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Week 11: Trolling

Trolling and online harassment, the topic for this week. I believe it's really smart to bring together all that we've learnt with this final topic, which is related to digital citizenship, activism, platforms, regulations and inclusion.

What is trolling?

Trolling is a form of online harassment. As defined in the lecture it often involves

'Being called offensive names, being embarrassed online, being physically threatened online, being sexually harassed online, being harassed over a long time, being hurt online by a romantic partner, being impersonated, spreading damaging rumours online, encouraging others to harass you online, and attempting to hurt the victim in person after online harassment' (Lenhart, et al in Marwick & Robyn Caplan 2018).

Furthermore, while we can all understand the devastating emotional tolls that online harassment takes I found the financial costs mentioned in the lecture extremely interesting. To recite, it apparently costs Australian's a staggering $3.7 billion a year in terms of medical bills and loss of income.

What has happened in the past?

We've looked at a few disgusting examples in the lecture. Another famous case was a man named Sean Duffy. Known famously for posting messages and videos mocking the deaths of teenage girls. He targeted tribute pages and posted YouTube videos. After causing long-term trauma and distress he was finally sentenced to prison time for his actions.

How can we learn from this/ what can be done?

Well, this case was rare but a shining example. This showed many online trolls that they can be caught out and will be help responsible for the content they produce. Further, police claimed after this incident they would continue to put more resources into tracking down offenders like Duffy.

More specifically, as mentioned in the lecture Australia has a number of laws regarding sexual discrimination, criminal code and the enhancing online safety for children act. However, as we know after studying the nature of the internet this semester, it is extremely difficult to pin down and actually find parties responsible for what they put on the internet.

One person who's staunches on the internet I love to follow is Chrissy Teigen. As such a well known celebrity she cops mountains of abuse and harassment daily. Yet, she's also known for some of the greatest clapback's, and managing to turn any number of offensive comments into somewhat of a joke for herself and her fans.

Alas, not everyone can be as witty in their responses to trolls and inevitably mountains of abuse will always take a toll. Yet, there are always those who argue for their right to free speech (basically just wanting to say anything inflammatory they can) that will challenge anyone who is a part of digital community or space. Currently, I don't think there are adequate ways of dealing with it, and its up to us all to work out a more long term solution.

#troll #trolling #chrissy teigen #online harassment

Week 10: Gaming

Throughout my lifetime I had never had much experience with online gaming. The most I’ve ever participated in such activities is through my recent discovery of The Sims. So, I would never call myself a ‘gamer’. I play rarely, and when I do I spend my entire time just building and decorating the houses (It’s the best part… if you know, you know).

Looking more broadly, figures showed that there were over 1.5 billion gamers in the Asia Pacific region alone, as of 2020 (Gough 2020). So it’s obvious that these games have huge followings and people flock to them for entertainment and distraction. Yet, as we know there is controversy surrounding the topic, where it has impacted individuals lives perversely.

Thus, the World Health Organisation added ‘gaming disorder’ to the DSM in 2019. By doing so they claimed that while the actual games cannot be proven harmful, the most pivotal fact was how gaming interferes with people’s everyday lives (Rettner 2019).

Yet, it still functions as a social community. As the lecture pointed out, gaming opens up opportunities for creation, facilitation, and maintenance of a number of relationships and communities of people. In my personal experience, especially in current unprecedented times I’ve witnessed how the game Call of Duty acts as a platform for many of the guys I know to stay in touch and spend time with one another, even if online. Whereas I know otherwise they would have not spent as much time talking to or spending quality time with their mates.

Hence, I am encouraged to resonate or sympathise with the writer of this article in The New York Times. The crux of the article argues how video games act as ‘the perfect time wasters’ in light of recent world events. Whilst being shut in due to Covid-19, video games offer a break from the confines of the couch and offer an alternate reality in a time when it is probably desired the most.

In my opinion, video games are nothing but a testament to an innovative and inspired generation. As seen, the role they play in the head space of individuals in crises such as the one we have been facing demonstrates their exemplary potential and positive impact.

#gaming #call of duty #the sims 3 #gaming addiction #dsm5

A number of notable celebrities who took part and helped circulate awareness!

#ice bucket challenge #social media activism

Week 9: Activism

Activism: the vigorous campaigning for social or political change.

As we are a part of a ‘Digital Communities’ unit I thought it was appropriate to discuss ‘social media activism’ more specifically.

