Olivia

Second Year Uni student using this blog as a part of my studies. #MDA20009

[oliviabryan]

WEEK 11: Trolling

What is trolling?

According to Cambridge Dictionary (2020), trolling is “the act of leaving an insulting message on the internet in order to annoy someone” and it can include the following:

“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 rumors 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).

 Why do people troll?

Below is a great video presented by ASAPScience that explains the science behind trolls but in short, trolls are people who find pleasure in inflicting pain on others. They thrive off it and there is not only that but to gain as much attention as possible doing it. 

 What you can do

As stated above, trolls just want to be noticed and know that their comments are in fact hurting you. The best thing you can do is ignore them and do not give them the satisfaction of knowing that their comments affected you and eventually, they’ll give up cause their efforts are not working. 

Another example to look at is Chrissy Teigan. Just looking at her Twitter you can see the ridiculous amount of troll comments she gets on everything she posts and consistently sends responses back to many of the comments she receives which usually lead to trolls deleting their comments. It is inspiring to see a woman stand up for herself in such a public environment and not be afraid of the consequences that might come which is why she is the perfect example to show young girls who are just entering the treacherous landscape that is social media.

Overall, trolling is a serious issue that is affecting our society every day. I think that every person can think of an example of where they’ve seen it take place, whether it's happened to them, family, friends or celebrities.

[oliviabryan]

WEEK 10: The Rise of the Gamer

Once considered the outcasts and nerds of society, the ‘gamers’ of today have created multi million dollar profiles and have brought gaming into the mainstream light it is in today. It is estimated that the gaming industry consists of over 2.5 billion people worldwide and could reach a value of $300B USD by 2025 (Koksal, 2019). Games such as the widely popular, and free, ‘Fortnite’ in 2018 alone earned a revenue of over $2.4 billion USD just from in-game purchases (Gilbert, 2019). 

The traditional gamer was considered to be white or East Asian, young, middle-class, and a man but recent years has seen this stereotype disintegrate. More and more women are taking up gaming and some of society’s 1%ers are now professional gamers.

 (Fullscreen, 2018)

This move into mainstream media can be put down to the individuals who have turned their passion for gaming into a career. Platforms such as Youtube and Twitch allow individuals to attract mass audiences by live streaming and posting videos of them playing and interacting with fans and other players. These individuals earn millions through these platforms as well as sponsorships, events and E-Sports. Their content falls under dozens of categories such as  live streaming,  ‘Lets Plays’, game reviews and game tutorials. Arguably the most widely known, and controversial,  gamer, Felix Kjellberg, or more commonly known as ‘PewDiePie’ is worth a self reported $25M USD in 2018 (Leskin, 2019). Felix last year became the first ‘Youtuber’ to reach the impressive feat of 100 million subscribers (Alexander, 2019), which if you wanted to know is more than the population of 220 countries. Although he has moved into other content, Felix still predominantly posts gaming videos and this alone demonstrates how big the gaming community really is. 

In my opinion, gaming has become such a success over the past few years because of the mass followings that gamers have received and the success of these individuals has helped to destroy the stigmas surrounding gaming. Gaming for many, has created and acts as a community that stretches across the world. 

 REFERENCES 

Alexander, J 2019, PewDiePie becomes the first individual YouTube creator to hit 100 million subscribers, The Verge, viewed 24 May 2020, <https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/26/20831853/pewdiepie-100-million-subscribers-youtube-tseries-competition> 

Gilbert, B 2019, How much money is 'Fortnite' making? Nearly $2.5 billion in 2018 alone, according to the latest report, Business Insider, viewed 24 May 2020, <https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-much-money-does-fortnite-make-2019-1?r=US&IR=T>

Koksal, I 2019, Video Gaming Industry & Its Revenue Shift, Forbes, viewed 24 May 2020, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilkerkoksal/2019/11/08/video-gaming-industry--its-revenue-shift/#1f162e4b663e>

Leskin, P 2019, The career of PewDiePie, the controversial 30-year-old video creator who just returned to YouTube after a 30-day hiatus, Business Insider, viewed 24 May 2020, <https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pewdiepie-youtube-felix-kjellberg-life-career-controvery-2019-9?r=US&IR=T>

[oliviabryan]

WEEK 9: The effects of Social Media in Political Campaigns

In recent decades, the growing popularity of social media has caused a major shift in how politicians, and parties as a whole, market themselves and gain popularity.Gone are the days of parties just handing out fliers on the street and getting media exposure. The introduction of social media has come with many positives but there are also some negatives that come along with it. Political parties now have a whole other platform where they can campaign, but also be scrutinised.

