Digital Communities

Find my weekly blog posts here

[ourdigitalcommunities-blog]

Do You Wanna Play A Game?

FortGaming has changed immensely since when I was born. In 1995 video games such as Rayman (1995) Warcraft II (1995) and Mortal Combat 3 (1995) were released and were some of the most popular games throughout that year. Flash forward to today, and gaming isn’t what it used to be. We are now in such a technology-driven world, gaming has become more and more popular especially among the male demographic creating games to peak their interest such as football and soccer games, to shooting and war games, graphics, speed and technology has upgraded, to say the least. But in our technology-driven society, social media has made it possible for people to play games with other all over the world, but what effect does this have on the individuals playing?

I’m sure we have all seen people glued to their phones, television screens or other gaming device trying to get their attention, but it seems to be a lost cause like they are on another solar system and the only way to get their attention is to take matters into your own hands. These sorts of people are known as gamers, who take gaming so seriously burning the house down wouldn’t even stop them, this causes serious health concerns for the individuals playing. But recently games such as Pokémon GO have been released which forces individuals to get out of the house to “catch them all”. They can also verse other players in the Pokémon gym, and no not a gym where you to show on Snapchat how much you lift, but a gym where the virtual characters verse each other in a fight. The internet and social media have made this sort of thing possible so that people can virtually fight one another whether it be in a Pokémon gym or on the battlefield.

Most recently, a game by the name of Fortnite has come into the midst of making it one of the most popular games in the world. Metro Gaming (2018) reported that in February the developers reported having 3.4 million simultaneous players. Fortnite is a 100-player vs player universe where you can download for free and compete to be the last person standing which was released by Epic Games. One thing with social gaming is the concern of player being disrespectful and rude to other players, Fortnite’s code of conduct is straightforward and does not tolerate disrespectful players which is reassuring for parents of younger players playing as the games is available on all devices, from Mac, PC, Xbox, tablets and your mobile device.

References:

Metro Gaming 2018, ‘How many people play Fortnite Battle Royale’, METRO, 5th March, viewed 3rd June 2018, https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/05/many-people-play-fortnite-battle-royale-7363495/.

The Fortnite Team 2017, ‘Fortnite Battle Royale: Code of Conduct Screenshot’ [image], Fortnite Battle Royale: Code of Conduct, Epic Games, viewed 3rd June 2018, <https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/fortnite-battle-royale-code-of-conduct>.

[101661945-blog]

Hey @ourdigitalcommunities, thanks for your insight into the world of gaming. The term ‘gamer’ (in my opinion) is a lot broader than those who are glued to the screen 24/7, I would consider myself a gamer and I would only clock up about 2-3 hours playing video games a week. 

I call myself a gamer because I love video games, I love keeping up with new releases, reading reviews and discussing my opinions with friends online and in person. I replied to your comment on @mo2scallywags post but I recommend you read my Week 10 post to explore some of the benefits that social gaming/gaming in general can have for players! 

[mo2scallywags]

Social gaming

Whilst most people play games to have fun and the pass the time, many players also use games for other reasons like to reduce stress, to keep an active mind, the adrenaline rush, being challenged and being able to do things in the online environment that would not be possible in real life.

Online gaming is quite social as most games allow players to compete and collaborate with others within the game.  Many gamers extend their gameplay further by creating walkthrough videos and posting them on YouTube which allows them to share their knowledge of the game.

Esports

Esports is where players compete or watch others compete have become popular around the world, they have become an extension of interactive entertainment.  At an Esport event “cyber-athletes” as they are known to compete individually or as part of a team for prize money worth millions of dollars. Esports is one of the fastest growing sectors in worldwide entertainment with an estimated global audience of 385 million and growing more than 41per cent annually. This Esport craze has reached Australia with Melbourne set to stage this country’s biggest annual video gaming tournament in September this year.

If you have a pre-teen or teenage male in your house you may be familiar with a game called Fortnite, which my 12-year-old is currently playing as I write this.  Fortnite Battle Royale is the free version where up to 100 players compete against each other online to be the last person standing. Players are dropped onto an island, where they make their way around to find weapons and battle other players and characters, they must also battle other characters and protect themselves against deadly storms.  Whilst the game is free you can purchase bonus weapons and extension packs, but generally, you unlock new items as you progress through the game.

Code of Conduct

Epic the makers of the game ask that players abide by the code of conduct which is:

 Respect other players. Don’t be a sore loser, no hate speech, threats.

 Play fairly and within the rules of the game.  Don’t cheat, exploit bugs and glitches

Keep account information safe and private.

Good luck and have fun!

They advise players that if they see other players not respecting the Fortnite code to contact player support and they claim to investigate all feedback and act if necessary. A quick look at the player forum showed that many players were calling for action against players who they believe are guilty of breaching the code of conduct.  They do however appear to come down on hard on anyone who is developing cheating software as they have filed lawsuits in the US against two individuals for creating software that enables players to cheat in the game.  Pretty heavy-handed approach considering one of the cheaters is 14 years old!

References

Brand, J, Todhunter, S, Jervis, J, 2018, Digital Australia Report 2018, Eveleigh, NSW, IGEA

Cavanagh, C, Rolf, P, 2018, ‘Melbourne scores big in push to be eSports capital’, Herald Sun, 3 June, p 13.

Epic Games c. 2018, Fortnite code of conduct, viewed 3 June 2018, <https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/fortnite-code-of-conduct>

Hall, C, 2017, Epic games is suing more Fortnite cheaters, and at least one of them is a minor’, Polygon, 27 November, viewed 3 June 2018, <https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/27/16705184/epic-games-suing-fortnite-cheaters-minor-14-years-old>

Stuart, K, 2018, ‘Fortnite: a parent’s guide to the most popular video game in schools’, The Guardian, 7 March, viewed 3 June, <https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/mar/07/fortnite-battle-royale-parents-guide-video-game-multiplayer-shooter>

[ourdigitalcommunities-blog]

I like how you brought in the Esports competition because it shows how big gaming really is. There is even now a streaming website called Twitch where people can stream themselves playing a game while other watch and send comments. Its become a massive platform with 100+ million users on there, with 15 million daily active users (Smith, 2018).  Social gaming nowadays is becoming such a serious past time and it makes me wonder how many people are sitting at home on their couch in front of the television or computer and not getting outdoors more and getting active. References: Smith, C 2018, 52 Amazing Twitch Stats and Facts (May 2018) | By the Numbers, DMR, viewed 3rd June 2018, <https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/twitch-stats/>.

