#MDA20009 Digital Communties

This Blog will discuss weekly reading topics from the online unit #MDA20009, feel free to engage with your opinions and thoughts! “Portions of this site and the works within it are being producedwith 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 forthe content of this site.”

[violets-and-tea-leaves]

Listen up all of you!

I've had it! I have had enough of the hate and disrespect! I don't care what side of the debate you are on, the behaviour I have seen, particularly towards antivaxxers, is hurtful and disgusting. I know it is a very triggering topic for a lot of people, myself included, but that is no excuse for the behaviour I have seen repeatedly online. People are using bullying tactics probably without even being aware of what they are doing. People are acting so horribly, treating antivaxxers as monsters without examining themselves and their thinking or the effects of their behavior. It needs to stop. Now. Bullying people who have had different experiences from you does not make you in any way superior to them. You believing that they somehow threaten you (even though they don't) does not eliminate their right to be treated as a person. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. You have thoughts about any particular issue, fine. You are not a child, you can share them without being disrespectful to your fellow humankind!!!

[sophieklemensblogs]

Week 11: Post 8 Digital communities and trolls: understanding social media conflict

When I was younger, I used to hear the word trolls, and I would think of those little toy trolls with the coloured hair. But that is not what comes to mind these days.

As we truly enter the digital age, “social media plays a crucial role in the lives of networked teens”, with today’s adolescents deeming social media an essential part of their life. This makes it a lot easier for trolls. Trolls are where an individual online who verbally attacks another individual, with the intention of offending the victim. Trolling can have serious physical and psychological effects on the victims.  

A victim of trolling Suzanna Fernandes has been targeted with racial abuse, pornography and even death threats leaving her defeated and destroyed. She believes that there are two individuals that are involved with the harassment. Fernandes made 126 reports to the British Police and numerous to social media platforms Twitter and Facebook. I cannot imagine going through something as horrible as this. Fernandes received copious amounts of tweets from different accounts claiming that she had 10 days to live and was then sent pornography of herself. All this harassment started when she made an effort to stand up for someone receiving racist comments online. All this lead to for Fernandes was violent threats. How is  that fair? The perpetrators even found her son on Facebook, sending him lurid and vulgar messages. Why is it that these social media platforms that were created to connect people have turned into a toxic place which can ultimately causing extreme depression, psychological issues and much, much worse.  

Unfortunately this pattern is repeated all over the world, “as the internet is borderless” expanding the abuse. Although the internet is for the most part a positive place, there will always be trolls. We all just need to do our part to be kind and respectful to others and stand up for those in need.  

“Never allow carping critics to deter you from success. Instead, silence them with it.” ― Christian Baloga

References:

boyd, d. 2014 in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens (Links to an external site.), pp 128-52.

Laville, S,  Wong JC & Hunt, E 2016 'The Women Abandoned to Their Online Abusers' (Links to an external site.), The Guardian, Apr 12. (This is a good background piece. Asks the question: 'Who's responsible for fighting online abuse?')

[sophieklemensblogs]

Week 10: post 7 Gaming communities, social gaming and live streaming

This week was hard for me as I myself am not a gamer nor am I really into it. So this is really a foreign concept for me and interesting to research.  

Playing games is far different than what it once was. No longer do we need to make sure there is enough controllers on the couch at home for everyone, or wait for someone in the house to be available to play. Playing with other people can now consist of visiting an online community across social media and playing with someone online. Virtual worlds and other online social spaces develop internal rules that “govern how participants interact within the community”. While some platforms give the ability to players to have input in governance and rulemaking, it often doesn’t end positively.

The idea of social gaming can range from skilled based puzzles such as Candy Crush to  traditional looking slot machines. Something in particular that took years for the gaming industry to come around to was online gambling. While it took decades for online gambling legislation that allowed real money to be used, online gambling has created itself an incredible user base with 8% of Australia’s population partaking in interactive gambling. Currently, Zynga’s Texas Hold ’Em poker game is now the most popular game amongst the Facebook platform.

