Digital Communities

Hi, there. My name is Kaitlyn is I am a media and communication student at Swinburne University of Technology. This blog is part of a unit I am currently taking called 'Digital Communities', and will reflect on each weeks topics and learnings. DISCLAIMER: “Portions of this site and the works within it are being produced with the intention of critique and/or educational use under Australia's 'fair dealing' exceptions to copyright (Section 40 & 41). However, if you feel your IP is being infringed, please contact my service provider (tumblr) with the appropriate DMCA requests, as I, the single author take full responsibility for the content of this site.”

[digi-tal-communities]

Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) in China.

[digi-tal-communities]

Some good insight into what Chinese social media looks like.

[theatlantic]

In China, Being Retweeted 500 Times Can Land You in Jail

A teenager in Gansu Province who commented on police brutality has been detained as part of the government’s crackdown on online rumors.

[digi-tal-communities]

Behind the Great Firewall of China: A TED Talk by Michael Anti.

[digi-tal-communities]

The Great (Fire)Wall of China

We all know about the Great Wall of China.

But it is not the only large wall China has erected to protect itself from the outside. China also has a firewall – “the biggest digital boundary in the world” (Anti 2012).

China is known as a SICK country - one of four countries in the world including Syria, Iran and North Korea, that do not have access to Facebook (Anti 2012).

Facebook isn’t the only one. Of the almost 700 million internets users in China (Denyer 2016), none of them has access to Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, YouTube and Google, plus much, much more (Start Up Living China 2018). This is unless they are doing so through Virtual Private Network (VPN), but that’s another story.

The block on these popular sites is all part of a censorship and surveillance regime imposed by China’s communist government, officially known as the ‘Golden Shield Project’ (Denyer 2016).

The ‘Golden Shield Project’, which is also dubbed the ‘Great Firewall of China’, was initiated not long after the Internet arrived in China in January 1996 (Denyer 2016).  The world’s largest search engine – Google – was first blocked by the Chinese government in 2002, for nine days, before being blocked indefinitely in 2012 (Denyer 2016). YouTube was blocked in 2008, with Facebook and Twitter following in 2009 (Denyer 2016). Newer social media such as Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp, has only been blocked more recently.

It’s not only search engines and social media that has been banned under the ‘Golden Shield Project’. Numerous news and information sites such as The New York Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Le Monde and CNN, as well as a large portion of Wikipedia, are also not accessible in China (Start Up Living China 2018).

So why does the Chinese government enjoy blocking so many sites?

The basis for their regime is simple. Like China built the Great Wall to keep invaders from the north out, the Chinese government built the ‘Great Firewall’ to keep information harmful to them out (Denyer 2016).

You must be thinking; how do all the almost 700 million netizens of China survive without Facebook?

Instead of the Facebook we know, China has their own: Renren (Anti 2012).

Instead of Twitter, China has Weibo.

Instead of YouTube, China has Youku and Tudou.

And, instead of Google, China has Baidu.

(Crampton 2011).

Despite all our favourites sites being blocked in China, internet usage in China is booming. In fact, “internet usage has expanded more quickly in China than anywhere else in the world” (Chin, Liu & Silverman 2012), courtesy of their alternative sites.

All these homegrown sites are of course closely monitored by the Chinese Government. The government allows “censors to delete posts as they see fit” and there is even a law which states “people who post ‘inaccurate’ statements that have more than 500 shares, [can] be sent to prison” (Simcott 2014).

Just as some people use VPN’s “to tunnel into the Internet via a different country” and bypass the restrictions imposed by the Chinese government (Denyer 2016), some people use emojis, nicknames and homophones “to circumvent censorship” (Jing Zeng 2018).

Take the #MeToo movement for example.

Internet censorship was a real challenge for #MeToo in China, with many posts related to the hashtag campaign being removed (Jing Zeng 2018). To be able to tell their stories without being stopped by government censors, many women throughout China instead started using the hashtag #RiceBunny (Jing Zeng 2018). This was because rice bunny is pronounced as “mi tu” which sounds very similar to “me too”.

Clever.

However, even if there are homegrown alternatives to all our favourite sites and ways to get around this ‘Great Firewall of China’, I think I can confidently say, I will not be moving to China anytime soon.

The internet in China, shouldn’t even be called the internet. ‘The Intranet’ would be far more suitable.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my posts over the past eight weeks!

REFERENCES

Anti, M 2012, ‘Behind the Great Firewall of China’, TED, viewed 24 May 2018, <https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_anti_behind_the_great_firewall_of_china#t-155346>.

Chiu, C, Lin, D & Silverman, A 2012, ‘China’s social-media boom’, McKinsey & Company.

Crampton, T 2011, ‘Social Media in China: The Same, but Different’, China Business Review, 1 January, viewed 24 May 2018, <http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/social-media-in-china-the-same-but-different/>.

