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Week 9 Discussion: Social media influencers and the slow fashion movement

Fast fashion is a global and profitable business. The industry is categorised by fast production and distribution on a mass level. Many fashion retailers fall under this umbrella, including Zara, H&M, Cotton On, Shein, Fashion Nova etc. These stores produce a large quantity of clothing, often with little consideration for ethical concerns. For example, these practices have devastating consequences for the environment. Estimates place the global industry as a producer of 10% of the world's carbon emissions. The short lifecycle of fast fashion clothing also means that a significant amount of textile waste is produced. Additionally, due to the industry producing such a massive amount of clothing, resources are stripped from the environment at an unsustainable rate. Furthermore, as Kristen Leo observes in her YouTube video, 'Fast Fashion Explained in Under 5 Minutes' (2018), fast fashion also regularly uses exploits cheap labour in its production cycle, relying on sweatshop labour to fulfil demand at a low price. Workers in these factories are often employed at meagre wages and work in poor conditions.

In response to the ethical concerns posed by the fast fashion industry, the slow fashion movement has emerged. The slow fashion industry acts as the antithesis of fast fashion, focused on using sustainable materials and practices to produce durable clothing in smaller amounts. As Brewer (2019 p. 7) comments, "firms in the slow fashion movement promote sustainability in sourcing, production, and consumption".

The slow fashion movement also relates to broader ideas of digital citizenship. Some people have chosen to use platforms such as YouTube and Instagram to further promote the slow fashion movement. These 'slow fashion influencers' (e.g. Kristen Leo, Tiffany Ferguson, Venetia La Manna, Sarah Hawkinson) use social media to push back against the fast fashion industry, highlighting the fast fashion industry's ethical implications and strategies for sustainable participation in the industry overall. These videos have the intention of empowering viewers with the knowledge and skills to oppose the fast fashion industry themselves both through digital methods and their shopping habits.

However, while these videos promote helpful ideas concerning sustainability, there are still barriers to participating in the slow fashion movement. For example, using ethical production and materials means that often slow fashion garments are produced at a higher cost than fast fashion garments. Consequently, slow fashion garments are often sold at a higher price point, leading to issues of accessibility and a reluctance from consumers to switch from buying cheaper fast fashion items. Lai et al. (2017, p. 93) comment that, for many, when choosing between slow and fast fashion items, price is a key determining factor in decision making. Additionally, convenience also plays a significant role, with many unwilling to search out sustainably produced clothing. The implication is that while fast fashion brands can sell their clothing at a significantly lower price and in a more convenient way, slow fashion will be limited in its reach.

Additionally, while some believe that employing sustainable practices in fashion is a good step towards an ethical industry, others point out that the slow fashion industry still contributes to the textile industry and textile waste. These people suggest that the only ethical way to participate in the clothing industry is to buy clothing secondhand. Clothing resale platforms such as Depop capitalize on this idea, allowing users to trade and sell clothing, extending its lifecycle. Through Depop, a community has formed around selling secondhand clothing between users, often at prices comparable to fast fashion.

Despite the genuine efforts of many to counteract fast fashion with the slow fashion movement and sustainable production, many fashion retailers see sustainability as more of a trend or marketing tactic. Some of these companies will use greenwashing; when companies brand themselves to appear more environmentally friendly or sustainable than they actually are (Hawkinson 2020). For example, H&M has a 'conscious collection' (Farra 2020), marketed as an ethically produced line. However, while this particular collection may use sustainable practices and materials, some point out that H&M still produces many collections which do not. Additionally, these 'conscious collection' items are still produced in mass quantities. While they may last for a longer time, many of these items will eventually contribute to textile waste.

In general, the slow fashion and sustainability influencers act as a positive force against the destructive impact of fast fashion. However, slow fashion is not without its own issues. To improve the effectiveness of the movement, issues such as accessibility must be considered. Additionally, slow fashion influencers must continue to empower their viewers to be proactive digital citizens, using their platforms to advocate and educate.

Reference List:

Brewer, M. K 2019, 'Slow Fashion in a Fast Fashion World: Promoting Sustainability and Responsibility', Laws, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1 - 9

Farra, E 2020, 'H&M Takes a Step Toward Circularity With a Collection of Garments Made From Waste', Vogue, 18 November, viewed 25 May 2021, <https://www.vogue.com/article/hm-conscious-collection-recycled-waste-circularity>.

