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Week 10- Social Media Conflict and Governance

Social media governance incorporates the concepts of conflict, digital citizenship, activism, regulation, community and inclusion, highlighting the fact that conflict on social media often stems from peoples’ need for power and control.

In fact, much of social media as a whole is about power, from regulations that control the entire internet, to the moderators of Facebook groups. Governance exists at all levels, but its effectiveness is often called into question. More than 1 in 3 young people have reported experiencing cyberbullying, a type of harassment that occurs via electronic means. Additionally, the percentage of women who’ve experience online sexual harassment has doubled since 2017 (Jagannathan 2021). Women are three times more likely to be the victim of online sexual harassment, with women under the age of 35 being the most at risk (Jagannathan 2021). According to Childnet International (2018), this behaviour can include the non consensual sharing of intimate videos or photos, threats, sexualised bullying and unwanted sexualisation (including sending unsolicited material such as ‘dick pics’). As many as 1 in 10 Australians report that someone has posted or shared without their permission, nude or semi nude images of them on the internet (Powell & Henry 2015, p. 1).

These increasing levels of harassment are obvious with terms such as ‘gaslighting’ shortlisted for the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year in 2018. Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse which causes the victim to question their own sanity, perception of reality and memories, and while this behaviour isn’t necessarily new, “its re-emergence in our day-to-day vernacular is in part due to a wider societal focus on violence against women” (Gleeson 2018). While much of this occurs in person, it is also very prevalent online. Feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian has been vocal about her experiences of bullying and harassment online, especially by those who consider themselves to be ‘anti feminist’ YouTubers and bloggers. This harassment includes “death threats, slurs and sexually violent language” (Marwick & Caplan 2018, p. 543) against Sarkeesian, behaviour that demonstrates a clear lack of regulation online and adequate punishment for those behind it.

In Australia there is no single piece of legislation against cyberbullying and online abuse, however there are acts in place to offer some protection. These include: Criminal Code Act 1995, The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) workplace bulling, Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 and Online Safety Bill 2021 which is currently before parliament and has not yet passed as law (Milne 2021).

As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, it has never been more important to ensure that the appropriate regulations and laws are in place to ensure peoples’ safety online, as well as consequences for those who refuse to abide by them.

References 

Childnet International 2018, Defining online sexual harassment, Childnet International, viewed 16 May 2021,                      <https://www.childnet.com/our-projects/project-deshame/defining-online-sexual-harassment>.

Gleeson, J 2018, Explainer: what does ‘gaslighting’ mean?, The Conversation, viewed 12 May 2021,                                    <https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-gaslighting-mean-107888>.

Jagannathan, M 2021, The percentage of women who’ve experienced online sexual harassment has doubled since 2017, Market Watch, viewed 16 May 2021,                                                    <https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-percentage-of-women-whove-experienced-online-sexual-harassment-has-doubled-since-2017-11610569856>.

Marwick, A & Caplan, R 2018, 'Drinking male tears: language, the manosphere, and networked harassment’, Feminist Media Studies, vol.18, no. 4, p. 543

Milne, E 2021, ‘Week 10: Digital citizenship and conflict: social media governance’, MDA20009 Digital communities, learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 11 May, viewed 12 May 2021

Powell, A & Henry, N 2015, Digital harassment and abuse of adult Australians, RMIT and LaTrobe University, Melbourne

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Week 9- Social Media Influencers and the Slow Fashion Movement

While it may have picked up speed as of late, slow fashion (also known as eco or sustainable fashion) is not a new movement. The trend has links to counter culture of the 1960s, anti-fur campaigns of the 1980s, and protests against unethical working conditions that began in the 90s but continue into today (Lai et al 2017, p. 81). In order for a brand to be considered sustainable, it must abide by a number of guidelines including, producing items that are free of child labour across the whole of the supply chain, materials utilised within the production process should be less harming to the natural environment, the production process must be in an ethical and socially responsible manner, paying workers fair wages and, ideally, create jobs in the country of origin by producing locally, and finally, the creation of long-term relationships across the supply chain, allowing the negotiation of fair prices and wages and developing a strong network that fosters the creation of sustainable fashion (Milne 2021). The fashion and textile industry, fast fashion especially, produces an enormous amount of industrial waste as many brands struggle to keep up with the newest looks and trends. Some research even suggests that the industry contributes as much as 17–20% of global industrial water pollution (Brewer 2019, p. 2).

