Digital Communications

[oksanarazo-blog]

Blog 7: Visual Communities and Social Imaging

In this modern age personal photography and later video have become embedded into our everyday lives. With huge developments in cameras and mobile phones we have notices a huge jump in person and social imaging. The term networked visuality is becoming an integral part of the formation and maintenance of social networks. Snapshots are becoming a common part of communication and even self-designated imaging communities.

The rise of selfie culture with is a self-portrait at arm’s length shared via social media is a prominent component of social imaging (Swinburne Online, 2018). One of the primary platforms used is SnapChat. By removing the permanence of the image in the visual community it works to overcome self-consciousness as discomfort of your personal image being stored. Snap Chat is a great way to share your day to day experiences without posting it anywhere public. It allows you to control who sees the image and how long for. Snap Chat is being used by all ages as a great way to keep in touch ad updated with friends and family. SnapChat also allows you to apply filters to your face to make it more fun and interactive.

Social media platforms such as Facebook and SnapChat have increased interpersonal relationships. If a relationship improves over social media, it’s been shown to improve face-to-face as well (Velten, J & Arif, R 2017, pp. 16). Through the experimental phase of a relationship - messaging apps allow people to ask questions they may not feel comfortable asking face-to-face initially (Velten, J & Arif, R 2017, pp. 16). It also appeals to the self-disclosure stage of a relationship – as it allows other people to see only what you want to see and maintain and ideal appearance.

Taking Selfies using snapchat has been found to be a great tool to reinitiate family/friend relationships. When one is less likely to call they are more likely to communicate through images.

With all these positives there are many negatives that come with social images. The nature of images disappearing could push people to take risky images. But many people forget these images can still be saved using a screen shot (Velten, J & Arif, R 2017, pp. 27). The other perceived risk is people adding you and sending you snaps when you may not know them. Snapchat is an excellent platform – but with all social media there Is a risk. Using it appropriately and with people you know is the safest option.

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Interesting view on snapchat. Due to tall the enhancements on snapchat you can now track locations of people and also view their stories without needing permission (if they’re not set to private). I think we all need to remember that anything that is posted on any kind of phone, even contacts or messaged in your phone can be brought back. They’re stored and the hackers in the world are just getting smarter, so its important to be mindful on what you post or even say.

[charluetc-blog]

Prepare for unforeseen  consequences

While before the Internet age, members of parliament needed to be careful that things they’d done in the past didn’t come back to bite them, it’s now quite obvious that a person’s life online can be equally as detrimental.

Sharing your opinions online can come back to haunt you, particularly if you’re a politician. It certainly can have its benefits too, like increased exposure, especially with a younger audience, but it opens up the arena for the public to share whatever they want, right back at you.

This proves that social media goes both ways, and just as the politician can share their - or their party’s thoughts, members of society can have a say that’s equally, or sometimes even more, influential (Jericho 2013, p. 256), like in the case of Tina Fey’s Saturday Night Live impersonation of Sarah Palin creating more engagement than any of Palin’s YouTube clips ever will.

While being present on social media as a member of parliament or political figure definitely has its risks, not being present at all could potentially miss out on engagement that couldn’t be reached any other way.

Donald Trump is the perfect example of a politician with a huge presence on social media, reaching millions of people with his outlandishly blunt tweets and many Youtube montages of his ridiculous behaviour.

However, people tend to be attracted to the entertainment and the humour, and even if Trump isn’t sharing a message you agree with, if the other candidate isn’t as entertaining, their potentially more appropriate messages or thoughts could be disregarded.

Jodi Dean (2013) brought up some interesting points in her lecture explaining the negative influence that social media can have over democracy. Dean refers to these effects as ‘communicative capitalism’ in which ultimately, our communication is exploited. 

She reiterates that when we take ‘action’ on social media in regards to a cause, a lot of the time it’s the Facebook or Twitter post that becomes ‘the story,’ “leaving people dying on the streets,” for example.

I believe a political candidate who invests money in campaigning across social media platforms will have a definite advantage over those who choose not to (whether we like it or not). 

However, we must be careful, as ‘digital citizens’ not to let entertainment or popularity of a candidate define our views. On the other hand, we must be aware that simply contributing to democratic discourse (Dean 2013) isn’t always the most effective means to change. 

Being present and protesting on the streets can illustrate a deeper layer of influence, and irrespective of all the magic social media can bring, should not be forgotten.

References:

Jericho, G 2012, ‘How many votes are there on Twitter?’, in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia.

DCU School of Communication 2013, IAMCR 2013 Plenary No. 3 - Jodi Dean, 3 July, viewed 3 August 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ABPuNQ6IU>.

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Interesting insight on this topic. Personally, I believe that social media out rules public protests. I think its stronger because thats just the way the world is going, Yes most definitive politicians who put in more money and effort to social media will in the end have a larger impact Social media is a great tool to use to spread view points to attempt to influence the public.

[charluetc-blog]

So many voices

Digital Citizenship, referring to our “ability to participate in society online,” (Mossberger et al. 2008, p. 1) has opened up the floodgates, letting us share our voices across the globe like never before, regardless of whether the message we’re sharing is good or bad. However, because of this ‘right’ to share our opinions about what we’re passionate about, social media is (sadly) swamped with hundreds and thousands of troubles and struggles and causes from all around the world.