Ive always found live streaming to be a cool and unique aspect of gaming, where streamers can broadcast of a live video to an audience over the internet or it can be a one on one live video chat. I like the idea that live streaming is not cut or edited but that it is live and real. It is so popular with young people as it gives them the chance to be their own creator and presenter. But with anything online it can be unpredictable and hard to moderate. I found that there are several factors that can make it risky for children such as: content being unsuitable, inappropriate contact, creation of a digital footprint, lack of control over the stream or children accidently revealing personal information.

Through research Social gaming is the future, where you can play with anyone, anytime and anyplace.

“We can’t always play the perfect game” Virgil Van Dijkt

References:

Anon 2020, A short guide to live streaming, viewed 14 May, 2020, <https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/what-is-live-streaming/>.

Suzor, N & Woodford D 2013 'Evaluating consent and legitimacy amongst shifting community norms: An EVE Online case study' Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

The term 'gaming' extends well beyond computer and video games. Online gambling belongs under the umbrella term (gaming) Take a look at this site 'social gaming: it's bigger than you think' 2017

[gxldentattoos]

So proud of the 10 thousand students in Sydney’s CBD for striking school in protest for climate change, and the rest of the kids all over the country doing the same. This is what our future needs, a generation who is interested and engaged with politics

[sophieklemensblogs]

Week 9: post 6 Digital communities, political engagement and activism

Early adopters to the internet saw it as a place to socialise with others in places like AOL chatrooms or Six Degrees (one of the earliest social media sites). When it comes to more mainstream culture, participation in online communities was often viewed as an “esoteric practice for geeks and other social outcasts”. As the internet advanced so did the social media platforms and our perception of them and it became an integrated aspect of our daily lives.  Social media in particular allows users to see themselves as part of a broader community. It allows teens to envision themselves “as part of a collectively imagined community”. Sites such as Tumblr itself is a part of this broader community where you can follow things that you’re interested in, and find like-minded people I know for myself by using all these platforms I feel more apart of each community while feeling more connected to my friends.  Social media and digital platforms provide the public to new social possibilities.

Political engagement is where people have the ability to express their own thoughts and opinions of the aspects such as the government, environment, economy or social elements . They can then take part and shape decisions that affect our lives.  Brooke Foucault Welles, an Associate Professor in the department of Communication Studies, cameacross the hashtag on Twitter #myNYPD, and explores its purpose in the New York law enforcement community.

This tag wasn’t made for Instagram’s influencers to spread, but for everyday civilians in their everyday lives. For example, not every police response or person in hospital receives news coverage, but this Hashtag allowed people to collectively spread personal news. In a similar way, political activism can be seen, with a lot more coverage about the Black Lives Matter tweets surfacing and receiving attention. The news was covering police brutality in way that they had never done before. This was so fascinating: a social media platform like Twitter being used by everyday people to work together to get their message across, without the use of traditional media. This shows the idea of a public sphere where individuals can work together to identify societal problems. This shows us how digital communities can really impact on political engagement and activism in such a powerful way  

“If we all work together there is no telling how we can change the world through the impact of promoting positivity online.” ― Germany Kent

References:

- 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. Contemporary Performance InterActions. Palgrave Macmillan

- Anon 2020, Researching Online Activism using Social Network Analysis - SAGE Research Methods, viewed 11 May, 2020, <https://methods.sagepub.com/video/researching-online-activism-using-social-network-analysis>.

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Ethical, sustainable and cute fashion brands you should check out✨:

[puppykei]

[sophieklemensblogs]

Week 8: Post 5 Digital Health campaigns: body modification and cosmetic surgery on visual social media.

As a millennial I’m browsing Instagram all the time and seeing lots of different types of users and it got me thinking about how social media effects body modification.

Body modification is physical alteration such as a tattoo or plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is a unique discipline of medicine focused on enhancing your appearance.  Social media is so powerful and ubiquitous, for instance how tattoo artists can use sites such as Instagram to allow new potentional clients to view their work to be able to decide if it is right for them.

