DIGITAL COMMUNITIES @elenaalexiou351 - Tumblr Blog

Week 11: Digital Communities and Trolls - Understanding Social Media Conflict

While social media has proven to be a positive outlet in promoting digital connection, creativity and expression, there is a dark side of social networking. Social media is also the home for cyber bulling and online harassment, although you have the ability to unfollow or block profiles that 'troll,' the negativity on social media can be extremely overwhelming, hurtful and scary.

Dahlberg (2001) describes 'trolls' as online individuals aiming to embarrass, anger, and disrupt merely for their own amusement, but sometimes is driven by more serious motives including political goals. In today's society, social media is heavily relied on as a "tool to support significant social interaction or enable teenagers to communicate and engage in meaningful online communities" (Boyd 2014, p.6); The users heavy reliance makes it difficult for them to separate reality from the digital world, therefore receiving online hate and harassment take a large toll on their mental health and self-worth.

There is a quite a different between trolls and online harassment. Where trolls is more about somebody targeting individuals for their own amusement, online harassment can be defined as repetitive threats or other offensive behaviour, sent online to youth or posted online about the youth for others to see (Wolak et al. 2007, p.52). It is estimated that "online abuse, harassment and cyber trolling costs Australians $3.7 billion annually in terms of medical bills and loss of income" (Milne 2020): $3.7 billion to repair an individuals value of their own self-worth due to the unnecessary, ignorant and hurtful comments from a stranger behind a screen.

Australian journalist, Ginger Gorman, wrote a book called 'Troll Hunting,' that she says is about "trying and bringing a humanity to it all, to the victims and the perpetrators" (Valentish 2020). Gorman's book takes a look inside the world of trolling, with interviews from social media experts, journalists and even trolls themselves, in order to see where the hate that is projected online comes from.

Image source: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/28/it-was-like-being-skinned-alive-ginger-gorman-goes-hunting-for-trolls

Gorman's book also talks with those close to the late TV-presenter, Charlotte Dawson; Dawson's suicide in 2014 was rumoured to have been caused by the amount of online hate she received from internet trolls. 2 years before her death in 2014, Dawson had spoken out about how she was hospitalised after an attempted suicide due to the amount of death threats she had been receiving on the internet, she said "It just triggered that feeling of helplessness when the trolls got to me" (Herald Sun 2012). Her death in 2014 sparked a major conversation about cyberbullying and raised awareness of the dangers spreading online hate can do.

Image source: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/charlotte-dawson-how-the-cyber-trolls-beat-me/news-story/4cbde1d614e129f9a743a967c4efd8f5

To leave off, I would like to leave you with some positive tips and strategies to help when dealing with online harassment and trolls on social media:

Don’t retaliate: most times this is the exact reaction the troll wants, don’t give them the satisfaction!

Report: you can report the messages or comments to the social media platform you are on, or tell a trusted individual in your life that you think can help.

Take a break from the online world: sometimes a break from social media and technology is needed, there's no need to be online if you aren't feeling safe.

Block the account: you are able to block any account that is harassing or sending you hate.

Don’t doubt yourself: Don’t feed into what these comments say, the only person who is able to judge you is you!

References:

Boyd, D. 2014, 'It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens,' Yale University Press, United States.

Dahlberg, L. 2001, 'Computer–Mediated Communication and the Public Sphere: A critical analysis,' Journal of Computer Mediated–Communication, vol. 7, no. 1.

Milne, E 2020, 'Digital Communities and Trolls: understanding social media conflict,' MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 27 May, viewed 27 May 2020.

Staff Writers 2012, 'Charlotte Dawson: How the cyber trolls beat me,' Herald Sun, 3 September, viewed 27 May 2020, <https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/charlotte-dawson-how-the-cyber-trolls-beat-me/news-story/4cbde1d614e129f9a743a967c4efd8f5>

Wolak, J., Mitchell, K. J., Finkelhor, D. 2007, 'Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,' Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 41, pp. 51-58.