Like everything though, this has both positive and negative effects. On one hand, being able to share anything online, creates awareness about things that wouldn’t be possible to know about without technology and social media (Teich 2016). But is awareness enough to tackle all of the world’s problems? I don’t believe so.

While I don’t like to admit it, because of my increased ‘awareness’ of many causes that need attention, I have, in a way, become kind of numb and desensitized to them. My rational mind would love to help as many people as possible and be involved in helping many more causes, however, realistically it’s all quite overwhelming. I would definitely consider myself as a slacktivist, more often than not. I am aware and I do support many causes, however, I don’t go out and march the streets.

Social media does a great job at making people feel like activists without actually having them donate money or take to the streets. For example, in the recent Marriage Equality campaign, of Facebook, people had the ability to add many different banners over their profile pictures to show their support for the cause. This was the same on Instagram. Unfortunately, these actions don’t help the cause a great deal. However, I do believe every little action online can help to create awareness that can help the cause, and this creates the foundation for change (Rutledge 2010).

I also believe activism coincides with personality type, and how much people are willing to share both online and offline. Personally, I would much prefer to write an article about something I strongly believe, rather than voice my opinion in real life to a group of people, or in a social media post. On the other hand, others prefer the opposite. As Rutledge (2010) puts it, social media has completely re-written the rules on activism.

References

Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C., & McNeal, R 2008, Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Rutledge, P 2010   https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-media/201010/four-ways-social-media-is-redefining-activism

Teich, R 2016 Three Big Problems With Facebook Activism Big Think, viewed 8 January 2018:

http://bigthink.com/praxis/facebook-is-fraying-not-saving-the-world

[studentlifeforme-blog]

I like how you spoke about how we participate in activism online but dont even realize it. I thought about PARIS and the bombing, so many people changed their DPS to PARIS. Then a backlash erupted due to Iran and Turky being bombed weekly with hundreds dying, Just makes you wonder what else is happening in the world that we dont know about?

[jackdigitalcommunities-blog]

Gaming for good!

Well we’ve heard enough about how videos games are turning teenage brains into goo and causing violence and mass shootings. Let’s have a look at the potential for positive benefits from social games.

  As many as 86% of students in Korea use the internet to play games, and 60% said that fun and entertainment is the main activity that brings them to the internet (Lee in Baek, Ko & Marsh 2014, p. 130). As such, online gaming is thought to be one of the most significant gateways to children developing computer literacy.

Online social games like Farmville, have been found to have educational benefits to children, as they promote cooperation and collaboration as well as resource and time management (Lee in Baek, Ko & Marsh 2014, pp.131-132).

Minecraft has become a remarkable phenomenon within schools with endless applications for education. The social aspect of the game is central to its value and benefit to children. Blyberg (2015) outlines how the game has helped formed important physical social participation sites for young people in schools and libraries (p.28). Wily librarians are using these gatherings as an opportunity to issue library cards and get them back into reading (ibid).

MMORPGs, while perhaps aimed at a slightly more ‘serious’ gaming audience, also have educational benefits. They promote social interaction, formation of new relationships as well as the enhancement of existing offline relationships (Kim, Yoo & Kauffman 2013, p.11). These particular social interactions are closely connected to the overall enjoyment and pleasure associated with the game, meaning that not only are MMORPGs more attractive to a lot of gamers but also, those gamers will benefit more from these types of social games. (ibid. pp.12-13).

Kim, Yoo & Kauffman liken the gaming experience to appreciation of music (2013, pp.13). I’d propose taking that comparison even further and placing social gaming alongside any other example of ‘healthy’ social interaction: like sporting clubs or attending social events. Why not?

Gaming addiction and violence remain important issues, but I feel there are enough benefits to outweigh the negatives and I think caution should be taken before extreme actions are made. For example, what if schools or parents took a conservative approach and completely banned games like Minecraft for children? Think of all the fantastic educational benefits and social skills students would miss out on.

References

Blyberg, J 2015, ‘The Kids on Your Block’, School Library Journal, Vol .61, Iss. 4, pp. 28-29.

Kim, K, Yoo, B & Kauffman, RJ 2014, ‘Valuation of Participation in Social Gaming, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 18, Iss. 2, pp.11-50.

Lee, S 2014, ‘An Analysis of a Social Network Game in View of Consumption Education Class’, in Y Baek, R Ko & T Marsh (eds), Trends and Applications of Serious Gaming and Social Media, Springer, Singapore, pp. 129-142.

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Really liked reading this, makes me look at online gaming from another perspective, To think educational programs have been developed due to online gaming is a very innovative and clever way to implement this into gamers life, probably without them even being aware.