 THE POSITIVES

One major positive with social media is the ability to target specific users that fit the demographic of a political party's target audience. Similarly to businesses, governments and politicians analytics to target specific users so they’re message can be reached by the right people (Bhat, 2019). Another positive is that politicians can get live reactions and feedback to statements, announcements and initiatives. Hashtags such as “#auspol” (Australian Politics) on Twitter which is “most often used for commentary and rumour spreading about the machinations of the federal government” (Bogle, 2016) can give politicians immediate feedback that otherwise would not. 

  THE NEGATIVES

There is a growing number of studies suggesting that social media has detrimental effects to politics and politicians individually. The majority of users are “limited to incidental

exposure to political information” (Yamamoto & Kushin, 2014, p.441) whereby “people end up consuming something while intending to do something else” (Fletcher 2017). This means that the majority of people that any political content reaches, they found it through looking for something else, which may lead to them not paying any attention to it. One of the big negatives of social media is the rise of “fake news”. Cambridge Dictionary defines fake news as “false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke” (2020). Fake news according to Chris Griffith in the Australian (2020) is seeing the US sail into dangerous, uncharted waters in this year’s presidential election”. Fake news is dangerous because in some cases, it’s hard to tell what you can and can’t believe and in the end you don’t trust anything.

Ultimately, it's undecided if politics is one of the few areas that is not positively benefiting from social media as there are arguments for either side but one thing's for certain. The political environment is not the same as it was 20 years ago.

 REFERENCES

Bhat, A 2019, POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON POLITICS, Thrive Global, viewed 15 May 2020, <https://thriveglobal.com/stories/positive-and-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-politics/>

Bogle, A 2016, #auspol: The Twitter hashtag Australia can't live without, Mashable Australia, viewed 15 may 2020, <https://mashable.com/2016/03/21/twitter-australia-auspol/>

Cambridge Dictionary 2020, Fake News, viewed 16 May 2020, <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fake-news>

Fletcher, R 2017, Social Media and Incidental Exposure, Digital News Report, viewed 16 May 2020, <http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2017/social-media-incidental-exposure-2017/>

Griffiths, C 2020, ‘Fake news infecting health and politics’, The Australian, 26 February, viewed 16 May 2020, <https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/fake-news-infecting-health-and-politics/news-story/4ead978f427cc03e87eaf25b8f853666>

[oliviabryan]

WEEK 8: The rise of photoshop for the average social media user and its effects

In recent years, the ‘ideal’ body type for women has changed. Replacing the model-like slim look that was the goal for decades, the more curvaceous, big breasts, slim waist and large buttocks, made famous by the Kardashian family, for many is even less attainable than what the goal once was. This sought after look has seen a rise in the use of filters and photoshop for the average social media user.

As the Toledo Center for Eating Disorders (2019) states , in past decades, people have become accustomed to seeing the airbrushed digitally edited advertisements found in magazine and billboards, but now thanks to technology, the average social media user can achieve this little to no effort and heavily edited image are becoming more popular on social media. 

However, there have been times where this attempt of fitting the mould of the ‘perfect’ body has been caught out with ‘photoshop fails’. Below is a recent example from Kylie Jenner in April this year. 

 via Kyliejenner (Instagram)

The filters that are readily available to anyone with access to a device and internet means that there has been a spike in mental illnesses as well as plastic surgery. New York plastic surgeon, Matthew Schulman, states that  “patients have been coming in with Snapchat filtered selfies to show what they want done to their body” (Adkins 2018). Social media has seen a rise in many mental illnesses in young people, especially teenagers. One of the main disorders that has been linked to social media is Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is “a mental health disorder in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance” (Mayo Clinic, 2020). This disorder can affect anyone from someone who is perceived as “good looking” to someone who is “average looking”, demonstrating how mental illnesses and disorders can effect just about anyone.

A person's social media shows what they want you to see. For most people, their social media only highlights the good things, never the bad, creating an image to the average follower or subscriber that you live a perfect life, when in actuality it could be the complete opposite. This can be credited to the shift in social media that occurred where the purpose of social changed from a form of self expression to form of self branding. Alyce Adkins in The Lexington line (2018) states that social media has shifted from an external being, to an extension of ourselves. This “front” that people create also adds to the pressures that people face on social media.

To end this, here is a music video by the band ‘Foster The People’ which they state is a social commentary on the “modelling industry and the fashion industry and the pressures women feel and girls feel every day” (2014). 