[101661945-blog]

Thanks for you post @mo2scallywags, I’m glad you explored some of the social aspects of online gaming rather than pointing out the potential risks. Fortnite is one of the most popular games out at the moment, many of my friends and I have given it a go. What I find particularly interesting is that none of us ever play the game solo and always wait until at least one other friend comes online.

@ourdigitalcommunities, I respect your concern for the amount of time people are spending outdoors but I believe playing video games in moderation is actually beneficial for our brain! You can read some more about my ideas in my Week 10 post if you feel like it :)

[101661945-blog]

This podcast discusses people’s connection to video games based on ethnicity and background. Some really interesting explanations on how players use these games for more than just entertainment, but also acceptance and belonging too.

[101661945-blog]

W10: “Mum...bathroom, BATHROOM”

Online gamers are often stereotyped to be socially awkward, nerdy, overweight and disconnected from the real world. The title of this blog references South Park’s iconic episode ‘Make Love not Warcraft’ where the characters become addicted to the popular ‘massive multiple online role-playing game’ (MMORPG) ‘World of Warcraft’. View the clip below to see the stereotype I describe (I warn it is a little crude). 

I’m a console gamer, not a heavy user but back in my childhood I used to clock up many hours playing some incredible games like ‘Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto’. Now, with working two jobs and studying full time, it is increasingly difficult to find time to sit down and devote hours to a game – but when I can, I love it. I have never thought of games to have affected my social life, but for others this is not the case. 

As young people’s leisure activities have become more media focused, concerns have arisen regarding the damage that it may pose to their social lives and ability to make friends (Eklund & Roman, 2018, pp. 1-2). Their disconnection from the public space and displacement of time when playing these games can be worrying to others and with over-exposure, I believe the call for concern is warranted. 

Of course, like everything, moderation (a common theme in this blog) is important when playing these games. The social aspects of online games like World of Warcraft (WoW) result in large communities of people playing and communicating with each other. As of 2018 Statista reported that WoW had 5.19 million active subscribers, an incredible number of people participating in one online community. “Social interaction is the essential core of the MMORPG” (Ford, 2016, p. 9), where users can escape the real world in favour of a fantasy land full of adventure. 

<WoW screenshot - http://www.popsci.com.au/tech/the-nsa-has-been-infiltrating-online-games,380577>

Parents that do not understand these games are understandably threatened when their children are attached to the screen for hours at a time. A study conducted by Claudia Sălceanua found that parents’ attitudes towards their childrens’ computer usage varied but the majority (>60%) were actively negotiating how much computer access their children were allowed (2014, pp. 839-840). The study also found that parents two major concerns of overuse as lack of physical movement and lack of socialisation (2014, pp. 839-840). 

What was especially important about the study conducted by Sălceanua were the positives impact that the parents believed computer gaming was having on their kids. Parents believed that their children showed more ambition, dynamism, perseverance, self-confidence, self control – the list goes on (2014, p. 840). These traits do not align with the stereotypical online gamer, in fact they are the complete opposite. I believe that social gaming can be a incredibly beneficial to children, I certainly think that my experience playing these games aided in my ability to be creative, problem-solve and learn quickly. The most important thing is to understand how much is too much and be prepared to intervene when a hobby turns to addiction. 

This is my last post for my Digital Communities blog this trimester. It’s been a wonderful experience and been great for my understanding of the unit. I especially like how thought provoking the unit has been, I find myself constantly comparing modules with everyday life. I hope you have enjoyed my posts…until next time! 

References 

Eklund L & Roman S, 2018, ‘Online gaming and young people’s friendships: a mixed methods study of time use and gaming in school’, Young, vol. 27, issue 1, pp. 1-16. 

Ford G, 2016, Social and emotional aspects of world of warcraft players, Letherbridge, Alberta CA. 

Sălceanua C, 2014, ‘The influence of computer games on children’s development. Exploratory study on the attitudes of parents’, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Vol. 149, pp. 837-841. 

Statista, 2018, ‘Number of world of warcraft (wow) subscribers from 2015 to 2023 (in millions)’, Statista, viewed 1 June 2018, <https://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-of-warcraft-subscribers-by-quarter/>.

[101661945-blog]

Attention as a commodity, YouTube algorithms, tech addiction and the always-on mindset. This talk covers lots of concerns over our dependence on technology and ties in well to some of the ideas discussed in my Week 9 post below, ‘Life through a lens’. Happy listening 😀

[101661945-blog]

Instagram feeds do more damage to body image than billboards: study

A study of 150 Australian undergraduate women has revealed they no longer care about what women look like on the cover of a magazine.

A little follow on from my Week 9 discussion ‘Life through a lens’. This article talks a little about body image and features a video of Celeste Barber, a woman who has grown a following by mocking some of the ridiculous standards set by celebrities on their social media accounts. 

[ourdigitalcommunities-blog]

How many followers do you have?

Instagram is one of the most popular image sharing social media platforms at the current moment with 800 million users worldwide (Mathison 2018). Interaction is easy, when you post a photo your followers can see it and like and comment on it, also posting photos can gain you more followers. Instagram themes are all the rage with popular Instagrammers who have big followings, this is when they take a photo and edit it to look similar to other images that have been posted to their feed. Their followers come to except this sort of content from them and this gives them an expectation when viewing their images. Larissa Hjorth (2011, p. 51) explained this sort of content to be networked visuality. She explained this term as “by ‘imaging communities’ I refer to all the mobile media UCC [user created content] practices that can take the form of the visual, textual, aural, and haptic modes of expression. From SMS to camera phone images, these practices of imaging communities reflect forms of intimacy, labor, and creativity, which provide ways for configuring, and intervening, the region’s 'imagined community’.” This same kind of practice can be seen on the video sharing platform YouTube, which content creators such as Manny MUA, Casey Niestat, Shane Dawson, Liza Koshy and Jenna Marbles, creating content that is recognised by their fans, this gives their followers a feeling of affinity as they feel a part of their video and feel a sense of membership. These social media influencers are a part of a community that is free for them let out their creative side and show people their personality through their photos and their videos.