Parents need to definitely set boundaries to ensure children arent being influenced negatively or letting their obsession with online games take over their lives. I think maybe parents should essentially monitor their gaming activity and have a specific time their children get to go on their favorite game,

[101661945-blog]

“Mum...bathroom, BATHROOM”

Online gamers are often stereotyped to be socially awkward, nerdy, overweight and disconnected from the real world. The title of this blog references South Park’s iconic episode ‘Make Love not Warcraft’ where the characters become addicted to the popular ‘massive multiple online role-playing game’ (MMORPG) ‘World of Warcraft’. View the clip below to see the stereotype I describe (I warn it is a little crude). 

Keep reading

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Interesting read, I like how you illustrated that this is such a huge social networks. Although WOW is online people are still communicating. They’re still being “social” when participating in this game. I guess I should look at this from another point of view as my opinion was solely on people that played these games regularly were unsocial and essentially unhappy.

[abefromswinburne]

Crowdsourcing & Wikipedia

Crowdsourcing has been a great innovation of the Internet with benefits for the individual, the community, businesses and the government. Social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter have allowed us to be present with those in crisis; near or far. Online services such as Uber and UberEats use real-time geographical tracking and the reliance of ordinary people to provide services around the globe. World governments are able to gather situational information on relevant events in their country – or gather intel on the public (Bruns et. al 2012).

While crowdsourcing has improved the quality of life for may communities, there is always the issue of trust and verifying information which have been contributed by ordinary, lay people.

(Image Source)

Crowd-Creation

As of June 2018, Wikipedia consists of over 48 million articles, across 301 languages (Wikipedia n.d.).  Users from all over the world are able to write encyclopaedic articles (Wikipedia n.d.) contributing to the content of the website. Current rules for English Wikipedia state that articles must strive to contain information that is already recognised and have been covered in academic sources and mainstream media independently (Wikipedia n.d.). Writers and editors are encouraged to provide neutral data with included references through hyper-links that allow readers to back-track sources and verify information on their own (Wikipedia n.d.).

Crowd-Voting

Wikipedia has a notorious reputation for being an unreliable source for information due to crowdsourced contributors.  However, articles are now subjected to heavy scrutiny with processes and systems in place that ensure information is the most accurate it can be. Wikipedia articles are monitored by Wikipedians; voluntary users who communicate with one another through the Wikipedia Community channel, hosted on the website (Wikipedia n.d). While anyone has the ability to edit articles on Wikipedia, users are able to view the content’s edited history and dispute questionable information provided (Wikipedia n.d.). Articles that undergo the dispute process are scrutinised by the Wikipedia community (Wikipedia n.d). Through this dispute process, Wikipedians organise, fact-check sources, manage and debate the accuracy of information before changes are finalised (Wikipedia n.d).

Wikipedia’s founder Jimmy Wales, intended for Wikipedia to be a point of free-access to information for everyone (Business Today 2016). The creators of Wikipedia recognised that one authority on information was not going to allow neutral and diversified information; the only way to achieve this was to allow all people the chance to contribute to it. When reflecting on the topic of crowdsourcing and looking at the example of Wikipedia, I recognise the great potential that we, as digital citizens, have in advancing society when we put our minds together. Crowdsourcing not only allows us to connect with one another as a community, but also empowers us to respond to societies many needs in innovative ways.

References:

Bruns, A, Burgess, J, Crawford, K & Shaw, F 2012, #qldfloods and @QPSMedia: Crisis Communication on Twitter in the 2011 South East Queensland Floods, Arc Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, pp. 7-10, viewed 3 August 2016, <http://www.cci.edu.au/floodsreport.pdf>.

Business Today, I hate the word ‘crowdsourcing’, says Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia, 17 December 2016, viewed 1 June 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtqVWNcykM>.

Wikipedia n.d., Wikipedia, Wikipedia, viewed 1 June 2018, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia>.

[mo2scallywags]

After studying this course I realized how much I have used crowd-sourcing in particular crowd voting.  Last month while researching restaurants in Daylesford I spent hours reading restaurant reviews on Tripadvisor and these reviews did influence which restaurant we eventually picked but it also brings up the question of how accurate are these reviews and how easily they can be manipulated.

[studentlifeforme-blog]

I agree, you never really realize how much we rely on this. I used to rely on reviews online, however met a person who said “the receptionist was rude to me so I’m just going to make her and the company look really bad, I will just make things up”. After this information i really do my research, however makes you wonder doing research, what does that achieve with how easily every system can be manipulated so easily?

[bradarnoldt-deactivated20180705]

Week 8: Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

As a traffic reporter, I use crowdsourcing every day.  Twitter, Google maps, Facebook, texts, radio and tv reports, phone calls to and from emergency services all combine to build a story that I can use as part of my reports.

It’s live and dynamic.  The situation is constantly changing at every incident.  A simple breakdown in an emergency lane can turn into multi vehicle collision very quickly if someone is not looking where they’re going.  Add the factor of that multi vehicle collision happening inbound on the Monash Freeway at 8am and all of a sudden you’ve got 2+ hour delays on the freeway and major congestion on all the surrounding roads.  All because someone forgot to fuel up that morning and thought they’d make it to work with the last litre of fuel they had in the tank.

