel hatred for other groups of people.  Another con of virtual communities is the fact that some communities around the world were unable to gain access to them due to lack of education and money. This causes them to not have the same knowledge of things that other people easily have access to. I feel that virtual communities have the ability to be long lasting groups. I feel this way because while things around us are consistently changing, we are able to adjust by relying on these spaces to talk about it. People will hold on to what they know best and cling to it and I think that is what contributes to these communities. As with every community you are a part of you want to create lasting relationships and do your best to keep it afloat. I think most people to do that in online communities. Everyone desires to be a part of something big and sometimes their virtual community is just that for them.

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Regarding people being too trusting of others who may end up not being who they say they are, and catfishing being an ongoing issue, what are your thought on the abilities of SnapChat that ensure real time photos? Do you think there is still a way to fake ones appearance on this app?

Hi! Thats a great question! I would think that it would be fairly difficult to fake your appearance on SnapChat, but anything is possible nowadays! i would think that it would be less likely through that app though! Unless they only posted to their story and not necessarily to you directly. I guess in that case it could cause some issues, but overall I think that may not be an unreliable way of communication if people really wanted to pursue a relationship online.

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Hi, You said to help build an online relationship you need face to face interaction, so if a person never meet face to face would that leave the relationship at a stand still?

Hi! I don’t think that it would leave them at a standstill no, because some people are perfectly okay with having a completely online relationship. I think in my opinion though and my own personal preference is that I am able to have that face-to-face interaction with someone. I think that there are just some things that are better off in person and you can really get the expression and context behind something someone says when you can actually see them. I think it is all a matter of preference in the end. I just know that if I were to ever go the online route in any type of relationship (romantic or not), at some point I would want to see them in person, get to see them and get to physically touch them. Those things are important to me! :)

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You mention in your post about online dating. Do you think that technology makes it more difficult for people to meet in person since it is such an integral part of our daily lives? And do you think that people who meet online have a relationship that is less real?

I think that technology makes it easier to not need to meet in person, but I don’t think that it rules out that face-to-face contact. I understand that some people prefer the online route, but I personally would rather spend quality time with someone when they are actually with me. In a way i think that online relationships are less real, especially if you have never had contact with them other than through messaging. I think that if you were able to at least video chat with them from time to time then you can kind of confirm that they are actually who they say they are. I personally just wouldn’t want to replace online interactions with in person ones. I think they are very important. 

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Blog #4

When we enter the online realm, it is like treading in different and mysterious waters. Online conversations and relationships involve much trust that the individual that you are speaking with is actually who they say they are. In Is there a Body in the Net by Katie Argyle and Rob Shields, it states, “There is no loss of body in and through virtual reality technologies.” To me, this means that although people can’t physically see you in a chat room or as you are posting a comment on Facebook, your body is still involved. In a way, you incorporate many of the actions that you do on a consistent basis in your chats. For example, you can be sure to communicate that you are smiling or laughing at something that someone else says by adding that in to your text as you write to him or her. For me, that is a way that your body can be incorporated into the Internet world. There is also the obvious ways of having your body on the Internet, such as physical pictures or videos of you. However, in every situation, you still try to portray your truest self (in most cases) on Social Media. We become cyborgs when we enter this space because as I said before, there is no real way of knowing who is sitting behind a screen and interacting with you, unless you can directly see them. We become a mixture of human and machine, a complex but highly specialized individual.

On Social Media, there are a lot of opportunities for various relationships. Some of these relationships include friendships, romantic relationships and business relationships. Many feel that these relationships are real, especially in the area of romantic interests. However, as the popular MTV show Catfish shows, many of these online dating relationships are very fake, leaving the individual who thought it was all true heartbroken. I think that in the cases of old relationships re-forming and creating a stronger bond over Social Media, those methods are effective. People get an opportunity to reconnect with someone they may have just lost touch with over the years. I understand a real relationship to be one where both parties mutually respect and understand one another. I feel that it is real when individuals can have a disagreement on something and still be kind to one another and respect their differences. However, a very big part of these real relationships is the ability to make time to see one another and preferably in person. Having one on one face-to-face interaction can help to build these real relationships and get to know a person more fully. I think that the creation of identities shapes the types of relationships we have on Social Media because we may be intrigued to talk to someone on Facebook even if we don’t know them personally, because they have similar interests to us. It is no longer completely strange to begin dating someone that you met online, even though I feel that has many implications. There are times on various Social Media sites where we are too trusting of others and assume that they are who they say they are without really knowing if that is the truth. I think sometimes these things need further investigation so that in the long run, you aren’t getting hurt or putting yourself in immediate danger.

The following photos are pictures of the avatars I created, with explanations of each one.

This photo is an example of the avatar I made for my blog. I wanted it to represent who I am as a person as much as possible. Although my hair is not often straight and there are some differences between my virtual self, and I I did try to incorporate parts of my personality. Such as a bright smile and wearing glasses.

This photo is an example of an avatar I would make for gaming. In the photo, my avatar is very playful and is in gear ready to play games. I wanted to portray a relaxed look and feeling through my avatar. I wanted my avatar to portray my enthusiasm for the possibility of soon challenging someone to a game.

Finally, I created an avatar that I would use for online dating. My avatar is all dolled up, with make-up and no glasses this time because I would wear contacts most likely. My avatar is wearing a nice dress and for this one I decided it would be cool to add a background. My avatar looks ready for a night out on the town and has a glass ready to toast a great evening out.

As I created my avatars for each scenario, I understood how important the background information for making each one was for me. It helped me to choose the type of clothes I would put on the avatar and even the expressions and hairstyles. It showed me a lot about my own preferences and what I think is the ideal for each situation. Avatars are a reflection of who we are as individuals, but it is not a carbon copy of our true selves in the real world. However, they are pretty fun to make!

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Carry His Presence - original print from The Worship Project.

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