Hawkinson, S 2020, we need to talk about greenwashing ... companies are lying to you, March 10, viewed 24 May 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xaz2-IM4Olo>.

Kristen Leo 2018, Fast Fashion Explained In Under 5 Minutes, 27 September, viewed 27 May 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR7bXsoNwwE>.

Lai, Z, Henninger, C. E, & Alevizou, P. J 2017, 'An Exploration of Consumers' Perceptions Towards Sustainable Fashion–A Qualitative Study in the UK' in C Henninger, P. J Alevizou, H Goworek & D Ryding (eds), Sustainability in Fashion, Palgrave Macmillian, Cham, pp. 81 - 101

#mda200921 #digital communites #media studies #social media #fast fashion #kristen leo #tiffanyferg #swinburne

Imogen Horton showed her 386,000 followers the real reason she wasn't uploading videos lately with raw footage of her struggles.

“I was second guessing everything about myself, and I felt like I’d lost myself.”

Here, YouTuber Imogen Horton, opened up about how being consistently targeted by trolls on the platform has caused serious doubt in herself and her motivation to continue producing content. I direct example of how trolling often goes too far...

#youtube #imogen horton #trolling #trolls #bullying #comments #confession #business insider #digital communites

Critical Analysis Post #3 - Week 6: Digital Citizenship 2: Activism and protest

Source: <http://blog.actionsprout.com/social-media-slacktivism-nonprofits/>.

Do we underestimate or overestimate the power of social media when it comes to activism? Can it really be the most effective way to start a revolution in this day and age? There have been many instances where social media has been used as a tool to instigate political change, but some may say that this can discredit the actions done by those in real life – those who stand up and do something about it (Gerbaudo 2012). After the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011, journalists were quick to credit the power social media had in uniting the public (Youmans & York 2012).

Certainly, it gave affordances to the public such as lowering geographical boundaries for activist communication, physical gatherings could be organised and member morale could be maintained. Conversely, there can be security risks when relying on social media for such tasks. To be effective, social media might only be best when used alongside an activist movement, as there is also a risk that there will be inaction in real life despite a strong campaign online (Youmans & York 2012).

Source: <http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112515334871490.html>.

The Dangers of Social Media Activism

Social media may enable activists to communicate and have their voice be heard. However, as many social media companies are based in the US, the security and information laws differ from those of foreign countries. According to Youmans and York (2012), foreign governments request these US companies to surrender user data or to remove content from their service. Any successful attempts to do so may reveal the identities of anonymous activists and can especially cause harm if that information was leaked to the public or they were arrested due to a lack of freedom of speech laws.

Additionally, the algorithms or reporting mechanisms on social media such as YouTube may cause activist content to be temporarily or permanently suspended, thus losing the material’s strength in reach or relevance. During the Syrian uprisings, videos capturing the brutal violence of the regime were posted but taken down due to it violating YouTube’s policies in regards to showing graphic content. However these policies were adjusted to ensure that videos in this context could stay, as to not hide the truth of the events.

Slacktivism and You

Source: <http://www.disaster-ology.com/home/2015/12/2/in-contemplation-of-activism-and-defense-of-slacktivism-revisited>.

‘Slacktivism’ describes the act of putting a minimal amount of effort toward a cause, often for a person to feel like they contributed without actually doing anything. If anything, it helps with awareness of a cause, but rarely does it go further. A perfect example of this would be the social media craze surrounding Kony 2012, a campaign that put all of its effort into the marketing and hardly anything toward reaching their goal of finding and arresting warlord Joseph Kony (Kligler-Vilenchik & Thorson 2015).

Another campaign that struggled with slacktivism was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Many were happy to take part in the challenge, however many either dropped the ‘ALS’ when referring to it, or did not actually know what ALS was or what the challenge was for. The public were distracted with taking part in the challenge, and unfortunately not many were donating money, which was what the campaign was intended to encourage.

Source: <https://au.pinterest.com/divagirlrobin/ice-bucket-challenge/>.

References

Gerbaudo, P 2012, Tweets and the streets: Social media and contemporary activism, Pluto Press, London.