Verification is always tough during a time sensitive reporting shift. As it was with Ushahidi back in 2007 when the public was given the platform to report human rights abuses,  “Verification can be relatively straightforward when a single team with similar views is working together.” (Ford 2012) If you’ve taken a call from a listener, spotted the accident via a camera on the VicRoads website and found a tweet from a driver complaining about it, you can be fairly confident the incident is valid.  When some are saying the incident is inbound and some outbound, you’d better verify that or you’re bound to cop the wrath of all of the above sources.

 If you’re not ready with a report when the station wants it, you run the danger of running old information, heresay and (for the sales team especially) missing finishing your traffic report with the correct sponsor on which you ultimately get paid to do!  Putting out the wrong information also can cause anger and frustration for the commuter and embarrassment for the broadcaster and yourself.  Of course, going off half cocked on one report of a major incident can leave you open to…

References:

Ford, H 2012, ‘Crowd Wisdom’, Index on Censorship, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 33-39.

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Oh what an interesting job you have being a traffic controller. I think you make a really valid point that I think a lot of people dont understand how crucial it is obtaining ]all that information correctly rather than just going off what you hear. People also may be in shock as well so will report the wrong information.

I work in an insurance company so have to gather that information as best as I can at the scene of the accident, The we gather descriptions and diagrams and damage points to determine liability. Some scenarios people report are simply not plausible. So we need to go above an beyond to get that correct information.

[itssuzblog-blog]

How Gen Z is changing the world, one hashtag at a time

As a quick introduction to the concept of digital citizenship, let’s unpack the term. A digital citizen is someone who uses IT to engage in society, politics, and government. ‘‘Digital citizenship’’ is the ability to participate in society online (Mossberger, K et al.). It is the duty of citizens to be informed in democracy. The higher percentage of young people online means that the information on the internet has the greatest impact on Gen Z and Millenials.

When Gen Z aren’t eating tide pods on the internet for fame and glory, they are spending their time fighting the establishment. Activism among the youth is not a new thing. In the 1910’s we had the Suffragettes, the 1960’s brought us Civil Rights and the Vietnam war protests, by the 1970’s it was abortion rights, and, in the present day, we have the Women’s March and the March For Our Lives. The last one was started by the students at Marjory Stoneman in Florida.

A Gallup poll states that the preference for stricter gun control is the highest since 1993, and CNBC notes that “more than any activists in a generation, they have managed to take over the conversation around gun control and American safety.” (Mejia, Z)

They’ve taken activism and protest online, raising awareness using hashtags. They’re still using traditional protest methods such as marches, rallies, and walkouts, but they’re shunning traditional media to get the word out about these events. They have more progressive views than previous generations. These ‘kids’ are out to change the world. They are the next generation of voters and, by the next United States elections, they will be old enough and angry enough to vote.

Let’s take a closer look at the activists behind March for our Lives. As I mentioned above, these young people attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, USA.  On February 14th, 2018, a gunman entered their school and killed 17 people. Their grief was compounded with their outrage that this person was able to purchase a semi-automatic weapon in a local gun shop. Instead of wallowing in their grief, they decided to do something about it. This began the online protests using the hashtag #neveragain. They used Twitter to tweet directly to their senators and to the president himself. Their tweets went viral as more and more people picked up the hashtag. Using the impetus from the media coverage of the shooting and their social media notoriety, they quickly organised a rally called, March for our Lives. It took hold around the world and became a global event.

They are our future and social media is the future of protest and activism.

References:

Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C., & McNeal, R 2008, Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Mejia, Z 2018, 3 reasons Gen Z activists have changed the gun control conversation when no one else could, CNBC.com, viewed 8 May 2018, <https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/14/how-gen-z-activists-have-changed-the-conversation-around-guns.html>

Jones, J 2018, U.S. Preference for Stricter Gun Laws Highest Since 1993, Gallup.com, viewed 8 May 2018, <http://news.gallup.com/poll/229562/preference-stricter-gun-laws-highest-1993.aspx>

[studentlifeforme-blog]

I really like how you brought up the guns in America really solidifies the issue. Now with the youth being able to project their views and voice online this opens up a whole other new opinion. One that I believe is probably the most important, considering this is the future generation. These are the people that will be affected by changes in the world. Also their children and so on. 

[itssuzblog-blog]

Don’t feed the trolls; Trolling and Conflict on social media

Trolls. Not the ugly little Scandinavian creature that lives in a dark cave, but the ugly creature that lives in dark cave and hides behind a computer screen.

They delight in posting nasty comments on blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, etc. They find pleasure in starting fights on the internet. They usually act anonymously, by making fake profiles and using cartoon images as their avatars. The way to deal with these trolls is to not ‘feed the trolls’. That’s what they want, the attention.

According to Time.com, “A Pew Research Center survey published two years ago found that 70% of 18-to-24-year-olds who use the Internet had experienced harassment, and 26% of women that age said they’d been stalked online.”

But is it a crime? In Australia, you can be prosecuted if you are accused of “using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause an offence to the reasonable person as stated in Part 10.6, Division 474.17” (Findlaw). In England and Wales, there are several pieces of legislation that cover comments that cause distress and anxiety, as well as protecting victims of online harassment and stalking. There are also more amendments on the way. In the United States, harassment, stalking and bullying are all state crimes but can turn into federal crimes if they cross state borders.

