mediawithella

[mediawithella]

Sticks and stones may break my (virtual) bones... (week 10)

Online bullying and online harassment both have many, slightly varying definitions. For the purpose of this blog post, the definition I feel represents what online bullying constitutes is as follows; 

“Bothering someone online, teasing in a mean way, calling someone hurtful names, intentionally leaving persons out of things, threatening someone and saying unwanted, sexually related things to someone” (Patchin and Hinduja, 2006).

Cyber bullying and/or harassment (again, for the purpose of this post I will use those terms synonymously) is an unfortunately common experience for those who are digital citizens. Personally, I have had experiences wherein I have been bullied online, causing me to move schools in high school. I have had friends who have had explicit photos leaked, as an act of revenge from a spiteful ex. I have been harassed sexually online enough times that it is in my mine, somewhat no longer a big deal. It is one of those things where unfortunately, as a woman, I have accepted it as part (an unfortunate part, but a part nevertheless) of my life experience. 

Online commentary is a huge part of social media, and existing within any sort of digital community. People say mean things online, but how do we govern speech? Who decides what is acceptable, and what is not? Many social media platforms have moderators, known often as ‘mods’, within specific niche groups, however as a general rule there is a-lot of seemingly unmoderated hate speech, online bullying and harassment that occurs on both public, and private pages. It is common for organisations to moderate the comment section of their social media pages, and content creators can filter certain words from being commented on their content. While these are good options, blocking words or speech, no matter how severe, can lead to a sense of governance and opinion-blocking, sometimes making these commenters angrier. 

While the Australian government has passed legislation (Online safety act 2021, 2021) that makes some cyber bullying crimes illegal, my question is this. How can you govern an online space, when there are no online laws?

Online safety act 2021 (2021) Online Safety Act 2021. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021A00076 (Accessed: 05 May 2023).

Patchin, J. W., & Hinduja, S. (2006). Bullies Move Beyond the Schoolyard: A Preliminary Look at Cyberbullying. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 4(2), 148–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204006286288

[mediawithella]

Games, games, games. (week 9)

The history of online gaming.

Online gaming began in the early 1990s with the invention of the internet and personal computers. As internet speeds improved over the years, online gaming became more popular, and the first multiplayer games were developed, allowing players to connect and play with others in real-time. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, massively multiplayer online role-playing games gained popularity, allowing players to enter a virtual world and interact with thousands of other players from around the world (Datapath.io, 2017). As technology continued to improve, online gaming evolved to include shooting games, sports games, strategy games, and more. Later, in the mid-2000s, the rise of social media and mobile devices also led to the development of mobile and social games, which allowed players to connect with friends and play games on the go. Nowadays, online gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry, with millions of players around the world participating in everything from simple mobile games to massive multiplayer games with elaborate virtual worlds and complex economies.

Online gaming today. 

In todays world, the development of technology has allowed for gaming competitions, known as e-sports. E-sport competitions are competitions wherein players compete online in various games using computers (Urbaniak, Wątróbski and and Sałabun, 2020). These competitions have grown hugely in popularity, with millions of people tuning in to watch the competitions and the prize pools often being in the millions of dollars. As with any other sport, e-sports have drawn in fans, and a community. Online gaming communities are groups of gamers who virtually come together to discuss and play games. These communities are found on a variety of different platforms, including social media, gaming forums, and discord servers. 

Gaming streaming is a form of online entertainment wherein content creators stream their gaming live on the internet for others to watch. It first became popular in the mid-2010s, particularly on the streaming platform Twitch. Gaming streaming allows gamers to have a platform where they can share their gameplay and interact with viewers in real time.

Datapath.io (2017) The history of online gaming, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@datapath_io/the-history-of-online-gaming-2e70d51ab437 (Accessed: 10 May 2023).

Urbaniak, K., Wątróbski, J. and Sałabun, W., 2020. Identification of players ranking in e-sport. Applied Sciences, 10(19), p.6768.

