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its just chicken breast and white rice

WEEK 8: body mods on visual social media

A primary focus of the body positivity movement and education about plastic surgery and photo editing on social media has been on young women. With an incredible amount of pressure on young girls to conform to the bodies on the feeds and beauty standards, it makes sense why. However, body modification and beauty standards also pertain to young men and boys in an equally damaging way. While there may be less social implications for young boys to deviate from the supposed ideal men’s body type (see the abuse faced by fat women on social media), the way boys interact with the male influencers can cause serious damage to their developing self image. In a 2019 survey published by the California Journal of Health Promotion, it was found that of 149 boys aged 11-18, almost a third were unhappy with their body shape (Hawgood 2022). Many psychologists are attaching this rise in bigorexia (a specific kind of “muscle muscle dysmorphia exhibited mostly by men and characterised by excessive weight lifting, a preoccupation with not feeling muscular enough and a strict adherence to eating foods that lower weight and build muscle” (Hawgood 2022)) to todays’ “beefcake-saturated culture” (Hawgood 2022). From hypermasculine video games, the superheroes with cgi enhanced muscles to the influencers and cultural icons that dominate their screens, music and lives. Influencers and media personalities like Jake Paul and the other Hype House members, Noah Beck and Bryce Hall, all sport washboard abs and chiselled pecs. Many of these young boys turn to fitness influencers, or become one themselves, to find ways to tailor their workouts to get the body they want. One seventeen year old, Rudy, from Los Angeles noted that boys as young as ten have reached out to him seeking a recipe to achieve the ‘dorito physique’. The conversation surrounding what is achievable in terms of body types and fitness and what is an illusion should be opened up broadly to include young boys. 

Hawgood A (17 May 2022) ‘What is ‘Bigorexia’?’, The New York Times, accessed 26 May 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/05/style/teen-bodybuilding-bigorexia-tiktok.html  

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#AmberTurd

WEEK 7: digital citizenship and conflict; social media governance 

Social media has a long and healthy history of giving individuals space to foster and develop their own identities free of outside influence. The internet has a unique ability to allow people to find interests, communities and others to connect to all across the globe that they may have never had access to before. And while the digital world can grant an unparalleled potential for individuality to be created, it can also work as a large, oppressive monolith of public opinion. Especially on social media sites like TikTok and Twitter where a single hashtag can allow participation in a network-wide discussion. And granted, this monolithic voice can act as an incredible force when systemic change needs to occur. The #MeToo movement had unprecedented impacts on real life politics and culture, all because so many users contributed their stories and experiences. However, this unitary front of voices can also cause damage. In the case of the recent Heard and Depp case that is currently circling the media, users on social media sites have invested an unhealthy level of interest and care into a real domestic violence case. The hashtag #justiceforjohnnydepp has garnered over 15 billion views, with Heards respective tag onto reaching 8 million (Tsioulcas 2022). The case has also attracted the interest of many right-wing, mens rights and anti-feminist groups who take the opportunity to dub Heard a psychopath and liar. Many have also gone out of their way to ridicule Heard on TikTok by mimicking her emotional testimonies. Some have even called for her arrest and imprisonment (Brockbank 2022). The vitriol aimed at Heard suggests that she has committed some unfathomable act by lying about the abuse suffered at the hands of Depp. However the opposite is true. Depp has admitted to being violent in the relationship. His case stands that he was driven to violence by Heard. Neither are blameless in this case yet the internet has chosen sides almost immediately and insists on maintaining that stance. Nicole Bereda spoke to NPR about the implications this kind of pile-on can have for other real victims of domestic violence. She argues that this can have serious consequences on victims coming forward as the possibility of speaking out publicly will be countered by a defamation case that is subsequently followed by public ridicule (Tsioulcas 2022).

