Language and New Media

[hannahpearce87-blog]

This week we had Valentine’s Day.  A day where you express how much you love and appreciate the people in your life. A day full of emotionally charged conversation.  

A day where I have never been so grateful for digitally mediated interaction…

A couple of days before the looming event, my boyfriend asked me “What do you want to do for Valentine’s day?” This seemingly innocent question elicited a variety of responses from “ahhh cringe, let’s not do anything” to “dinner and a film could be cute.” He conveniently posed the question via text, so I had time to construct an answer “Could we go to lunch at Yolk :) <3?”  I could appear relaxed and excited about the situation, in comparison to the inner freak-out session that actually happened. Text is a fabulous emotional buffer.

In the text, I sent the ‘<3’ and ‘:)’ emoticons to indicate the positive tone of the message. I could have responded with a phone call, which would have plainly conveyed my excitement but this way, I avoided anyone overhearing my awkward conversation. In other words, I lowered the transaction cost. Why should I reveal my social ineptness when I don’t have to? Text makes it possible to have a synchronous conversation, without the pain. An affordance I abuse regularly.

How you express yourself can make a tremendous difference to how others perceive you. Valentine’s day is daunting, as you are under a lot of pressure to perform. Luckily, we have digitally mediated interaction to help. You can be discreet, and present yourself as a competent human being, through less rich media.

Please feel free to share stories where you have been saved by digitally mediated interaction.

[libbynewmedia-blog]

I think talking on messenger can also save you in arguments. I'm not a confrontational person at all and arguments freak me out! However, when arguing with a friend and I'm actually getting really annoyed but can't be bothered to argue, I can type out a reasonable nice response to solve a situation. Whereas in reality I'm absolutely fuming and have just rang my Mum to tell her all about it. Very passive aggressive, I know, but also avoiding pointless arguments! Have you ever been in this situation?

[georgi3butl3r-blog]

Phone lost, memory loss

I am consciously aware the mobile phones have literally become the scrapbook of our lives. 

I was made aware of this recently when a friend had his phone stolen. Luckily (or unluckily) he had only had his new iPhone since his birthday three months earlier. Consequently meaning that he lost just over three months of memories; as opposed to three years or more. But what would you do if you woke up from a coma and found you’d been asleep for three years? What would you do if three years passed and there were no memories to show for it?

The reason we have become so attached to these devices is because they literally hold so many moments of our lives on their LED screen. The brief experience of angst when you fail to find your phone in your bag is much like concussion. Losing one, is similar to losing your memory after suffering a severe head injury. The difference is, the memories lost after head trauma can slowly be re learnt from your loved ones. The thousands of photos and text conversations lost on a mobile will likely never be recovered.

How could we possibly prove to our Instagram/Twitter followers that we went to that festival, if the evidence is no longer there?

[libbynewmedia-blog]

I completely agree with this, as great as phones are for capturing memories, they just stay on our phone and we do very little with them. Personally, I try and transfer my photos onto my laptop regularly and print out my favourite photos to put in frames, scrapbooks etc. As a society I think creating photo albums to flick through with family is declining as we can create photo albums on our phones in one click. But who sees these photo albums apart from us?

[metaphorsbewithu-blog]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pyJlERCrJE)

Making new friends is not the easiest thing on earth. However, with social media it’s made easier. Remember that girl/boy you’ve met last time you went to Park bar because they were with someone you knew? How quickly did you add them on Facebook afterwards? Relationships are made easier. Everyday we do this social networking experience and we don’t even realise it. It has become an automatic reflex. Of course this video and this specific social experiment pushes it to parody but it’s funny because it’s real. It’s funny because we’ve all done that before: asking a friend to introduce you to someone because they were friend on Facebook, following random people on Twitter just because you liked what they said or even just acknowledging/caring about the number of people liking your photos on Instagram. After watching this video I’ve started paying more attention to this kind of behaviour around me, have you?      

[libbynewmedia-blog]

I completely agree with this post! I go to a lot of music gigs where I bump into people who follow me on Instagram but they rarely say hello unless I do first. But then the next day they'll like or comment on my post as if we're best mates. Just goes to show the confidence being behind a screen can give you! Have any of your friendships been enhanced by communicating online?

[melanieschusterblog-deactivated]

Facebook knows all about you!

Facebook is all well and good, but how many personal details do you really have to share on your profile? Some people don’t know any limit and go way to far. It is one thing to post life events and pictures of oneself on Facebook, but why for goodness sake upload your children’s pictures. Even if pride is the main reason, how far has pride to go?