Much of the rise in the slow fashion movement can be attributed to a number of influencers who dedicate their platform to educating their followers and styling secondhand clothes. Examples of this include Tiffany Ferguson and Venetia La Manna, who describes herself in her own words as a “fair fashion campaigner”. Markets such as Camberwell Sunday Market and websites such have Depop have also popularised people choosing to buy secondhand, as it is now considered somewhat ‘trendy’ to do so. Instead of selling mass-produced fashion that quickly goes out of style, sustainable fashion focuses on quality over quantity and releases, at most, only four fashion lines a year (Lai et al 2017, p. 82).

But not only is it now considered ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’ to wear secondhand, vintage and sustainable clothing, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the social injustice that the textile industry perpetuates, especially in some of the countries that have been hit the hardest. It is no secret that many fashion labels exploit workers in developing countries, subjecting them to inhumane working conditions and extremely little pay. This on top of the obvious environmental impacts is causing many consumers to rethink their buying behaviours.

References

Brewer, M 2019, ‘Slow fashion in a fast fashion world: promoting sustainability and responsibility’, Laws, vol. 8, no. 24, p. 2

Milne, E 2021, ‘Week 9: Digital citizenship case study: Social Media Influencers and the slow fashion movement’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 5 May, viewed 6 May 2021

Zhen, L, Henninger, C, Alevizou, P, Goworek, H & Ryding, D 2017, Sustainability in fashion: a cradle to upcycle approach, Palgrave Macmillan, California

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Week 8- Gaming Communities, Social Gaming and Live Streaming

On October 18th in 1958, American physicist William Higinbotham released what many consider to be the first video game, a multiplayer sports game titled ‘Tennis for Two’ (Oldest.org 2020). In the years since then, the gaming industry has grown exponentially into a business worth over $100 billion dollars and consisting of a community of ‘gamers’ from all over the world who can choose from a variety of genres and platforms to suits their needs.

In the late 2000′s and early 2010′s, social games began to explode. Social games focus on friendship ties to acquire and retain players, while allowing exisiting players to build a network. Many social games are attached to social media platforms such as Facebook and offer incentives and rewards for players to get people from their ‘friends list’ to join. Examples of this include Farmville and Candy Crush. 

However, for those more serious about gaming, ‘Esports’ is the term used to describe “formalised competitive computer gaming” (Taylor 2018, p. 3) and involves professional players competing in competitions either individually or in teams. Within this community, there has long been a push to have these tournaments televised in a bid to secure legitimacy and increase the audience and income of participants (Taylor 2018, p. 3). While this is yet to be successful, in the meantime live streaming sites such as Twitch allow players to broadcast themselves playing games and has become a widely popular and lucrative platform. In 2017, the platform boasted over 2.2 million unique broadcasters a month and 10 million active users a day. Additionally, Facebook, YouTube and ESL (Electronic Sports League) are also prominent platforms in building esports (Taylor 2018, p. 3), while Discord is an app many players use to stay connected and build a community.

Many people turn to video games not only as a form of entertainment, but as a way to connect with people and build a digital community. This can be true for both people who play games just for fun, and those who compete at a professional level.

References

Hardwick, T 2021, ‘Gaming communities, social Gaming and live streaming’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 27 April, viewed 28 April 2021

Oldest.org 2020, 10 oldest video games in the world, Oldest.org, viewed 1 May 2021,                                                <https://www.oldest.org/entertainment/video-games/>.

