Cadena's Thoughts

Comments on the weeks work

[cadenamckenzie]

Social Gaming

Many people would be offended if you called them a gamer. Its an old hang over from when computer games were considered nerdy, dorky and for loners. Unfortunately for them, the majority of people in the developed world are gamers. A gamer is defined by anyone who plays electronic games. That means your mother playing solitaire on her mobile phone at the doctors office is a gamer.

Due to the rise of smart phones, gaming has become more prevalent than ever before. Add the feature of internet connection and gaming has taken on a whole new social element. Mobile games are commonly social in nature. They allow player vs player gameplay such as words with friends where you compete against each other and collaborative social play, such as Farmville, in which players gift each other items to help build their worlds.

Farmville rose to popularity because of its social focus. The platform instantly incorporated the ability to invite your Facebook friends and play with them in the game. Designed into the game are many different ways to interact with your friends, from helping them out with their own farms to gifting them items, to social chatting facilities. The light hearted, time filler style gameplay meant that players could start and stop at any time and continue to advance even from a five-minute play while waiting in a queue.

The other extreme of social gaming is MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games). These games usually involve an online monthly subscription and require a much larger time investment to play. Players of these kinds of games is what people usually resist when faced with the title ‘gamer’. The immersive online story and the progressive character development means that game play can be highly addictive. It is very easy for players to lose hours within the game and become all consumed. 

The sociability of the game however is still as prevalent if not more so than in the more seemingly innocent games such as Farmville. As players have to collaborate to conquer certain bad guys or to fulfil quests, it offers a lot more in the form of team work and collaboration. The social element has even resulted in marriages between players. In spite of this many people will also state these MMORPGs as the reason for their breakups.

While not every game is for everybody it can be said that gaming is here to stay. Whether mobile, console or PC, games have always appealed as leisure activities and are a natural consequence of the digitalisation of our lives. As such, we will continue to use them as a basis for connection and bonding, shared experiences and fun for as long as the batteries last.

[cadenamckenzie]

Nathan Jurgenson tells a story about a canoe trip he went on where he intentionally decided not to document any part of it, no phone, no camera, nothing. During this trip he tells of a moment where he observed an eagle swoop down and snatch a fish from the river. He thought to himself that would have made a fantastic photograph! The canoe in the foreground the swooping eagle in the background, he mourned the lost opportunity to capture and share that moment.  

As a photographer I understand this desire. Caught without my camera I too have experienced moments where I will see something and wish I had it on hand. Just recently, my eagle moment came during a camping trip where I was in the ocean watching a pod of dolphins swim back and forth up the bay. A small splash was all that warned me of the seal that popped its head up within touching distance of my husband and staring directly into his eyes. I instantly wished I had my camera with me in the water. Later, however, I realised, I was focused on the dolphins. That means I would have had my telescopic lens on, which shows a very narrow field of vision and would likely have been shooting through it, hoping to capture the dolphins do something more spectacular than they had already been doing for the hours we had been there. I would not have seen the seal, would not have been able to take that photograph even if I had because my lens would not be able focus that close to me and I would have still missed the shot I was imagining.

What are we trying to get out of these photos? We dream of the perfect capture and professional photographers really do have a chance of getting it on a reasonably regular basis. But many people would have a poorly framed, blurry spec in the distance to show for their efforts when a google search would offer them a better image of what they were originally intending to capture. So why try?

Nathan Jurgenson suggests that the images we take are forms of communication. When photography was not to prevalent a picture was an art piece that one might talk about, the art piece being the desire end. Now the photograph is more commonly the means. We are using images to communicate. So instead of taking a photo to enter an album we may take a photo to help us remember a product number, send a grocery list to our significant other or to get help choosing an outfit for a big day. In the instance of the swooping eagle or the seal, the desire is to communicate the experience whether the photo be a national geographic worthy pic or not. Sometimes this is used for social posturing, establishing oneself as more cool or important because of one’s cultural and social experiences, but thankfully, it is more commonly a case of utilizing at-hand technology to add visual aids to our interactions.  

[cadenamckenzie]

Citizen journalism - crowd-sourcing in times of conflict

When things get tough, and disasters happen it can be very difficult for people to know where to turn, how to ask for help and how to deliver that help.