Kligler-Vilenchik, N & Thorson, K 2015, ‘Good citizenship as a frame contest: Kony2012, memes, and critiques of the networked citizen’, New Media and Society, vol. 18, no. 9, pp. 1993-2011.

Youmans, W & York, J 2012, 'Social media and the activist toolkit: User agreements, corporate interests, and the information infrastructure of modern social movements', Journal of Communication, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 315-329.

Post 2, Week 4: Reality TV Shows [Lazy Television]

There are various and disputed definitions of reality television, which is a category of television programming that focuses on actual people and their ordinary lives and experiences. The term "television genre" refers to certain programmes that primarily focus on non-fictional subject matter with the intention of entertaining viewers rather than informing them (What is reality television? 2023). Typical behaviour of regular people in real-world situations or in situations that are frequently fabricated by programme producers to resemble real-world situations are the focus of another category of reality television programme.

Today's reality shows, however, are awful, lazy television since they primarily feature regular people without talents; if they talk, sing, or dance at all, they do so poorly, which detracts from the entertainment value. Popularity alone does not necessarily translate to quality programming. Because of this, I'd say that lazy people watch reality TV programmes that lack taste and turn reality TV into laziness.

There are many wonderful reality TV shows as well that teach and entertain at the same time, but some of them, like Bear Grylls, offer important insights.

42% of 25–34-year-olds believe reality TV dramas are actual, while 60% believe on-screen relationships are real, according to data from one poll published in 2016(Newsdesk, 2021). But nothing is genuine. However, Mike Fleiss, the creator of The Bachelor, claimed on the Today show in 2012 that "70–80% of reality TV is scripted" (Newsdesk, 2021).

Also, the reality TV sector is a significant one that has made a lot of people incredibly wealthy such as "Kim Kardashian," a well-known American television personality, has a nett worth of $1.8 billion (Person, 2022).

To the extent that the U.S. has become a harsher, shallower, angrier, more divided place in the 21st century, reality TV—which has helped normalize cruelty, belligerence, superficiality, and disloyalty, and rewarded people who weaponize those traits—bears a share of the blame (Person, 2022).

Perhaps today's reality TV shows might capture the excellence and avoid being lazy TV shows while also being interesting and compelling.

References:

What is reality television? FutureLearn. (n.d.). [Accessed March 10, 2023] ,<https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/pictures-of-youth-introduction-childrens-visual-culture/0/steps/43948>

Newsdesk. (2021, May 6). Research shows reality TV is not 'harmless entertainment'. South West Londoner. [Accessed March 10, 2023],<https://www.swlondoner.co.uk/entertainment/06052021-research-shows-reality-tv-is-not-harmless-entertainment >

Person. (2022, August 4). How reality TV has reshaped our world. Time. [Accessed March 10, 2023] ,<https://time.com/collection/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6199108/reality-tv-influence-on-world/ >

#MDA20009 #Digital Communites #Second post #Swinburne #Reality TV

Political Engagement on Social Media [Week 5]

Social media has the potential to be either a blessing or a curse to modern politicians. In an increasingly digital age, an inability or disinterest to engage with voters online is likely to cost them an election. However, overuse or mismanagement could have the same detrimental effect. In academic discourse regarding this topic, many cite recent US presidential elections as examples of the power of social media in the political landscape. However, social experiences online have been in continual flux since these elections and it’s important to consider new factors. Politicians should utilise social media as a marketing and agenda setting tool, and strike a balance between accessibility and professionalism.

The way in which politicians are expected to behave online has changed significantly over the last decade. Not only do prospective candidates need to have a clean social media record, there is now a public expectation of reachability and personality. For example, during the 2010 Australian federal election, lower-house member Malcom Turnbull became well known for updating his 65,000 Twitter followers on his daily activities, in addition to replying directly to his followers (Jericho.G 2012, pp.307-308). More recently during the 2016 US presidential election, candidate Donald Trump’s Twitter account became almost infamous for its amateurish and almost conversational-style messages. They were in stark contrast from the professional approach of his competitors, such as Hilary Clinton, who stuck to a more traditional campaign methodology (Enli.G 2017, p.10). Trump’s tweets are often emotionally charged and ended on call-to-action phrases, which gave his supporters an insight into the personal thoughts of their prospective leader (Nerdwriter 2017). Yet his interaction with other Twitter users was very low, only re-tweeting or replying to select few tweets (Enli.G 2017, p.59). It could be argued that a combination of providing voters with accessibility on social media and posting amateur-style updates could be beneficial for modern politicians to gain political advantage during elections.