 It is also extremely influential “in the world of plastic surgery”. A study was undertaken in 2013 by Vardanian et all, where more than half of surveyed American society of plastic surgeons used social media for their professional and personal use. It is fascinating to me that in this ever changing world, social media is not just used for our own use, but to grow businesses. The 2017 statistic from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, states that 42% of surgeons reported that their patient intake are “seeking aesthetic surgery to improve their appearance for Instagram”. It is so crazy to me that social media platforms are causing people to make drastic changes to their bodies so they can appear to have a better online presence.  Some of the plastic surgery surgeons are not only using social media to expand their client base but to also to give patient education as well. Instagram has been used by thousands of patients using hashtags to say what they got done.

Similar to this, health campaigns are increasingly turning to social media to “support, promote and increase the spread of information”. When looking at the top ten most effective health campaigns, I found number five particularly interesting which is the New Zealand Health Sponsorship Council’s online anti-smoking games, which is a set of online games predominately targeted at younger children to ultimately discourage and steer them away from the idea of smoking. I thought this was such a different and unique idea to stop people smoking and making the whole concept a positive experience. Health care professionals are able to use social media to potentially improve health outcomes, develop a professional network, increase personal awareness and motivate their patients. Overall, I like that people can have the ability to change their appearance to feel as comfortable and confident in their own skin, although the idea that people are doing body modification as a cause of wanting to look better on Instagram doesn’t seem right to me. Which is why I really love that there are so many digital health campaigns available to everyone to get support and guidance.

“The cheerful mind perseveres, and the strong mind hews its way through a thousand difficulties.” – Swami Vivekananda

References:

- Robert G Dorfman, Elbert E Vaca, Eitezaz Mahmood, Neil A Fine and Clark F Schierle, ‘Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilization on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Volume 38, Issue 3, March 2018, pp 332–338

- Howard, A 2018,'10 effective public health social media campaigns' Strategic Social Media Lab accessed 10 Jan 2019 https://strategicsocialmedialab.com/10-effective-public-health-social-media-campaigns/

- Ventola, C 2014, "Social Media and Health Care Professionals: Benefits, Risks, and Best Practices", viewed 5 May, 2020, <http://Social Media and Health Care Professionals: Benefits, Risks, and Best Practices>.

[sophieklemensblogs]

Week 7: Post 3 Digital citizenship case study: Instagram, Influencers and the slow fashion movement.

Just last week I cleaned out my wardrobe and dropped two bags of clothes at the Salvos, and it really got me thinking about longevity and sustainability of my clothes. This prompted me to look into the life cycle of clothing and how it is influenced by digital citizens. I came across the concept of ‘slow fashion’ and how it can be impacted by influencers.

Slow fashion “seeks to slow down the pace of the current fashion life cycle” (Lai, Henninger,Panayiota 2017, p. 82) and therefore produces a maximum of four fashion lines annually. Likewise sustainable fashion can be defined as clothing and accessories that are manufactured using ecological and ethical principles. Slow fashion is sustainable and doesn’t see products as materials. A case study was undertaken to see how these fashion movements would ‘influence consumers’, the study settled on the idea that most of the participants said the garments “tend to be more expensive” than unsustainable products. I found it quite interesting that from the study, only one participant stated that the higher prices was a cause of  higher quality clothes. The case study settled on the concept that consumers are price sensitive and are not willing to spend the extra money to be sustainable.It then got me thinking that sustainable fashion is predominately observed as a luxury commodity that lacks quality. In doing some research, I found that as a whole, consumers were still confused on what exactly sustainable fashion is. To fix this uncertainty, a clear outline needs to be made to allow consumers to have a greater understating of this particular fashion. I think this is the perfect segway in how the movement of slow and sustainable fashion is emerging through social media influencers getting the word out there.

Ana Fernanda Covarrubias Vera, the owner of the Australian brand @Fernanda_covarrubiasv, who make ethical clothes, bags, and accessories. She does this by using a wide variety of preloved and recycled materials to create her collections. Her aim is to share her love and passion for slow fashion and upcycling, as well as expressing her concerns about the impact that this has on our environment through her Instagram account and her blog. Her intentions are to teach more consumers about this fashion world. Influencers such as Ana display how people use their digital citizenship for good.