Now that’s a community I want to be a part of!

References:

Hjorth, L 2011, ‘Mobile spectres of intimacy: the gendered role of mobile technologies in love – past, present and future’, in R, Ling & S, Campbell (eds) The Mobile Communication Research Series: Volume II, Mobile Communication: Bringing Us Together or Tearing Us Apart? Transaction Books Edison, NJ , pp. 37-60.

Mathison, R 2018, 28+ Useful Instagram Statistics for Social Media Marketers, Hootsuite, viewed 23rd May 2018, https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/.

[101661945-blog]

@ourdigitalcommunities thanks for a brief intro into Instagram and YouTube. I skipped over a lot of the basics in my discussion about Week 9′s topic so I think this will pair well with my post. 

User-generated content has become so prevalent in today’s society. YouTubers and Influencers have capitalised on changing trends and are making the most out of the growing industry. 

My post took a deeper look at some of the negative aspects of our new found obsession with our smartphone cameras - give it a read if you get the chance > here < and let me know what you think.

[101661945-blog]

W9: Life through a lens

<Google Pixel XL Camera - https://www.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-lens-flare-what-it-and-how-avoid-it>

I grew up in the smartphone generation. I had the iPhone 4, then the 5, then the 6 and so on. Each time a new phone was released there was a long list of upgrades but the one feature that seemed to be of the utmost importance was the camera. Today I work in retail selling the smartphones that I grew up with, and still the number one request of shoppers is a “good camera”. The advances in smartphone camera technology have transformed a predominantly professional practice into an “unavoidable aspect of everyday life” (Hand, 2013, pp. 1-3). Of course, there is no use in taking these photos if no-one is going to see them which is why photo-sharing platforms like Flickr, Instagram and Snapchat have become part of people’s daily routine. 

Photography is now considered ‘ubiquitous’, meaning it is found everywhere. I do not post regularly on social media but instead find myself scrolling through pages of photos – some important, some not, but I still check my news feed every day. Social networking sites are extremely important in modern cultural, political and social life (Hjorth & Hendry, 2015, pp.1), we use them to offer friends a window into our lives, but the life we put on show is often not accurate. I briefly covered the idea of a ‘social self’ in my blog post from Week 1 and the ability to create online masks to hide who we really are. 

I titled this post ‘Life through a lens’ because I’d like to focus on the adoption of apps like Snapchat, and more recently Instagram and Facebook stories. One of my friends, Luke, is a popular DJ in Melbourne and recently shared an article about the effects that smartphone photography appears to be having on our memory. You can find the article here, but something that is truly concerning is our reliance on this technology as a memory tool. Resnick (2018) explains that the first step to creating a memory is for our brains to be paying attention, if we do not pay attention then we cannot expect our brains to retain information. 

<Cameras in the crowd - https://qz.com/718939/apple-patented-a-way-to-keep-people-from-filming-at-concerts-and-movie-theaters-on-their-phones/>

Luke’s concerns grew from constantly looking into a crowd and seeing nothing but the flash of smartphone cameras – something he believes is detrimental to the experience for both himself and the crowd. This poses a serious question about our reliance on these technologies, how much damage is our constant desire to capture our surroundings doing to our brain? 

Memory aside, another worrying aspect of this new generation of amateur photographer, is the effect that it has on people’s ideas of body image and self-worth. Research documented by Fardouly, Willburger and Vartanian (2018, pp. 1381-1382) found that people, women in particular, compare themselves to celebrities, peers and their past selves on social networking sites. This constant comparison to others, regardless of whether it is positive or negative, has been associated with serious negative outcomes such as eating disorders and depression. The ability to alter photos and share an edited version of ourselves attributes to these negative outcomes and creates false ideas about ideal body image. 

<Instagram vs real life - https://www.boredpanda.com/health-blogger-instagram-real-life-difference-saggysara/>

I am not condemning smartphone cameras and fully support their adoption in society, this post is merely attempting to alert readers to the risk of constantly hiding behind the camera lens. The key is moderation, only take the photo when you feel it’s necessary and make sure to put down your phone and take in your surroundings. 

Here is a photo I took down in Warrnambool a few weeks ago – I only needed one photo to attach a memory to and every time I look at it I feel like I’m back there on the rocks. 

References 

Fardouly J, Willburger B.K & Vartanian L.R, 2018, ‘Instagram use and young women’s body image concerns and self-objectification: Testing mediational pathways’, New Media & Society, Vol. 20, Issue 4, pp. 1380-1395. 

Hand M, 2013, ‘Ubiquitous photography’, Polity Press, Cambridge. 

Hjorth L & Hendry N, 2014, A snapshot of social media: camera phone practices, Social Media + Society, pp. 1-3. 

Resnick B, 2018, ‘What smartphone photography is doing to our memories’, Vox, March 28, viewed 30 May 2018, <https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/3/28/17054848/smartphones-photos-memory-research-psychology-attention>.

[jackdigitalcommunities-blog]

Crowdsourcing is awesome.

A bit late on this entry, but THE VLOG IS BACK!

Crowdsourcing is awesome. In so many ways, it is the realisation of what some of the earliest pioneers of the internet had envisioned - universal collaboration and access to knowledge.

Wikipedia is probably the gold-standard here. It is one of the most influential collections of knowledge in the world and has been compiled entirely by individuals who contribute and refine the content without the need for a central authority (Lee & Seo 2016, p.15).

“A feast to which many contribute is better than a dinner provided out of a single purse” - Aristotle (in Waldron 1995, p.564)

As early as Aristotle it seems that epistemological discourse has theorised ways that humans might be able to effectively share their collective intelligence, and Wikipedia (and the internet in general) seems to be the best solution to date of having the sum of human knowledge recorded and made available.

Crowdsourcing recognises that knowledge, when shared with the world, becomes a powerful tool for the greater good (Hess & Ostrom, 2007, p.8), and also that knowledge is cumulative and thus necessarily improved by having more people involved and adding to it.

