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Online Harassment

With the ever-changing digital media landscape, people act online has evolved, previously in the ‘good old days’ the online landscape didn't see such harassment and bullying as nowadays. Environments for some users online have become less of a safe space and more a space where they get harassed, bullied, and insulted on a daily basis. An extremely large amount of users online experience harassment, it often originates from members of a loose online network known as the manosphere, a set of blogs, podcasts, and forums (Alice E. Marwick & Robyn Caplan).

The amount of people experiencing harassment has become out of hand, in an article by the Esafety Commissioner it is stated that within the 12 months of June 2017 1 in 5 Young Australians reported being socially excluded and or abused online. 55% of them sought help from a parent or guardian, 28% confided in their friends, 38% blocked the offending social media user and only 12% actually reported the offense to the website or platform (ESafety Commissioner, 2017). This information was all gathered in 2017, 4 years prior to today's evolved digital space, thus, leaving countless years for the statistics to get worse.

This is becoming a growing issue and we need to figure out ways to counteract it, ways to make the digital space and online community safe for all, not a space to be feared. Online platforms need to update the safety campaigns to include complex information and details regarding their terms and conditions with harassment and bullying in social contexts. Ultimately, online harassment is significantly different from more traditional forms of violence, it is more than a punch or a kick but it is about a person holding power and control over another. This being a daily power struggle for a lot of online users when others misuse the technology supplied to them. This is commonly more of an issue for girls and women and solutions I'm easy but it ultimately affects everyone and we need to do more as a society to counteract it.

References: - Alice E. Marwick & Robyn Caplan, 'Drinking male tears: language, the manosphere, and networked harassment' Feminist Media Studies Volume 18, 2018 - Issue 4: Pages 543-559

- ESafety Commissioner, 2017, Cyberbullying, viewed 26 May 2021, <https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/cyberbullying>.

- Ketchell, M 2015, Online harassment is a form of violence, viewed 27 May 2021, <https://theconversation.com/online-harassment-is-a-form-of-violence-38846>.

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Fast & Slow Fashion

For most shoppers the convenience of walking into a store such as H&M and finding the latest looks at the lowest prices is heavily appealing. Although, most consumers don't understand the backstory to the clothes on these racks. Well H&M promised to pay 850,000 workers a living wage by 2018. They have spectacularly failed to meet this goal, leaving countless workers in third world countries such as Bangladesh barely enough money to survive. Most shops do not understand the story behind the clothes, all they see is the products, they don't know how much pollution these items are producing into the Earth's atmosphere. The majority of materials that H&M and other fast fashion businesses use are not eco-friendly. Consumers also don't understand the labour conditions that the makers of the clothes are put to work within, most of H&M supply chain is not certified by labour standards therefore not ensuring workers health and safety, living rights or Labour rights, simple things Australians take for granted and see as normal. The environment these workers are put within is inhumane and not acceptable for anyone as seen in the image below.

The rise of sustainability in fashion is not a recent occurrence but has recently been more talked about and embraced by young adults of this generation. Society has seen various waves of environmental, social, and economic concern, leading to more awareness of this subject (Zhen Lai, Claudia E. Henninger and Panayiota J. Alevizou). Although there are limited studies dedicated to understanding the rising issue of apparel overconsumption, showing a gap in understanding fast fashion or sustainability. The term slow fashion is defined as ‘apparel that has a longer product life cycle, emphases equality, is often higher-priced, and requires increased consciousness from producers and customers’ (Ting Chi, Jenisha Gerard, Yuhfen Yu & Yuanting Wang). With the growing credibility of op-shop shopping and searching for second-hand vintage clothing and accessories the number of people purchasing fast fashion is hopefully coming to an end or at least slowing down. Although as a society we will never be able to eliminate fast fashion and the negatives it produces on not only the environment but also workers' lives, if there isn't more publicity around the issues and if sustainability isn't taken seriously.

References -

Robertson, L 2020, How Ethical is H&M?, viewed 10 May 2021, <https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-hm/>.