In addition to the careful management of personal social media platforms, politicians should also consider the current trends of news journalism. Every year, more people choose to source their news online and not just from online newspapers. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Centre last year, 67% of Americans said they get at least some of their news on social media (Shearer. E Gottfried.J 2017, p.1). That being said, most people still get their news from traditional sources such as TV and print but the impact of news on social media cannot be underestimated.

The internet and social media are no longer new, unfamiliar media constructs and should be operated as such by politicians. Social media has the potential to spread awareness & news information at a rapid pace, serve as a marketing tool for political agendas and to personalise one’s public image. Used correctly, social media can be utilised by politicians for significant advantage in their political agenda and careers.

References:

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. 50-6.

Jericho, G. 2012 'How many votes are there on Twitter?' in The Rise of the Fifth Estate: social media and blogging in Australian politics, Scribe Publications Pty Ltd, Australia, EBL eBook Library, pp. 254- 8.

NerdWriter1 2016, How (and Why) Donald Trump Tweets, YouTube, viewed 30th March 2018, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geEVwslL-YY>

Shearer, E Gottfried, J, News Use Across Social Media Platforms, viewed 30th March 2018, http://www.journalism.org/2017/09/07/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2017/

Young, S. 2010, 'New, political reporting and the internet' in How Australia Decides: Election Reporting and the Media, Cambridge University Press, Australia, EBL eBook Library, pp. 203- 8.

#the digital collective #digital communites

Welcome to ‘The Digital Collective’

This is a blog dedicated to the exploration of the increasing significance of social media platforms and technologies in contemporary politics, the global economy and societal experiences. It has been published as part of the Digital Communities unit at Swinburne University in Semester 1 of 2018.

[see official disclaimer below]

#the digital collective #digital communites

How does social media influence political engagement?

Despite various social media platforms available, it seems politicians and political parities connect most with the public via Twitter and Facebook. As it is seen to be more ‘personal’ platform, allowing the public to’ tell the politicians exactly what they thought of them’. (Jericho, 2012) through commenting on posts, using hashtags of relevant topics.

Australian politician Kevin Rudd, benefited from using social media. His 2007 campaign ‘ Kevin 07’ gained labour party victory. Since then Australian politicians have increased their social media presence, it allows politicians use Twitter and Facebook “primarily for one-way transmission of political messages, rather than citizen engagement or listening to the electorate”(Macnamara & Kenning 2011, p. 16)

Facebook allows users to reply to people you don’t know allowing for an online political debate/ discussion and the liking of comments means you agree with what that user has said. This can allow your friends to see it on their news feed, which can help promote awareness to political campaigns or topics, issues you care about, sharing articles about current relevant topics and ideas you want to share. Whereas twitter allows you to do the same think but connect via hashtags, key words or events.

With ideas shared on social media platforms-many, especially the younger generation would heavily rely on social media as their platform for news or current events. So, this can to an extent, affect a voter’s decisions on election day because not many make an informed decision with voting- only choosing one particular party/ political.

Trying to engage with the younger generation and get them interested in politics is difficult.

That’s why I think the curation of political memes, making fun of or highlighting a serious issue in a humorous way, allows for discussion or remakes by youths. As of recently Clive Palmer a former Australian Liberal MP has turned himself into a ‘meme’ and is well liked among youths. Postings of whimsical nonsense, confusing people but grabbing the attention of many and playing along with it. Palmer confessed” I always wanted to be a meme ever since I saw the doge meme sticker one time” (Zerbst,2017).

Reference:

Jericho, G. 2012 ‘How many votes are there on Twitter?’ in The rise of the Fifth Estate: social media and blogging in Australian politics, Scribe Publications Pty Ltd, Australia, EBL eBook Library, viewed 20 January 2013, pp 254 – 278

Macnamara & Kenning 2011,’ An analysis the use of social median online communication in the 2013 Australian federal election and comparison with the 2007 and 2013 election’, E-electioneering 2013, Australian centre for public communication, University of Sydney, pp. 1-29

Zerbst, V 2017,’ Clive Palmer’s inspiring transformation: “I will become a human meme”’, The Chaser, 16 Feburary, viewed 31 March 2017,<http://www.chaser.com.au/general-news/clive-palmers-inspiring-transformation-i-will-become-a-human-meme/>

#australian poltics #politics #memes #digital communites

Blog #4: Rallying the troops through social media

(Yudin n.d.)