How does trolling affect people? I have found a couple of case studies of people that were subjected to horrific trolling.

1.       Anita Sarkeesian

Anita is a Canadian-American feminist media critic. She was targeted by online harassment after she launched a kick-starter campaign to fund her Tropes vs Women in Video Games series. “Sarkeesian is the founder of Feminist Frequency, a not-for-profit educational organisation “that analyses modern media’s relationship to societal issues such as gender, race and sexuality”.” (The Guardian).  She received rape and death threats, bomb scares, and a promise of a mass shooting at one of her events. All from strangers. This story has a, somewhat, happy ending. Her Kickstarter campaign ended up raising $160K instead of its $6K goal. She is cautious but continues her work to create gender-equality in the media.

https://www.youtube.com/user/feministfrequency

2.    Jessica Valenti

Jessica is a feminist author and journalist with The Guardian. She writes about feminism and how women are treated by men, often using her own experiences. She, like most feminists, has been targeted by online trolls, one who even made a rape threat against her 5 year old daughter, this is being investigated by the FBI. After this, she took a self-imposed social media hiatus for several months. She returned to Twitter during the 2016 US presidential election, because, as she says, “The idea of having to sit through that horror show without Twitter felt like a lot.” (Valenti).

  References:

Moreau, E  2018, ‘Internet Trolling: How Do You Spot a Real Troll?’, Lifewire.com, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-internet-trolling-3485891>

Stein, J 2016, ‘How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet’, Time.com, viewed 17 May 2018, <http://time.com/4457110/internet-trolls/>

‘Anatomy of an Internet Troll’ [infograph], Woodensnail Wordpress, viewed 17 May 2018,  <https://thewoodensnail.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/subculture-trolling/>

‘Internet Troll’ [image], Sinensis, viewed 17 May 2018, <http://www.blogworld.com/2012/10/02/online-trolls-toxic-disinhibition-and-how-we-can-change-the-internet/>

‘Internet Trolls can be Prosecuted Under Australian Law’, Findlaw.com.au, viewed 17 May 2018, <http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/4259/internet-trolls-can-be-prosecuted-under-australian.aspx>

Rankin, M, ‘Law Guides: Internet Trolling and Cyberbullying Law’, Lawyerportal.com, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://www.thelawyerportal.com/2017/04/20/law-guides-internet-trolling-cyberbullying-law/>

Wilson, M 2014, ‘Are You an Internet ‘Troll’? Legal Consequences to Consider’, Findlaw.com, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2014/10/are-you-an-internet-troll-legal-consequences-to-consider.html>

Webber, J E 2017, ‘Anita Sarkeesian: ‘It’s frustrating to be known as the woman who survived #Gamergate’’, The Guardian, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/16/anita-sarkeesian-its-frustrating-to-be-known-as-the-woman-who-survived-gamergate>

TEDx Women, 2012, The Mirror­- Anita Sarkeesian, 4 December 2012, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZAxwsg9J9Q>

Tovey, J 2016, ‘Jessica Valenti on Donald Trump, quitting Twitter and harassment’, The Guardian, viewed 17 May 2018, <https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/i-think-we-underestimate-how-much-people-hate-women-jessica-valenti-on-donald-trump-quitting-twitter-and-harassment-20160929-grqxeu.html>

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Very interesting video of Anita, so sad how much the cyberbullying escalated! I really liked how she spoke about different elements, such as villains, battlefield, and many more. Its phenomenon that she continued to push for this and didn’t back down and certainly wasn’t silenced! I can't believe she raised 165K! Isnt it amazing that when you simply don’t back down how much you can potentially achieve.  

[thoughtsofchanelle-deactivated2]

W9: Social imaging and what strangers know about you

If you’re a 90’s kid, like me, you may remember trying all too aggressively to fit your large disposable or digital camera in your backpack ready for school camps and shopping trips. Trust me – the struggle was real. But oh, how times have changed.

Now, new innovations have enabled these cameras to be integrated into our beloved smartphones to a point where at times, they can be considered an extension of our limbs – always within an arm’s ready and ready for any moment to be captured.  Where we would usually only share with close friends weeks later, we now share instantly with the world. Whoever is interested can view these photographs just by searching your name if they so desire. We are now visual beings, and quite frankly; no longer make our first impressions in person. I know, it’s scary.

The way that we capture – or remember – the moments in our lives, how we share these and who we share these to has been revolutionised. Personal photography is now a part of our culture. But, how does this influences our digital footprint, or change what strangers can know about us before they even know our name? Turns out – a lot.

Being ‘tagged’ in a photograph is an ubiquitous affordance of social media, and one which has enabled connectivity and interaction among users – we tag businesses, locations, other users, and can check into locations, events, and even our own home with a detailed map given to anybody who wishes to view it. Clearly, it’s a crafty innovation, however it also makes us scarily searchable via images – which is particularly problematic when tagging is made publicly visible through social media channels without ones consent, with young people reportedly expressing concern and degrees of anxiety when considering their own visual landscapes among social media channels (Hand, 2012, p. 175).