Tsioulcas A (23 May 2022) ‘On social media, Johnny Depp is winning public sympathy over Amber Heard’, NPR, accessed 26 May 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/05/23/1100685712/on-social-media-johnny-depp-is-winning-public-sympathy-over-amber-heard 

 Brockband M (20 May 2022) ‘The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial shows the dangers of fan culture’, The Conversation, accessed 26 May 2022. https://theconversation.com/the-johnny-depp-amber-heard-defamation-trial-shows-the-dangers-of-fan-culture-182557 

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fake pants

WEEK 9: software literacy and filters

Since the mid 2010s, filters on social media sites like snapchat and instagram have become a staple in how users construct their digital identities. From celebrities to your average people, filters are used by all with almost 500 million uses in a single day. The most common use for filters are face filters. They can simulate a range of looks, including comedic, goofy filters, and also beauty filters that tend to lean toward plastic surgery trends and current beauty standards. However, there is a rising use of filters that don’t just include the face. Digital clothing filters have arrived on the scene of social media with many big design houses like Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga joining in on the fun. Digital fashion can do everything that traditional fashion does - including t-shirts, pants, dresses and accessories. The biggest difference between the two however is that digital fashion isn't tangible. Instead of physically owning an item, the user can use augmented reality to project the clothing item onto themselves. Many designers and customers of digital fashion cite the ethical concerns with fast fashion as their primary reasons behind their pivot to digital fashion. With “20 percent of global wastewater is produced by the fashion industry, which also emits 10 percent of global carbon emissions” (Santos 2021), digital fashion allows its users to purchase an item they only intend to use once without any of the guilt that comes from buying fast fashion. There’s no concern for sizing, “being ‘too big’ for digital fashion or whether [it] was made in a sweatshop,” (Santos 2021). Additionally, digital fashion can also become a way for small, independent designers to showcase their skills and talents without the price tag of physically producing their designs. The future of digital fashion is still undetermined, however with the promise of Facebook’s Metaverse on the horizon and the growing popularity of customisable skins in online games like Fortnite, digital fashion could soon become another way that people can express themselves and their identities. 

Santos R (04 November 2021) ‘People Are Buying Digital Clothing Because That’s a Thing Now’, Vice, accessed 26 May 2022. https://www.vice.com/en/article/akvzqz/virtual-digital-clothes-fashion-game-skins-metaverse

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Hey kid, wanna make a mailbox bomb for Roblox?

WEEK 10: gaming communities, social gaming and live streaming

Online gaming communities have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, especially through the pandemic with more people than ever seeking entertainment in their down time. And while gaming communities, like many other social media sites, have been shown to offer a sense of community and belonging, it’s also demonstrated the capacity for brutality and violence. Alt-right and white supremacist groups have begun to use gaming communities to spread their messages and recruit young people. Tech against Terrorism, an innitative launched by the UN CTED (United Nations Counter Terrorism Execeutive Directorate), found that Roblox users were actively participating in online recreations of of terrorist events like the Christchurch shooting of 2019. They also found that many extremists used references to popular games like Minecraft and the previously mentioned Roblox to cloak their discussions and instructions as just gaming chat. Messages and posts like how to build a mailbox bomb in Roblox became facades for real life instructionals. UN CTED also found that a new wave of online extremism can be credited to the pandemic and the stay at home mandates. With more kids than ever before suffering from “lock-down induced isolation, loneliness and home-schooling… [it creates] what police call a perfect storm” (Townsend 2021). The combination of a youth feeling socially ‘othered’ and a group willing to extend a hand and offer acceptance and inclusion has led to the rapid radicalisation of young people. According to the Guardian, the youngest person to commit a terrorism offence in the UK was only 13 years old. This same 13 year old then “became the leader of the UK arm of a banned neo-Nazi terrorist group that glorified individuals responsible for racist mass murder” (Townsend 2021). 