REFERENCES

Blake, E 2014, FOSTER THE PEOPLE EXPLAIN THE MEANING BEHIND THEIR TWISTED 'BEST FRIEND' VIDEO, MTV News, viewed 9 May 2020, <http://www.mtv.com/news/1833863/foster-the-people-best-friend-video/>

 Bonner, M 2020, Kylie Jenner Accidentally Posted a Photoshopped Pic and Immediately Deleted It, Cosmopolitan, viewed 9 May 2020, <https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a32313940/kylie-jenner-photoshop-fail-bikini-quarantine/>

FosterThePeople 2014, Foster The People - Best friend, 29 May, viewed 9 May 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndzln1UEyf0>

Mayo Clinic 2020, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, viewed 9 May 2020, <https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/body-dysmorphic-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353938>

Toledo Center for Eating Disorders 2020, Body Dysmorphia, Social Media & Image Filters, viewed 9 May 2020, <https://toledocenter.com/social-media/body-dysmorphia-social-media-image-filters/>

[oliviabryan]

WEEK 7: Instagram, influencers and the Slow Fashion Movement

“They like to call themselves influencers in terms of business… but they don’t want to accept the responsibility of being an influence” (tiffanyferg, 2018)

 According to the NSW Department of Education, “A good digital citizen is a person with the skills and knowledge to effectively use digital technologies in a positive way to participate in society, communicate with others, and create and consume digital content”. So based on this, is the average ‘influencer’ actually a good digital citizen then? 

 The amount of influencers bucking the historical trend of not discussing any ‘polarising’ issues is increasing daily. Youtuber Arden Rose has been a prominent influencer that has been promoting the slow fashion, more minimalist lifestyle. Since 2018, there has been a considerable shift in her content since late 2018. She was one of the original fashion and beauty bloggers of the early 2010s known for her hauls and makeup videos. Since her video ‘How to NOT Destroy the Planet” (August 2018), she has focused her channel on sustainable fashion hauls, wardrobe decluttering, all going to her Depop page, and lifestyle vlogs. 

(via Arden Rose Youtube)

THE SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT

To understand slow fashion, you first need to understand what fast fashion is. Solene Rauturier defines fast fashion as “cheap, trendy clothing, that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed” (2018).It’s the clothes that we see on the racks of high profile High st stores such as H&M and Zara. The issues of fast fashion resurfaced once again in 2015 after the documentary ‘The True Cost’ which shows the dark side of fast fashion that the average consumer doesn’t get to see. Slow fashion is apparel that are produced in more ethical ways. An easy way to tell if your clothing is ethically produced is by going through this 4 step process:

Is it child labour free?

Are the materials used less harmful to the environment than what is usually used?

Is the production process completed in an ethical and sustainable manner?

Is there any evidence of long term supply chain relationships in the brand?

If your clothes pass all 4 steps CONGRATULATIONS! You can officially say you have shopped ethically. However, for many of us, myself included, this is hard to achieve. 

THE RISE OF RENTING, THRIFTING, SECOND HAND CLOTHING AND MARIE KONDO

In recent years, we have seen a resurgence in thrifting culture and second hand clothing. Apps and websites such as Depop have surfaced and have allowed the average person to sell their second hand clothes to other people at a fraction of the retail price. Similarly, hundreds of instagram pages and websites have started the idea of clothing rentals which provide consumers with formal wear that they can rent for an event instead of going out buying something that they will probably wear once. 

The Japanese consultant Marie Kondo has also inspired many to ditch the materialistic lifestyle that seems to be the common trend today for a life based off of themes of minimalism. This lifestyle generally means that you are saving money on things that you would be and living on only the things you need.

So, if slow fashion is so much better for the environment and our fellow humans, why aren’t more of us shopping more ethically? This can be placed onto two main issues:

      1. The cost

Naturally, clothes, shoes and accessories that are made with more expensive materials, and actually pay their workers a legal minimum wage, are more expensive. HOWEVER, there is still light at the end of the tunnel! Jessica Davis in 2018 stated that in 2014, the price of organic food was approximately 9% more than what the normal cost of the same product would be but in 2018, this discrepancy had dropped to 7.5%. This can be due to the basic function of any economical market: More demand = more suppliers leading to a more competitive market that can cater for lower costs. Essentially, if more people become interested in slow fashion, more suppliers will start and eventually prices will drop so they become more affordable. 