Denyer, S 2016, ‘China’s scary lesson to the world: Censoring the Internet works’, The Washington Post, 23 May, viewed 24 May 2018, <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-scary-lesson-to-the-world-censoring-the-internet-works/2016/05/23/413afe78-fff3-11e5-8bb1-f124a43f84dc_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4f5c66f21d89>.

Jing Zeng, M 2018, ‘From #MeToo to #RiceBunny: How social media users are campaigning in China’, ABC News, 6 February, 24 May 2018, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-06/ricebunny-metoo-how-chinese-social-media-users-campaign/9400106>.

Simcott, R 2014, ‘Social Media Fast Facts: China’, Social Media Today, 27 February, 24 May 2018, <https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/social-media-fast-facts-china>.

Start Up Living China 2018, List of Websites and Apps Blocked in China [Updated April 2018], Start Up Living China, viewed 24 May 2018, <http://startuplivingchina.com/list-websites-apps-blocked-china/>.

[digi-tal-communities]

Are You A Toxic Gamer Or Streamer?

[digi-tal-communities]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/opinion/video-games-toxic-violence

[digi-tal-communities]

Do video games bring out the worst in people?

It is widely debated whether or not there is a causal link between the simulated violence in video games and violence in real life (Miller 2016).

In fact, it seems with almost every mass shooting by a young person in Western society, this argument is brought up.

Following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland Florida earlier this year, President Donald Trump –  who has long claimed that exposure to violent video games inspires real-life violent behaviour – invited video games executives to the White House to lambaste them for the violence their products portray (Schiesel 2018).

However, after “decades of research have failed to find any significant relationship between playing violent video games and behaving violently in real life”, Schiesel (2018) suggests the move by President Trump was merely a “political distraction” and that the real problem with such games is not their content but instead the culture they foster.

“Video games do have a big problem, but it is not stylized virtual violence. Rather, it is the bigotry, social abuse, sexism and other toxic behaviour to which players too often subject one another when gaming together online.” (Schiesel 2018)

This is something I can vouch for.

The FIFA video game series is by no means violent – it’s soccer. Yet, whenever my 17-year-old brother plays FIFA, he becomes the most awful person. This is the same when he plays more violent games such as Fornite, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. He’s even been known to flip over a few Monopoly boards when he has been losing. 

If you listen to the voice communications of almost any violent - or at least competitive - online video game you will hear the constant use of abusive, expletive and offensive language among players (Schiesel 2018).

It is especially bad for women who speak up on voice communications.

In her book, ‘Game Changers: From Minecraft to Misogyny, the Fight for the Future of Videogames’, Leena van Deventer speaks out about the abuse she has received playing video games online because of her gender (O’Halloran 2017). This includes a time when a male gamer she was playing online with, began soliciting her for ‘nudes’ and masturbating while moaning her username when he found out she was female (O’Halloran 2017). van Deventer even admits to sometimes playing incognito and letting other players assume she is a man, to avoid this sort of harassment (O’Halloran 2017).

While video game companies “cannot be expected to constantly police the communications” (Schiesel 2018), something does need to be done to try to curb this toxic culture that these video games have created.

In 2012, EVE – “a space-themed massively multiplayer online game… that prides itself on its aggressive and piratical gameplay” (De Zwart & Humphreys 2014, pp. 77-78) – suspended prominent player, The Mitanni, from the game for 30 days following inappropriate comments he made about another player (De Zwart & Humphreys, pp. 78).

Perhaps, if more video game companies imposed, or at the very least threatened, bans on players who are found exhibiting this ugly behaviour while playing, this very serious problem could be minimised.

Or, perhaps instead of continuing to devote “ample time to studying the emotional and psychological effects of virtual video game violence” (Schiesel 2018), researchers could look into the actual social behaviour of players. If we can pinpoint why people behave this way while playing video games, maybe we can find a way to tackle it.

Or maybe, just maybe, players can take responsibility for their own behaviour and remember that at the end of the day, it is just a game.

REFERENCES

De Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014, ‘The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online’, Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77 – 99.

O’Halloran, K 2017, ‘‘Hey dude, do this’: the last resort for female gamers escaping online abuse’, The Guardian, 24 October, viewed 23 May 2018, <https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/oct/24/hey-dude-do-this-the-last-resort-for-female-gamers-escaping-online-abuse>.

Schiesel, S 2018, ‘The Real Problem With Video Games’, The New York Times, 13 March, viewed 23 May 2018, <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/opinion/video-games-toxic-violence.html>.

[catchymemes]

This is actually awesome

[noamsussman]

social media

[digi-tal-communities]

'How social media helped me deal with my mental illness'

Social media is often given a bad rap for trolling, abuse and encouraging people to be superficial.

[digi-tal-communities]

[digi-tal-communities]

The role of social media in eating disorders

Today while scrolling through Instagram, I came across an alarming statistic:

38% OF 4-YEAR-OLD GIRLS ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR BODIES.

