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WEEK 4

Reality Television in an Age of Social Media.

The fun in reality tv shows exists in sharing it amongst friends and is ever present through social media communities. The attention of television entertainment was distracted by social media and reality tv used that to their advantage (Deller 2019, p. 154). Social media is a perfect place to tweet, Facebook status and insta-story their opinions, thoughts and viewing of the show through forums, communities, and groups. Tv shows encourage online discussion because it plays into their viewership and flow of money (Ahn & Kyoungran 2019, p. 3026). However, their encouragement can be irrelevant when it is claimed to be engaging and exhilarating to live tweet what is happening during the show (Deller 2019, p. 155). Liveness plays a key part in the humanity of the show and how they unite society and give them something to discuss, argue and or agree on (Deller 2019, p. 155). The evidence of the united communities is noticeable during Married at First Sight (#MAFS) when viewers are tiktoking their opinions and points. The more important and fun part of evaluating a reality tv show online with the community is the lasting memes that can continuously be used even out of context. A key example is the ‘double homicide’ meme that became a trend on TikTok and a viral joke on twitter (The Zeus Network).

From the inspiration of television, social media platforms have created their own reality tv episodes on their pages and channels. Reality tv is understood as holding up a mirror to human behaviour and natural interactions (Deller 2019, p. 153). Making reality tv very desirable by content creators and their innovated ideas with all the technologies and access (Deller 2019, p. 164). It becomes a lot easier when Web 2.0 and user-generate sites have enhanced the participatory culture by putting the power in the hands of the audience (Jarrett 2010, p. 327). Jubilee has created their own show through their YouTube channel that involves participants analysing each other to discover the odd one out and is present in their popular video ‘6 Straight Men vs 1 Secret Gay Man | Odd Man Out’ (Jubilee 2019).

The online following of reality television stars tend to increase because of their presence on the show that gains a lasting interest from the audience. Reality shows social media pages encourage their viewers to follow the stars online where they’ll build hype for the next episode of the show (Deller 2019, p.159). The stars online presence is essential for the show and adds flavour to the online discussion when they dig up old photos, stories, or tweets from the stars. These reality tv celetoids fame can be short lived because the shows don’t last forever making them a temporary interest (Van 2018, p. 185). However, social media continues the fame by connecting fans to the celebrity and by having newsworthy posts (Van 2018, p. 184). From a celetoid to a micro-celebrity, an ordinary celebrity to the simplest form (Van 2018, p. 187.). From here these micro-celebrities can use their now popular platform to increase sales of their business (Deller 2019, p. 162). An example of this is The Amazing Race Australia’s contestants Flick and Gabby who have a café a business that is thriving because of the reality show they were on (10 play 2022).

Reference

Ahn, J & Kyoungran A 2019, ‘The Correlation between Online Comments before Broadcasting and Television Content Viewers' Behavior Pattern: The Anchoring Effect Perspective’, KSII Transactions on Internet and Information System, Vol. 13, Issue 6, pp. 3023-3036.

Deller, R, A 2019, Reality television : The tv phenomenon that changed the world, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Jarrett, K 2010, ‘YouTube: Online video and participatory culture’, Journal of Media & Culture Studies, Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp. 327-330.

Jubilee, 6 Straight Men vs 1 Secret Gay Man | Odd Man Out, Jubilee, 30 September 2019, viewed 30 March 2023, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2fNZm8u7KM >

The Zeus Network, Joseline’s Cabaret Atlanta | Exclusive Clip | Double Homicide | Zeus, 15 April 2021, viewed 29March 2023, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARHNL6RFLgg >.

Van, K, R, 2018, Celebrity society : The struggle for attention, Taylor & Francis Group.

10 play, 2022, Flick & Gabby, 10 play, viewed 30 March 2023, < https://10play.com.au/the-amazing-race-australia/teams/season-3/flick-gabby/pa220818qjbkc >.

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WEEK 3

“Love the Skin You’re in”: An Analysis of Women’s Self-Presentation and User Reactions to Selfies Using the Tumblr Hashtag #bodypositive.

Tumblr is widely known as a popular micro-blogging site for young people, especially millennials that claim to take up 69% of Tumblr’s users (Keller 2019, p.7). Tumblr stands out compared to Instagram and Facebook because it doesn’t involve a personal profile or a network of friends or followers (Keller 2019, p.7). Tumblr users re-blog and post their interests with hashtags to connect with others that share the same interest (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 4). It’s a completely different platform to Instagram and twitter because there is no pressure to be someone you’re not but rather a place to express who you truely are.

After Tumblr banned all NSFW (not safe/suitable for work), the popular hashtag #bodypositive became a movement to normalize body types and promote body acceptance through selfies (Paasonen & Pilipets 2022, pp. 1460). Fueled by it's anonymity and social privacy, Tumblr is the perfect public sphere for this movement because it is a known safe hub for body-positive, gender nonconforming and queer communities (Paasonen & Pilipets 2022, pp. 1461). The movement was present on Instagram too but performed differently because of its online culture of discussion and encouragement of inappropriate comments. As a result Instagram users felt sexually objectified because viewers perceived them that way rather than encouraging them to ignore beauty standards (Brathwaite, DeAndrea, & Vendemia 2021, pp. 143).

To participate in the movement users upload a selfie of their body and participated in postfeminism culture (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 6).  Selfies are photos taken of oneself, usually via a phone for the purpose of uploading to social media (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 3). Selfies result in idolizing oneself which is the aim of the movement. However, if a selfie isn’t to the standards of the communities’ expectations or the cultural ideals than it won’t gain a positive response (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 3). Selfies involves its own standards of photo taking through its unique style, techniques and poses and may include filters and photo editing reflecting a lower self-esteem (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 4). Which gains more need for the movement because of users value on their body image and the gain of self-worth through positive comments and likes, rather than their own opinions and how they feel (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 4). Within the chaos selfies are considered important in discovering their self through experimenting with selfies to find their own style and taste (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 4).

Overall, the movement was successful and found that users gained a lot more self-esteem because of the community’s positive feedback and encouragement (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 17). Selfies were also received as self-verifying and far from negative because it highlighted their feminine side (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 17). The standards of beauty were shifted in many users definitions and as a result encouraged many more woman to do the same (Miller, Reif & Taddicken 20022, pp. 18).

(weight loss, 2021)

References

Brathwaite, K, DeAndrea, D & Vendemia, M 2021, Objectifying the body positive movement: The effects of sexualizing and digitally modifying body-positive images on Instagram, Body Image, vol. 38, Issn. 1740-1445, pp. 137-147

Keller, J, 2019, “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms, Social Media + Society, Sage.

Miller, I, Reif, A & Taddicken, M, 2022,“Love the Skin You‘re In”: An Analysis of Women’s Self-Presentation and User Reactions to Selfies Using the Tumblr Hashtag #bodypositive, Mass Communication and Society,  Taylor & Francis Group.

Paasonen, S & Pilipets, E, 2022, Nipples, memes, and algorithmic failure: NSFW critique of Tumblr censorship, New Media & Society, Sage.

Weight Loss, 2021, ‘body positive: empowering or dangerous?’, weight loss, 13 March 2023, < https://liwli.com/body-positive-empowering-or-dangerous/ >