‘Tagging is thus both a way of finding and being found’ – Swinburne Online, 2018.

Network visuality is a term used to describe the way images have become vital to the formation and maintenance of our digital communication (Swinburne, 2018), and selfie culture is a term used to describe the notion of self-portraits typically taken in a fashion which plays on particular representational desires (not that I really need to explain that one). Both are prominent concepts in the rise of social imaging, and something I touch on in an earlier blog post here.

Ever wondered how easy it is for strangers to know more about you, based solely on the information and images you post on social media? Take a look at this confronting social experiment:

Clearly, social imaging leaves little privacy. 

How would you feel if you were approached by a stranger who knew your dog’s name, the colour of your bedroom walls, or even the type of TV you purchased over the weekend? Would you reconsider the images you post online after watching this?

References

Hand, M 2012, Ubiquitous Photography, Polity Press, Cambridge.

Swinburne Online, 2018, ‘9.2 Ubiquitous photography’, MDA20009: Digital Communities, Swinburne Online, viewed 16 May 2018, Link 

Vale, J, 2013, Social Media Experiment (online video), YouTube, November 2018, viewed 16 May 2018, Link

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Hello Chanelle,

This video was really interesting to watch! I guess you never really sit there and think what people know about you just by looking at your multiple accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram and twitter. I share a fair bit of my life on Instagram and now its making me wonder should I? I have had people say before things like this guy is saying and never got to the bottom of how they knew. Looking at this video though makes me think they most likely saw everything online (I hope) or just a stalker :|.

Now I will be making an effort to watch his videos more often!! Thanks!

[nathanielsamuels-blog]

Politics and Social Media, are they doing it right?

This week we talked about Politics and the role social media has in this day and age.

Social media can be a very powerful tool for politicians and groups trying to get their views across. It however is like a double edged sword, it can help get your view across very effectively or can also be your downfall.

Some examples can be seen with Oscar Morales facebook page that he created to show his disgust with the military arm of the Columbian communist party, also Wael Ghonim is another example of how a facebook page showing the abuse and death of a young boy by the hands of police, caused mass protests and in the end led to the president Mubrak stepping down from power.

Barak Obama is another great example of how politicians can use social media to influence people. Not only was he backed by some influential people such as Operah Winfrey he was able to use social media to engage with and bring to light issues that Americans were able to relate to and cared about. Obama was the first president to have his own twitter account and through this was able to use social media is a way that was never done before by politicians, through engaging and interaction with the American people. This is something that I feel most politicians should strive to achieve, instead of one way communication between people and government opening channels of communication through social media will not only be insightful for the citizens in issues that are currently being looked into but they are able to share with the politicians there concerns.

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Barack Obama is my favorite present, he seems to see things in a completely different light to everyone else in the political parties. All we want as a society is to connect with a person, not be indirectly told things that dont make sense to us. I think it was brave and courageous of him to even open himself up to the public in the way that he did. 

Hopefully in the future the politicians realize the impact he has had using social media to connect. If Barrack Obama could have been elected longer he would have been. We want open and honestly and realistic explanations and discussion. Now that we have the online world we all have the ability to participate in what we stand for.

[nathanielsamuels-blog]

Week 7 - Trolling & Cyber bullying

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trollface-coolface-problem

Cyber bullying and trolling have become well known in society these days especially with such severe punishments being enforced in Australia and around the world when an indivudial is found guilty of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying and trolling, though have separate aims I feel they both go hand in hand.

Cyber bulling is the intentional act of using social media against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself. Its main purpose is to either get revenge, to humiliate, intimidate or upset the victim while trolling is internet slang for individual who intentionally start an argument or upset others by posting inflammatory remarks for the sole purpose of angering people. Their purpose is a source of entertainment, to get attention and to upset the victim.

A good example of how cyber bullying effects people in society is the story of Ghyslain Raza, aka the Star wars kid who became an internet sensation through a video he made of himself school. Gyslain recently opened up about his life after his supposed fame and how he had to deal and how it made him suicidal. He luckily got through this dark time  and went on to complete university with a law degree and is now an advocate against cyber bulling.

Cyber bullying is very real in this day and age and I for one believe that stricter punishments should be in place. Long gone are the days where bullying was only limited to the school area, with social media and its place in society victims do not have a means to get away.

Have a read of this article which goes into more detail about Gyslains Raza and his fight against cyber bullying.

http://gawker.com/star-wars-kid-breaks-silence-says-online-fame-made-h-499800192

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Wow, interesting video of Gyslains Raza.I haven't even heard of this. I think bullying is so common now and its interesting how much this can affect a personal psychologically. I look at fitness guru a mother Ashy Bines, she tried to influence the public positively but recently opened up on her snap chat saying " I need a break from the online world". As she is quiet popular people began questioning why. She stayed offline for 3 days and then jumped back on explaining why she needed a break. People were writing to her telling her to kill herself in very detailed content. I guess even though we arent facing people directly its very confronting and damaging when you yourself are being personally attacked.

Great insight!  