It is generally at this point in the blog that I break out the “however” and go on to show the downsides to the technology and muddy the waters a bit on where I actually stand. I am going to say “however” because I want to present a balanced view, but I will come back to clarify my position with an important mention. However… There can be downsides to this kind of freely accessible commons. Wikipedia ‘vandalism’ is a humorous way of hijacking the system.. Many a teacher and professor has warned students to avoid wikipedia because “anyone can post anything”… Lee and Seo find that on Wikipedia, as the community of contributors has matured and the competition for revision has grown, dominant participants have emerged who may not necessarily have better information to contribute, but are just more assertive and active in their revisions and defense of their opinions (2016, p.19). In other words, when everyone is invited to contribute to a discussion, the ideas that are heard most are those that come from the individuals who speak loudest and most frequently.

Here’s where I want to clarify my position. Of course there are downsides to every innovation and technology. It is important to air these and debate them, but not use them as a way to dismiss or inhibit the progression of technology. I watched a great video recently by Alec Watson on his YouTube channel, Technology Connections. Through an analysis of the technological development of the LED traffic light, he illuminates what he calls the “but sometimes problem”. In his video he describes how LED traffic lights improved upon incandescent bulbs in almost every single measurable way, yet their one downside (vulnerability to snow) was used by critics to try and suppress the technology. The fallacy he describes, can be applied to many instances of how we as a society adopt new technology.

So please go ahead, contribute and be a part of building humankind’s collective knowledge.

References

Hess, C & Ostrom, E 2007, Understanding Knowledge as a Commons: From Theory to Practice, MIT Press, Massachusetts.

Lee, J & Seo, DB 2016, ‘Crowdsourcing not all sourced by the crowd: An observation on the behaviour of Wikipedia participants’, Technovation, vol. 55-56, pp.14-21.

Technology Connections 2018, The LED Traffic Light and the Danger of “But Sometimes!”, 14 May, viewed 19 May 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiYO1TObNz8>

[101661945-blog]

A well-balance post here @jackdigitalcommunities giving us a bit of insight into Crowdsourcing. I like that you brought up the dangers associated with sites like Wikipedia when “the individuals who speak loudest and most frequently” have dominance over the information on the site. 

I’d like to delve a little deeper into this idea and bring up the concerns raised by Heather Ford in her discussion regarding Ushahidi. You can get more information about Ushahidi in my blog post from Week 8 here. Ford (2012, p. 33) discusses the difficulty in verifying information when the amount of user-generate content grows and the volume of data increases. 

<10 Wikipedia Troll Pages - https://imgur.com/gallery/lOu51>

How does a site monitor what is being posted and verify that it is legitimate? This is why Wikipedia is generally not considered a reputable source of information, what if the voice that’s yelling the loudest is wrong?

References

Ford H, 2012, Crowd wisdom, Index on Censorship, Vol. 41, Issue 4, pp. 33-39.

[bulletinthebrian]

What are you looking at, butthead?

This time, I want to write this post in a more serious tone, since this is a topic that I think deserves attention, and a good degree of empathy. Also, it is a practice that I find despicable and coward, since it is always target those individuals, that are not strong enough to defend themselves, or are alone. 

“Bullying is an ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power over one or more persons. Bullying can happen in person or online, and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert).” (Bullying Go Away, 2018)

Online bullying, or cyberbullying, is a matter of which research, has increased drastically lately, and it is due to the increasing use of electronic devices (Bayraktar, 2014) . Electronic devices and social media offer an effective way to harass the others without having to be physically there (Bayraktar et al., 2014) . As if it wasn’t an enough coward practice already. A substantial difference with traditional bullying is that cyberbullying’s use of physical force is minimum. But even if this may sound more harmless, the psychological damages produced by this practice can even exceed traditional bullying’s (Bauman et al., 2013) . The ongoing agony that the victims of cyberbullying have to endure, many times bring them to harm themselves or commit suicide, as it really affects their self-esteem and self-control (Bauman, et al., 2013). 

How many times we hear about troubled teenagers that end up committing suicide, because they had been pushed to do so? Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth, and suicide is often caused by the lack or deterioration of social ties to the collective system (Durkheim, 1897) , which can be cause by bullying (Bauman et al., 2013). With the always increasing use of social media and electronic devices, it is not surprising that cyberbullying is also a practice of which popularity, especially amongst adolescents, keeps raising. It is such a broad topic, and there is a lot of stuff to say about it, so I am going to post some links on here about some episodes that I have found being particularly relevant to cyberbullying. Read the story of Daniel, 17 years-old, who took his own life after being blackmailed (Harrison, 2013). Or Conrad, 18 years-old, whose “girlfriend” lead him to suicide (LeBlanc, 2017). Or watch the ‘Black Mirror’ episode ‘Shut up and Dance’, that shows exactly the kinds of actions that people are ready to perform, when they are psychologically controlled.

References

Bauman, S., Toomey, R. B. & Walker, J. L. (2013) Associations among bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide in high school students, Journal of Adolescence, Vol. 36 (2), pp. 341-350 viewed 16 May 2018 at <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.12.001>

Bayraktar, F., Machackova, H., Dedkova, L., Cerna, A. & Ševčíková, A. (2014) Cyberbullying The Discriminant Factors Among Cyberbullies, Cybervictims, and Cyberbully-Victims in a Czech Adolescent Sample, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 30(18), viewed 16 May 2018 at <http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1177/0886260514555006#articleCitationDownloadContainer>

Black Mirror (2016) Shut Up and Dance, Endemol UK.

Bullying Go Away (2018) Definition of Bullying, viewed 16 May 2018 at <https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/WhatIsBullying/DefinitionOfBullying>

Durkheim, E. (1897). Le Suicide. Paris, France: Alcan

Harrison, A. (2013) Cyber-bullying: Horror in the home, BBC News, viewed 16 May 2018 at <http://www.bbc.com/news/education-23727673>

LeBlanc, P. (2017) The text messages that led up to teen’s suicide, CNN viewed 16 May 2018 at < https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/08/us/text-message-suicide-michelle-carter-conrad-roy/index.html>

[frangolive]

Baraktar et al’s point about the abscence of physicality in bullying scenarios is spot on. I remember seeing my neighbours kids running around at at BBq and acting out what they had been engaged in online gaming together.  At first there was a decent amount of surprise, pain and WTF type questions until the processes in RL sank in and got a deepened context via touch and senses that are simply not engaged online. Having said that it did take them at half and hour to realise that it would hurt everytime they wacked each other with a ‘stick sword’ :). Psychological manipulation of publics is rife on social media in so many ways from the ‘time urgent purchase’ to the ‘if we get X amount of likes we’ll donate to’ and so it is easy for peeps to act rashly and simply move on sometimes. Thanks for a really insightful read :), cheers F