Since the development of social media, people have been using the platforms to help spread information quickly. The immediacy of the social networks allows for information to be disseminated in real time, not waiting for the news bulletins or papers to come out the next day. One case study is the MTA in New York after the superstorm Sandy hit.  People were looking to the MTA to get around when the roads were not passable, but the tunnels, railroads and subways were all affected by floods, water damage, debris etc. in using the social media available to them they were able to disseminate detailed information, videos, images as soon as they were available, and it shifted the entire public response. Instead of frustration and gripping that the public transport was shut down, the public were able to see exactly how badly the transport system had been hit. It changed the conversation from the feeling of being let down to a sense of unity and celebration as each new part become available again.

It isn’t unheard of for Twitter to be faster an announcing a major news item than the news networks (mainly due to the networks needing to verify facts and resources). Citizen journalism has been vital in breaking stories such as the London subway bombings and the air France crash in Toronto. Mostly using the medium of photography, citizen journalists also contribute vital on the ground information through twitter and Facebook. In cases like the outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone, the political climate meant that traditional journalists were struggling to get access to the area to be able to report on the crisis. Citizen journalists were able to help inform the news agencies of the situation and step in. However, there are down sides to citizen journalism too. The unverified reports can result in rumour mongering and misinformation being spread around as fact. Citizen journalists tried to help locate the Boston Bombers and it resulted in the wrong man being targeted in vigilantism style attacks.

Journalism is a time-honoured occupation with traditions and established ethical standards. These are followed to varying degrees, but a citizen journalist is not held to account in the same ways. A citizen journalist can be motivated by a desire for attention, popularity, social capitol, bragging rights etc rather than the desire for truthful and fair reporting. While there will always be a need for eye witness accounts and immediate photographs, the role of a professional journalist has not been replaced by the masses with cameras.

[cadenamckenzie]

Cyber bulling and Trolls

When you think of social media you think of selfies and trolls. Anonymity allows for people to feel disconnected from the consequences of their actions. As such cyber bullying has become epidemic among younger social media users. The natural inclination of teenagers to push boundaries and see if they hold becomes dangerous in the minimally accountably cyber worlds that they inhabit.

No longer do you need to see the real-world consequence of your words such as tears or even a fist flown in retaliation, children are finding that they can say whatever hurtful things they want from the safety of their own rooms, knowing it will be hours if not days before they need to see that person again.

Just recently in New Zealand, an Auckland intermediate school (years 7-8) is encouraging parents to deny students access to Facebook in attempt to combat bullying over social media. Despite the age minimum of 13, Facebook struggle to police the ages of its users meaning many younger than that have accounts.

Because of the primarily solo activity of social media interaction the bullying through its platforms can feel isolating and like there is no support for the victims. Children are facing sometimes multiple people creating and sharing negative comments and content about them while not having friends nearby adding the support in numbers. It can make the whole experience feel overwhelming.

According to the Megan Meier Foundation 34% of students experience cyber bullying during their lifetime. Considering ‘cyber’ anything didn’t really exist more than 10 years ago that’s a terrifying statistic. Studies have shown that cyber bullying is linked with higher rates of self-harm and suicide.

Trolling a more common, adult version of cyber bullying. It is usually someone saying purposefully inflammatory remarks to incite anger, outrage or simply insult the audience or individual. Unfortunately, a troll can always turn around and simply say it was for the laughs, I was playing devils advocate etc and wipe their hands of the situation.

On the odd occasion, trolling the internet has become a job. There are many cases of people being paid to say inflammatory things that will drive traffic to the website through people trying to defend their ideals, fandom or stance. By purposely undermining a beloved idea, the troll invites people to defend the stance, utilizing the full passion of those who hold it. As many people express their outrage, sharing and spreading the post/article/tweet further through the network, the page hits start racking in and the page therefore starts getting more money from advertising, better page ranking on google etc. Insulting and hurting people has become a tool to advance one’s algorithmic profitability.

Causing psychological and emotional damage to another person for fun or profit is an appalling abuse of the internet. And yet it is on the rise. Lets just hope when we see it we can let the victims of cyber bullying know they are not alone. And let’s cut the demand off for inflammatory remarks. As they say:

[cadenamckenzie]

Raising awareness has never been so easy. The activist arena is now fuller than ever before, with cause after cause vying for attention. Social media has allowed every charity and cause to have quick and easy access to a vast audience, each one asking for attention and support.

Many times, activism and protests are being undertaken without consultation with the people affected by the issue. In a cheeky video called Africa for Norway people around Africa are called upon to donate their radiators to Norway. The point is raised that Norway have helped Africans and now it’s time to repay the generosity. 