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Online Gaming

Gaming in the online world is becoming more and more popular. Online gaming its self allows you to connect with people all over the world and essentially being able to create a fake profile that allows you to become whoever you want to become. Some games require you to pay money so that you can even enhance your popularity or even your looks. This then attracts other users to connect with you regular and gives you a sense of self belief, self-esteem and confidence. People become so obsessed and so confined to this life that they start forgetting about their own life outside the online gaming world. They miss social outings, concentrate on the online gaming more than work, school and many other things.  This can isolate people if they have these tendencies to put online gaming before anyone else or anything else.

Some of the emotional signs or symptoms of video game addiction include:

Feelings of restlessness and/or irritability when unable to play

Preoccupation with thoughts of previous online activity or anticipation of the next online session

Lying to friends or family members regarding the amount of time spent playing

Isolation from others in order to spend more time gaming

Some of the physical signs or symptoms of video game addiction include:

Fatigue

Migraines due to intense concentration or eye strain

Carpal tunnel syndrome caused by the overuse of a controller or computer mouse

Poor personal hygiene

I became very fond of two games, one called the SIMS and the other called HABBO HOTEL. The sims allows you to make a character and live in your house that you desire. You can either work hard and achieve career aspirations or get cheats and become a millionaire on the game. This game isnt online, however for me became very addictive. HABBO HOTEL is a chat room, where you can essentially pay money to build your own houses and purchase new outfits that other uses aren't able to have. So technically you can see who is paying to be on this game and who isn't. Personally, for me HABBO HOTEL became very addictive in a short time that my mum decided to limit my access and I'm thankful for this because I could even start to see other areas of my life that were being affected when for taking in this online gaming world.  

References

Computer Game Addiction - Symptoms, Treatment, & FAQs - TechAddiction. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.techaddiction.ca/computer_game_addiction.html

https://www.google.com.au/search?rlz=1C1EJFA_enAU780AU780&biw=1366&bih=588&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=NHkQW-X6OYim8AWbq5KICw&q=habbo+hotel&oq=habbo+ho&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.59670.64379.0.65846.9.9.0.0.0.0.862.1776.2-1j2j6-1.4.0....0...1c.1.64.img..5.4.1772...0i10i24k1j35i39k1j0i67k1.0.v3REB0wkNZA#imgrc=G5z850cHmJQ56M:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=sims&rlz=1C1EJFA_enAU780AU780&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibzsPqgbHbAhWFjLwKHYkmChYQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=588#imgrc=vaBULi6QkS9XMM:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=obsessed+gamers&rlz=1C1EJFA_enAU780AU780&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-mOe2grHbAhUPPrwKHc6wA-QQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=588#imgrc=gWWbtytQV_RndM:

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Social media has changed dramatically compared to 10 years ago. We used to communicate through MSN and Myspace, from what I remember. These two platforms didn’t involve to many photos or emojis, it was all text based.  As times goes on things have changed in terms of how we present ourselves online.  Online its looks as though people are living their best life, the post images of holidays, money, cars, relationships and many more things that people strive to achieve. There are many different editing apps that allow you to change the picture you have taken. Not just add a simple filter, they allow you to enhance different colours in the picture. Also allows you to alter your skin blemishes, hip size, height, weight, lips, nose shape and even face lift.  This created a false representation of what you as a person really are. When MSN and Myspace were popular no one even imagined of going to such effort to prove themselves to the public but now it seems that this is what most people want to do, they want to get everyone's likes and approvals.

Take for instance the image below, you can easily see on the right that this is photoshopped (altered in an app to appear different). Can you notice the right? It takes a while to be able to see minor mistakes, however if you look closely you can see the girls butt is amplified and the door has been bent on. This means that she has altered the picture to make her body image in her mind more appealing, in doing this though the photo has gone viral for "fail in photoshopping".

Many people aren't willing to do this as it does take a lot of skill in perfecting a picture so it's not noticeable to a clever eye. So they make other enhancements that aren't too easy to see. This might be just adding a filter to a picture or maybe whitening the teeth and eyes in a picture, maybe even selecting a skin colour as seen in this image below.

Personally, I don’t mind the filters and enhancements on photos, I think they're really intriguing, the one thing we should take form this though is that don’t make social media your life. Making comparison's with other people online can be literally debilitating. Teenager experience physiological affects when participating on social media before bed, as this impacts the quality of sleep from the florescent light. Even when they get a goodnight sleep it still impacts the REM in sleep. Minimal sleep causes inability to concentrate and anxious feelings. Also, the study supported the fact the using social media affect people emotionally. When they compare themselves to others online? I guess we need to be vigilant on how involved our kids get on social media and implement strategies to try to minimize their risks of depression.

Refferences

Liu, S. (2018). Social Media and Depression - Culture and Youth Studies. Retrieved from http://cultureandyouth.org/social-media/research-social-media/social-media-and-depression/

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Crowdsourcing in times of crisis

Crowdsourcing is a very clever idea that has been implemented into our society.  Given our way of the world is to communicate online whether it be facebook, instagram,  email, twitter or even when we check google we always are looking for information we don’t know the answers to. Crowdsourcing means alerting people via online services of crisis's in their area. This allow people o be updated by simply clicking into their phone. 