      2. Instagram

It’s probably a bit harsh to blame an entire multi trillion dollar industry’s downfall on a social media platform but Instagram culture has changed society forever. Instagram has placed a pressure on society that other generations have never experienced. The pressure to look good ALL. THE. TIME. And god forbid if you repeat an outfit. This culture means that many of us justify new purchases because it is a fashion no no to be caught in the same outfit twice. 

We are lucky that in today's digital age, it is a lot easier to shop ethically. Check out thrift and vintage stores, head on Depop and similar marketplaces or go onto the BCorp website to find some new ethical businesses to shop from. We have no excuses for not shopping a little more ethically and baby steps are all that is needed to make a difference. 

REFERENCES

Davis, J 2019, A change in the industry starts at the customer, Harper's Bazaar, viewed 29 April 2020, <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/a28609044/sustainable-fashion-expensive-why/>

Office of the eSafety Commissioner, NSW Department of Education,~About Digital Citizenship~, viewed 29 April 2020, <https://www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au/about>

Rauturier, S 2018, What is Fast Fashion?, Good on You, viewed 29 April 2020, <https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-fast-fashion/>

Tiffanyferg 2018, Are You A Good Influence? (Fast Fashion VS Sustainable Clothing), 1 December, viewed 29 April 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y5Hi8US0_s>

[oliviabryan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbbuLFUSd0AWhat is digital citizenship?

(via Giphy)

Common Sense Education 2017, What is Digital Citizenship?, 12 October, viewed 29 April 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbbuLFUSd0A>

[oliviabryan]

WEEK 6:How Tumblr Functions as a Digital Community

(Fortune 2019)

In the ever changing world that we live in today, people are finding new ways every day to communicate with others and express themselves in creative ways. Since the creation of the internet, the world has seen hundreds of social platforms that give this opportunity to people. 

Social media platforms provide their users with the outlet they need to represent themselves on a digital scale. They are becoming a pillar in our society and the number of users for social media such as Facebook and Instagram overtake populations of countries and whole continents.

The Public Sphere

The idea of the public sphere was first created by Jürgen Habermas. He states that it is a place where “private people assemble to form a public body” and “public opinion can be formed” (Habermas 1964, p.49). Social media sites, taking into account their mass attraction and populations, supplies the world with the closest thing to a public sphere that we can get. Social media connects people all across the world instantly. Tumblr especially is a place where the idea of the public sphere thrives.

Tumblr as a Digital Community

In its peak in July 2018, Tumblr had over 650 million users (Liao 2019), and although it is nowhere near the amount of users that the likes of Facebook, Youtube and Instagram have, this is still a significant number. In terms of its place in social media, Tumblr is considered a microblogging website for people who do not want to be limited by the character limits of the more popular blogging site, Twitter and, in comparison, is a lot more creative platform. With Tumblrs ability to create your own blog posts, as well as reblog, like and reply to other users posts, it creates the ability for it to serve as a public platform. 

However, in recent years, Tumblr has seen a steep decline in its popularity and users. The company in 2013 was worth $1.1 billion USD in 2013 and just six years later its worth dropped drastically to only $3 million. Rachel Sigel in the Washington Post (2019) states that policy changes in 2018 had “alienated many of its users and longtime supporters”. Sigel also states that “Tumblr had long been considered a safe space for exploring identity”. Since these restrictions were put in place, Tumblrs monthly users has dropped by over 200 million in just 18 months. These restrictions do hinder the platform's ability to become a public sphere for the world as freedom of speech and thought is restricted to an extent.Not only is Tumblr a community as a whole, it has created its own smaller communities based on users interests and social movements. Creating a Tumblr account, it is almost certain that you will be able to find a community of like minded people that you share a common passion, interest or drive with. The site allows for freedom of expression and based on this, the platform does act as a digital community for its users.

‘Explicit Tumblr’, in Fortune, ‘What Tumblr’s 2013 Billion-Dollar Valuation Tells Us About How We Value Startups Today’, viewed 20 April 2020, <https://fortune.com/2019/08/13/term-sheet-tuesday-august-13/>

Habermas, J 1964, "The Public Sphere', New German Critique, vol.1, no.3, pp.49-55

Liao, S 2019, After the porn ban, Tumblr users have ditched the platform as promised, The Verge, viewed 18 April 2020, <https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/14/18266013/tumblr-porn-ban-lost-users-down-traffic>.

Siegel, R 2019, 'Tumblr once sold for $1.1 billion. The owner of WordPress just bought the site for a fraction of that., The Washington Post, August 14, viewed 18 April 2020, <https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/08/13/tumblr-once-sold-billion-owner-wordpress-just-bought-site-fraction-that/>Show less

[oliviabryan]

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