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Week 10 - Gaming Communities, Social Gaming and Live streaming

Gamers, in the traditional sense, have been labeled as young and predominantly male. In recent years, a variety of games have been launched to promote live streaming, and it is found that the participation of women in games has also been increasing.

Before the COVID-19 caused pandemic, I was rarely involved in games, much less addicted to them. Interestingly, during the lockdown in 2020, a game called Animal Crossing became extremely popular on Facebook and Instagram. The Animal Crossing series has always been a "life sim" with no exact storyline but rather using "virtual life" as its core competence. Having cute animation style as another selling point, players will become the mayor of a small town, and a large group of cute animals become good neighbors, good friends. At the beginning of the game, the activity scope of the player is small, just in a small town constantly picking fruit, fishing, collecting shells and selling them to make money, and then using the money to expand the town, so that the town becomes more prosperous. One of the features of Animal Crossing is that the game time is completely synchronized with real time, giving the player a sense of immersion, but without the usual tension of a game. Some people may not be used to playing "FPS (first person shooting)" or “ARPG (action role playing game)” games, but this is exactly the selling point of the game. Turning the intense "war" like setting to something much more relaxed like enjoying tranquil times at country home; preventing the physical and mental fatigue players have longed for in a "slow" paced game. Having no characters or other players pushing and urging you to finish a mission or a quest, even if you're asked to do something by an NPC (a non-player character), the game does not have a specific deadline, which ultimately means that players can take a break from the "deadlines" they’ve always faced in action packed games.

In addition, the success of “Animal Crossing” is closely related to the fact that players had spontaneously and voluntarily built multiple digital communities on social media platforms to share and discuss their experiences in the game. In 2006, Jenkins discovered that “the new knowledge communities will be voluntary, temporary, and tactical affiliations… they are held together through the mutual production and reciprocal exchange of knowledge”. Gamers post strategies on how to make money, catch different kinds of fish or insects in different seasons. They also exchange ideas about clothing and house decor for their characters. You can even add some strangers’ game account and invite them to visit your island. All of a sudden, everyone was obsessed with the game and were frequently engaging in discussions on social media platforms. Despite the fact that I felt isolated during the lockdown period as I did not have a chance to meet my friends, I could still keep in touch with them through this game, share strategies with each other, have fun together and relieve myself from the pressure that the lockdown has brought. Thus, “online games that adapt your friendship ties for play purposes, while accommodating your daily routines.”(Järvinen, 2011).

Reference:

Järvinen, A 2011, Week 10 Social Gaming Guest Lecture: 2021-HS1-MDA20009-Digital Communities 2021, Instructure.com

Jenkins, H 2006. “Interactive audience? The collective intelligence of media fans”, pp.136

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Week 9 - Digital Citizenship and Software literacy: Instagram Filters

When discussing social media in recent years, the biggest concern one must address has to be beauty filters. Before AR technology was applied to social media platforms, many beauty photoshopping apps has already appeared such as “Perfect 365” and “Facetune” which are adjacent to filters and "are designed to… enhance appearance" (Elias & Gill 2018, p.60). These apps were being utilised to fit into the aesthetic standard at that time, and had made its users look seemingly “perfect”. Frankly, beauty apps became necessary tools to be used before people uploaded their photos onto social media platforms.

Nowadays, the combination of AR technology and social media successfully launched a series of filters, making users more addicted to social media, as they no longer need to spend time on third party apps to re-edit their selfies. Some people believe that filters can only increase appearance and body anxiety, making it hard for individuals to identify with and appreciate themselves; particularly amongst young people who generally has an immature mind and a lack of judgment. As a result of using Snapchat lenses affected state appearance satisfaction” (Burnell, Kurup & Underwood 2021, p. 12), the abuse of beauty filter will affect their physical and mental health. As these “beautiful masks” could only exist after undergoing heavy filtering on social media, people began refusing to participate in real life social activities so they may maintain their virtual image. However, social media users (especially young women) will be tempted to compare their real appearance with those who have been processed by the filter; deliberately magnifying the defects of their appearance, and prompting them to use the filter to modify their photos, so as to make themselves look more "perfect". Thus, while most users are using filters on social media to share photos, you may also be influenced by the way you take pictures.