We are lucky enough to live in such a modern and changing world where the internet has made everything so accessible. This leads to infinite amount of online shopping options. Shopping has become fast and easy; by sitting in the comfort of your own home you can shop and buy an entire new wardrobe, finding cheap deals without leaving your home. As a result, there should be less and less confusion of what sustainable fashion is as there are so many different influencers promoting this and creating sustainable clothing. I’m also at fault of this, not really know about this fashion world. But when writing and researching this, I found so many social media accounts promoting sustainable fashion, ultimately helping me strive for a more sustainable life.

“the revolution will look fabulous” - Lucy Shea

References:

- Anon 2020, SECOND RUNWAY - Styling . Upcycling . Life, viewed 30 April, 2020, <http://secondrunway.co>.

- Kowalski, K 2020, What is Slow Fashion (vs Ethical & Sustainable Fashion)? | Sloww, viewed 30 April, 2020, <https://www.sloww.co/slow-fashion-101/>.

Zhen Lai, Claudia E. Henninger and Panayiota J. Alevizou ‘An Exploration of Consumers’ Perceptions Towards Sustainable Fashion – A Qualitative Study in the UK’, in Sustainability in Fashion A Cradle to Upcycle Approach, edited by Henninger, C.E., Alevizou, P., Goworek, H., Ryding, D. (Palgrave: 2017).

[sophieklemensblogs]

Week 6: Post 2-  What is digital citizenship? How social media is changing the election process?

Welcome to another one of my posts! This week’s discussion moves beyond just the Tumblr site but all of the social media platforms. I thought I’d break this question down to make it as simple as possible for my readers. Firstly, digital citizenship refers to an individual “who how has the knowledge and skills to effectively use digital technologies to communicate with others who participate in society and create a consumer digital content”. Digital citizenship is all about positive engagement in the digital world. 

When it comes to talking about how social media is changing the election process, “social media is the latest fascination of political communication strategists, particularly during election campaigns”. Over the years, new social media platforms have been created, offering a replacement for campaign websites, allowing candidates to offer a modern, online information channel. Although the traditional forms of political communication have not been replaced, social media has undeniably changed the way in which these politicians run. A big change between the 2012 and 2016 US presidential election campaigns is how “focus on images and videos has grown.” This is could be attributed to the use of the photo sharing platform ‘Instagram’. For instance, in 2016 Hillary Clinton would regularly post short videos as a part of her social media campaign. A good example we can talk about for changes, is Clinton’s announcement for her presidential campaign. Instead of normally initiating a press conference to announce that she was running to be the democratic president, she opted for a much quicker and efficient approach, simply Tweeting “I’m running for president”.

The graph below shows the different types of candidates. As we can see, in his 2016 campaign, Trump’s social media presence predominately consisted of a more amateur and authentic style. Likewise, Clinton’s approach demonstrated higher degree of professionalism.

There are a lot of campaigns that treat social media platforms as a broadcast medium, but primarily it is all about community, conversations and connections. Voters want to be able to feel connected and feel a sense of community with the President that they are voting for. If used in the right way social media can produce this outcome.  Although the platforms can be used in a wide variety of different manners.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this matter. What would catch your attention more? Trump or Clinton’s approach to the use of social media?

“distracted from distraction by distraction” - T.S. Eliot

References:

- Anon 2015, Twitter, viewed 26 April, 2020, <https://twitter.com/hillaryclinton/status/587336319321407488?lang=en>.

- Australia, E 2020, Digital citizenship | Digital Technologies Hub, viewed 26 April, 2020, <https://www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/teachers/topics/digital-citizenship>.