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).

Ting Chi, Jenisha Gerard, Yuhfen Yu & Yuanting Wang (2021) 'A study of U.S. consumers’ intention to purchase slow fashion apparel: understanding the key determinants' , International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 14:1, 101-112, DOI: 10.1080/17543266.2021.1872714

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Live Streaming

The recent definition for a platform is a ‘programmable infrastructures that facilitate and mediate exchanges between end-users and complementors or content creators’ (Aleena Chia, Brendan Keogh, Dale Leorke, and Benjamin Nicoll, 2020). If your gaming community has always been a prominent community in the media landscape, although due to the recent introduction of streaming platforms the scene for the online streaming for games has skyrocketed. The action of live streaming games became popular in the 2010s with the introduction of services such as Twitch. The four biggest streaming platforms for gamers are YouTube Gaming, Hitbox.tv, Mirrativ, and the most well-known platform of Twitch. Twitch began in 2011 but was not in fact called Twitch, it was called Justin.tv, named after its founder Justin Kan. Moving forward in 2017 Twitch had 2.2+ million individual broadcasters each month with over 17,000 Twitch Partner Program members. As well as 110,000 ‘creators’ in Twitches Affiliate Program, These being content creators that receive revenue from their streams. Twitch back then had about 10 million daily active users so you can only imagine how far it has grown since.

Online streaming services such as twitch are great ways of creating a. a fan bass but b. an online community. Content creators on platforms such as Twitch or YouTube do not purely see their subscribers as ‘fans’, most see them as a family. This online relationship gives creators the lifestyle they want, being able to influence and entertain so many people, whilst also giving ‘fans’ a certain means of closeness. Today, Ninja is the most followed Twitch streamer on the platform with 16.6 million followers as of April 2021. Streaming platforms enable anyone to express who they are and what they like, no matter the gender, age, or financial class they may reside in, amongst other factors that can lead to discrimination.

As seen in the image above, in-person gaming conventions and competitions bring a huge turnout enabling not only creators but audiences, to meet likewise individuals and connect with not only the gaming community but even the creators themselves. In the end, streaming platforms such as Twitch have opened up such a huge gateway into many more possibilities for creators to delve into, in the future. Ultimately representing how the online digital space is constantly evolving and bringing people together from all over the world.

References -

Aleena Chia, Brendan Keogh, Dale Leorke, and Benjamin Nicoll, 2020, "Platformisation in game development", Internet Policy Review 9 (4). DOI: 10.14763/2020.4.1515. https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/platformisation-game-development

(Links to an external site.)

Taylor, TL 2018, ‘Broadcasting ourselves’ (chapter 1), in Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming, Princeton University Press, pp.1-23

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Filters

Within the ever-developing digital landscape new things are constantly being created. Filters are a relatively new but ever changing aspect of social media that everyone has most likely tried at least once. From the beginning of their time with the Snapchat dog filter, to the countless array of filters now available on varying social media platforms, filters have begun to be a normal thing within Society. Many people use filters to change the appearance of not only themselves but also the environment around them. Although filters are most commonly used on faces, as fun and quirky as some of these can be there, are many negatives and issues behind the constant use and normalisation of them.

The evolution of filters is starting to go too far and not enough people are talking about it. Filters have overtime become so advanced sometimes people cannot even recognise themself becoming a blurred and face tuned version of who they really are. Going even further than purely editing a face, filters and I'll be coming usable on people's bodies as well. App SkinneePix shreds users' virtual weight to look skinnier than you actually are in photos. The creators of the app state they developed the app due to friends (mostly women, some overweight, some not) who would claim “Use the skinny lens when taking photos” so they made the ‘skinny lens’ (Rettberg, J.W. 2014)

People in everyday society already critique their bodies, pointing out different insecurities and wishing they looked different to how they actually do. Strategically posing in ways that make them look ‘slimmer’ or more conventionally ‘attractive’. The rise of such drastic filters that have become extremely unhealthy and can cause countless mental health issues, insecurities and possibly disorders. Not only do Society critique themselves in mirrors, but we have begun to digitise our dysmorphia by virtually modifying what we dislike in our appearance, molding our ‘perfect self’. It is open to debate how these actions affect not only women's relationships with their real life body but also men's.