One of the affordances of Social Media is its ability to be used as a tool of mobilization.

Just as social media is influencing the way in which people come together in digital sociality, it is also shaping how they behave together, both on and off line.

Because of the nature of social media, awareness of social injustices, both locally and on a global scale, now reaches the digital citizen, through the expansive network of ties and nodes and the flows shared between them and others.

Superseding the paraphernalia once associated civic activism, like posters, leaflets and direct mail, campaigners now take advantage of these networks to spread their message in the public sphere and rally the troops to join them in their cause (Gerbaubo 2012, p. 4). This allows them to reach a greater audience faster then they ever could have prior to the Internet.

Put together through a variety of social media platforms, this type of rallying has lead to collective action (Gerbaubo 2012, p. 3). Insight of this can be seen in a tweet by American author Jared Cohen (2011) during the Egyptian revolution in 2011, where he quoted an Egyptian activist’s account of how social media was being used to orchestrate action at the time:

“facebook used to set the date, twitter used to share logistics, youtube to show the world, all to connect people”

Creating opportunity to be a part of something

Using social media this way has created unprecedented opportunities for civic expression and interaction, with a number of local activist groups using social media to spread their message. Change.org (2015) is the world’s largest online petition platform. It allows anyone to create a campaign for change within in their community, which is then share within publics via various social networking platforms for optimal exposure.

(Kiselev n.d.)

Involvement… without much effort

Regardless of a cause’s exposure online, the degree of involvement still remains in the hands of the digital citizen. With many suggesting that rather then rallying the troops to action, using social media as a tool of mobilization has instead seen rise to an easy activism known as slacktivism - an act where the citizen can show support to a cause without any impact or lasting effect in the world (Swinburne Online 2015).

This slacktivism can be contributed to the ease in which a person can now simple hit like, share or tweet on something seen on the Internet, without any further consideration. Labeled as subactivism, these weak gestures, although appearing in the everyday online life of the digital citizen, are disconnected from arena of politics in which they were intended (Bakardjieva 2009, p. 103).

Motives behind this involvement questioned

Slacktivism has lead to growing suspicion over the motives behind involvement in digital activism. It has been suggested that when it comes affiliating with a cause online, people tend to do so for selfish and narcissistic purposes. That people are more interested in impressing others within their social networks, by providing proof of their membership of the public, rather then a desire to contribute to actual change (Morozov 2012).

(Krzeszak 2011)

Do you agree with these claims? Or is ‘slacktivism’ becoming an acceptable way for people to participate in civic culture?

Does it matter how digital activism occurs, as long as the message is shared?

Reference:

Bakardjieva, M 2009, ‘Subactivism: Lifeworld and Politics in the Age of the Internet’, Information Society, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 91-104.

Change.org 2015, About, Change.org, viewed 6 December 2015, < https://www.change.org/en-AU/about>.

Cohen, J 2011, Jared Cohen, 27 January, viewed 6 December 2015, <https://twitter.com/JaredCohen/statuses/30665407077556224>.

Gerbaudo, P 2012, Tweets and the Streets : Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Pluto, London.

Morozov, E 2012, The net delusion: The dark side of Internet freedom. PublicAffairs, New York.

Swinburne Online 2015, 'Week 6: Digital citizenship 2: Activism and protest’, MDA20009 Digital Communities. Learning materials on Blackboard, Swinburne Online, 2 November, viewed 6 December 2015.

Images:

Kiselev, A n.d., Armour, Dreamtime, viewed 7 December 2015, <http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-armour-image16802316>.

Krzeszak, M 2011, crowd surfer, Flicker, viewed 8 December 2015, < https://www.flickr.com/photos/portland_mike/6140660504/>.

Yudin, V n.d., Time for Action, Dreamtime, viewed 8 December 2015, < http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-time-action-image19912805>.

#mda20009 #adigitalcitizen #digital communites #digital activism