Valentish, J 2019, '‘It was like being skinned alive’: Ginger Gorman goes hunting for trolls,' The Guardian, 28 Jan, viewed 27 May 2020, <https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/28/it-was-like-being-skinned-alive-ginger-gorman-goes-hunting-for-trolls>.

#digitalcommunities #digitalcitizen #cyberbullying #trolling #mentalhealth

Week 10: Gaming Communities

Today's blog post is all about gaming communities, social gaming and live streaming! Gaming culture has taken the world by storm through the new ways to access gaming on smartphones, computers and even on social media. Riad Chikhani, co-founder and CEO of gaming social network 'Gamurs,' highlights that the mobile technology boom in recent years has revolutionized the industry and opened the doors to a new generation of gamers (2015). A typical 'gamer' is generally considered to be white or East Asian, young, middle-class, and a man (Hardwick 2020), males make up majority of gaming communities.

Image: what a typical live stream looks like, the streamer's face with their game play

(source: https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/consumer/family-safety/what-parents-need-to-know-about-live-stream-gaming-sites-like-twitch/)

Two types of gaming that fall under this community is social gaming and live streaming. Social gaming consists of "online games that adapt your friendship ties for play purposes, while accommodating your daily routines" (Hardwick 2020), making it easy to game with your friends or strangers whenever and wherever you want. Live streaming refers to a gamer streaming their gameplay on a social platform for people to watch; As of October 2017, it was reported that there are more people subscribed to video game streams and 'let's play' channels on YouTube and Twitch (live streaming service) than all of HBO, Netflix, ESPN and Hulu combined (Castillo 2019). In a time where online gaming communities are at their peak, game companies are "experimenting with live streaming as a form of marketing and promotion" (Taylor 2018, p.9), as the largest online gamers truly do bring in big business for companies like YouTube and Twitch.

Image: what a gamer makes vs. what the Australian Prime Minister makes annually

(source: https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/xwnbdd/these-gamers-make-significantly-more-money-than-their-heads-of-state)

Gaming can be a positive outlet as it can provide stress relief, skill development, a boost in engagement, interaction and entertainment (Uppal 2017). Similar to watching your favourite show, movie or reading a book to unwind, gaming offers people an escape from reality and the struggles they may be going through in their everyday lives. The gaming community is really open for anyone to join, and for people to know they are not "watching alone but instead alongside thousands of others in real time" (Taylor 2018, p.2) with live streaming gives individuals a feeling of belonging.

On the flip side of the positives of gaming, there of course have to be some negatives. Gaming addiction has seen an increase in "mental disorders such as somatization, obsessive-compulsive and other anxiety disorders, depression, and dissociation" (Kuss & Griffiths 2012, p.348). Some gamers find it difficult to differentiate reality from the virtual world, consuming their everyday life with the need to be online and immersed into their game. Gaming has also been linked to addiction in children, with parents noticing their children "becoming more aggressive and socialising less as they played more" (Sinha 2018).

Image source: https://n4g.com/news/2191704/children-addicted-to-video-games-blame-the-parents-not-the-game-company

References:

Castillo, N 2019, 'What is Video Game Live Streaming?,' All Gamers, 11 April, viewed 20 May 2020, <https://ag.hyperxgaming.com/article/8482/what-is-video-game-live-streaming>

Chikhani, R. 2015, 'The History Of Gaming: An Evolving Community', Tech Crunch, 1 November, viewed 20 May 2020, <https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/31/the-history-of-gaming-an-evolving-community/>

Hardwick, T. 2020, 'Gaming Communities, Social Gaming and Live Streaming,' MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 18 May, viewed 20 May 2020.

Kuss, D. J., Griffiths, M. D. 2012, 'Internet and Gaming Addiction: A Systematic Literature Review of Neuroimaging Studies'. Brain Science , vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 347-374.

Sinha, R, 2018, '15 Biggest Fortnite Controversies That Shocked Players (Maybe)', Gaming Bolt, viewed 20 May 2020, https://gamingbolt.com/15-biggest-fortnite-controversies-that-shocked-players-maybe/3.

Taylor, T. L. 2018, 'Broadcasting Ourselves,' in Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming, Princeton University Press, pp.1-23.