References:

Rettberg, J.W. 2014, 'Filtered Reality'. In: Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves. Palgrave Macmillan, London, viewed 25 April 2021, <https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137476661_2>.

Coy-Dibley, I 2016, “Digitised Dysmorphia” of the Female Body: The Re/Disfigurement of the Image, Palgrave Communications. 2:16040 doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.40, viewed 25 April 2021

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Body Modification on Social Media

The world of social media can be seen as a glamorous and exciting addition to people's lives, sometimes becoming their whole life as some make a living out of showing their followers their day-to-day. As exciting and positive as social media may seem to an outsider, there are real and extreme effects on people's health and wellbeing. There are heavy ties between social media users and body modification whether it be plastic surgery or as simple as fillers. Those who are some of the most successful on social media are people who are attractive to most, women accentuating their assets (lips, waist, bum and sometimes boobs), Men choosing to accentuate things like their jawline and muscles. Most of the time user's constantly seeing modified bodies start to become less happy with their own, some eventually resorting to body modification.

Recent data shows the hashtag plastic surgery had 523,361 posts associated with it in 2018, leaving much room for a much larger number today. Following #plasticsurgery was #facelift with 224,235 posts, and #rhinoplasty with 138,259 posts (Robert G Dorfman, Elbert E Vaca, Eitezaz Mahmood, Neil A Fine and Clark F Schierle, 2018). With social media stars such as The Kardashians, Paris Hilton, Courteney Cox (Seen below with obvious plastic surgery) and many more all having some sort of work done plastic surgery is almost becoming a norm for a lot of people.

With the ability to monetize content posted on users' pages, visibility and aesthetic labour start to make a big difference in who gets noticed and ‘insta famous’ and who doesn't. The ability to generate content and make a living out of it all relies upon the amount of attention each post produces for the user's overall digital brand. As a result, there are many profiles that post photos with some sort of unnatural aspect to them. Whether it be the use of photoshop and apps like facetune or physical body modifications. The number of modified images cluttering the digital community can leave everyday uses with mental issues and body disorders like BDD. The overuse of plastic surgery and other body modification techniques when posting content has left little room for natural and body-positive spaces to exist. Even if they do exist, which they do, they're extremely difficult to find, overshadowed by creators like the Kardashians, who are so for small waists and big butts.

In the end with body modification becoming such a normal thing to do, especially online, there are countless negative ramifications on society and the digital space.

References: Robert G Dorfman, Elbert E Vaca, Eitezaz Mahmood, Neil A Fine and Clark F Schierle, ‘Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilization on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Volume 38, Issue 3, March 2018, pp 332–338

Drenten et al, 2018 ‘Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention’ Gender, Work and Organization, pp 42

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Digital Citizenship - Political Engagement & Activism

Digital citizenship is a wide umbrella creating an overarching meaning referring to ‘a person who has the knowledge and skills to effectively use digital Technologies to communicate with others, participate in society and create and consume digital content’ (Australian Curriculum 2021). Digital citizenship is a very important part of the online community, each user needs to know how they are supposed to act and interact with others on the social media platforms they use. 

Within digital citizenship and digital communities there are hashtag publics that gather common events, subjects and topics in order to connect users with others that they possess similarities with. For the most part each user online has a vague idea or understanding knowing how they are supposed to or should act while on social media. Although, some users and or organisations take advantage of the possibilities available on social media platforms. Usually this leads into politics and the swaying of users' opinions, using ‘activism’ as a source of spreading their personal opinions to others. There have been countless issues with users or organisations activism simply going too far bringing in too much political engagement and swaying even the biggest of events, elections. The end goal of political engagement can differ in intent. Purposefully expediting users' voices to those that are malleable, letting users develop the desired political efficacy created by skewed activism (Vromen, A 2017). 

