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Weel 10: Digital Citizenship and Conflict: Social Media Governance

With the advent of the social network and many different online platforms, everyone has the opportunity to communicate, share feelings and thoughts with each other without hindrance. However, the social platform place can be quickly turned into a toxic environment and a place where people can easily become a target for online harassment which is creating a lot of problems and can easily get out of control. Online harassment comes in many different definitions and meanings as it is a general term that encompasses a range of actions, researchers have varied conceptions of it. The phrase online harassment is frequently used in the reach on cyberbullying, it can refer to posting threats or horrible remarks online, spreading rumors, or making harsh words. In other cases, it is used as a synonym for "bullying." These studies mostly investigate relationships between peers, behavior in front of a local audience, and people under the age of 18 (Marwick, 2018). Example of the online harassment is according to a YouGov survey that study of 1738 men and 2121 women, 40% of British women that rage from 18 to 34 years old had received an uninvited sexual image from a non-romantic partner, while 26% of males have experienced the same thing (Haslop, 2021). There are a lot of way of harassing online example are include trolling, cyberbullying, and doxing and they can take this to harassment to website and social media platform, as well as emails and direct messages, as those can be used to express anger and threat. There are some solutions to lessen the online harassment situation here and it will be required with action from the moderation. For their present on each social media online website is importance to maintain in order keeping mutual respect, flagging or banned any content or harmful bully action that happen on the platform. In addition, people can also raise their voice on social media to spread the awareness of the online harassment like the moment #MeToo which is a movement for women to raise up their voice expose of sexual harassment. This movement trigger around the world, as millions of people come out to tell their stories about getting sexual harassment both in offline and online (Reinicke, 2022). Social media is a big place, and it will continue to expand more in the future at a rapid pace and it is important that it establishes order and mutual respect. Avoid situations of bullying on social networks and punish those who violate them to create a healthy social network environment.

Reference:

 Haslop, C., O’Rourke, F., & Southern, R. (2021). #NoSnowflakes: The toleration of harassment and an emergent gender-related digital divide, in a UK student online culture. Convergence, 27(5), 1418–1438.

 Thompson, J. (2023) New journalism research will help mitigate the harms of online. https://freilich.anu.edu.au/news-events/blog/new-journalism-research-will-help-mitigate-harms-online-hostility.

  Marwick, AE & Caplan, R 2018, “Drinking male tears: language, the manosphere, and networked harassment,” Feminist media studies, vol. 18, no. 4, Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 543–559.

   Reinicke, K 2022, Men after #MeToo : being an ally in the fight against sexual harassment, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland.

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Week 9: Gaming communities, Social gaming and Live streaming

The world of gaming culture has seen a lot of change, evolved beyond then what it used to be decades ago from arcade games to console games and games on phone. Nowadays, gaming has transformed into a digital state where people easily access and connect to everyone and created community to play games.

 Gaming in modern day is far different than it used to be, back then playing games was mostly about individual achievement only. Nowadays, more games are moving online where people can easily bring together, share some interest together which creates a gaming community. Online gaming communities can be thought of as ecosystems in which players compete with or work together with in-game organizations for resources (Sun, 2021). From this added a step further and social gaming was created for people to team up or compete with other strangers or friends in real time no matter where they are.  Online video games are social spaces where friendships are frequently formed. Co-players are frequently more than just people who support one another in achieving in-game objectives. Co-players frequently grow to be close, dependable friends and appreciated online advisors (Kwert, 2014). Games like Minecraft on the iPad version it fully utilizes the many haptic play dimensions, providing additional sensory learning opportunities that traditional educational settings would not be able to provide. Minecraft not only enables a range of digital play methods but also a range of material and social interactions within the home (Hjorth, 2021). In addition, Live streaming is also a way to throw a spotlight for individuals to share their gameplay experience to the world and a way to socialize and engage people online through many platforms like Twitch or YouTube gaming livestream platforms. All these platforms are where all gamers can start from casual live streamer stream play game to slowly rise to become a popular streamer with a very influential voice in gaming community or become pro esports athletes. To viewers chat can join in the live stream to participate in the conversation with the creator, ask some advice and be part of the live stream interactive experience.

 Videogame in modern world now is not just only about entertainment and kill time, but it also a way to connect more gamer and creating a culture. From gaming community and social gaming to live streaming, with the help of advance technology and change the way of mindset about gaming these will continue to grow more popularity upcoming in future.