Additionally, people would generally take celebrities' “attractive” physical features as necessary body parts that requires augmentation before undergoing plastic surgery. However, now that they are “seeking out cosmetic surgery to look like filtered versions of themselves”(Rajanala, Maymone & Vashi, 2018), they longed to immortalize this perfect mask on their faces forever; to be truly "perfect." At the end of the day, much of the controversy over filters is closer in nature as opposed to accusations of old wine in new bottles. Furthermore, it is a very standard cognitive problem in "thinking not keeping up with technology".

Reference:

Burnell, K., Kurup, A. R. and Underwood, M. K. 2021, “Snapchat lenses and body image concerns”, New Media & Society. doi: 10.1177/1461444821993038.

Elias, A. S. and Gill, R. 2018, “Beauty surveillance: The digital self-monitoring cultures of neoliberalism”, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 21(1), pp. 59–77. doi: 10.1177/1367549417705604.

Rajanala, S., Maymone, M., and Vashi, N., 2018” Selfies-living in the ear of filtered photographs”. vol.20, pp.443-444. doi:<http://doi.org/10.1001/jamafacial.2018.0486>

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Week 8 - Body modification on Visual Social Media

Social media, saturated with body perfection, creates an information environment that is rife with a culture of female thinness, making it easy for individuals to fall into the illusion that they are obese. On the one hand, it is due to the commercialization of the media system. In order to make profits, social media corporates with “Microcelebrity”(Senft, 2012), “creating and maintaining an online identity that resembles a branded good in order to gain status through visibility online” (Marwick 2013; Senft 2012). Therefore, they can plant advertisements and promote commodity consumption in related fields. Additionally, the recommendation of the algorithm makes individuals enter the information cocoon, and places individuals in the network environment where all members are thin. There are a lot of body hints, and the supposed "good body" image has dominated the female body concept.

Today, social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are rife with standardised body images, which is mostly being presented by online influencers and microcelebrities. Their appearances and bodies are unsurprisingly similar; all having the s-shaped body shape, young, v-shaped face, big eyes and thick lips. Such aesthetic value system constantly puts pressure on young people whose bodies do not quite tick the "standard" box, and will cause them to continuously and negatively criticise their own body.

Furthermore, “It has been argued that women are presenting a highly sexualized version of self online” (Mavroudis, 2020; Herring, 2015; Carrotte, Prichard, & Lim, 2017; Kapidzic & Ringrose, 2011). Some people are more blatant under the banner of dress freedom, posing in photos that are full of pronographic elements.

As a result of the large number of users that are involved in the evaluation and review of others' appearance on social media, women with "perfect" aesthetics are sought after on social media and are likely to receive more likes, comments and retweets, and will often be given the chance of "overnight fame". Therefore, many individuals want to become a member of the aesthetic labor force, and ultimately evolve into a new standard of aesthetics by spreading yet another negative body image. Unfortunately, women with natural physique that don’t match what the virtual world generally desires may be treated with disdain and indifference. Consequently, appearance and body anxiety can occur. In order to conform to this epidemic aesthetic standard and to regain their confidence, many individuals resort to having cosmetic surgeries done on their bodies. Unfortunately, those who undergo surgeries to fuel this morbid culture have been blinded. They have lost their individuality to become replicas of online influencers and micro-celebrities, who too had given up their individuality to become someone unauthentic.

Reference:

Carrotte, E. R., Prichard, I., & Lim, M. S. C. 2017, ‘Fitspiration’ on social media: A content analysis of gendered images. Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol.19( 3).

Kapidzic, S., & Herring, S. C, 2015. “Race, gender, and self-presentation in teen profile photographs. New Media & Society”, vol.17, pp.958-976. doi:10.1177/1461444813520301

Marwick, AE, 2013. “Status update: celebrity, publicity, and branding in the social media age”. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Mavroudis, J, 2020. “Am I too branded? Fame labour and microcelebrity culture”. Pp.72-101

Senft, T. 2012, “Microcelebrity and the Branded Self”. In Hartley, J, Burgess, J & Bruns, A (Ed.), A Companion to New Media Dynamics, Blackwell, UK.

Ringrose, J. 2011. “Are you sexy, flirty or a slut? Exploring “sexualization” and how teen girls perform/negotiate digital sexual identity on social networking sites”. In R. Gill & C. Scharff (Eds.), New femininities: Postfeminism, neoliberalism and subjectivity, pp.99–116, London, UK: Palgrave.