According to Jessie Mawson (Online Communities Coordinator, Amnesty International Australia 2014) ‘Social media is a powerful tool for social change. It’s never been easier for good ideas to catch on and spark a movement’.

Thus, there are many extraordinary examples of activism that can now be widely recognised from their simple social media hashtags. #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and #DressLikeAWoman are just a few examples.

Another injustice that urged a widespread response in 2014 was the nervous system disease known as ‘ALS’. A relatively unknown disease with underfunded research managed to raise $115 million in one summer after the ‘ALS Ice Bucket Challenge’ swept across the internet. This was more than triple the amount they had received in donations in 2012 (Rogers 2016). Evidently, it was the simple hilarity and social nature of the challenge that made it so popular.

However, just like so many attempts at online activism there were sceptics who labelled it as ‘slacktivism’. To the extent of my knowledge this is a title given to people who are believed to be engaging in activism or appearing to while actually investing very little time, care or commitment.

Yet, I want to challenge the ever displeased and discontent. Always appearing to be criticise people and their simple attempts to be good. In part there was an air of ‘slacktivism’ to the ALS ice bucket challenge. Although when you look at the incredible invigoration it gave to the entire field of research, the awareness, and the funds I believe it is tiresome to disparage or undermine the challenge or the people who took part in it.

Primarily, I believe this showed us the power of social media in activism. It showed us that it does not have to be just one or a few people ‘vigorously campaigning’. In fact, it demonstrates how even by doing the bare minimum or being a bit ‘slack’, we can still see remarkable change, as a result of the collective.

#social media activism #slacktivist #activism #als

Week 8: Body Modification

This week we were asked to discuss body modification.

Okay, so we first need to look at what exactly constitutes 'body modification'.

People can 'modify' their bodies in a number of ways. They may seek to 'control, 'correct', or 'perfect' some aspects of their appearance'. Generally, for any one of the following reasons:

· To make the body conform to ideals of beauty

· To mark membership in a group

· To mark social status

· To convey information about an individual’s personal qualities or accomplishments

(Bradley University 2020)

My first thought when I heard of the topic was plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures that have become all the more common in modern society. As a young adult female I've been exposed to many of the unrealistic and unattainable standards of beauty that have been perpetuated by society, culture, and the internet. Not only am I hyper aware of these realities, I've experienced the detrimental effects these 'beauty' standards have had on my own mental health and many of the people around me. Therefore, I completely understand the relevance of speaking about things such as the impact of plastic surgery and the like. However, due to my own experiences I find it allot easier and more interesting to look at historical examples of body modification.

One example is foot binding, a practise that was widely practised in China for over 1000 years. The feet were shaped by breaking the toes and binding them down with gauze along the sole of the foot. The process would begin when the girl was 5-6 years old and the goal was the create a 'desirable 'lotus' shape with the foot. Ideally, the foot would eventually be crushed down to only three inches long. The process was extremely painful but increased women's chances of finding a good husband and was treated for centuries as an objective measure of their worth and beauty.

(Foreman 2015)

Another example is neck elongation. While it was practised in a number of cultures throughout history, wearing 'neck rings' to elongate the neck has been linked to a number of south east Asian and African communities. From a similarly young age as foot binding begins, young girls must wear heavy brass rings around their neck, incrementally increasing the weight as they age in order to create the desired effects. The practise has apparently been linked to a number of reasons, from protecting women's necks from tiger attacks, to being more attractive to potential husbands, or even to scare off men from rival villages.

(Senseney 2017)

While in most cases today, the processes of body modification are arguably less extreme (e.g. fake tanning, piercings, tattoos and lip injections). These processes have the potential to go far enough to completely alter the idea of your body image, and in some cases still do. However, I think the main take away I have is the common wish to be more appealing or desirable. Throughout history, these practises have been used to find commonality and similarity in something that is generally so unique, the way a person looks. Alas, most of these procedures throughout history and into today are so driven by societal pressure and a need to be desired or fit in.

#body modification #societal beauty standard #societal standards #cosmetics #body image #historical

Our stuff Design process Reformation’s design mission is to make effortless silhouettes that celebrate the feminine figure. The design process starts with us thinking about what we really want to

Reformation is another brand whose clothes I love and have invested in, they do amazing work to offset their environmental impact and ensure that all of their workers receive living wages!

#reformation

Iconic. Sustainable. Individual. RE/DONE is not a denim company. RE/DONE is the first luxury label that was born online and grown as an e-commerce brand, founded by Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur. But more than that, RE/DONE is a movement - a movement to restore individuality to the luxury fashion space, a movement to kee

Sharing some of the ethical brands that inspire me most!