Reference:

 Hjorth, L, Richardson, I, Davies, H & Balmford, W 2021, ‘Exploring play’ (chapter 2), in Exploring Minecraft: Ethnographies of Play and Creativity, Palgrave Macmillan, pp.27-47.

   Kowert, R, Domahidi, E, Festl, R & Quandt, T 2014, “Social gaming, lonely life? The impact of digital game play on adolescents’ social circles,” Computers in human behavior, vol. 36, Elsevier Ltd, pp. 385–390.

   Sun, J, Williams, D & Li, Y 2021, “Let’s Bail!: The evolution of individual-group affiliation in an online gaming community,” Computers in human behavior, vol. 121, Elsevier Ltd, Elmsford, pp. 106818-.

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Week 8: Digital citizenship and software literacy: Instagram Filter

Since the creation of social media platforms, various applications have started to add a feature call filter to make the selfies photos look more beautiful, attractive, entertaining and potentially make user to gain more attention. The use of filters has grown in importance in popular visual culture. One of the first platforms to truly popularize filters was Instagram, and today they are widely used, enabling users to enhance the appearance of selfies and other images brighter, muted, or vintage-looking than in real life. But in today's digital culture, people don't just filter photos before uploading them to Instagram—filter has grown to be a significant and far more concept in digital culture (Rettberg, 2014). The popular press has focused heavily on Instagram face filters, the arbitrary rules governing them, and the wider effects of AR filters on beauty culture (Miller & McIntyre 2022). From that, it makes a believe that filter is associated with feminine only as it often features beauty. However, this is completely beyond the truth as both genders can use the filter equally to show their beauty and not just only for feminine. Beside of beauty filter effect, there are also other types of filters that can be used like adding anime ear, add heart flying in background or changing the light of the background, creating the photo shoot more entertaining and vivid. Furthermore, approximately 600 million individuals have reportedly used filters on Facebook or Instagram, according to Meta (Well, 2023). Moreover, using photoshop and filters to digitally modify ourselves creates a false identity. In addition to critiquing our bodies in mirrors, we may now digitally alter the aspects of our bodies that we find objectionable in order to create "perfect" versions of ourselves (Coy-Dibley, 2016). Not only that women may grow to feel disconnected from their true selves and to have a negative body image. Like the case of O’Neill, an 18-year-old Instagram star who recently exposed the truth of her dissonant online and offline self-images and how she became consumed by social media due to the validation of self she received via followers liking her images (Coy-Dibley,2016). Women try to create a perfect body through filter to satisfy themselves and viewer when post on social media to meet up expectation which create lots of pressure to perfect it. Thanks to the existence of the filter that made on to social media app like Instagram make our content photo becoming more fun and creative than before. However, the filter may be engrained deep in our society and will continue to grow more in future, the user also has the responsibility when use it as not to overuse it too much and harm yourself.

Reference:

  Coy-Dibley, I 2016, “‘Digitized Dysmorphia’ of the female body: the re/disfigurement of the image,” Palgrave communications, vol. 2, no. 1, Springer Science and Business Media LLC.

   Miller, LA & McIntyre, J 2023, “From surgery to Cyborgs: a thematic analysis of popular media commentary on Instagram filters,” Feminist media studies, vol. 23, no. 7, Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 3615–3631.

  Rettberg, JWalker 2014, Seeing ourselves through technology : how we use selfies, blogs and wearable devices to see and shape ourselves, Palgrave Macmillan UK, London, England.

 Well, T, (2023), The hidden danger of online beauty filters, Psychology Today, Viewed 22nd February 2024, <https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-clarity/202303/can-beauty-filters-damage-your-self-esteem> 

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Week 7: Digital Citizenship and Health Education: Body Modification on Visual Social Media

 Recently social media started to grow more and more, creating lots of platforms to serve as a dynamic space for self-expression, creating a connection between users and sharing tons of information. Thanks to the emergence of social media and digital technology has been associated with a shift in the nature of labor, as well as the popularization of pornography and the "porn chic" look (Drenten, 2020). In addition, body modification also started to rise up among influencers and celebrities to improve their appearance on social media, gain more view and popularity. Furthermore, according to the 2017 data provided by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 42% of surgeons said that their patients are pursuing aesthetic surgery to enhance their image on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other networks (Dorfman, 2018). Beside that, body modification and pornography by sexualizing self-looking is a way marketing utilize to promote product. Celebrity and influencers apply the body modification and expose themselves to their social media to gain more following and potentially attract some advertisement. Influencer labor based on affiliation aims to attract and retain the interest of an external business by engaging in fun and sexually provocative interactions with followers on social media who are activated by increasingly subtle digital affordances (Drenten, 2020). In addition, with body modification, change their appearance and look to create an image that boosts more popularity to the influencer and brand advertise. However, by over doing plastic surgery, modification to the body can create some long-term harmful effects to health and therefore it’s a risky beauty treatment to gain popularity. As social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook continue to rise more, influencers and celebrities from around the will continue to pornified and show their body modification to gain attention and attract advertisers. It is important to remind people to educate themselves more about what is the long-term impact of body modification to avoid any unfortunate.