[mediawithella]

Let's play the comparison game! (Week 8)

It all started with a dog filter. If you were on Snapchat, or really any form of social media in 2016, you will remember how these filters took the internet by storm. Little did we know back then that that seemingly harmless, silly dog filter would only be the start of filters, their effect on social media, the internet as a whole and societal beauty standards.

GIF by moevils

I have used filters, anyone who has used a social media platform has likely used filters. Weather it be for fun; seeing my celebrity lookalikes, or editing my photos to make my face look more attractive, I have used filters for any and all of their purposes. I generally like to think I have a pretty good self image, of course I have my off days where I would love to exist as one of those instagram models, however I do worry for the teenagers of today. I grew up in an age where influencers were only just becoming popular as my brain was fully developing. Of course we had models, and pop stars, but they always had a veil of ‘unattainability’ separating them and the average person. Social media influencers, particularly those concerned with fashion and makeup products, push a certain image that young people are consuming and seeing all-day every-day.

Beauty filters, and their use without disclosure by popular social media stars can have a super detrimental effect on their young consumers mental health and self image. Even the existence of beauty filters for young people can be detrimental (Javornik et al., 2022). Imagine going on your phone, and being able to see what, according to eurocentric societal standards, you ‘should’ look like with the click of a button. In what world is that a good idea? If these filters are undisclosed, how are young consumers supposed to know that these influencers don’t actually look like that.

While fun, creative filters can be considered somewhat harmless, as shown by Ryan-Mosley (2021), girls as young as 10 have been interviewed for research, wherein they describe using the filters for beautification reasons. I was once a young girl. I know that feeling of wishing you looked like someone else. I know that feeling of just wanting your nose to be a little smaller, your boobs a little bigger. That feeling exists as a largely universal experience within society, without the help of filters. I don’t envy being a teen in todays day and age. 

GIF by cyberprinc3ss

Javornik, A., Marder, B., Barhorst, J.B., McLean, G., Rogers, Y., Marshall, P. and Warlop, L., 2022. ‘What lies behind the filter?’Uncovering the motivations for using augmented reality (AR) face filters on social media and their effect on well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 128, p.107126.

Ryan-Mosley, T., 2021. Beauty filters are changing the way young girls see themselves. MIT Technology Review, 2

[mediawithella]

You are my... #Fitspo?(Week 7)

Social media has become an increasingly important tool for public health campaigns in Australia in recent years. One of the main advantages of social media in regards to public health campaigns is that it allows public health organisations to quickly and easily reach a large audience, including those who may be hard to reach through traditional communication channels. A recent example of this is the, the ‘Save Lives. Save 000 for emergencies.” campaign (Department of Health & Human Services, 2023) lead by the Victorian Department of Health, which was broadcasted on social media platforms in order to effectively reach the demographic who utilise social media often.

This type of social media content is largely accepted as ‘good’ content, as it usually encourages actions that will directly or indirectly save lives, raise awareness or raise money for worthwhile causes. However, some social media ‘health’ content is not as good. In fact, it can be detrimental to health.

There are a number of aesthetic templates online that are used by micro celebrities, influencers and celebrities to promote their personal brands, or products they’re promoting. By using their heteronormative and widely eurocentric approved features, content creators can use sex appeal to add fans to their fan base, and gain traction online. 

While this can be appropriate for the right content consumers, due to the usually public nature of social media content creators, this content can and does end up in the hands of the wrong audience. A worrying example of this is online ‘fitspo’ - short for ‘fitness inspiration’. This is largely wherein a curated ‘healthy’ lifestyle is portrayed online by influencers and content creators, however this sort of content is usually geared towards idealising thin bodies, which can, and does have negative effects on its consumers (Vandenbosch, Fardouly and Tiggerman, 2022).