This statistic came from the Pretty Foundation – a Melbourne based foundation whose mission is “to empower women and girls with the perspective, skills and support to develop and nurture a positive body image for themselves and others” (Pretty Foundation 2018).

As the Pretty Foundation explains, body dissatisfaction can often lead to disordered eating.

90% OF GIRLS AGED 12-17 ARE ON A DIET OF SOME TYPE.

With social media being almost inescapable in society today, it got me thinking about the role of social media in both the formation and recovery of eating disorders.

When I was 13, I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. This was in early 2012 when social media was only starting to grow – it was not nearly as ubiquitous as it is now six years later.  As I scroll through Instagram, part of me is grateful that, at the height of my eating disorder, it did not yet exist. Given that the majority of my feed is flooded with hyper-filtered images of fashion, beauty, lifestyle and fitness influencers, I think it would have only enhanced my struggles. However, in saying that, another part of me wishes that social media was more prominent back then. As we have discussed often throughout this unit, social media enables connectivity, communication and sharing between people far and wide. During my battle with an eating disorder, there was no one within my immediate environment who truly understood what I was going through. This was incredibly frustrating and isolating and undoubtedly hindered my recovery. Social media would have been a fantastic platform for me to connect and interact with girls who were also battling or recovering from eating disorders and made what was an extremely dark time in my life more hopeful.

THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

It is widely believed that the manicured, curated content of social media can trigger or exacerbate mental illnesses (McCosker 2016). This includes eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and orthorexia. According to Greta Gleissner (2017) - the founder of Eating Disorder Recovery Specialists – social media has a strong influence on a person’s body image and relationship with food. Social media promotes self-comparison to highly filtered content posted by ‘influencers’ and ‘real-life’ celebrities (Gleissner 2017). This can lead to individuals feeling inadequate about their body and in turn disordered eating behaviours so they can to the ideal body standards promoted by social media (Gleissner 2017).

Here are just a few of many similar posts that have appeared on my Instagram feed in the last few weeks. I can’t say that looking at these images didn’t make me feel bad about my own body, and I highly doubt I was the only one. I am well aware of all the work that goes into producing these sort of images and felt still felt this way - I would hate to think what kind of effect the constant exposure to these sort of images would have on young girls that aren’t as aware. 

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

As much as social media is talked about as having a negative impact on mental illness, it has also been shown that when used appropriately, it can be a positive tool for people dealing with mental illnesses. As McCosker (2016) explains, social media has been adopted by many individuals suffering from serious illnesses – whether they be physical or mental – to document and share their experience and connect with others going through the same thing. “When someone has an eating disorder, they often think, 'I'm the only one who has this”, but social media can change this way of thinking (Risher 2017). “Online, they can find people who understand the struggles they're going through and realise they aren't alone” (Risher 2017).  ). Social media empowers those suffering to open up about their eating disorder and provides them with hope, reassurance and encouragement through connecting with other sufferers and reading about their experiences (Risher 2017). This sharing can be extremely helpful to sufferers in their recovery. A great example of this is Korey Baruta - a Melbourne-based university student - who uses her Instagram profile @storyofkorey to document her recovery from anorexia nervosa, anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). Not only has it clearly been a fantastic outlet for Korey, but by sharing her experience online she has given hope to her followers who share the same struggles that things can and will get better. 

https://www.instagram.com/koreybaruta/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4808228/Korey-Baruta-20-opens-battle-anorexia.html

Social media undoubtedly has an impact on the development and recovery of eating disorders - both negative and positive. Hopefully, as more awareness is raised towards the negative side of social media and the profound influence it can have on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, the positive side of social media can become more prominent. 

REFERENCES

Gleissner, G 2017, ‘Social Media and its Effect on Eating Disorders’, Huffington Post, 5 October, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-media-and-its-effect-on-eating-disorders_us_591343bce4b0e3bb894d5caa>.

McCosker, A 2016, ‘Digital Mental Health and Visibility: Tagging Depression', in Digital Media: Transformations in Human Communication, Peter Lang.

Pretty Foundation 2018, Our Story, Pretty Foundation, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://prettyfoundation.org/our-story/>.

Risher, B 2017, ‘Social Media Is Helping Women Recover From Eating Disorders’, Self, 2 March, viewed 16 May 2018, <https://www.self.com/story/social-media-helping-women-eating-disorder-recovery>.

[thefeelofavideogame]

fucked up how tumblr has established itself as the social media site for people with mental illness when it is literally the worst possible social media site for people with mental illness to be on

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

Recovery is a process. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes everything you’ve got.

Unknown (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

[digi-tal-communities]

Crowdsourcing in the wake of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

[saywhat-politics]

Here's How You Can Help People In Puerto Rico

3.5 million Americans are enduring "apocalyptic" conditions right now because of Hurricane Maria.