Radiators donated to Norway seem presumptuous. Maybe Norwegians already have their heating problems sorted out. The radiators provide an effective foil to how more developed countries sometimes see non-developed countries. The video does not directly address it, but it shows that there has been a dichotomy in charitable activism in which we create an us and them narrative, allowing us to forget that they are actually people who might want a say in how we help them out. While this is not a new problem (it has been around for as long as there have been charities) we are seeing this happen more and more now that each charity and cause can go global with their messages.

Social media is doing a lot of good in being able to spread messages and raise awareness of issues. Unfortunately, the likes and shares do not translate to actionable support. Financial donations, time, legal help, mentoring etc are all practical solutions to many causes, none of which can be bought with ‘engagement’.

One of the major problems with all these messages is compassion fatigue. 

This occurs when one is expected to emotionally invest in many different causes all the time. When we see charities and causes asking for our support, cold calls, people in the streets with fliers, our news and social feeds, it can be easier to simply switch off.  It used to be that you would pick one or two causes and support them with everything you’ve got. It was respected. But now charities don’t seem to care that you are already supporting 12 separate, worthy causes as long as you sign up to theirs too. No one has time to talk to each of these causes and find exactly what help they require. Emotionally investing in every single issue would emotionally bankrupt us. It would definitely bankrupt us financially. It is a better and more effective to support one or two causes, with your money and time. This allows you to give larger, more useful amounts or both that can result in real change. As one person you may not be able to change the whole world, but I can guarantee you can make a whole world of change for one person.

[cadenamckenzie]

Social Media and Politics

The role of social media in politics has been making headlines around the world for the last year. Social media algorithms have monopolised the media after limiting the ability of people to engage with the opposite side of an argument. The focus on ‘engagement’ as the only measure of worth allows people to enter what is called a filter bubble, only being shown that which they are likely to engage with. This means that the algorithms feed the individual a steady diet of content close to or exactly like that which has already been consumed. The result of this being that people end up further down a rabbit hole that ever before as they do not have to engage with the opposing view that may mitigate the fanaticism of an idea of belief. In other words, there is no room for ‘yes, but …’

When it comes to politics and civil duties the public needs to have access to all the views on any issue. If one person has only ever been exposed to a coal farming family and seen the good that the steady job has done, then they will very likely feel the protesters fighting against yet another coal mine near the great barrier reef as a personal attack on their lifestyle. The same goes for the protesters. If they have only ever been exposed to clean green messages reinforcing the idea that coal is responsible for all the planets current woes, they will not be able to empathise with the family that will feel financial insecurity and job lose should they win.

It is only through engaging with both sides that true empathy can exist. This empathy is what leads to positive solutions that gets the best results for both sides of the politics.

It is human nature to enjoy a good piece of sensationalism. It is the scandalous, the unique and the outrageous which is the most interesting to us. When this is applied to politics it means only the most salacious news spreads. We can see an excellent example of this with Australia’s coverage of American politics. Almost daily there are articles outlining the next confounding act or the Trump administration. However, when it comes to politics closer to home there are very few that could gain even close to the same amount of interest due to the centrist nature of most of our policies.

Unfortunately, even when we do get a salacious piece of legislation we are yet to count twitter outrage as in the vote. While many people do engage in the civil duties of voting, many others will express their opinions online and yet not vote come polling day. Its almost as if they have vented the outrage out of their systems and therefore do not feel the need to express their opinions again in the politically relevant way.  

The biggest challenge facing democracy is to have people engage with both sides of an argument and how to turn that debate into civil engagement and have people actually turn up to vote when it matters. Or you know, we could make an app for that.

[cadenamckenzie]

Using Social Media not as Intended?

Without social media and the rise of smart phones we would never have to ask the question where are you on the phone. Whenever we used to make a phone call we would know exactly where they were as it was to a location specific landline. This is just one example of how we are changing our social experiences to accommodate the technology available to us.

As a society we are turning more and more to social media for our interpersonal engagement. Sometimes this is great (getting reviews on a new and untried restaurant before eating there) and sometimes it is creepy (we tend to stalk Facebook for information on someone rather than ask the actual person). First dates are almost unheard of without a thorough search through the social media accounts of the prospective partner.  