Over the years through interaction based functions, social media platforms have seen an increase in campaigning efficiency, something that can be directly reflected in election results (Nelimarkka, M Laaksonen, S Tuokko M & Valkonen, T 2020). Political engagement and activism online can sometimes become a bit of an issue, this is heavily seen in the 2016 Trump V Hillary election. Cambridge Analytica utilised users' digital citizenship to harvest data from 50 million facebook profiles most belonging to us voters, one of the latest ever breaches of facebook's data (Cadwalladr, C Graham-Harrison, E 2018). After harvesting such data targeted ads were apparent in american voters' home pages that could be swayed with the right use of ‘activism’. In the end, Cambridge Analytica's process worked as Donald J Trump won the election by 74 electoral votes (The New York Times, 2016).

References:

Australian Curriculum, 2021, Glossary, viewed 17 April 2021, <https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/technologies/glossary/?term=digital+citizenship>.

Vromen, A 2017, Digital Citizenship and Political Engagement The Challenge from Online Campaigning and Advocacy Organisations London, viewed 18 April 2021, <https://swinburne.instructure.com/courses/33896/files/12546587/download?download_frd=1>.

Nelimarkka, M Laaksonen, S Tuokko M & Valkonen, T 2020, Platformed Interactions: How Social Media Platforms Relate to Candidate– Constituent Interaction During Finnish 2015 Election Campaigning, viewed 18 April 2021, <https://swinburne.instructure.com/courses/33896/files/11227393/download?wrap=1>.

Cadwalladr, C Graham-Harrison, E 2018, Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach, viewed 18 April 2021, <https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election>.

The New York Times, 2016, 2016 Presidential Election Results, viewed 19 April 2021, <https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/president>. 

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Reality TV

Many regular watches of reality TV shows are gullible enough to believe that the world of reality TV is genuine. They see the conversations, event personality to be Unscripted, untampered with and truthful. Although, in reality this is not the case. Most if not every single reality TV show aired follows some sort of script and manipulation controlled by producers and creators of the show. 

Popular reality TV shows like The Bachelor, Married at First Sight, Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Love Island, just to name a few, all have to an extent fake scenarios and situations that have been molded and formed by producers in order to get the best ratings. During Keeping up with the Kardashians 18th Season they accumulated a total of 424.2million TV impressions (Semeraro, E 2020) and are one of the most discussed shows on social media. Sara Belcher from Distractify states that ’The term "reality" in reality show is sometimes seen as a suggestion to the show's producers’, moving on to highlight how producers refilm shots for the right moment and sometimes offer up crafted lines for people to say (Belcher, S 2021). There are many moments on Keeping up with the Kardashians that are very likely scripted, however, the most solidified scenario is Khloe's arrest in season 1. Keeping up with the Kardashians was not greenlit for filming until August 2007, where filming then began shortly after. This was 5 months after Khloes arrest, leaving no way for the scenes within the series to be real (Smith, M 2017). 

Reality TV shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians are one of the most discussed and controversial topics discussed on social media platforms and within public spheres such as Facebook and Twitter. 

https://twitter.com/hashtag/kuwtk?lang=en

Twitter is one of the most widely used social media platforms where users can freely speak their mind and discuss whatever topic they want. As seen via the link above many users discuss Keeping Up with the Kardashians before, during and after the show airs using the #KUWTK. Each user hold a different view, perspective and opinion on the events within the show. The ongoing participation and everyday general talk created through this hashtag inform are the uses of how other people are thinking, leaving them able to understand others ideas as well as Express, and develop their own opinions. Within this public sphere users are able to come to a mutual understanding about each other's beliefs (Graham, T Hajru 2011). 

Although reality TV can be misleading with the events that unfold they end up creating an interesting and multidimensional online public sphere for audiences to express their feelings and discuss the topics brought up within the show.