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Week 7 - Digital Citizenship and Conflict: Social Media Governance

As one of the generation Z, social media has undoubtedly become a part of my life, whether it is for socializing, communicating, working or studying. However, in recent years I have become increasingly disgusted with the insecurity and malice that users spread on social media platforms. Social media is a place of real freedom of speech and everyone has digital citizenship. Every user can speak freely and equally, discuss current events and fight for rights and interests. It seems that social media has become a safe black hole, where users can speak irresponsibly under the banner of freedom of speech without fear of reprisals. Unfortunately, it has become a hotbed of cyber bullying.

The most pathetic thing is that people criticize online strangers based on their own standards of preference. A chain reaction can occur when one user starts unscrupulous online criticism of a stranger's “personal or physical characteristic; political views, gender, physical appearance and race”(Duggan, 2017). Other users are also encouraged to become part of the herd and bully or harass someone. The most ironic thing is that despite “women are also using online platforms as a way of engaging, resisting and responding to harassment”(Vitis and Gilmour, 2016) but this abominable atmosphere can also occur on them when people always says “girls support girls”, women are always more hostile to each other. Some people may justify their online harassment by saying that their cultural background is different, that they have been taught to think critically, and that suppressive criticism can make people perfect, strong or progressive. But is it really necessary to get better for others in such a bad way? I don't necessarily believe their actions are all motivated by jealousy, but rather they lack the ability to find the good in other human beings. Perhaps they had longed to be brought up in a kind and gentle way. However, as a result of the world in which they lived, that is full of malice and criticism, has made them assimilated.

As a Chinese proverb goes, "Do to other what you want done to yourself”, it means do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. If the same criticism were hurled at you, would you clamly accept it ?

Reference:

Duggan, M. 2017, “Online Harrasement 2017”, Pew Reseach Center, < https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/07/11/experiencing-online-harassment/>

Vitis, L & Gilmour, F, 2017. “Dick pics on blast: A woman’s resistance to online sexual harassment using humour, art and Instagram”, Crime, Media, Culture. Vol.13(3), pp.335-355.

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Week 6: Social Media Influencer and Slow Fashion Movement

In today's rapidly changing society, novelty has become one of the driving forces in people's lives. With the aggravation of the gap between the rich and the poor, fast fashion has greatly satisfied people's sense of freshness and vanity by producing low-priced but low-quality products in large quantities. Fast fashion seems to bring all sorts of advantages, making ordinary people think they can live as glamorous as the rich but with less expenditure. Unfortunately, in order to maintain the cutting edge fashion, fast fashion produces products that has very short lifespan in terms of style and trendiness. Additionally, “the fashion industry as a whole is one of the biggest polluters globally” (BSR, 2012, Lai. et al as cited in 2017). This problem have seriously affected ordinary individuals’ consumer mindset, not to mention its unilateral harm to the environment. In response to this social dilemma, society is witnessing the emergence of an opposing phenomenon in the fashion industry, slow fashion.

Fashion is fickle, and over the years brands have raced to capture the public's attention with the most eye-catching spectacle. Fast fashion is just a by-product of "fast culture", however under the pandemic, all industries had to take a break. As fashion has increasingly become blindly synonymous with the notion of luxury, yet with less meaning, people gradually realised the importance of environment and health. Those who uphold life, functionality, and simple designs returned to the public’s embrace. With the pandemic providing a space for "slow thinking", "slow fashion" is the more reliable, delicate and lasting belief, and it has returned to the basics (to) become an epidemic with "integrity". Therefore, in fashion industry, “sustainability becomes increasingly important...focusing on the well-being of workers, more environmentally friendly resources, and renewable and/or recycled materials” (Weller, 2012, Lai. et al as cited in 2017).

Fashion and social media have become inseparable, and the dazzling fashion information is flooded in every corner of social media. In my opinion, whether people choose fast fashion or slow fashion, it is their personal choice. But the bigger problem is that it's not an individual problem, it's a lack of regulation. Most people don't earn enough to cover everyone else's liveable wage. The fact that full-time workers have to buy clothes made in exploitative conditions in order to afford them is proof that the government is responsible for the problems that arise in an unregulated fashion industry.

Reference:

BSR (Business of a Better World). (2012). Sustainable fashion design: Oxymoron no more?, BSR.

Lai, Z. Claudia E. Henninger and Panayiota J. Alevizou, 2017 ‘An Exploration of Consumers’ Perceptions Towards Sustainable Fashion – A Qualitative Study in the UK’, in Sustainability in Fashion A Cradle to Upcycle Approach, edited by Henninger, C.E., Alevizou, P., Goworek, H., Ryding, D.