[allthingsgeshblog]

@bulletinthebrian A very thought-provoking post. Having teenagers myself, my radar is in a constant sense of “are you ok?”, “are your friends ok?”… it probably drives them a little crazy. I remember feeling quite “off” after watching Black Mirror’s Shut up and Dance episode… the power of influence psychologically is unbelievably powerful. A friend of my eldest son, said to me one night, “I wish Social Media didn’t exist”. I felt for her, I can’t imagine life today for teens. It was hard enough when it was physical in my time… wounds heal, you can see your attacker, attack back, this ghostly villain hides behind a keyboard and can vilify, destroy and hurt without seeing the consequences of their actions, and with a lack of caring. The damage is just too high. 

[101661945-blog]

Thank you for this post @bulletinthebrian, I appreciate how passionate you are about this topic as I too have a deep connection with this sort of behaviour. 

I grew up in a social media generation where online abuse at school was commonplace. I watched as year after year more and more children opted to take their own lives than to keep on living through the abuse of their peers.

@allthingsgeshblog it’s interesting to get a parents opinion on the matter - all I can say is that it is important to recognise changes in your children’s behaviour and always be there to chat if they need you. This sort of bullying has different effects on different people but I can confidently say that the prolonged emotional battery afforded by social media is more damaging than a physical altercation in the school yard. 

[101661945-blog]

W8: Look to the Internet in times of crisis

<‘Black Saturday Fires’ - https://blacksaturdayfires.com/>

Nothing is scarier in my opinion than the threat of bushfires, a familiar threat that loomed over a lot of my childhood living rurally on an acreage. In 2009, the Black Saturday bushfires ravaged Victoria claiming the lives of 173 people and injuring 414 others. I still remember a young, 14-year-old me, standing in my friend Jack’s kitchen as the severity of the fires increased, naïve as I was at that time I knew it was serious. During the fires I was able to stay in touch with Mum and receive updates about the situation, this is one of the greatest affordances of social media: we are constantly connected to friends and family. 

During times of crisis we now turn to social networks rather than traditional media to gather information and communicate with those important to us.The hashtag #bushfires was the top trending search on Twitter (Kemble, 2009), connecting posts by users who were documenting the devastation caused by the fires. I remember having to evacuate our horses from a nearby agistment as the fire crept closer, information was made accessible via Facebook and the Country Fire Authority (CFA) website and let us know when it was time to run. This method of retrieving information during crisis has become the norm as social media makes it easy to disseminate information and monitor feedback (Donaldson, 2014). 

Martin Anderson, the digital media manager for the CFA, explains that unfortunately it takes a disaster to get things changed (Donaldson, 2014). Anderson recognises the importance of providing his employees with the necessary skills and problem-solving abilities to be able to react in times of crisis. The current strategy of the Victorian Emergency Services is to get information to the public as it happens, rather than holding onto it for so long that it becomes unusable (Donaldson, 2014). The expectation on the government to be well-versed in new technology has never been higher, and as Anderson explains, “there is now an expectation that everyone will be using social media” (Donaldson, 2014). The combination of independent user posts and real time updates from government organisations leads to a better educated public that can respond more effectively in times of crisis. 

<‘What is Ushahidi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhT3co2qNAA>

One website that was developed purely for the spread of user-generated content is ‘Ushahidi’, it was created in 2007 during the Kenyan presidential elections to spread stories that the media were forbidden to cover (Ford, 2012, p.33). The platform has now become extremely popular allowing people to share content during times of crisis when the media cannot. Heather Ford sees the rapid adoption of Ushahidi as a triumph in crowdsourcing and the power that these sorts of “platforms [possess] to change the velocity and nature of political events” (2012, p.33). There is no doubt that social media is important in today’s understanding of how people react in crisis, it will be interesting to see how it continues to evolve in the future. 

References 

Donaldson D, 2014, ‘In times of crisis, agencies need to speak on social media’, The Mandarin, 26 August, viewed 29 May 2018, <https://www.themandarin.com.au/2195-times-crisis-agencies-need-speak-social-media/>. 

Ford H, 2012, Crowd wisdom, Index on Censorship, Vol. 41, Issue 4, pp. 33-39. 

Kemble G, 2009, ‘Social media explodes in wake of deadly bushfires’, ABC News, 9 February, viewed 29 May 2018, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-09/social-media-explodes-in-wake-of-deadly-bushfires/289028.>

[101661945-blog]

A very interesting podcast with author Yuval Noah Harari discussing the possible futures of humankind. I found myself comparing some of his discussion with topics throughout the TP especially how we are coming together as one global community. Worth a listen!

[yespurplewizardbouquet]

Trolling and Online Conflict

Trolling has become an affordance of social media. Many have said that those who engage in trolling have psychopathic traits, low levels of empathy and high levels of sadism (Goldsmith et al. 2018). There are many others who also just casually comment positively, negatively or neutrally reacting to what they see and the feelings they experience from the online content. A great deal of these comments are actually replies to other comments (McCosker 2014). Personally I throw a negative comment when I see something that is stirring my moral compass. In fact as a late comer or laggard to the online world I didn’t take online communications very seriously early in my online communications. I admit I had a lack of understanding that negative and derogative online messages and emails could be very hurtful. Having had the odd negative comment thrown my way I know now that it can linger in ones mind for quite a while wondering how someone could be so negative or disrespectful. I personally believe that physical confrontation has a greater impact  but virtual online abuse or online disrespectful commentary certainly packs a punch as well.

 (Social Computing Thoughts n.d)

Working and studying and communicating online has certainly cleaned up my act for throwing out disrespectful one liners to friends, foes and stangers. I guess I became a better digital citizen. Looking at comments in general though across video platforms like YouTube one could justify the comments that gather at the bottom of videos are just a reflection of attitudes across society in general. The study from McCosker (2014) is a study of comments from two videos. At first I wondered why McCosker chose the two videos for the study as they are not really controversial events that one would think would demand much polarising commentary.