Reference:

  Drenten, J, Gurrieri, L & Tyler, M 2020, “Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention,” Gender, work, and organization, vol. 27, no. 1, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, pp. 41–66.

 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

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 Week 6: Social media influencers and slow fashion movements

Over the past few years, a great deal of research and documentation has been done on the social and ecological effects of the fashion business. Across its whole life cycle, it is acknowledged as one of the most polluting industries. Historically, up until around 20 years ago, there were two collections made year (Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter); these days, trend cycles have accelerated, with between 50 and 100 mini collections hitting the market annually (Domingo, 2022). Some of leading company like Zara, H&M are capitalized on fast fashion model, create the greatest quantity of stylish clothing in the shortest amount of time so that customers can keep up with the quick and constantly shifting trend cycles and want to purchase more goods (Ting chi, 2021). Which it led to a hazardous effect on people and polluting the world. Slow fashion is the answer and solution to the issue of pollution and any hazards that effect on human. As it emerges as a sustainable consumption movement and the opposite of fast fashion. Slow fashion aims to slow down the present fashion life cycle by creating no more than four lines each year, emphasizing quality over quantity, and not using mass production (Lai, 2017, p. 82). To make the slow fashion do well, it needs to gain attention from the public and this is where the social media steps in. Social media influencers can be employed as a powerful advertising strategy to close the communication gap between advertisers and consumers about sustainability issues, even if businesses can also utilize social media to directly address these issues (Jacobson, 2022). Influencers like @aditimayer on Instagram with over 90k followers, have a major influence in fashion and an idea for the slow fashion campaign. Slow fashion for now still has a long way to go to gain popularity and recognition in the fashion world. But with collaboration with social media influencers and spread awareness about how fast fashion creates pollution, the public will change their mind and pursuit the slow fashion soon.

Reference:

 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

 Jenna Jacobson & Brooke Harrison (2022) Sustainable fashion social media influencers and content creation calibration, International Journal of Advertising, 41:1, 150-177, DOI: 10.1080/02650487.2021.2000125

 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

 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)

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Week 5 Digital citizenship

 A person who has acquired a wide range of competencies and is capable of actively, constructively, and responsibly participating in local, national, and international communities both online and offline is referred to as a digital citizen (Council of Europe, 2022, p. 11). In the modern world, the concept of digital citizenship is becoming more important and relevant, where technology is playing a key role in people’s daily life. In which created social media for to gather around to debate, express their opinion created digital communities.

 Various social media platforms such as Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook enable people to easier access to internet and become digital citizens. Those social media sites are now essential venues for political and civic engagement. They are essential tools for protests, election campaigns, and the formation of volunteer organizations. They can also be used to establish and encourage inclusive civic behavior and increase participation from younger and disengaged groups (Theocharis, 2023, p. 788). Citizens that want to engage on social media, voice up their opinion and want social change can by using hashtag functions. It was first introduced on Twitter to make it easier for users to search for interesting tweets and follow conversations. For activists engaging for social change, hashtags can be an effective strategy as they help spread knowledge and awareness about social issues (Crandall & Cunningham, 2016). Ordinary people can also benefit from it since it makes it simple for them to share their stories—which can be political or personal—with others who share their opinions and show support for social movements (Kim, Y, 2022).

 Overall, with the digital communities, it allows people to use the technology in ethical and responsible manner. It has lets people educate, gain knowledge, create critical thinking and construct an online community to engage and share opinions.

Reference

 Council of Europe, (2022), Digital citizenship education handbook, Council of Europe, French edition.