In addition to this, the availability and normality of plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures in todays day and age adds to the growing dissonance of both content creators and consumers. While social media has been a great way of keeping cosmetic surgeons accountable, and allowing patients to share experiences (Gould et al., 2016), viewing content of people who have had cosmetic procedures done has been shown by Walker et al. (2021) to increase the ‘want’ for cosmetic procedures in young women. As shown in Chan (2021), in 2021 Australia has the highest   amount of cosmetic procedures on average, worldwide. As a response to this cosmetic surgery ‘public health campaign’ trend, the Australian Government has released its own counterattack (Cosmetic Surgery, 2023) with social media ads and further resources being released in order to ensure Australians are making informed decisions when it comes to getting plastic surgery or cosmetic procedures. 

Cosmetic surgery (2023) Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Available at: https://www.health.gov.au/cosmetic-surgery (Accessed: 8th May 2023).

Chan, G. (2021). Cosmetic Surgery Statistics, Australia and Around the World. Available at: https://www.thevictoriancosmeticinstitute.com.au/2020/01/cosmetic-surgery-statistics-australia-around-the-world/.

Department of Health & Human Services, 2023. Save lives. save 000 for emergencies, Save lives. Save 000 for emergencies - Better Health Channel. Available at: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/save-lives-save-000-emergencies (Accessed: 6th May 2023).

Gould, D.J., Leland, H.A., Ho, A.L. and Patel, K.M., 2016. Emerging trends in social media and plastic surgery. Annals of translational medicine, 4(23).

Vandenbosch, L., Fardouly, J. and Tiggemann, M., 2022. Social media and body image: Recent trends and future directions. Current opinion in psychology, 45, p.101289.

Walker, C.E., Krumhuber, E.G., Dayan, S. and Furnham, A., 2021. Effects of social media use on desire for cosmetic surgery among young women. Current Psychology, 40, pp.3355-3364.

[mediawithella]

The Devil Wears (secondhand) Prada.(week 6)

I love new shoes as much as the next girl. I love getting my pay check, and popping past Glassons to buy myself a ‘little treat’ in the form of a new outfit. I try to repeat outfits, or borrow a dress off one of my friends, but push comes to shove and I place a Princess Polly order without much hesitation. I love seeing outfits on Pinterest, or TikTok, and trying to recreate it (those clothes usually end up in the back of my closet.)

The fast fashion industry is terrible in regards to its carbon footprint. That’s a fact. According to Stand.earth (2022) emissions report, the fashion industry is responsible for 5%-8% of the worlds total global emissions. The digitisation of the fashion industry is not helping the overall emissions of the industry. Social media and the age of the influencer have resulted in constantly evolving micro-trends, which deem clothes no longer in trend as somewhat null and void. 

Where there used to be 2 collections/seasons of clothing released per year, there are now up to 100 mini collections released per year (Domingos, 2022), and this isn’t slowing down. Social media played an undeniably large role in this exponential need for new clothes, all the time. Hope, is however not lost. 

Let me introduce you to the newest fashion trend, the slow fashion movement. The slow fashion movement is a movement wherein consumers opt for ethically produced, timeless clothing that is true to the individuals fashion sense, not just for fitting in with a trend (Pookulangara & Shepherd, 2013). And just as the fast fashion trends spread on social media, so has the slow fashion movement. More and more, people online are opting for capsule wardrobes, and unique fashion items that are versatile and high quality, so as to wear them for many years. 

In addition to this, a lot of people are now calculating the cost per wear for items, to justify spending a higher price on a higher quality items that can be worn more times. Alternatively, lots of people are opting for second hand clothing now, with second hand markets, such as 'The Hunter Markets’ and apps such as ‘Depop’ becoming increasingly popular, as well as the traditional op shop. Shopping second hand is an incredible way to ethically (and cheaply!) shop nowadays. 

So the next time I want to pop into Glassons for my weekly treat, I will scour the racks of my local Salvos instead. Instead of browsing the pages of Princess Polly, I will see whats trending second-hand on Depop. And if I must buy brand new, I will opt for local, ethically produced slow fashion pieces that I will love in my wardrobe for years to come.

Domingos, Mariana, Vera Teixeira Vale, and Silvia Faria. (2022). "Slow Fashion Consumer Behavior: A Literature Review" Sustainability 14, no. 5: 2860. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052860

Pookulangara, S. and Shephard, A., 2013. Slow fashion movement: Understanding consumer perceptions—An exploratory study. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 20(2), pp.200-206.