(haikudeck.com 2015)

These videos are of real events, one of a serious natural tragedy and the other of a ‘flash haka’ traditional Maori war dance. McCosker (2014) states the engagement with the commentary of the two videos on a whole as highly affective with the earthquake video offering grief, horror and sympathy. The haka video received offerings of celebration and cultural pride. McCosker (2014) continues that both videos also draw aggressive vitriol, bigotry and antagonism as well. The comments are various and really are just what people think in general. I guess the anyomity doesn’t restrict the way people can quickly comment upon any situation. I liken it to being on a public train.  There are different situations going on such as someone talking aloud on a mobile phone and in another seat a couple are arguing, then up the back youths are swearing and laughing aloud. Other people on the train are thinking negative thoughts about all the loud rude people around them but cannot really say anything because of the threat of physical confrontation. Viewing these scenes online however one can just express any views without threats any physical abuse.

(Sammyboy 2015)

Lets step up the video content up to something more controversial such as Isreal and the GazaStrip. The comments on the activist Abby Martin video interview here are certainly more fiery as cultural dimensional attitudes are challenged. There probably isn’ t as much targeted trolling as such just a lot more viewers just venting polarising opinions. There doesn’t seem to be many neutral comments as they tend to be on one side or the other.

https://youtu.be/OFtqd4s_TXs (Martin 2018)

 Who could forget the huge amount of online commentary of Facebook posts about Adam Goodes and the so called ‘racism saga’. There were much bigger events going on internationally at the time. The conflict in Syria has causing millions of people to become refugees (reference). Australia on the other hand seemed to be focused on agreeing or not with the way we need to change our outlook toward other cultures and minorities or just flame about political correctness gone mad and how Goodes is an over sensitive sook. The comments on Facebook were flaming and trolls did come out to play to poke the fire. Media identities such as Eddie Maguire and others openly criticised  Adam Goodes for causing, in their opinions unnecessary tensions in Australian society. Many mimicked Eddie Maguire calling of Goodes a flog. I saw this word used constantly in the Facebook comments.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/facebook-page-with-racist-attack-on-adam-goodes-coincides-with-afl-incidents-of-crowd-racism/news-story/abccd1379323812c29eda9dbfb19c7bf

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-19/david-jones-disappointed-by-reaction-to-adam-goodes-appointment/6866908

With the above mentioned video of the haka (McCosker 2014), the interview about Gaza (Martin 2018) and the period of Adam Goode’s last playing season  on Facebook. There is definitely a lot of flaming displaying or inciting of racism and prejudice beliefs.

(Interracial political cartoons n.d)

Others have commented that trolling and flaming can actually police and steer commentary in the right context of a site or forum as the majority of viewers expect (Social Computer Thoughts 2013) Escartin (2015) explains that ironically trolling can act as a form of online behaviour regulation. That trolling tests the boundaries and reinforces boundaries of proper online behaviour.

(Reaction Images 2015)

I guess when we view so many people on phones one might wonder how many are texting and communicating with friends. How many are commenting on what they are seeing online and how many are flaming or even trolls. The vast number of opinions that the online world can now represent is a representation of society with huge amount of vast opinions based upon circumstances and ideologies, education and gender. Facebook has become a platform for for short posts expressing opinions. For me personally, this is getting boring, I don’t actually care too much about people’s opinions anymore and rather focus on my own agendas and networks with people interested in similar interests. This is why I simply don’t read many comments nowadays. Maybe I get to about the fourth line down and that’s about it. Sometimes there may be flaming even this high up in the commentary. I usually just laugh or cringe and move on. The same old attitudes and similar opinions as before-its getting boring and I don’t care about it much. We’ve all seen it before. For me it’s boring feedback from negative people who probably have pretty boring lives.

References

Escartin, M, C, P, D 2015 ‘Rogue Cops Among Rogues: Trolls and Trolling in Social Networking Sites’ Philippine Sociological Review, vol. 63, pp. 169-90. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/stable/24717164.

Goldsmith, R, Massie, Y, Galvin, K, Robertson, D & Ellis, J 2018, ‘Trolling and social media conflict’, Swinburne Online : Digital Communities, MDA20009, Assignment 2 : Team D.

McCosker, A 2014, Youtrolling as provocation: Tube’s agonistics publics, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.

Martin, A 2018, Abby Martin & Joe Rogan on Israel’s massacre at Gaza Border, Empire Files, viewed 1 May 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFtqd4s_TXs>.

Robinson, M 2014, Facebook page with racist attack on Adam Goodes coincides with AFL incidents of crowd racism, Herald Sun, viewed 2 May 2018, <http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/facebook-page-with-racist-attack-on-adam-goodes-coincides-with-afl-incidents-of-crowd-racism/news-story/abccd1379323812c29eda9dbfb19c7bf>.

Social Computer Thoughts 2013, ‘Final Project’, Socialcomputerthoughts.com, viewed 15 May 2018, <http://socialcomputerthoughts.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/final-project/>.

Images

haikudeck.com 2015, ‘What is flaming?’ [Image],                                     haikudeck, viewed 5 May 2018, <https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=l%2bSbrLjt&id=339B81EF399FFCE2E271A0DFEE9910C8840F7C35&thid=OIP.l-SbrLjtSE6fMppqtGsHQAHaFj&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fimg.haikudeck.com%2fmg%2f0D586E67-AC0C-4C72-AABD-63CB73E94A5E.jpg&exph=768&expw=1024&q=images+of+internet+flaming&simid=608026981789732617&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0>. 

Interracial Political Cartoons n.d, ‘ jRoQCgbuFjU‘ in Youtube, viewed 13 May 2018, <https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=nuaB4vSn&id=7DE6C88F3DEDB9C9D5F209EDF9B99CD7A2BD0633&thid=OIP.nuaB4vSnJalZ8FGFcZC6dgHaFj&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.ytimg.com%2fvi%2fjRoQCgbuFjU%2fhqdefault.jpg&exph=360&expw=480&q=images+of+internet+racism&simid=608042044277262533&selectedIndex=0&qpvt=images+of+internet+racism&ajaxhist=0>.

Reaction Images 2015, ‘ Image#792, 169, [Image], in Know your meme images, viewed 13 May 2018, <http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/792169-reaction-images>. 