Uppal, S. 2017, '#5 Psychological Benefits of Online Games,' Entrepreneur India, 30 October, viewed 20 May 2020, <https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/303860>

#digitalcommunities #digitalcitizen #gaming

Week 9: Political Engagement and Activism on Social Media

This week in Digital Communities, I will be taking you through the use of social media for political engagement and activism!

Activism can be defined as "engaging in direct, vigorous action to support or oppose one side of a controversial issue" (Allen 2017). Examples of activism in recent history are Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo Movement, both major global campaigns that are made up of regular people fighting for what they believe in.

Social media has become a place for people to engage in politics and activism. The use of social media campaigning has become increasingly popular for activists as they see "the importance of personal digital media in creating networks and coordinating action across diverse political identities and organizations" (Bennett 2003, p.144). The use of social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, allows individual activists to connect with those that share similar beliefs, creating a "politically engaged generation of activists with a slate of creative tactics at the ready" (Alvarez et al. 2019, p.2).

Many political protests utilise digital communities and platforms to gain a wider audience of activists and supporters. Through platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, hashtags are generated as part of political campaigns to raise awareness and gain support, widening the activists for the movements around the globe. The #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movement both have a huge number of posts on Twitter; the campaigns that utilise Twitter to spread the word about the movements work well as all the page has to do is comment and retweet so their followers can publicly view their activism (Davis 2013, p.21). Where social media is a fantastic platform for political engagement and activism, we can’t forget what we learnt in the lecture this week; "Offline and online action are necessary, but not sufficient for revolution" (Stickels 2020), there needs to be a strong connection between activism seen offline and online in order to make a change.

References:

Allen, M. 2017, The sage encyclopedia of communication research methods, vol. 4, SAGE Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Alvarez N., Lauzon C., Zaiontz K. 2019, 'On Sustainable Tools for Precarious Times: An Introduction,' in Alvarez N., Lauzon C., Zaiontz K. (eds), Sustainable Tools for Precarious Times: Performance Actions in the Americas , Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-23.

Bennett, W. 2003, 'Communicating Global Activism', Information, Communication & Society, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 143-168.

Davis, B. 2013, 'Hashtag Politics: The Polyphonic Revolution of #Twitter,' Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 16-21

Stickles, L, 2020, ‘Digital Communities, political engagement and activism Week 9′, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 13 May, viewed 15 May 2020.

#blacklivesmatter #digitalcommunities #digitalcitizen #metoo #politics #activism

Week 8: Digital Health - Body Modification and Cosmetic Surgery on Social Media

Today's blog post is on Digital Health Campaigns, focusing in on body modification and cosmetic surgery on visual social media. While last week's post was about how the positive influence of Instagram and bettering the environment with slow fashion, this week is all about the negative impact social media can have on body image.

The most popular visual social media platform we all know and love, is Instagram. If you're an avid Instagram user like myself, you would know all about the 'ideal' body image that is plastered on most users feeds or explore pages. It looks something like this…

Image source: all taken directly from Instagram profiles (@tammyhembrow, @kimkardashian, @kyliejenner)

This 'ideal' body image on Instagram is an unrealistic take on an hourglass figure (as pictured above), as well as complete face makeovers through the use of rhinoplasties, lifts and fillers. The immense pressure felt by users, specifically young girls, to achieve this has led to a major increase in cosmetic surgery. As a visual social platform, "Instagram in particular is naturally suited to plastic surgery" (Dorfman et al. 2018, p.332) as individual seek to achieve the same look celebrities and influencers promote. There has been a major increase in cosmetic surgeries around the globe due to the rise of visual social media and the aesthetic template being projected: Forbes (2019) reported that "breast lifts had risen 57.5% from 2013-2018," and there's no denying social media played a "significant role in driving such changes." With this, pornification has become normalised in western societies, displaying sexuality to reflect the aesthetics of commercial pornography (Tyler & Quek 2016). The sexualisation of female bodies on Instagram is very apparent, as female influencers are able to "build their brand and maintain the attention of a public audience through the replication of 'porn chic' poses and gestures" (Mavroudis 2020); it all truly comes back to the old saying…sex sells. This promotion of the 'ideal' body through body modification and cosmetic surgeries is truly worrying, as the pressure placed on individuals to look like these influencers in order to be accepted and loved are immense.