References: - Semeraro, E 2020, End of an Era: Viewership and Ad Insights for 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', viewed 12 April 2021, <https://www.nexttv.com/news/end-of-an-era-viewership-and-ad-insights-for-keeping-up-with-the-kardashians#:~:text=During%20the%20season%2018%20window,season%2019%20premiere%20on%20Sept.>.

- Belcher, S 2021, 'KUWTK' is About as Real as Reality Television Gets, viewed 12 April 2021, <https://www.distractify.com/p/is-kuwtk-scripted#:~:text='KUWTK'%20is%20About%20as%20Real%20as%20Reality%20Television%20Gets&text=Let's%20face%20it%3A%20most%20of,the%20top%20shows%20out%20there.>.

- Smith, M 2017, 5 of the Most Obviously Staged Moments in Kardashian History, viewed 13 April 2021, <https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-fake-moments.html>.

- Graham, T Hajru 2011, A, Reality TV as a trigger of everyday political talk in the net-based public sphere, viewed 13 April 2021, <https://swinburne.instructure.com/courses/33896/files/11227425/download?wrap=1>.

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‘How does Tumblr function as a digital community?’

Traditionally a digital community is defined as an internet community whose members interact with each other primarily via the internet. Members usually share common interests. For many users digital communities feel like home, other users being family or friends. This community is constantly moving, changing and allowing people from all backgrounds to connect (Microsoft, 2017). 

Unlike other social media platforms, Tumblr allows users to post a wide variety of content in different formats (text, photos, videos, audio, links). Tumblr functions as a digital community as they provide users all over the world with a safe space separate from economic, political or social agendas that would usually separate people in real life. They let users be anonymous, leaving them feeling safe and comfortable to express how they are feeling about what they are passionate about without the possibility of feeling attacked. There are always people with differing views, those who choose Tumblr to express their argument are able to separate themselves from real life, expressing their argument whilst also understanding differing views. 

Tumblr has created such a comfortable space for users to feel safe and welcomed in, leaving the platform open to different people, groups and cultures. People who identify with LGBTQI have found Tumblr to be a digital community where they can comfortably explore their identity, obtain support from fellow peers and users, including access sub-cultural information. Tumblr has grown as a digital community to expand, offering a particularly safe space for trans and the gender diverse, compared to digital communities like Facebook and Instagram. Facebook, although supporting trans people, is designed to be for a singular person of a singular identity which may be uncomfortable for trans users. Although, Tumblr has created a space where users don't have to conform to any gender or identity, if they do not choose to.

In an interview conducted by The International Journal of Communication interviewees noted ‘Tumblr granted them access to other people who shared experiences they could learn from and be affirmed by’ (Byron, P Robards, B Hanckel, B Vivienne, S Churchill, B 2018). Tumblr has become a place where feminist teenage girls can use blogs to engage in various forms of feminist activism. After carefully weighing issues like privacy, community and peer support as factors for which programs feminist users would pick to engage in, Tumblr was the choice of most, being most loved, versatile and comforting to express themselves in (Keller, J 2019). 

Tumblr has managed to get every aspect of their operations near perfect to create a comfortable digital community for anyone and everyone to get involved in, feeling comfortable, safe and valued. It is the perfect digital space.

References:

Microsoft, 2017, What does digital community mean to you?, viewed 23 March 2021, <https://www.microsoftpartnercommunity.com/t5/Announcement-Discussions/What-Does-Digital-Community-Mean-to-You/m-p/3054?fbclid=IwAR0DDdMZysLoKFQyyPOSbyRIyWRebE0Q1a9cUHGfQgYPfDoi9cKHJbo95_k>.

Byron, P Robards, B Hanckel, B Vivienne, S Churchill, B 2018, “Hey, I’m Having These Experiences”: Tumblr Use and Young People’s Queer (Dis)connections, viewed 23 March 2021, <https://swinburne.instructure.com/courses/33896/files/12394108?wrap=1>.

Keller, J 2019, “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms, viewed 23 March 2021, <https://swinburne.instructure.com/courses/33896/files/11227380/download?wrap=1>.