Vojtech (2022) Major fashion brands increase emissions in 2022, Stand.earth. Available at: https://stand.earth/press-releases/major-fashion-brands-increase-emissions-in-2022/#:~:text=earth's%202022%20Fashion%20Supply%20Chain,carbon%20reductions%20the%20previous%20year. (Accessed: April 20, 2023).

[mediawithella]

#AusPol - the hashtag that LITERALLY has the power to change our country. (week 5)

Digital citizenship encompasses a wide range of topics, including internet safety, privacy and security, digital etiquette, digital literacy, and online communication. It is important for individuals to develop good digital citizenship habits, as they play a crucial role in creating a positive and safe online environment for everyone

As per this weeks reading by Choi and Cristol (2021), there are 3 different approaches to digital citizenship. Unidimensional, Multidimensional and critical.

Unidimensional - This approach to digital citizenship is a perspective that focuses solely on the technical skills required for using digital technologies. It views digital citizenship as a set of rules and guidelines that must be followed in order to use technology safely and effectively.

The multidimensional approach to digital citizenship is a perspective that recognises the complex and interconnected nature of the digital world and emphasises the need for a holistic understanding of digital citizenship. This approach considers multiple dimensions of digital citizenship, including: technological, social, political, economic, and cultural. 

The critical approach to digital citizenship is a perspective that examines the relationship between individuals, technology, and society, and recognises the potential for power imbalances, inequalities, and injustices that may arise in the digital world.

#AUSPOL

#Auspol is a hashtag that is commonly used on social media platforms such as Twitter, to refer to discussions and debates related to Australian politics. The hashtag is short for Australian Politics. It is often used to share and discuss news, opinions, and analysis related to political events, policies, and debates in Australia.

Not only is #Auspol used for serious political discussion and debate, it is also used to hold our politicians, democratic system to account. It is also used for the occasional meme, and to make a bit of fun of our constituents. For example, here is a meme created for the #Auspol space, making a but of fun of Clive palmer for spending $60 million dollars on his federal campaign back in 2019 and not getting a single seat in parliament.

In an article titled ‘the memes that tipped the election’ by Australian National University (2020), the effect of memes on the recent results of the federal election were discussed. Dr Leon from ANU in this article said, Memes combine pithy slogans with powerful imagery, like 'Bill Shorten is the bill Australia can't afford'. It is material that can make or break today's campaigns." 

While the move to digital media has been helpful in sharing minorities voices, holding our politicians and system accountable and giving equality to parties sharing content, it can be a very heated and nasty space to be in. It is not for the faint of heart that’s for sure. #Auspol frequently uses politicians digital footprints against them, which we saw recently with ex-NSW premier Dominic Perrotett. Digging into politicians pasts isn’t a new thing, however it will get worse in the future, due to the fact that everything nowadays is filmed/photographed, and can easily be posted. 

As digital citizens, and as citizens of a democratic country, it is in our best interest to stay up-to-date with the going ons in our countries political landscape. However, due to the generally intense nature of political discussions, it can be hard to do so. Memes and social media politics bring an often, lighthearted way to stay up to date with what’s going on, getting small snippets of information and some general discussion in the comments. 

People all over the internet should feel safe to voice their political opinions, free from discrimination or fear of attack. As our politics turn digital, so will opinions. comprehensive digital citizenship education will be necessary to ensure people are safe and encouraged to voice their opinions in our democratic country. 

Choi, M. and Cristol, D. (2021) “Digital citizenship with intersectionality lens: Towards Participatory Democracy Driven Digital Citizenship Education,” Theory Into Practice, 60(4), pp. 361–370. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2021.1987094. 

The memes that tipped the election (2020) ANU. The Australian National University. Available at: https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/the-memes-that-tipped-the-election (Accessed: March 27, 2023).