Townsend M (14 February 2021) ‘How far right uses video games and tech to lure and radicalise teenage recruits’, The Guardian, accessed 26 May 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/14/how-far-right-uses-video-games-tech-lure-radicalise-teenage-recruits-white-supremacists 

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The real and the reel

WEEK 4: Digital community and fandom: case study reality TV 

Reality TV is a unique intersection between documentary and fiction where the lines between the two have historically been intentionally blurred. Part of the attraction that comes from reality TV is the illusion (or honest depiction, depending on who you ask) of real life people in real life situations. On paper, reality TV shows like Big Brother are meant to give viewers at home a voyeuristic, fly-on-the-wall type glimpse into the lives of normal people. There’s something incredibly attractive to our culture about watching people live. Ideally there’s an aspect of hidden camera and as little outside influence as possible, as not to taint the ‘honesty’ of the events unfolding on screen. Everything, from the events that occur to the relationships formed or destroyed between the subjects, is completely organic. It all happens without influence. While reality TV may have originated with that intention, now it mostly comes down to ratings, engagement and narrative. The producers work tirelessly to craft nuanced and engaging stories out of ordinary people in ordinary situations. Somewhere amongst the hours of raw footage collected, the producers and editors must walk a line where they can “challenge participants to perform yet reward them for being themselves” (Kavka 2012). This blend of ordinary and extraordinary, as Kavka (2012) outlines, is part of the draw of reality TV. Viewers at home are given the liberty to identify with the subjects. They’re just like me! They look like me and talk like me and work a similar kind of job that I do. But the extreme social situations that the subjects are put in also allow home viewers to project their own fantasies. It gives them space to theorise about how they might engage in this exact situation. At its core; escapism continues to draw viewers back. Reality TV producers take advantage of media illiterate viewers who perhaps don’t have a complete grasp of the tactics undertaken to keep them engaged. The intentionally blurring (and hiding) of the lines between reality and fiction allow these viewers to get invested and develop para-social relationships with the reality TV subjects. As if the participants are their friends, they feel hurt when they are hurt, and triumphant when they succeed. 

Kavka M (2012) Reality TV, Edinburgh University Press, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swin/detail.action?docID=1363845

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#MyFirstDemocracySausage

WEEK 5: What is digital citizenship? Activism and politics

#Auspol has long been the dominating hashtag surrounding Australian politics. Arriving at the scene in 2010, the hashtag became a place where Australian citizens, or those just engaged in the country’s politics, could discuss polls, policy and politics in a character-saving way. Since its introduction, #auspol has become a cornerstone in political discussion for Australians online - especially on twitter. Australian twitter users generate about 9,000 tweets a day using the hashtag throughout the year (Bogle 2016). It’s seen and allowed commentary for an incredible range of political events and goofs over the past decade. From Tony Abbot’s onion-eating impulses to Scott Morrison’s failure to secure enough Covid-19 vaccinations for the country, #auspol has become a way that all kinds of Australians can engage and stay informed about the political happenings around them. However the most recent Australian federal election in May 2022 saw the rise of another hashtag that challenged the long held number position of #auspol. Gaining popularity in 2016, the hashtag #democracysausage came to represent the smaller, more positive parts of election times - that while the political landscape can feel bleak and out of reach at times, we’ll always have community and an Australian spirit (Baj 2022). The hashtag became so popular in 2016 that it won the 2016 Word of the year (Reinfrank 2016). This past election, the hashtag trended at number 1 in Australia and was tweeted more than 48,000 times between 12am and 1pm on election day (Rahman 2022). Unique to this election however was the variations the hashtag took on. With this election seeing a whole new sweep of young votes, they took to social media to share their #firstdemocracysausage. Taking it as an opportunity to celebrate and discuss their debut into Australian politics as first time voters, the hashtag took twitter by storm. 

 Baj L (12 May 2022) ‘A Detailed And Delicious History Of The Democracy Sausage’, Junkee, accessed 23 May 2022. https://junkee.com/democracy-sausage-history/330115 

 Bogle A (21 March 2016) ‘#auspol: The Twitter hashtag Australia can’t live without’, Mashable, accessed 23 May 2022. https://mashable.com/article/twitter-australia-auspol#4tvfXtsZUEqV 

 Rahman F (21 May 2022) ‘Sausage on top as No 1 Aussie hashtag’, The Canberra Times, accessed 23 May 2022. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7747865/sausage-on-top-as-no-1-aussie-hashtag/ 

 Reinfrank A (14 December 2016) ‘Democracy Sausage Snags Word of The Year as Smashed Avo, Shoey Lose Out’, ABC News, accessed 23 May 2022. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14/democracy-sausage-snags-word-of-the-year/8117684 