- Enli, G 2017, 'Twitter as an arena for the authentic outsider: Exploring the social media campaigns of Trump and Clinton in the 2016 presidential election', European Journal of Communication, vol 32, no 1 pp 50-61

[henry-www]

post[0] = “How does Tumblr function as a digital community?”;

[sophieklemensblogs]

The quote “connect you with your people”  is meaningful and powerful and stood out a lot for me when reading this post  as the topic spoken about was Tumblr as a digital community, therefore this quote is exactly that. The world can feel quite big sometimes. The idea of being connected with your people, can make you feel like you belong which is such an important aspect of life. Especially in what’s happening right now in the world, being able to have a community where you can connect with people online, is such a nice thing to have and create, and lucky that the Tumblr sight can provide this. When reading this post I felt it to be very informative when discussing an anonymous persona that can be created on a site like Tumblr. By adding images to break up the paragraphs kept me more focused and didn’t feel like I was just reading a clump of writing. I look forward to reading more posts from here in the future :))

[sophieklemensblogs]

Post 0: “How does Tumblr Function as a digital community?”

Before getting into today’s question, I thought I should introduce myself. My name is Sophie and to be honest I don’t have a lot of experience with Tumblr. When I was younger I tried making a Tumblr account because all my friends did, I would just scroll through my feed but I never actually posted anything, so I’m really a newbie to this platform. :)) 

Tumblr functions as a digital community in a variety of ways. As the Tumblr platform states;  “Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything” by allowing users to post text, photos, quotes, links, music and videos. I often hear people say they utilise Tumblr as it is a cross between social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and a blog. The site was founded in 2007 and is one of the worlds largest blogging platforms. Tumblr hosts over 200 million blogs and has over 420 million users. The site is particularly popular with young people, with approximately 69% of  monthly users  identifying as millennials (Heine, 2015; Smith, 2017)

The platform’s primary difference from most other social media platforms, stems from the notion that the site has no personal profiles or networks of friends, leaving many Tumblrs’ anonymous.  Although Tumblr’s predominant use is for blogging, it is also commonly used to find artistic based media on each individuals interest. Tumblr can be looked at as a platform that prioritises aesthetics.

Jurgen Habermas (2016 p. 98) concept of the public sphere, “is a construct of its time, and the mass media- dominated environment”. The way Tumblr functions as a digital community surrounds how the users across the world can communicate with each other through their posts, ultimately enabling them to connect with people who have the same hobbies and interests as them.  Users can share their views online as Tumblr gives them a creative outlet to do so. People are able to comment and interact with posts, creating a digital community.  Tumblr allows freedom of speech and more importantly freedom of their self creativity. It is not surprising that the ability to be anonymous is a major reason that the primary users are teenagers and in particular young feminist. Tumblr is a safe place they can express their opinions and outlooks without being attacked, but still have that open discussion in the comments. Dara, a 14 year old girl who uses Tumblr regularly was asked, when talking about her experience with sexism, which platform would she use, she replied “ I might put it on Tumblr because I feel very anonymous and I like that”. This is a primary example how people can express their thoughts in a safe environment. The platform allows a community to be formed without the direct and personal attacks on the users. It further allows people to voice their opinions and to be listened to and heard.

Sorry for the long first post, I had a lot to say. I hope you enjoyed the read and feel free to give me your opinion on Tumblr and what you use it for?

"It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent." Madeleine Albright

References:

·       Anon 2020, Explainer: What is Tumblr?, viewed 15 April, 2020, <https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainer-what-is-tumblr-2/>.

·       Anon 2020, Habermas’ Public Sphere, viewed 15 April, 2020, <https://opentextbc.ca/mediastudies101/chapter/habermas-public-sphere/>.

·       Anon 2020, TechCrunch is now a part of Verizon Media, viewed 15 April, 2020, <https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/18/tumblr-is-not-what-you-think/>.

·       Anon 2020, TechCrunch is now a part of Verizon Media, viewed 15 April, 2020, <https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/18/tumblr-is-not-what-you-think/>.

·       Bruns, A & Highfield, T 2016 Is Habermas on Twitter? Social media and the public sphere. In A Bruns, G Enli, E Skogerbø, AO Larsson, & Christensen, C (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics. Routledge, New York, pp. 56-73

·       Jessalynn Keller, “Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms, Social Media + Society Volume: 5 issue: 3, 2019