Sure, I am an active Facebook-user myself, and sometimes I share life moments with my “friends”, and possibly with the whole world anyway despite of privacy settings. We’re constantly feeding Facebook with all those private information, and it is not far-fetched that the social platform knows us way better in the end, than we might have thought. It’s a super brain that never forgets, and one day it surprises you with long lost memories! This begs the question whether it’s a blessing or a curse. Or is it simply alarming and terrifying how much information we’ve actually shared to our probably biggest friend Facebook?

[libbynewmedia-blog]

Recently, somebody made a fake account of my Mum on Facebook and it struck me just how much information somebody can gain from your Facebook profile! Even with private setting - they stole numerous images from her Facebook and set up an account identical to hers. When adding and messaging her friends they couldn't however replicate her typing style and the account got flagged up and taken down by Facebook straight away. Do you think Facebook is making our personality, that traditionally only loved ones would know, too accessible?

[mrjamestpowell-blog]

The latest Tweets from Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). 45th President of the United States of America. Washington, DC

Social Media and Impersonal Accounts 

In the same way that the televised debates in the 1960’s changed the public’s interaction with politics, this decade has seen the rise of Twitter as a tool used by politicians to communicate their policies to the masses. But whereas JFK could manipulate the medium of television through his charismatic personality, are modern figures such as Donald Trump using the medium of Twitter in the same way? Are they constructing a persona that is accurate?

It’s common knowledge these days that many celebrities don’t personally contribute to their social media accounts, instead allowing a team to compose their posts and updates. In recent years you may have noticed this trend has crossed over into the online presence of many politicians including Trump. Several reports have claimed that Trump’s tweets are constructed by his “team” to ensure that his posts are uncontroversial and appropriate.The few tweets that are claimed to be from Trump himself are, funnily enough, his most infamous posts, garnering much negative attention from both the press and public. So have social networks altered the way that modern politicians can communicate? I would say almost definitely. Instead of answering spontaneously, and without the support of their public relations team, politicians can now manufacture, perfect and, perhaps most scarily, edit their statements with ease and lack of consequence.  

[libbynewmedia-blog]

Do you think social media has made our relationship with politicians more honest and transparent? Also, as anyone can tweet anything, after seeing a breaking news tweet would you go and check it somewhere else online or would you believe instantly it was official?

[libbynewmedia-blog]

The joys of Spotify

Spotify is one of the biggest music app's today, offering a free service where you can save countless songs, it’s become the go-to app for many young people who don't want to have pay to listen to music on iTunes.  

The only downside to Spotify is you only have 6 shuffles, unless you pay for the premium package, which can be annoying when you've got to listen to the entire 9 mins of Fools Gold – Stone Roses. Admittedly the premium package is only £4.99 a month for students, but I'm too poor to justify a fiver for a shuffle button.  

Spotify counter balances this with their other features, such as creating your own playlists, follow other peoples playlists and discovery of new music. The app's new music suggestions is one of my favourite features as I have discovered so many of my now favourite bands and artists through Spotify.  

It gives you a 'Daily Mix' playlist based on what you listen to...

You can use the Discover section to discover new music and also find the perfect music to fit your mood, especially handy for when you need a revision playlist...

It even shows you artists similar to your some of your most listened to music...

[libbynewmedia-blog]

Oversharing on Facebook

Posting pictures of your breakfast might work for internet sensations, but a shoddy plate of scrambled egg posted by Barbara, 56, from Rochdale just isn't the same. Welcome to the world of 'oversharers' on Facebook, with new features that encourages users to tell their friends if they're "feeling annoyed" or "feeling blessed", oversharing on Facebook is most definitely still a THING. 

There's something about being behind screen that encourages some people to bare all to people they might have only met once drunk in a girls bathroom. Facebook encourages users to do this in a variety of ways, for example the check-in function, allowing people to check-in to everywhere from Nando's to hospitals to service stations, and making the mistake that all 178 of their friends care what Nando's meal they're eating.

Another of Facebook's features which oversharers have latched onto is the memory feature. This shows you what you were doing on this day, 3 years ago (for example), it can be as small as a breakfast you had or as big as a wedding you attended, as long as you posted it to Facebook 3 years ago, it's classed as a memory. As nice as it is to reminisce from time to time, reminding us of that amazing full English you had 3 years ago makes you a grade A oversharer.

These trivial type updates are ALMOST bearable but the worst bit about oversharing is when people get too gushy on Facebook. My biggest regret is excepting my Mum's friends on Facebook when my timeline is filled with inspiration quotes like this...

I'm sure I'm not alone on this one, what are your thoughts on "oversharers"?

[libbynewmedia-blog]

The world of YouTube

Social media has evolved so much since the first black and white TV that people can now make a living from it. ‘YouTubers’ is now an official job title created by the growth of social media. As we are constantly bombarded with serious breaking news, YouTubers spotted a niche in the market that people actually REALLY care what they eat in a day, with some videos hitting over 1 million views.