One resource people often refer to is the CFA website. This website allows viewers to track current fires in their area and this also explains the severity and type of fire (grass, bush, etc). Something that really stood out to me about this website is that it provides people in crisis with advise and detailed plans on how to either stay or leave the particular fire zone. I believe a lot of people are naive when it comes to fires, sometimes the best this to do is leave yet, there are people that refuse to leave their "house and belongings". After living in Mount Macedon Wombat State Forest I have learnt how to prepare for a fire. We had many fire warnings and could easily jump online and keep an eye on what was coming out way. When you begin to understand this website you can easily navigate around it to find information on any topics relating to burn offs, safe steps, protecting property, safety of animals and many more pages of information.

Another fantastic internet site that warns the public of crisis's is ushahidi. Ushahidi is a website developed in Japan for Japanese people to be aware of potential hurricanes. This works the same as the CFA site and app, shows the severity of each and every hurricane and also measures the magnitude of the hurricanes. Also this allows people to view previous incidents you're able to see so you can try to decide on what kind of impact the hurricane is having and how its may potentially affect you.

I believe that more websites and apps should implement these kind of ideas and more advertising should be dine to promote these platforms to essentially save lives. These kind of sites really target teenagers which is great for future generations as they will explain and teach their own children how these sites work and benefit us. The age group of over 65 aren’t particularity interested in using these sites and tend to rely on calls radio, face by face, sms or they just don’t do anything and wait and face the natural disaster without knowledge on whats approaching. There are many more sites like these all over the world, however these ones have had a huge audience and a phenomenal difference into today online world.

About Ushahidi. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ushahidi.com/about

Fires, Warnings & Incidents - Country Fire Authority. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/warnings-and-incidents

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Trolling and Bullying

Social media is a very strong and efficient way to communicate and influence and spread messages all over the world within milliseconds.  When people of all ages have access to the internet at all times of the day all over the world they have two choices, they can either put positive content and spread positive messages or put negative content online and promote and spread negative messages. When you are online you have to be careful on what you post as this can have drastic affects on the audience (people watching) and the person the message is directed at.

An example of using the internet in the wrong way, called trolling was of a 12 year old called Gabrielle Green who was just an innocent young girl who went to school at Surfside Middle School. Gabrielle suffered tremendous bullying from two former school peers. One 12 year old girl would send her text messages and communicate on social media with her putting her down and calling her horrible names. This girl also spread rumors all over social media being Facebook and numerous other platforms stating that Gabrielle had STDs and exposed very sensitive details of her life. Another boy  told police he had a phone conversation with Gabrielle and she advised she tried to kill herself and then he said "well if you're going to to do it, just do it" and ended the call. Minutes later Gabrielle hung herself with a dog leash.

Cyberbully and trolling is so destructive and literally take lives every week all over the world.

This is an example of how social media trolling can be used in positive way, see below a video that makes the racist people accountable for their actions.

This is an example of how social media trolling can be used in positive way, see below a video that makes the racist people accountable for their actions.

Quote from the creator of this video  - I want people to share this video for two reasons. Firstly because although we like to think we live in a culturally inclusive society, sadly this kind of stuff isn’t that uncommon. I know I’ve copped my share for being brown and all my ethnic friends have a story or two. It’s a thing in this country, let’s not pretend it’s not. And secondly so this video gets back to these three in particular. I want you guys to see this in the sober light of day so you can see how truly pathetic you are. - (Checkpoint Media 2012)

References:

2 arrested for cyber-bullying after 12-year-old girl's suicide. (2018). Retrieved from http://abc13.com/2-arrested-for-cyber-bullying-after-12-year-old-girls-suicide/2983420/

Caught on camera racist Australian abuse girl smash bus window YouTube (2012)  <http://bit.ly/2j2duNx> 

[studentlifeforme-blog]

Activism and Clicktivism

Social media is a strong platform that helps people get their messages and views across to people.  Something that is called activism is "the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change". One extremely strong campaign that went viral and attracted so many influential people was called Kony 2012. A man set out a mission to stop the rebels gang that rules Africa. This gang was made of innocent children that were abducted from their home, if they refused and resisted or tried to run away they were killed. Their faces and parent's face's were mutilated and the females were made into sex slaves.

 Joseph Kony is the leader of the group called LRA. 1 single man from America decided he needed to do something, he needed to keep his promise to young African boy Jacob, who he met. He promised he "he would do everything he can to get rid of Joseph Kony. He started sharing this story on social media for over 9 years and visiting political parties to try to get them to help. He very quickly attracted so many people in our society that continued to participate in clicktivism, which was shared millions of times and attracted people to view this viedo on Youtube over 18.6 million views.

Many people argue that although this was a great campaign it didn’t achieve its main goal. The aim for this amount of content and exposure was to make Joseph Kony famous, so that he could be brought to justice as he is the world's most notorious criminal.

 Personally, I think it didn’t work because Joseph Kony found out about the world trying to capture him and came up with pretty strategic plans to continue and/or hide. The engagement then stopped being so strong, it is still reasonably strong but its not enough to keep it moving. I think deep down people have lost hope in locating and capturing Joseph Kony.