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Don’t pretend like you actually care

TW: mention and discussion of self-harm and depression 

WEEK 3: Digital communities and blogging 

Tumblr was a social media site that I spent a fair share of my adolescence on, and a culture that I actively engaged with for years before I actually joined the site. Tumblr, as viewed by many, was the first social media site to feel ‘young’. The vast majority of tumblr users were aged from their early teens to early 20s (Cavazos-Rehg etal 2017), and the content primarily featured on the sit was fandom related content that appealed to recent pop culture. Additionally, the site was seemingly very ‘hands-off’ with its users, granting them access to a whole range of content that other sites like twitter or instagram had been banned from the site’s creation. While this lack of content censorship allowed communities to gather and grow, finding solace within Tumblr’s walls, it also became an epicentre for vulnerable teens to bathe in self-hatred and depression. Many users would create entire blogs dedicated to their journey with self-harm and their mental health struggles. This often included public “posts about self-harm, including graphic pictures of cutting… also [being] readily shared” (Cavazos-Rehg etal 2017). While social media networks have been shown to provide “a supportive, nurturing environment that helps individuals cope with their struggles” (Cavazos-Rehg etal 2017), studies into tumblr and its community of mentally ill users have found that these specific communities aren’t exactly the supportive type. 25% of responses to posts about self-harm were potentially harmful, including advising the poster on how to “secretly engage in self-harm” (Cavazos-Rehg etal 2017), and only 13% suggested professional help. As the vast majority of social media users are young and easily influenced by their peers, these communities hosted on tumblr put many young individuals at risk of developing or perpetuating harmful and risky behaviour. Tumblr, in recent years, has taken a stronger authority in regulating these kinds of posts and blogs. Now, when searching for self-harm related content, the website will direct the user to a pop-up, reminding them that help is accessible and only a call or click away. Perhaps this is due to the recent heavy regulation of content the site has seen, or perhaps it’s due to the recent changes in ownership and direction they aim to take the site in. Either way, tumblr now is a safer space for adolescents than it was in it’s early days. 

Cavazos-Rehg P, Krauss M, Sowles S, Connolly S, Rosas C, Bharadwaj M, Grucza R, Beirut L (2017) ‘An Analysis of Depression, Self-Harm, and Suicidal Ideataion Content on Tumblr’, Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 38(1):44-52, DOI: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000409

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Shopping slow is hurting my wallet

Week 6: Social media influencers and the slow fashion movement

Slow fashion, or ethical fashion, is a relatively new idea to pierce the conscious’ of the culture. Gone are the days where companies can sell poorly made items that disintegrate after two machine washes for $3 a pop. Or at least that’s the intention of the slow fashion movement. The distinction between fast and slow fashion is intentionally very clear. It’s almost the exact opposite of what most clothing companies are doing at the moment. Fair wages and safe working conditions, good quality materials that are manufactured and farmed responsibly, items that are intended to last beyond the washing machine and an active effort made to counteract over-consumption. And to give the moment credit, fast fashion is undeniably terrible for both our health, and the planets. In the UK, on average 30kg of textile waste is produced per day, per person (Zhen Lai 2017). 

So, shopping slow is a fantastic way of reducing your carbon footprint and being a conscious consumer. However, one of the biggest drawbacks to slow fashions is price. Culturally, we’re used to clothing being dirt cheap and only having to drop a couple bucks on a new tshirt. These added qualities and steps in production like organic materials, locally sourced labour, renewable energy sources and quality production only add to the price of a garment. A top can go from a price of $12 to $240 in a blink of an eye. A study conducted in 2017 found that generally, consumers are “seemingly unwilling to pay higher prices [or] sacrifice their choice of products” (Zhen Lai 2017). As the price of living continues to grow every year, this perspective can be empathised with. When it comes down to it, are you more likely to buy food for the week or an ethically made shirt?

Zhen Lai, Claudia E. Henninger and Panayiota J. Alevizou ‘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. (Palgrave: 2017)