Sammyboy 2015, ‘ ‘Australian man punched in the face for defending Muslim women from abuse on train’, [Image], in Sammyboy.com forum threads, viewed 13 May 2018 <https://www.sammyboy.com/threads/australian-man-punched-in-the-face-for-defending-muslim-women-from-abuse-on-train.207832/>.

Social computing thoughts n.d, ‘Flame warriors by Mike Reed’ [Image] Wordpress, viewed 8 May 2018, <https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=kKh1xVFS&id=79316224757D88C6E226CC56A802AF17E32DCEE4&thid=OIP.kKh1xVFSWx7jag66sUrGaQHaDz&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fsocialcomputingthoughts.files.wordpress.com%2f2013%2f04%2fflame-warriors.png&exph=494&expw=962&q=images+of+internet+flaming&simid=608009320935589598&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0>.

[101661945-blog]

Nice post @yespurplewizardbouquet! This is good overview of the idea of ‘trolling’ and I love your honesty. 

If you get a chance to visit my post on this matter (W7: Troll or Cyber-bully?) I focus on the impact of trolls on the community and whether they are in fact just cyber-bullies under a different name. Biting your tongue on public transport is often the natural response, but once online under the cloak of anonymity you are suddenly able to voice your opinions without consequence. My talk discusses just how impactful this can be when ‘free speech’ turns into bullying. 

I appreciate how you recognised the impact that your words carry online before it had a noticeable effect on someone. The conclusion to my discussion explores current recommendations in Australia to combat the cyber-bullying issue - the winning strategy appears to be improving prevention. Your experiences online educated you, but how do we educate young trolls and bullies who do not possess the maturity to take responsibility for their own actions? Interesting stuff!

[101661945-blog]

'Dolly saw the good in everybody she met': Mourners gather to remember NT teen

A teenage girl who took her own life after alleged bullying is remembered by her family as a person who saw the good in everybody she met at a memorial service.

Warning: this article discusses bullying and suicide. 

This article and video relates to the post below ‘W7: Troll or Cyber-bully?’, and shows the devastating impact bullying can have on the lives of the victims and families. 

[101661945-blog]

W7: Troll or Cyber-bully?

<’Trollface’ - https://medium.com/the-haven/what-would-you-like-to-have-in-the-internet-troll-cafe-4fed14c4ab01>

Warning: this post is more serious than others in this blog and features discussion regarding bullying and suicide. 

‘Trollface’ as pictured above was the creation of 24-year-old man, Carlos Ramirez, who in one (all too familiar) night of procrastination found himself in none other than Microsoft Paint. He created a small comic-like commentary on Internet ‘trolls’ that he eventually shared on popular website 4chan. Below you’ll find the cartoon that Ramirez created and shared online, personally I wouldn’t take a second look at it, but the Internet had other plans. 

<Carlos Ramirez’s Trollface - https://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/04/the-maker-of-the-trollface-meme-is-counting-his-money>

When Ramirez saw that the image had been reposted across 4chan he was quietly pleased that the community admired his work, he did not expect what came next. Ramirez’s creation departed 4chan and turned into the face of ‘trolling’, an image that became part of the Internet’s public face for years to come (Klepek, 2015). This is the power of the Internet, something seemingly meaningless can spread so quickly and have huge unforeseen implications, this is also the problem with trolling. 

We’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to bite our tongue in person and hold back what we’d like to say when something has angered or upset us. One of the unfortunate affordances of social media is that ‘saying what you really feel’ is made all too easy when you are hidden behind a computer screen. What is concerning about the trolling phenomenon is that a lot of the time trolls are not acting in retaliation but are in fact the instigators. The term trolling is commonly separated from cyber-bullying, trolls on the internet are simply agents of chaos causing anarchy whenever an opportunity presents itself (Buckels, Trapnell & Paulhus, 2014, p. 97). They exist to ‘stir the pot’ around hot button issues where the audience is guaranteed to fight back. 

It is easy for trolls to dismiss their behaviour as harmless, playful, or unintentionally hurtful, but in my opinion they are simply sugar coating cyber-bullying with a less offensive moniker. Research conducted by Shachaf and Hara (2010, p. 363) found that trolls purposefully engage in intentional, repetitive, and harmful actions, deliberating targeting vulnerable people under the disguise of anonymity. That to me does not sound very playful. 

Cyber-bullying has become increasingly prevalent with the adoption of new media, it is easy for victims to feel like escape from their bully is impossible as they can now reach them at home too through their computers and phones. Young people who cannot stand the abuse any longer have regularly gone to extremes, such as taking their own life, just to find a highly-sought escape. 

<#doitfordolly - an image in response to the suicide of 14 year old Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-12/dolly-everett-akubra-campaign/9323188>

The alarming increase of youth suicides in Australia has prompted an inquiry by the Senate into current laws and their efficacy in modern times. The inquiry recommended that the cyber-bullying problem be treated as a social and public health issue with focus on prevention and early intervention (Arena, 2018). This is a view shared by researcher danah boyd. Boyd (2014, p. 152) does not believe that change will come by increasing punishment but instead by understanding the motivations of these trolls/bullies in order to prevent these acts from occurring in the first place. 

I agree that prevention is the best path to a solution, but widening the definition of cyber-bully to include trolls too is just as important. 

References 

Arena J, 2018, ‘Senate inquiry finds current Australian laws ‘adequate’ to penalise serious cyber-bullying offenders’, News.com.au, March 29, viewed 24 May 2018, <http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/senate-inquiry-finds-current-australian-laws-adequate-to-penalise-serious-cyberbullying-offenders/news-story/6ec00aede78714e7dfd10e9ea6db200a>. 

boyd d, 2014, It’s complicated: the social lives of networked teens, Yale University Press, New Haven. 

Buckels E, Trapnell P & Paulhus D.L, 2014, ‘Trolls just want to have fun’, Personality and Individual Difference, Vol. 67, pp. 97-102. 

Klepek P, 2015, ‘The Maker Of The Trollface Meme Is Counting His Money, Kotaku, April 8, viewed May 24 2018, <https://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/04/the-maker-of-the-trollface-meme-is-counting-his-money>.

Shachaf P & Hara N, 2010, ‘Beyond vandalism: Wikipedia trolls’, Journal of Information Science, Vol. 36, Issue 3, pp. 357-370.