Image source: Dorfman et al. 2018

On the other side of using cosmetic surgery to achieve the 'ideal' Instagram body, health campaigns on the social platform also tie into this. Where cosmetic surgery is not an entirely negative thing, health campaigns that promote 'easier' ways to achieve these body 'goals' are also quite a risk on Instagram. Influencers such as Khloe and Kim Kardashian are avid promoters of products that promote weight loss and shapewear that endorse body positivity. Khloe has been known to promote weight loss products such as 'Flat Tummy Tea,' 'Boom Bod' and 'Fit Tea' and Kim with 'waist trainers' and her new shapewear line 'Skims' are all promoting healthier and easier ways to lose weight and supposedly achieve hourglass figures, but are these really safe? Most of these products have been known to be unsafe and many have been called for the social media advertisements to be regulated, as the product that is being promoted is nothing more than a laxative disguised in aesthetically pleasing packaging. Here's what actress, activist and 'feminist-in-progress' Jameela Jamil had to say about the Instagram Health Campaign 'Flat Tummy Tea'…

Image source: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/05/09/only-4-people-trust-what-influencers-say-online

To conclude, social media's influence should never be underestimated. Body modification and cosmetic surgery is only on the rise due to the major impact of body image ideals seen on social platforms such as Instagram. With cosmetic surgery and health campaigns being two avenues marketed on social platforms as ways to achieve the 'perfect' body seen on influencers, the dangers of both to an individuals mental and physical health should be regulated.

References:

Chandler, S 2019, 'Instagram’s Filter Ban Isn’t Enough To Stop Rise In Cosmetic Surgery,' Forbes, 23 October, viewed 8 May 2020, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonchandler/2019/10/23/instagrams-filter-ban-isnt-enough-to-stop-rise-in-cosmetic-surgery/#4eacccef532c>

Dorfman, R. G., Vaca, E. E., Mahmood, E., Fine, N. A. & Schierle, C. F 2018, 'Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilization on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 332-334.

Mavroudis, J 2020, 'Public Health Campaigns and Social Media Influence,' MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 6 May, viewed 8 May 2020.

Tyler, M & Quek, K 2016, 'Conceptualizing pornographication: A Lack of Clarity and Problems for Feminist Analysis,' Sexualization, Media, & Society, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1‐ 14.

#bodymodification #digitalcommunities #digitalcitizen #cosmeticsurgery #instagram

Week 7: Slow Fashion Movement & Influencers

For this week in Digital Communities, I'll be discussing Instagram influencers and the slow fashion movement. You may be asking yourself, 'what is slow fashion?' and 'why do we need this movement?' Let me fill you in!

The slow fashion movement is based on sustainability within the fashion industry, with design's incorporating high quality, small lines, regional productions, and fair labour conditions (Pookulangara & Shepard 2013, p.201). The slow fashion movement is described as the antipode to fast-fashion, which is mass-produced, cheap, changes within a fortnight, and often associated with a ‘throw away’ attitude (Lai et al. 2017, p.82). The image below perfect encapsulates what factors make up the movement;

Image source: https://orbasics.com/blogs/stories/slow-fashion

Leigh Weingus describes the slow fashion movement as ethically, sustainably-made items you’ll keep for years to come, rather than purchasing 'of-the-moment' items that you’ll be sick of by next season (Parade, 2019). While slow fashion is "the intersection" (Collings 2018) of ethical, eco and lasting fashion, the movement should not be confused with the eco and ethical terms. Eco fashion refers to what materials the item is made of and whether or not it can be recycled. Ethical fashion has to do with if the people making the items are working in safe conditions and are getting paid well and fairly.