Taylor, T.L 2018, Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming, Princeton University Press

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Week 7- Face Filters

Filters have the ability to change a person’s perception in real time, to allow them to see themselves in a way they consider to be more desirable. Face filters can be used just for entertainment (think the snapchat dog filter) or to ‘beautify’ and eliminate ‘flaws’ (Facetune). This is especially true for women, and using a feminist lens it is easy to see the gendered aspects of many beautifying filters. Digitised dysmorphia is a theory that works to explain the pressure felt by women to alter their physical appearance. While it is on the same spectrum as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), it is not a diagnosable medical condition, but rather a socially constructed condition that has resulted from the digital age. With society expecting women to be so many things, “a battlefield of diverging concepts” (Coy-Dibley 2016, p. 2) it’s no wonder so many experience intense feelings of dysphoria around their appearance, but these ‘quick fixes’ can lead some people to make permanent changes to their bodies.

According to Women’s Health magazine, as social distancing began, Lightricks (the parent company of Facetune) reported that use of their apps had increased 20%. For example, when Amanda Wilson from New York noticed that her lip fillers had began to dissolve during quarantine, she relied on filters such as Facetune to keep up appearances while doctors remained closed (lip fillers alone have increased by 71% since 2000) (Rodulfo 2020). But even if you are not going out of your way to pay $3.99 for such apps, filters are built into many forms of social media, such as Instagram, Snapchat and even TikTok. The changes don’t even have to be drastic, just a subtle smoothing of the pores or a trimming of the waist. As Dr. Peace Amadi from Hope International University explains, “it’s a slippery slope”. “A widening gap between one’s digitally enhanced ideal self and one’s actual self creates a dysphoria. The chances of developing mental concerns and disorders like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and OCD-related problems, including body dysmorphic disorder, also increase” (Rodulfo 2020).

The majority of the media we consume has been edited in some way particularly on social media, and most celebrities/influencers alter their images before they post them. So if we know that the majority of what we see isn’t ‘real’, then why are we so affected by it, why does it makes us feel so unworthy? That is not a question I can answer.

References

Coy-Dibley, I 2016, ‘Digitized Dysmorphia of the female body: the re/disfigurement of the image’, Palgrave Communications, vol. 2, no. 16040, p. 2

Miller, L 2021, ‘Week 7. Face filters’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 20 April 2021, viewed 23 April 2021

Rodulfo, K 2020, It’s easier than ever to make a new face on social media. But is it killing your confidence?, Women’s Health Magazine, viewed 24 April 2021,  <https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/a33264141/face-filters-mental-health-effect/>.

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Week 6- Body Modification

The process of modifying one’s body can include tattoos, piercings, dental alterations such as tooth filing, as well as body building/steroid use and plastic surgery. With a particular focus on plastic surgery, this week’s lecture dove into the seemingly never ending pursuit of beauty and aesthetic templates, especially on social media platforms such as Instagram.

Body modification is barely a new phenomena and it has many cultural ties, part of practices that are thousands of years old. In Thailand and Africa many cultures still practice neck elongation, and in Bali it is considered beautiful for women to file their teeth. Even ear and lip stretching, which is now somewhat common in the West among ‘alternative’ circles, originated in Africa where the practice is still performed (Bradley University, 2021). What is new however, is the intersection between body modification and social media, as well as the implications for public health.

In 2016, Instagram had more than 400 million active monthly users (Dorfman et al. 2018, p. 332),  a number that is almost guaranteed to have grown exponentially in the years since then. “Instagram has become a dominant channel for business marketing to young  adults, and it’s usage in plastic surgery continues to rise” (Dorfman et al. 2018, p. 333) , as it increasingly becomes a tool for patient education that allows so-called “consumers” to shop around before committing to a surgeon or procedure. But these ‘aesthetic templates’ often promote an ideal of beauty that is unachievable, with images being photoshopped or manipulated (also known as “body work”) in order to appear a certain way. No matter how much plastic surgery a person gets done, no matter how much they exercise or what they eat, it is near impossible to ever look like the influencers that plague their social media feed. This relentless pursuit of conforming to society’s clear version of physical perfection, which is different for both men and women, is also contributing to a rise in mental illness and eating disorders. According to Eating Disorders Victoria (2021), approximately 1 million Australians will suffer from an eating disorder at any point in time, with trends showing that eating disorders are on the rise all around the world. Additionally, “research shows that Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is linked to young people managing the tensions between their offline bodies and who they aspire to be on social media” (Mavroudis 2021), resulting in a constant obsession and worry about their appearance.