Social media platforms were initially designed to provide consumers a place to keep in touch and update each other on our lives on a more immediate level while living very separate lives. No longer was it necessary to wait till the water cooler the next day to discuss the intricacies of last nights television show. However, people will always find a new and unintended use for . . . well everything.

Twitter for example was intended as a 140 character long micro blog of people’s day. Since then it has developed into many different uses such as a journalistic source due to the immediacy of reports, word puzzles and games, short fiction publication (140 characters of a story at a time), and the recapture of the director’s commentary now that DVDs are not so popular as they once were. With the special features category on DVDs reaching less and less people, directors have been known to turn to twitter to offer their commentary on their works, allowing it to be accessed with or without the movie, at any time around the world.

One of the social engagements affected by the affordances (not necessarily the intended usage) of twitter is that people can watch movies/tv/media together and participate in an ongoing conversation about the experience while not being in the same room. The short form content and fast posting allows an immediacy to the connection that allows people to contribute to an ongoing conversation about an experience that is fast paced and ever changing.  In a society where people are ever more likely to be living alone this allows a companionship to the media viewing experience that is lacking when watching alone.

This same community experience of ‘spectator sport’ was resent at the 2016 USA elections. The live tweeting conversation during the election count and the collective emotional outlet after the result turned what is usually a very dry time into an engaging, humorous and addictive viewing experience.

It is in the immediacy that twitter allows for some very unusual applications. You can get updates via twitter if your place is getting robbed, if your laundry is done or to get minute by minute updates on the public bathroom stalls that are in  . . . lets say adequate condition. My favourite is that if you tweet a bunch of ingredients to @Twecipe you will receive a list of dishes that can be made from them. So tell me, how do you use social media?

[cadenamckenzie]

The Digitisation of Society

The rise of the internet is one of the biggest changes in human interaction since the invention of the printing press. It has allowed instant face to face communication across distance for the first time in history and has allowed us to be permanently connected to each other at all times. Because of this fundamental shift in interpersonal engagement we are witnessing changes to our society like never before.

This ‘always on’ connectedness we have created through the technologies of smartphones and the internet is not always helpful. There is research that has found that the constant distraction of the notifications is making it harder to concentrate on tasks at hand. The research found an interruption occurred roughly every 10 minutes and after a task was interrupted, it took an average of 23 minutes to return to the task (Pattison, K, 2008). If email alerts and Facebook messenger is beeping in our ears all the time our ability to produce top quality work drops dramatically. Working ten minutes at a time does not allow for a lot of in depth thinking or processing. What’s more interesting is that another study found even simply having one’s phone nearby is enough to distract from the task at hand (Worland, J, 2014).

Apart from providing us with a never-ending supply of distraction the internet has also affected how we function as a society on a whole. The idea of a public sphere has been all but demolished since the rise of social networks. It has been twisted, flipped changed into something barely recognisable to the BI (before internet) world.

What was once the realm in which a community (primarily based around location) had access to discussion and debate on common issues and interests affecting all, has become segmented, specialized, and segregational. Instead of belonging to one or maybe two major ‘publics’ such as the local school, sports club or church, we are now exposed to significantly more networks with individual and increasing specialised interests. These multiple networks we are engaging in does not leave much room for exploring the alternative views in a meaningful way.

Collapsed context (situations where location time and space aren’t an issue) create unique challenges for those online. It is not uncommon to find a post on a feed celebrating a birthday right next to an ‘in memoriam’ style post marking the years since the passing of a loved one. It makes it challenging to engage with each on the level they both deserve as the switch between the two separate situations is near immediate.

However, while we are engaging with online content in more and more superficial ways, the benefit of this collapse allows someone in Australia to hold a conversation over a video conference with someone in Canada while simultaneously checking up on the gift preferences of a niece in New Zealand. Maintaining relationships via distance is now more possible than ever which is imperative in our increasingly nomadic job led lives.

These changes are all results of an increasing online presences in our lives, leading us to shape ourselves and our behaviours based on the influence of this ever-present connectivity.  

 Pattison, K, 2008, Worker, Interrupted: The Cost of Task Switching, Fast Company, 28 July, viewed 11 December 2017  <https://www.fastcompany.com/944128/worker-interrupted-cost-task-switching>

Worland, J, 2014, How Your Cell Phone Distracts You Even When You're Not Using It, Time, 4 December, viewed 11 December 2017 <http://time.com/3616383/cell-phone-distraction/>