[itssuzblog-blog]

How Gen Z is changing the world, one hashtag at a time

As a quick introduction to the concept of digital citizenship, let’s unpack the term. A digital citizen is someone who uses IT to engage in society, politics, and government. ‘‘Digital citizenship’’ is the ability to participate in society online (Mossberger, K et al.). It is the duty of citizens to be informed in democracy. The higher percentage of young people online means that the information on the internet has the greatest impact on Gen Z and Millenials.

When Gen Z aren’t eating tide pods on the internet for fame and glory, they are spending their time fighting the establishment. Activism among the youth is not a new thing. In the 1910’s we had the Suffragettes, the 1960’s brought us Civil Rights and the Vietnam war protests, by the 1970’s it was abortion rights, and, in the present day, we have the Women’s March and the March For Our Lives. The last one was started by the students at Marjory Stoneman in Florida.

A Gallup poll states that the preference for stricter gun control is the highest since 1993, and CNBC notes that “more than any activists in a generation, they have managed to take over the conversation around gun control and American safety.” (Mejia, Z)

They’ve taken activism and protest online, raising awareness using hashtags. They’re still using traditional protest methods such as marches, rallies, and walkouts, but they’re shunning traditional media to get the word out about these events. They have more progressive views than previous generations. These ‘kids’ are out to change the world. They are the next generation of voters and, by the next United States elections, they will be old enough and angry enough to vote.

Let’s take a closer look at the activists behind March for our Lives. As I mentioned above, these young people attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, USA.  On February 14th, 2018, a gunman entered their school and killed 17 people. Their grief was compounded with their outrage that this person was able to purchase a semi-automatic weapon in a local gun shop. Instead of wallowing in their grief, they decided to do something about it. This began the online protests using the hashtag #neveragain. They used Twitter to tweet directly to their senators and to the president himself. Their tweets went viral as more and more people picked up the hashtag. Using the impetus from the media coverage of the shooting and their social media notoriety, they quickly organised a rally called, March for our Lives. It took hold around the world and became a global event.

They are our future and social media is the future of protest and activism.

References:

Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C., & McNeal, R 2008, Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Mejia, Z 2018, 3 reasons Gen Z activists have changed the gun control conversation when no one else could, CNBC.com, viewed 8 May 2018, <https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/14/how-gen-z-activists-have-changed-the-conversation-around-guns.html>

Jones, J 2018, U.S. Preference for Stricter Gun Laws Highest Since 1993, Gallup.com, viewed 8 May 2018, <http://news.gallup.com/poll/229562/preference-stricter-gun-laws-highest-1993.aspx>

[101661945-blog]

A good look into the current use of social media as an activism tool in the US @itssuzblog​, and the example of gun violence is more prevalent than ever.

The way that Gen Z and Millennials utilise social media is truly incredible. This links back to our discussions regarding the affordances of social media in earlier posts. Facebook in particular is utilised as a powerful activism tool and its power to spread news and influence opinion is unlike anything the world has seen before.

This use of social media extends further than just political issues, in my Week 4 post I reference Bennett (2012, pp. 31) who details the dangers that brands face due to increased public scrutiny. A poorly thought out post can spell disaster for brands unaware of the social responsibilities they carry when interacting in the public sphere.

Politicians also need to be aware of these responsibilities and must be careful when posting online. The content posted by public figures can make or break their image and result in extreme highs or lows - what they support dictates their following and whether or not they succeed in their political agenda.

If you get a chance have a read of this article that details a bit of Donald Trump’s tactics on social media and the impact it had on his presidential campaign. His views on gun violence oppose the new generation of voters and activists yet his offensive honesty helped him to become the 45th US President.

References

Bennett L, 2012, ‘The Personalisation of Publics: Political Identity, Social Media, and Changing Patterns of Participation’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 644, Issue 1.

[101661945-blog]

W6: The power of ‘clicktivism’ (?)

Online activism, also known as ‘clicktivism’ or ‘slacktivism’, is a topic under constant debate, hence the question mark in the title of this post. There are plenty of arguments against clicktivism, researchers on the opposing side call it activism for the “lazy generation” (Halupka, 2018, p. 131). Evengy Morozov in his book ‘The net delusion: how not to liberate the world’ describes this practice as dangerous, giving purpose to online activists that have little to no political impact whatsoever (2011, p. 189). Morozov infers that this sort of activism is redundant, but how accurate is that idea? 

Change.org is a petition website where users can log on to support a cause by signing their name with the click of a button. In 2015, the site celebrated over 100 million users, which prompted the Huffington Post to produce a list of the 10 biggest victories on Change.org (find the link here). The examples in this list are incredible to say the least, from disrupting government policy in Thailand to prompting investigation into social workers in the US, the site has had some massive wins with huge social and political implications. This is just one example of clicktivism in action, so it is hard to understand why researchers like Morozov would still dismiss clicktivism and its legitimacy. 

“Clicktivism continues to feature as the most prominent form of political expression in the world” (Halupka, 2018, p. 131). 

That word, legitimacy, is in fact why traditional researchers oppose clicktivism. Halupka (2018, pp. 132-133) explains that traditional political participation centres around three elements: legitimacy, loyalty and resilience. Halupka argues that legitimacy is born from product of perception, and the more popular an act, the more legitimate it becomes. So, by those rules clicktivism should pass the test of legitimacy, it is after all the most prominent form of political expression in the world. 

Clicktivism is closely linked to social media, the platforms allow for cheap and effective education of a cause without need for traditional marketing techniques. Someone who is passionate about a cause, for example LGBTQI+ rights, may have shared posts regarding the recent Australian same-sex marriage (SSM) vote to gain support and educate their friends list. I personally believe that this sort of education is more favourable than traditional marketing campaigns that try to promote activism the same way a company sells toilet paper. What do you think? 

References 

Halupka M, 2018, The legitimsation of clicktivism, Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 53, Issue 1, pp. 130-141. 

Morozov E, 2011, The net Delusion: How not to Liberate the World, Penguin, London. 

Sommers J, 2015, ‘Change.org’s 10 Biggest Victories As Petition Website Celebrates 100 Million Users’, Huffington Post, 23 June, viewed 15 May 2018, .