Now this is where the massive influence of Instagram comes into play…

Instagram, being one of the most popular social platforms for digital citizens, plays a major role in keeping the fashion industry alive, mainly through the use of it's most popular users…'influencer's.' Instagram influencer's can be described as those that have "the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience" (Influencer Marketing 2020). Major influencers such as Kylie Jenner, Tana Mongeau, Stassiebaby, Nikita Dragun and Sofia Jamora all promote fast fashion brands on their own profiles, such as Boohoo, Fashion Nova and Pretty Little Thing. You may be asking yourself, why do they promote these? Because they pay influencers the most. These fast fashion sites all offer their customers cheap clothing 'marked down' by 40, 50, 60 to 70%, but pay influencer's (or partner's as referred on Instagram) millions of dollars to promote their brand; Complex news reported that Fashion Nova spent more than $40 million on 'influencer marketing' (2020).

Image source: https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/ezax3a/how-celebrities-helped-fashion-nova-take-over-your-instagram-feed-and-your-wallet

With most major Instagram influencer's promoting these fast fashion brands, the slow fashion movement is appearing more on users feed's. The #slowfashion has 6 million posts as of April 2020 (Instagram), highlighting how the movement is well and truly underway. An Instagram influencer that is all about the slow fashion movement and promoting sustainable brands is Kathleen Elie. Elie goes by @consciousnchic on Instagram, filling her feed with colourful style inspiration and quotes to motivate her 24.9k followers. She endorses the slow fashion movement with her bio stating 'live your BEST #sustainable life,' and posts tagging the sustainable brands she loves.

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/consciousnchic/?hl=en

To conclude this week's blog post, the slow fashion movement is well and truly underway in becoming more established in fashion, and in particular on Instagram. The slow fashion movement and sustainable fashion is important because it will be consumer's contribution to saving the earth (B Label, 2020), fashionably of course…

References:

Collings, K 2018, 'Why We're Celebrating the Slow-Fashion Movement in July,' Who What Wear, 1 July, viewed 30 April 2020, <https://www.whowhatwear.com.au/slow-fashion-movement/slide3>

Cowen, T. W. 2020, 'Fashion Nova Reportedly Spent $40 Million on Influencer Marketing in 2019,' Complex, 3 March, viewed 30 April 2020, <https://www.complex.com/style/2020/03/fashion-nova-spent-40-million-dollars-influencer-marketing-2019>

Lai, Z, Henniger, C. E. & Alevizou, P. J. 2017, ‘An Exploration of Consumers’ Perceptions Towards Sustainable Fashion – A Qualitative Study in the UK,' in Henniger, C. E., Alevizou, P. J., Goworek, H & Ryding D (eds), Sustainability in Fashion A Cradle to Upcycle Approach, Palgrave, United Kingdom, pp. 81-97.

Pookulangara, S & Shepard, A 2013, 'Slow fashion movement: Understanding consumer perceptions – An exploratory study,' Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, vol. 20, no. 2, p. 201.

Weingus, L 2019, 'What Is The 'Slow Fashion' Movement Everyone’s Hashtagging On Instagram?,' Parade, 24 September, viewed 30 April 2020, <https://parade.com/927146/leighweingus/slow-fashion/>

'What is an Influencer?' 2020, Influencer Marketing Hub, 29 February, viewed 30 April 2020, <https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/>

'Why Slow Fashion Is The Need Of The Hour' 2020, B Label, 16 January, viewed April 30 2020, <https://www.blabel.in/blogs/hemp-lovers/why-slow-fashion-is-the-need-of-the-hour>

#digitalcommunities #slowfashion #instagram #influencers

Week 6: Digital Citizenship

This week's topic is digital citizenship, with a focus on the use of social media for political purposes. A digital citizen is a person that has "the ability to participate in society online [and] promotes social inclusion" (Mossberger et al, 2008). Online platforms have enabled users to create a global community that invites people to share thoughts, ideas and debate on different social topics.