[mediawithella]

'Kim, there's people that are dying.' (week 4)

Over the last 30-ish years, reality TV has become an increasingly popular and integral part of TV entertainment, and our social media pages. Reality TV became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with shows like Survivor, Big Brother and The Real World gaining widespread popularity. Since then, reality TV has blossomed into what it is today, a fundamental part of television and often, our daily lives.

Reality TV has altered the modern world in the way that it has allowed the everyday person to become a media personality, and, if utilised correctly, can make the right (or wrong) people drastically more rich and famous (Berman, 2022). Take Kim Kardashian for example, When the reality TV show Keeping up with the Kardashians (KUWTK) first aired, Kim was primarily known as Paris Hiltons personal assistant, however after the R-rated movie between Kim and Ray-Jay was released, Kim and her family landed themselves a reality TV deal with the E! Network. Since then, Kim’s net worth has skyrocketed, and according to Forbes (2023) she has a net worth of  $1.2 billion. 

Something that makes reality TV so special is the relationship it has with social media. Memes, GIFs and pop culture references flood social media spaces after a striking reality tv episode, with numerous social media pages across multiple platforms being dedicated purely to sharing such content (Deller, 2019). Take KUWTK, we have received many a widely referenced quote from Kim and her family, for example the iconic, ‘You’re doing amazing sweetie’. 

Social media has truly become a space for consumers of reality TV to gather, share their opinions in real time, and get niche humour content relating to that show. However, the popularity of social media as a space to share reality TV updates and thoughts can result in spoilers, arguments and general online toxicity.

Overall, some would argue that reality TV stars are ‘out of touch’ and that obsessing over these reality stars therefor makes the consumer ‘out of touch’, however sometimes it is nice to take a break from our realities, sink into the couch and watch as Kim Kardashian cries while her diamond earring floats away to sea.

Deller, Ruth A, (2019) Extract: 'Chapter Six: Reality Television in an Age of Social Media' in Reality Television: The TV Phenomenon That Changed the World (Emerald Publishing). 

Kim Kardashian (2023) Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/profile/kim-kardashian/?sh=604ca07a5230 (Accessed: April 15, 2023).

Reeve, E. (2018) The secret lives of tumblr teens, The New Republic. Available at: https://newrepublic.com/article/129002/secret-lives-tumblr-teens (Accessed: April 15, 2023).

[mediawithella]

Hey guys, welcome to my blog! (Week 3)

The social media platform 'Tumblr' was launched in 2007 and is primarily a microblogging platform that has had a huge impact on blogging and social media in its entirety becoming what it is today. Tumblr allowed for the everyday person to have a platform online with which they could express their opinions, beliefs and more generally, their voice.

Tumblr played a significant role in raising awareness and mobilising action around issues of social justice online. A prevalent example of this is the #BodyPositivity movement. The #BodyPositivity movement was one of the most significant and impactful movements that emerged from the platform. This movement focused primarily on promoting self-love, body acceptance, and positive body image, particularly for users who’s bodies did not conform to mainstream beauty standards. The #BodyPositivity movement provided a platform wherein users of Tumblr could come together to de-stigmatise being fat, and promote the normalisation of real bodies (A. Reif, I. Miller & M. Taddicken, 2022). Many marginalised communities found and still find a sense of community and solidarity on Tumblr, and the platform provided a space for important conversations and activism to take place. 

In contrast to this, Tumblr also provided an online space for arguably meaningless content. Does every person really need an online micro-blog? However, popular Tumblr users who posted this ‘meaningless’ content gave us content creators with platforms and reach similar to the social media influencers we see online today. In fact, making money off Tumblr appeared to be incredibly easy, with popular users being able to use Google AdSense as an easy way of generating income purely from profile traffic (Reeve, 2018)

While Tumblr's popularity has waned in recent years, its legacy lives on in the ways that it influenced and still continues to influence the blogging and social media landscape. 

Anne Reif, Insa Miller & Monika Taddicken (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, DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2022.2138442

Reeve, E. (2018) The secret lives of tumblr teens, The New Republic. Available at: https:newrepublic.com/article/129002/secret-lives-tumblr-teens (Accessed: March 21, 2023).