#shop re done

Week 7: Fast Fashion

First, if we're going to discuss the slow fashion movement we need to talk about the dreaded antagonist in this story. It's polar opposite, the hated fast fashion.

I love clothes, and have long been at battle with my desire to consume and consume and consume, rather than saving up or investing in well designed and made pieces. Essentially, fast fashion is how brands take looks from the runway and deliver them to the everyday consumer such as you and me. On first thought, that sounds great. However, the means to the ends are generally not so pleasant. The environmental impacts of fast fashion are monumental. For example, the $4 cotton t-shirt you buy from K-mart actually uses 2,700 litres of water to be made according to the WWF. That is enough water for someone to drink for 900 days. Plus, Australian's currently dispose of 6,000 kg's of fashion and textile waste every 10 minutes (Gbor 2019). This goes to landfill where it will never break down due to the synthetic materials these cheap clothes are generally manufactured with (Schlossberg 2019).

The answer to the problem: The Slow Fashion Movement.

Slow fashion is fashion that is produced ethically, environmentally consciously, and is lasting.

Ethically, this may concern human and animal rights. This could be from paying workers living wages or employing local artisans rather than utilising sweatshops, or creating vegan products.

Environmentally, this means using natural materials, and not producing on mass.

Lasting, making the clothes of a high enough quality that they will last people a lifetime. Also, designing clothes that are timeless and not a fad or passing moment.

Yet, from my perspective I can understand how difficult it is. As a struggling uni student I work as much as I can, but that isn't enough to afford all the going out and new outfits I want to wear. The societal and personal pressure I put on myself to have a new outfit for every event is exactly the type of consumption that deep down I know I don't agree with.

Therefore, I want to give myself the task of consuming less, looking out for more considered items from brands I love, and saving up for them. I also might have to get some of my thrifty friends to give me a masterclass in op-shopping. And, I urge anyone reading this to give it a go too, and try along with me.

#the slow fashion movement #the war on waste #fast fashion #ethical #eco #lasting

Week 6: Digital Communities

What is a digital community?

The concept of a 'public sphere' was introduced by German philosopher Habermas (1964) as a way to explain the social and technological changes that were occurring in society at the time. In particular however, it looked at the way that the introduction of mass media influenced the opinions that were being expressed, the problems of general concern that were discussed, and how solutions were developed (Wesler 2018).

Social media is considered to have revitalised the public sphere. The nature of digital and social media platforms that exist across the web mean that users have free access to information and the full capability to contribute if they desire. Furthermore, the nature of sites such as these mean that content is minimally or not at all restricted, offering places for individuals to contribute unreservedly.

This leads us to the concept of a digital community. A number of platforms function as digital communities. From Facebook to Reddit, and Tumblr (among many others) who all have unique characteristics and 'personalities'. These 'personalities' are what define the content, the contributors, and the style used to share opinions, thoughts or ideas. Thus, communities are formed online that may otherwise not have been able to exist, bringing individuals together across cultural, geographic or any number of barriers.

How does Tumblr function as a digital community?

If personified, I believe Tumblr would be the radical, the non-conformist and the political individual who has strong and select interests, and they really want to share them.

According to Tumblr (2020), they are the place 'where your interests connect you with your people'. You can do this through joining millions of others in '#tags' or reblogging posts that interest you in order to make commentary or start a conversation. As of April 2020, there were over 496.1 million individual blogs posted to the site.

While there is an astounding number of individuals remaining on Tumblr, over 472 million (Clement 2019) they have seen massive rates of decline in recent years. Between 2018 and 2019 the average number of unique visitors to the site per month dropped by 21.2%. They have also seen that individuals are spending less time on the site and are viewing fewer pages (Tiffany 2019). This can be attributed to a number of reasons, mainly due to the banning of explicit content on the website, and a stricter policy trying to remove or diminish some popular communities.

Whether justified or not, it was these actions that led to Tumblr's decline in popularity. While they still play house to many subcultures, from 'The Sims' to 'photography' and 'fitness', many view the shift from the platform as something that undermined the entire fabric of the site, irrespective of the content being posted. This seemed like a shift away from the free and accepting public sphere it once was.

#social sphere #social theory #Habermas #social media #digital communities #maybe Tumblr could be cool again

(via GIPHY)

#giphy #reaction #someone send me motivation #send help #wfh #online delivery is tough

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