Weller, I. 2012. Marketing, brands and textile and fashion industry Sustainable consumption and production patterns in the clothing sector Is green the new black ?, in M. A. Gardetti & A. L. Torres (eds.) Sustainability in Fashion and Textiles: Values, Design, Production and Consumption, Chapter 11: 183–194, Greenleaf Publishing: Sheffield, UK

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Week 5: What is Digital Citizenship?

As "new citizen norms and identities have emerged that priorities sharing over tradition" (Vromen, 2017) most individuals in today's society have ownership to two identities. One of which, needless to explain, is a person's identity in reality and the other, is commonly known as digital identity. It is therefore not a coincidence that differentiating terms have been used in contextually different doctrines or articles. When engaging in issues to do with digital identity, "social media have contributed to new forms of citizenship" (Law et al., 2018); namely digital citizenship.

Whilst being the overarching term to describe voting, activism, certain bad behaviours in institutions and platforms, and the sometimes questionable use of technology, digital citizenship can also be defined by someone who, according to Mossberger et al. in 2008, participates in the act of voting, communication, and economic conduct online. Similar to a good citizen, a good digital citizen should participate and communicate positively in the online world whilst simultaneously seeking to create and consume information.

Interestingly, the existence of digital citizsnship have given rise to another phenomenon; platformization. Traditionally speaking, platforms are computational, political, and architectural, but the current "rise of the platform as a dominant infrastructural and economic model of the social web" (Helmond, 2015) marks the shift, described by Poell et al. in 2019, that turns platforms from simply being a thing to a process. Ultimately, platformization describes "the growing intergration of digital platforms' business models, infrastructures, algorithms, and the practice around them into every facet of society" (Chia et al., 2020). Understanding the necessity to appropriately utilize platforms to sway digital citizens, organisations, and communities have increasingly changed their operational strategies so they may appear to have objectivity and value-added principles of neutrality. This is translated by, according to Vromen in 2017, recent membership declines in traditional organisations such as political parties and increases in human rights groups caused by online social movements.

Reference:

Chia, A. Keogh, B. Leorke D & Nicoll, B 2020, "Platformisation in game development", Internet Policy Review 9 (4). DOI: 10.14763/2020.4.1515.

Duffy, B. Poell, T & Nieborg, D. 2019, ‘Platform Practices in the Cultural Industries: Creativity, Labor and Citizenship’ Social Media + Society

Helmond, A. 2015, ‘The Platformization of the Web: Making Web Data Platform Ready’, Social Media + Society. doi: 10.1177/2056305115603080.

Law, N. Chow, SL. Fu, KW. 2018, Digital Citizenship and Social Media: A Curriculum Perspective. In: Voogt J., Knezek G., Christensen R., Lai KW. (eds) Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53803-7_3-1

Mossberger, K. Tolbert, CJ. McNeal, RS, 2007, Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society and Partication, The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/7428.001.0001

Vromen, A 2017, Intro Digital Citizenship and Political Engagement The Challenge from Online Campaigning and Advocacy Organisations London : Palgrave Macmillan

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Week 4 - The controversy of Reality TV Shows

In current society, audiences have become shrewd. Having begun to judge the authenticity and reasonability of Reality TV, they have also longed for their own involvement in tv shows. As more scandals about Reality TV Shows surfaced, Holmes (2004) revealed that people are tired of being passive viewers, and are becoming more eager for the ability to change the results of reality shows than ever before. Starting with Big Brother, Reality TV Shows had increasingly empowered its audience to influence the results of the show by voting. Not only did this move satisfy the desire of the audience, but it also brought high traffic and discussion on social media platforms for shows of this genre by the positively participating audiences. However, it may distract the organic judgment of some audiences due to popular opinion online and false narratives presented on-screen; which consequently may turn some people into passive viewers once again.

In 2008, a British MP George Galloway participated in the Big Brother show and triggered a series of political discussions on social media. Without annoying the audience, Galloway bravely spoke up on several sensitive issues and actually made people believe him to be different to other politicians. This is undoubtedly a big achievement in making the connection between reality tv show and politics; providing a unique communicative space whereby “a non-politically oriented forum was influenced by a political personality”(Graham & Hajru, 2011). However, we cannot be certain that Galloway’s actions were honest and unscripted, as it is impossible to find out given the nature of Reality TV Shows; such that it is relaxing and entertaining to watch but could often be pre-rehearsed and edited. When Political Talk appears on, or is emulsified into, Reality TV Shows, the significant contrast between these two ingredients makes it highly enticing for audiences to go on a binge. After Galloway had successfully induced the audience of Big Brother to pay attention on social problems in a natural and interesting way, there were no doubts that he became a brave man in the eyes of the many. As a result, these people that became prisoners of the moment were subconsciously ignorant that Galloway’s action may just be political theatre; used to promote certain political figures or to undermine their political opponents.