YouTube is a bit like when you peer in somebody's house if their curtains are drawn, except this way you don't look like a stalker, you can watch the entire of somebody's day from the comfort of your own bed. This is called 'vlogging', where you video log your entire day. Two of the most popular vloggers in the UK are couple, Zoella and Pointless Blog, otherwise known as #zalfie, who have both set up separate 'vlog channels' after the success of their 'main channels' where they post planned, scripted videos.

Their natural videos of their daily life have earned them a mass following online, with them both bringing out their own merch, writing their own books etc. Zoella alone is reported to get paid a whopping £50,000 a month, not bad for someone who started out by doing Primark hauls in her bedroom.  

[libbynewmedia-blog]

Power of the hashtag

After reading through my blog posts and realising I've been a bit doom and gloom about social media - I thought I'd use this post to highlight one of social media's powerful features, hashtags.

Hashtags have always been a huge part of social media, especially Twitter and Instagram, most commonly used to create communities and spread messages on social media. Something which struck a chord with me recently was hashtags within charity campaigns, in particular the charity campaign for 5 year old Bradley Lowery. Bradley has been battling with Neuroblastoma on and off for 3 years, the treatment he needs requires him to go abroad which motivated his family and friends to start fundraising online to give Bradley the best possible chance of fighting this horrible disease.  

Bradley's family and friends used the hashtag "#bradleysfight" which blew up massively as Bradley's story touched the hearts of many. The hashtag has trended multiple times on Twitter and the Twitter account @bradleysfight has reached over 70,000 followers. His current JustGiving page today has reached over £40,000, with his other JustGiving pages raising even more. Aside from the fundraising side of things, Bradley is a mad Sunderland FC fan and this online campaign has enabled him to enjoy his childhood the best he can.  

Bradley has been a mascot for many football matches, including Sunderland, Everton and soon to walk out with the England Team. He has had massive support from the football community, charity matches set up for him, meeting footballers and even has his own chant "there's only one Bradley Lowery". Over Christmas, Bradley's family posted on Twitter that Bradley wanted everyone to send him a Christmas Card and he received over 250, 000. His online campaign has not only raised thousands for Bradley but given him the chance to make the most of each day with amazing opportunities. Arguably, none of this would have been possible without social media and the hashtag #bradleysfight.  

If you wanted to read more about Bradley's story: https://bradleylowerysfight.org.uk/

[libbynewmedia-blog]

3′s a crowd...

Ever feel like your sharing your partner with their phone? Quality time taken up by endless scrolling? With the app Snapchat you might actually be sharing your partner with another person and be none the wiser...

The ‘10 second and it's gone’ element of Snapchat has always been a talking point in society, with many using this to send and receive X rated material with little trace (everything is somewhere on the internet). Snapchat is now becoming a guilt-free way of cheating for some.

With more and more people sharing their Snapchat cheating experiences online, the notion that Snapchat almost enables cheating is ever growing. There is even a Reddit community full of people discussing their Snapchat stories and advising each other on what to do if they find out their partner is cheating on them.

Take a look... https://www.reddit.com/r/relationships/comments/3wr7fe/update_my_24_m_gf_23_f_of_a_year_started_talking/

Out of all social media apps, Snapchat is arguably the most secretive, as unlike Instagram and Twitter nobody can see your conversations apart from you. This, combined with the app's temporary nature, was one of the biggest problems mentioned in the Reddit threads as the lack of proof makes it hard to accuse your other half without looking slightly mental.

Some people argue Snapchat is not cheating because "its just pictures" and "they've never met in person". I personally agree with Ken Page, psychotherapist and author of the book Deeper Dating: How to Drop the Games of Seduction and Discover the Power of Intimacy, who says "If you feel like you may be bending the rules, then you probably are ... That means that you're doing something that is damaging the trust in the relationship."

What do you think? Is virtual cheating just as bad as 'actual' cheating?

[libbynewmedia-blog]

Online friendships

After our recent lecture on Facebook ‘friends’ and the falseness of it all, it led to me think about the nature of online friendships. As somebody with friends from all over the UK who I’ve met via social media, I’ve always been one to defend people who argue you’re just talking to strangers behind a screen. All my ‘internet friends’ are people I’ve met via social media because we either have a shared love of football, fashion or music. 

The idea that online friendships are ‘weird’ has always been a concept that I can’t get on board with, just because you’ve not met a friend through the traditional route of school or where you grew up, it doesn’t make them any less of a friend. In fact, most of my school friends I’ve lost touch with, whereas my ‘internet friends’ make more effort to maintain our friendship despite living 200 miles away in some cases. Despite the distance we see each other fairly often, especially at football matches and gig’s.