Ultimately, it is not the fault of the people who choose to modify their body purely for themselves and who are educated on the risks, it is instead the lack of regulation on social media that is causing the real damage.

References

Bradley University 2021, Body modification and body image, Bradley University, viewed 16 April 2021, <https://www.bradley.edu/sites/bodyproject/disability/modification/#:~:text=Examples%20of%20body%20modifications%20from,in%20many%20areas%20of%20the>.

Dorfman R, Vaca E, Mahmood E, Fine N & Schierle C 2018, ‘Plastic surgery-related hashtag utilization on Instagram: implications for education and marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 332-334

Eating Disorders Victoria 2021, Key research and statistics, Eating Disorders Victoria, viewed 17 April 2021,            <https://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eating-disorders-a-z/eating-disorder-statistics-and-key-research/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1PSDBhDbARIsAPeTqrdjMEzThC-fN4HWPBsTxhs7tLBLtzAcLHF0FME3XdI15oirws8GOxkaAqrEEALw_wcB>.

Mavroudis, J 2021, ‘Week 6 - Digital citizenship and health education: body modification on visual social media’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, viewed 13 April 2021

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Week 5- Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship can be defined as the potential to benefit society as a whole and facilitate the participation of individuals within said society, often being associated with politics, activism, and people’s overall behaviour online.

Social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter have made it increasingly easier for people to play active roles as citizens in the digital sphere, especially in terms of politics. Many politicians have become increasingly active on platforms such as Twitter, utilising it as a tool to gain traction and encouragement in their policies, as well as publicity (both good and bad). “Established political organisations are increasingly turning to digital forms of citizen engagement to re-engage citizens in the political process” according to Vromen (2017, p. 3), and this can also be through the use of hashtags such as #auspol or #taxtherich that connect people using a number of key words and themes. This increasing digital citizenship in the political sphere is important in terms of increasing “citizen-initiated and policy-oriented” (Vromen 2017, p. 3) engagement within society.

However, the digital divide also becomes a major factor in terms of people’s ability to be active digital citizens. The digital divide refers to the gulf between people who have access to the internet, and those who do not. According to Live Internet Statistics, approximately 90% of Africa remains offline and in Myanmar, only about 7% of the population have internet access (Wilks-Harper 2017). Many of these countries that lack the ability to use the internet and engage in digital citizenship are also those that face the least political freedom. For example, in December of 2016 the government of Gambia shut down access to the internet during the country’s presidential elections, regardless of the fact that only 17% of the population even had access to it at the time. Access to the internet is now considered so important that the United Nations has made it a human right with a non-binding resolution that was passed in June of 2016 (Wilks-Harper 2017). Hopefully this will cause an increase in digital citizenship and in turn, more freedom and political autonomy online for those who have been denied access to such expression.

References

Internet Live Stats, viewed 7 April 2021,     <https://www.internetlivestats.com/>.

Vromen, A 2017, Digital citizenship and political engagement the challenge from online campaigning and advocacy organisations, Palgrave Macmillan, London

Wilks-Harper, E 2017, A map of countries with the worst internet access, Independent, viewed 20 October 2020,<https://www.indy100.com/article/internet-access-net-neutrality-infrastructure-data-map-statistics-world-global-computing-7508551>.

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Week 4- Reality TV

Reality TV can be defined as “a genre of programming that purports to show the unscripted actions of every day people, rather than prepared dialogue delivered by actors” (Allen 2017). And while it often wins ratings, interestingly, reality TV is actually people’s least favourite genre of television (Milne 2021). However, the promise of money and short-lived fame that often compliments reality TV, as well as publicising some of the most private aspects of people’s lives, is often why it remains so alluring to both watch and partake in. A kind of ‘guilty pleasure’ if you will.