Ultimately, the combination of Political Talk and Reality Tv may foster motivation and engagement in people’s discussion on social issues, however these feelings may be subject to PR mechanisms orchestrated and exploited by politicians to gain an advantage amongst the masses.

So, how are people still addicted to Reality TV Shows despite being aware of the fact that they can be scripted and far from “reality” ?

One of the main reasons, according to Fetveit (1999, p798), is that it provides a relevant connection to realism and many scenes in Reality Shows have engraved people with a strong impulse to touch reality. Take the famous movie “The Truman Show” for example; it presented Truman’s life which, although very repetitive and boring, became a daily routine for audiences to watch. At the end of the movie, Truman decided to leave the place that he has been staying for years, as he wanted a different life in reality where events occurred naturally as opposed to being scripted. When audiences saw Truman’s decision, they were happy and excited for him. From my perspective, I believe the reason why many Individuals enjoy watching Reality TV Show is not only because they expect unordinary things to happen, but it’s also because they can relate to someone similar in the show. Just like Truman, who decided to step out of his comfort zone into the outside world where he understands nothing about, but he was still brave and strong enough to make the final decision. Therefore, Reality TV can sometimes create a sense of empathy for audiences and conjure people’s connection to a fragment the reality that relates to their own character or lifestyle.

Reference:

Todd Graham and Auli Hajru Reality TV as a trigger of everyday political talk in the net-based public sphere, European Journal of Communication 26(1) 18–32, 2011.

Fetveit, A. (1999). Reality TV in the digital era: a paradox in visual culture? Media Culture Soc. 21, 787–804. doi: 10.1177/016344399021006005

Holmes, S. (2004). ‘But This Time You Choose!' Approaching the ‘Interactive' Audience in Reality TV. Int J Cult Stud. 7, 213–231. doi: 10.1177/1367877904043238

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Week 3 : Digital Community and Blogging : Tumblr Case Study

Following the development in technology, digital communities have become the place for which people would share, debate and communicate different topics with each other. Tumblr, being one of the more recognisable examples amongst several digital communities, has an uniqueness that accelerates this transformation.

When compared to other digital communities, there is a grey area in Tumblr’s user verification process, which is translated by the fact that users are not required to authenticate their real identity upon registration. This means individuals can comment or post contents of a controversial nature and not be threatened by potential repercussions in the real world as nobody can find out who they are, or where they are at. Hence, it empowers and encourages people of minority arguments or views to speak up; whether it be about their sexual orientation, social and political stance, or views on different communities. Meanwhile, it has also accelerated the emergence of a subculture; feminism.

Tumblr has become one of the most popular platforms for teenage feminists. They believe that tumblr is like a “proper black hole” that is “deep and dark” enough to hide themselves and “practice feminism“(Keller, 2019), which at the same time enables maximum levels of protection for their privacy.

In my perspective, feminism is double-edged ideology for teenagers. That is not to say teenagers are not qualified to be involved in feminism or to be feminists, as many teenagers also show their precocious side. However it is very common, like Corner (2020) have suggested, that teenagers lack sufficient analytical skills and independent critical thinking due to their tendency to be driven hormones and raw emotions, which may ultimately culminate in irrational actions. As a result the idea of feminism, which at times can radicalise individuals to undertake or verbalise measures of extremity, may very likely influence or cause teenagers to have extreme thoughts or behaviours in order to be identified as a feminist.

Conclusively, there are both advantages and disadvantages that tumblr brings. It provides a safer place for marginalised groups to speak up for themselves and protect their privacy anonymously. On the other hand, it lacks the appropriate monitoring and censorship of certain information, which there is an overflow of on the platform, that may impact the physical and mental development of young people.

Reference:

Corner, A, 2020. The Problem with Tumblr Feminism. [Blog] Medium, Available at: <https://alicecorner.medium.com/the-problem-with-tumblr-feminism-eccd05680a63> [Accessed 14 March 2022].

Keller, J, 2019, “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms, Social Media + Society Volume: 5 issue: 3, pp.3 - pp.8