In today’s ever evolving modern society where websites are designed with the sole intention to meet people, surely you shouldn’t have to limit yourself to friends you’ve made in ‘real life’. Take one of my best friends; Marnie. We got to know each other via Twitter as we were both into football and similar music, once I’d moved to Reading for Uni we met at a gig in London and carried on meeting up. She’s since joined this Uni and I see her most weeks, real life proof internet friendships do work.

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[libbynewmedia-blog]

The dangers of Instagram

Scrolling through my Instagram, my biggest problem is clothes envy. As somebody who loves fashion this is a daily occurrence, but not a serious one. Other people’s problems caused by Instagram can unfortunately be far more serious. Entering a new year many of us will have started a healthy eating detox for 2017 and posting our progress pics, healthy meals, you get the idea. The language used in the majority of captions promotes being ‘skinny’, a concept many struggle with. No matter what size or shape you are diet Instagram accounts can be a bad idea. Depression, anxiety and eating disorders are huge issues within today’s society, unfortunately social media does have a part to play in some cases as sufferers aspire to be as skinny as an edited image they see on a screen.

To fight back against ‘thinspo’ accounts many people have set up accounts promoting body positivity, no matter what size you are. The #bodypositive hashtag has reached 2,175,362 posts on Instagram (when I last checked), the hashtag includes women and men of all shapes and sizes and is an ever growing community of people spreading positivity with honest, unedited images.

My inspiration behind this blog post was ‘Eating Disorder Awareness Week’ which is from the 27th February to the 5th March and you can find out all about it here: https://www.b-eat.co.uk/support-us/eating-disorder-awareness-week

  HX�Q@.)u

[libbynewmedia-blog]

Sky are watching us...

The idea for this blog post came from my boyfriend, whose job is to schedule adverts for Sky Media, telling me how he has to target certain ads at certain programmes.

This didn’t shock me as I’m sure many of you will have experienced this. Sat at home watching the football, bet providers and beers often take over the ad break, whereas, watching Made in Chelsea, perfumes and lipsticks tend to be their focus.

However, when he told me they can work out who is actually watching a programme just from their viewing history, I began to be a little weirded out. The magic of science inside a Sky Box records that at 4pm everyday somebody turns on Geordie Shore, over a period of time they (rightly or wrongly) decide this is a teenager girl and adapt the adverts accordingly. They’re aided by their sign up form which asks who is in the household.

So, for example, 2 households next door to each other might be watching the same football match but as Sky know 1 house is a family and 1 house is a male living alone they will target different ads at the 2 households, e.g. family season ticket deal in comparison to a singular season ticket deal.

Some channels are taking this tactic to the next level, Channel 4’s 4oD catch up service uses your name from your account to enable companies advertising through them to personalise their ads. There I was watching First Dates Hotel and a Nutella ad popped up with my name on the jar, for a good few seconds I thought Nutella had psychic powers until I remembered I was logged in with my email.

Personalised ads are definitely an evolving trend with a fine line between freaking customers out and customers being pleased to see their own name amongst generic ads, companies must beware not to cross this creepy barrier and put off consumers.

What are your thoughts on personalised ads? Love or hate them?

[libbynewmedia-blog]

Politicians - TV to Twitter

As my top suggestion when I type “J” into Google, it’s quite clear, Corbyn has got the hang of Twitter. Google have access to pretty much EVERYTHING, so of course, they knew that a left-wing student such as myself is gonna be a “Jezza” fan.

Let’s rewind 50 years, Twitter doesn’t exist and JFK isn’t hash tagging his way to victory. In the 1960 American Presidential election, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon relied on rallies and conventions rather than selfies and memes to connect with the public.

 1960’s equivalent of Twitter = TV.

The media breakthrough in the Kennedy-Nixon election era was the first presidential debate EVER. With up to 70 million people tuning in, the pair could reach out to the masses like never before. JFK adapted best to being on the box and his charismatic confidence saw the vote sway in his favour when all the polls had previously backed Nixon, the power of TV! Who knows what they’d think about having their own merchandise…

 Of course, t-shirts with their faces on is no new thing for MP’s such as Corbyn and Farage.                                                                   

Twitter has made politics “cool” again, with Corbyn gaining an almost cult following with his down-to-earth persona and honest tweets. In our fast-paced society, 140 characters to spread a message is perfect to have a flick through while you’re having a cuppa, walking to work or even on the loo. Love him or hate him, Corbyn has enthused a generation of let-down youth with his tweets and even mastered the hashtag. #JezWeCan

Disclaimer: these ARE NOT Corbyn’s actual tweets, he was hacked (apparently!)