 Kim, Y., & Lee, S. (2022). #ShoutYourAbortion on Instagram: Exploring the Visual Representation of Hashtag Movement and the Public’s Responses. SAGE Open, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221093327

 Yannis Theocharis, Shelley Boulianne, Karolina Koc-Michalska & Bruce Bimber (2023) Platform affordances and political participation: how social media reshape political engagement, West European Politics, 46:4, 788-811, DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2022.2087410

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Week 4: Reality TV

 The genre of reality television aims to start conversation and mutual viewpoints. Its assertions that technology serves as a mirror for human behavior and interactions in logically, extend to viewers evaluating the actions they witness on screen, by figuring out not only the participants action but also the veracity of what they are witnessing (Deller, 2019, p. 158). Reality TV nowadays comes in many ways like hosting a game show or entertainment show and with social media's continuous growth has allowed viewers of major entertainment shows to interact with them in fresh and creative ways on a variety of platforms (L’Hoiry, 2019).

 Shows like Love Island have embraced social media suggest that there is a lot of room to grow in the mutually beneficial interaction between digital and television media as concurrent consumption platforms. The integration of social media and television broadcasting on Love Island necessitates a reconfiguration of audiences into the roles of social media users and television viewers. In addition, Love Island serves as a case study for the possible revenue opportunities presented by new and developing media consumption modes (L’Hoiry, 2019).

 It demonstrates that there are connections between viewer and the show which create a digital community to gather around to debate and give opinion on the show which that is still happening till this day on modern show.

 For another example, Big Brother show was inspiration for Love Island, return to TV after it 18-year stint on channel 4. With its complex social media tie-ins, game apps, merchandising, and various branded social media profiles, among other sponsorship agreements with apparel and music labels, the program has successfully built its branding strategy. The amount of attention and additional commercial value that can be generated around a show has increased due to all of this, surpassing the Big Brother frenzy that the media created (Wood, 2022).

 Reality TV can provide multiple genres of shows and has a significant impact on television and pop culture. It created a way to engage with the viewer, bring them closer to share opinion, knowledge and influence the viewer discuss about the shows in online digital publics create connections between viewer and the show.

 Reference:

 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).

 Helen Wood (2022) ‘Big Brother is coming back – the reality TV landscape today will demand a more caring show’ The Conversation August 10

 L'Hoiry, X.  (2019) 'Love Island, social media, and sousveillance: new pathways of challenging realism in reality TV'. Frontiers in Sociology, 4. 59:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2019.00059

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Week 3: How does Tumblr function as a digital community?

 Tumblr here stands out among the many social media platforms as a distinctive and vibrant online community. Tumblr is a free microblogging social media site that is rapidly gaining popularity and providing a fun and addicting platform for self-expression. You can share everything on your Tumblr blog from text, images, quotes, chats, links, music, and video, from the comfort of your browser, phone, desktop, or email, no matter where you are on the globe or what time of day (Jenkins, 2012).

 Researchers can use Tumblr as a rich resource. Its free hosting platform for brief blogs with a simple setup has been available since its launch back in February 2007. Blog postings on Tumblr are always "unlocked" by default, meaning that anyone with a free account can view them (Attu, R, 2017). Individuals’ ranges over all ages can log on to Tumblr, they can develop their own characteristics on social media, where they can freely to express their own self and don’t have to hide themselves.

 In Tumblr communities can perform freedom speech on platform with no problem. For instance, a lot of young LGBTIQ+ people use Tumblr social media as a platform to connect to each other, express their own feelings and their thoughts. When it comes to transgender and gender nonconforming self-representations, Tumblr provides a more secure environment than popular networks like Facebook and Instagram. The participants' stories of Tumblr's "messiness" demonstrate the platform's attraction to queer and gender-diverse young people who do not fit into mainstream and popularized narratives of coming out and transitioning. Tumblr has been discussed as offering greater privacy and diversity (Byron, P, 2019).

 Overall, Tumblr is a social media platform where it is a safe place where people from different backgrounds can express their feelings. A social media platform where people can come together as a community through hashtags, comment to each other’s post with no limitation. This makes up the reason why people enjoy using the Tumblr platform and want to be part of its community.

Reference:

  Attu, R & Terras, M 2017, ‘What people study when they study Tumblr: Classifying Tumblr-related academic research’, Journal of documentation, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 528–554.

 Byron, P., Brady Robards, B. Hanckel, S. Vivienne and B. Churchill. “"Hey, i'm having these experiences": Tumblr use and young people's queer (dis)connections.” International Journal of Communication 13 (2019): 2239-2259.

  Jenkins, S 2012, Tumblr for dummies, Portable edition., John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, N.J.