In relation to the digital public, reality TV is interesting because as mentioned in the reading, it offers insight into what everyday people care about, (Graham & Hajru 2011, p. 29) and social media and hashtags offer viewers the opportunity to discuss a range of related topics. Reality TV also has the ability to be political by highlighting and spreading awareness about issues within society. As mentioned by Jayden who led the Week 4 Tutorial, there has been numerous occasions in which reality TV, as brainless as it may seem, has started political discourse. Examples include Merlin Luck’s ‘Free the Refugees’ protest during his eviction from Big Brother Australia in 2004, or groom Liam from Married at First Sight who was outed as bisexual during his wedding on this year’s season. In fact the #MAFS on Twitter is a digital public of it’s own, allowing viewers of the show to share and discuss their opinions with others in an online space, so much so that the hashtag is usually trending on Twitter as the episodes air. These discussions can often centre around the treatment of women, the role of marriage in modern society, romantic relationships and friendships. Political discussion is no longer just reserved for people in power, the internet has worked to “enhance the public sphere” (Graham & Hajru 2011, p.19) and allows anyone with interest to engage in such dialogue. In turn, this has provided a more realistic overview of how everyday people ‘talk politics’, and how they may link what they view on TV to their own day to day lives.

References 

Allen, M 2017, ‘Reality television’, The SAGE encyclopedia of communication research methods, SAGE Publications, Los Angeles, USA

Graham, T & Hajru, A 2011, ‘Reality TV as a trigger of everyday political talk in the net-based public sphere’, European Journal of Communication, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 19-29

Milne, E 2021, ‘Week 4. Digital community and fandom: Reality TV case study’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, viewed 24 March 2021

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How does Tumblr function as a digital community?

Social media websites, such as Tumblr, function as digital communities by allowing likeminded people from all over the world to connect and interact via an online forum. According to Kindsmuller et al. (2009, p. 2899), an online or digital community can be defined as a “voluntary group of users who partake actively in a certain computer-mediated service”, and In this context, computer can be extended to any device with internet access, such a tablet or mobile phone. Upon creating a Tumblr account, the platform allows users to streamline their interests by selecting a number of categories they are interested in (art, photography, movies etc.) and cultivates a homepage unique to this. Not only does this further aid in building a digital community, it also strongly reflects the website’s own ideology, “where your interests connect you with your people” (Tumblr 2020).

In the article “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms, author Jessalynn Keller speaks with a number of girls and young women who have utilised social media for political activism. It was found that Tumblr offers “opportunities for moving beyond one’s local community” (Keller 2019, p. 9) and into an online space to connect with likeminded individuals and build one’s own circle. Dara and Rhea, two teenage friends from London spoke about the fact that while Tumblr does provide a sense of community, it also operates under an air of anonymity, something that Dara describes as feeling “a lot safer” (Keller 2019, p. 8) compared to some other forms of social media. Tumblr relies heavily on aesthetics over that of “friends” and personal profiles, meaning that the people behind the blogs are often difficult to identify. This relative obscurity is why many users feel comfortable expressing themselves freely away from the judgement of their in-person family and friends, whether that be in terms of interests or political views (as in the case of the feminist example from the reading). Additionally, the use of hashtags and reblogging topics of interest leads users down a so-called “rabbit hole”, (McCracken 2020, p. 40) where one interest can lead to the discovery of another and another and another. Ultimately, “Tumblr is where people go to share the things they are most passionate about” (McCracken 2020, p. 38), and in turn build their own digital community.

References 

Keller, J 2019, ‘Oh, she’s a Tumblr feminist: exploring the platform vernacular of girls’ social media feminisms’, Social Media + Society, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 7-9

Kindsmuller, M, Melzer, A & Mentler, T 2009, ‘Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology’, Hershey PA: Information Science Publishing, Pennsylvania 

McCracken, A 2020, ‘Going down the rabbit hole: an interview with Amanda Brennan, head of content insights and social, Tumblr’, in McCracken, A, Cho, A, Stein, L & Neill Hoch, I (eds), A Tumblr Book: Platform and Cultures, University of Michigan Press, pp. 38-40