Gil de Zúñiga et al. (2013, p. 613) expresses that the use of social media may lead people to express themselves politically, thereby putting them on a pathway to participation. Political expression on social media platforms engages younger people to be more involved in politics, and guide them into finding what they believe in and stand for individually. It can be argued that social media is a negative way in absorbing political information and that it could sway one's beliefs from viewing inaccurate or 'fake news.' However, for the new generation of people that have/are growing up on social platforms and are already digital citizens, social media is "clearly suitable for the discussion and promotion of everyday politics" (Highfield, 2016, p.4).

A good example of social media being used for political campaigns and conversations is the 2016 US presidential election between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. During the presidential election social platform Twitter was flooded with tweets surrounding both candidates, as well as both utilising the platform to fire at each other. The use of social media for political campaigns came after Barack Obama's 2009-2017 presidential run, where social media campaigns were no longer an amateur activity (Enli, 2017 p.55) but rather needed technical expertise, focus group research and staff that specialised in finding international trends (Enli, 2017 p.55) to help gain support and voters. Trump and Clinton's intense use of social media during their presidential campaigns truly made a mark, as social media now has a much politics featured on different platforms, as well as more content for digital citizens to absorb in regards to political elections, campaigns and conversations.

Image source: Campaign US

References:

Enli, G 2017, 'Twitter as arena for the authentic outsider: exploring the social media campaigns of Trump and Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election,' European Journal of Communication, vol 32, no 1, p. 55.

Gil de Zúñiga, H, Molyneux, L & Zheng, P, 2013, ‘Social Media, Political Expression, and Political Participation: Panel Analysis of Lagged and Concurrent Relationships’, Journal of Communication, vol. 64, no. 4, p. 613.

Highfield, T 2016, Social Media and Everyday Politics, Polity Press, United Kingdom.

Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C.J. & McNeal, R.S., 2008, Digital citizenship: The Internet, society, and participation, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

#digitalcommunities #digitalcitizen

cpeek1

How does Tumblr function as a ‘digital community’ (week 1-5)

Ever since Tumblr came about in 2007 it has created one of the most connected and supporting digital communities on the internet today. Tumblr allows people from all around the world to connect in a virtual place, encouraging individuals to express themselves, making Tumblr their canvas for creativity and share it with a huge digital community of like minded people (Tumblr, 2020). Tumblr is a Platform for creative and opinionated posts with large amounts focusing around politics. For the younger generations, Tumblr has served as a place of judgement free sharing and a way to freely express themselves. Marlo, a 19 year old student stated that, ”Facebook is a more conservative platform, that’s where you share news about family, or like, you know, I got accepted to Oxford, as opposed to Twitter where I can use curse words and be a little more free in what I say!” (Keller, pp.1, 2019).

A huge group of users on Tumblr are the LGBTIQA+ community who have used Tumblr as a safe place to express themselves as individuals and form a group of similar individuals for support and encouragement. According to a survey conducted by ‘The Conversation ‘of young people’s social media use, young LGBTIQA+ people are using Tumblr much more frequently (2017).

The idea of the digital community has also brought forward the idea that social media, including Tumblr is part of a “Public Sphere”. The idea that individuals come together to form a public body, sharing public opinions which is accessible to all citizens (Haberman, Lennox & Lennox,1974). Although this idea of a “Public Sphere” is a much-debated topic amongst some scholars with many arguing it does not exist, Tumblr is a living example of how this “public sphere’ may truly exist.

Tumblr is a huge digital community and has allowed the youth to become more politically aware and stay updated with the changing world around them, whilst at the same time be part of a public body with freedom to express themselves.

References:

Habermas, J, Lennox, S & Lennox, F 1974, ‘The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article 1964, New German Critique, no. 3, p. 49, viewed 22 April 2020

Keller, J 2019, ‘Oh, she’s a Tumblr Feminist’: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms’, no. 3, p. 1, viewed 22 April 2020

The Conversation 2017,’There’s something queer about Tumblr’, The Conversation, viewed 23 April 2020, < https://theconversation.com/theres-something-queer-about-tumblr-73520>.

Tumblr 2020, About Tumblr, Tumblr, viewed 23 April 2020, <https://www.tumblr.com/about>.

elenaalexiou351

I really love that you described Tumblr as a place for judgement free sharing! As well as mentioning how the LGBTQIA+ community uses Tumblr to find their sense of belonging and connect with others for support. I feel like you’re spot on and that Tumblr really is fantastic for young people to share, learn and express themselves :)

Week 5: How does Tumblr function as a Digital Community?

Known to be one of the most connected and content creative social media platforms, Tumblr functions as a digital community through encouraging individual expression and likeminded discussions. Since its launch in 2007, Tumblr has become an inclusive platform that allows for individual interests to “connect [people] with [their] people” (Tumblr, 2020). Through the use of messages, liking, tagging, images, GIFs and re-blogging (sharing to your own page), users are able to interact with any sort of content that inspires and interests them. With varied groups of people and an endless range of interests and subjects on the site, Tumblr has truly “[built] an online community of care” (Hawkins & Haimson 2018, p.75).

In its early days of being a new, up-and-coming social media platform, Tumblr was recognised as innovative in its unique way of interconnecting different communities on one platform. In creating these small niche groups of different interests, the platform became a safe space for “creative freedom” (Byron & Robards 2017). The LGBTQIA+ community makes up a large portion of Tumblr, as the platform offers an “intricate network that supports safe explorations of identity and a sense of self” (Byron & Robards 2017). With the virtual space allowing for any person to connect with others, the LGBTQIA+ community found a sense of belonging on Tumblr, as it embraces differences and connects those that “lack a physical community of support” (Hawkins & Haimson 2018, p.75). Topics such as body image, sexuality etc. are freely and openly discussed on the site, connecting people around the globe with what they want to see and talk about, solidifying Tumblr’s large digital community.

Tumblr’s digital community can be recognised as part of a “Public Sphere,” which is the idea that any individual can come together with others to form a large group and share their opinions, which is accessible to all people (Haberman, Lennox & Lennox, 1974). Unlike other social media platforms, Tumblr gives every user the option to remain anonymous and hide their profile from the web in order to secure their privacy and safety. Tumblr (2015) described the new feature as a simple layer of privacy to let you better control who gets to see your stuff and who doesn’t, encouraging every user to feel supported on the platform that was made to express and explore (keeping the trolls out). The digital community on Tumblr is so large due to the simple fact that the platform supports and trusts its users, as the small “communities [are] self-policed” (Watercutter, 2019) and everything to anything is “shared and shareable” (Watercutter, 2019). Through tagging, reblogging, noting (liking) and messaging about topics from cats, celebrity fandoms, body image etc. the digital community within Tumblr has one of the most “open, self-governing exchange of ideas” (Watercutter, 2019) seen on any social platform.

To summarise, Tumblr remains one of the most openly supported digital communities on the internet today. Through encouraging sharing creative content and individual expression, Tumblr has maintained the growth of their digital community, welcoming anyone to share their thoughts and find their feeling of belonging.

References:

Byron, P, Robards, B 2017, ‘There’s something queer about Tumblr,’ The Conversation, 29 May, viewed 19 April 2020, <https://theconversation.com/theres-something-queer-about-tumblr-73520>

Habermas, J, Lennox, S & Lennox, F 1974, ‘The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article 1964, New German Critique, no. 3, p. 49, viewed 19 April 2020.

Hawkins, B & Haimson O. L. 2018, ‘Building an online community of care: Tumblr use by transgender individuals’, GenderIT ’18: Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Gender & IT, NY: Association for Computing Machinery, New York, p.75.

Tumblr 2020, About Tumblr, viewed 19 April 2020, < https://www.tumblr.com/about>

Tumblr Staff 2015, ‘we’ve built a new toggle for you,’ Tumblr, 30 September, viewed 19 April 2020, < https://staff.tumblr.com/post/130227819960/weve-built-a-new-toggle-for-you-tumblr-now-you>

Watercutter, A 2019, ‘The Internet Needs Tumblr More Than Ever,’ Wired, 14 August, viewed 19 April 2020, < https://www.wired.com/story/tumblr-reinvigorated/>

#digitalcommunities

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

DIGITAL COMMUNITIES