Social Media: More destructive than constructive.
The technological era is upon us, with the old traditional ways of the world dying out making way for the ever-growing technologies that surround us. As these various technological devices become increasingly more prominent tools in our daily lives we are gaining consciousness towards the lasting effects they have on our minds. With the rise of social technology and “networked database platforms that combine public with personal communication” (Meikle 6) there is more and more reason to become worried and question the amount of exposure we and younger children are having to destructive content which is constantly projected on the internet. These “different technologies possess different affordances“ (Hutchby 447) which influence and establish behavioural standards of acceptability (Xenitidou and Edmonds 1). YouTube for example is a readily accessible social media platform in which content is becoming increasingly destructive to our generation and the lense through which we view this world. Creating new social norms through the platforms affordances that are greatly affecting what we as individuals and a society perceive as appropriate and acceptable ways of interacting with one another.
Since YouTube’s birth in 2005 it has grown rapidly “as a way to post and share video material” (Soukup 1) which we know all too well today with “1.5 billion logged-in users visiting the site every month” (Matney). Over this period of growth has been an establishment of social norms, both on the platform itself as well as in our daily lives through the influence of the content being shared. Social norms are the behavioural standards of acceptability, where one is consciously or not influenced by those around them whether physically or virtually in this case (Xenitidou and Edmonds 1). Social norms on YouTube are established through the inference of material being shared on the platform both “directly” through YouTubers opinions and videos as well as through the comments being produced by other users (Spartz, Su, Griffin, Brossard and Dunwoody 6). For example, some norms of YouTube are when we are searching for videos to watch there is a tendency to click on the result which has the most views because if other people have watched the video that must mean it's “good” (6). Another is sharing our approval or disapproval of the video by either liking or disliking it depending on how you felt about it. Yet, what is increasingly concerning is the rise in negative social norms that are continuing to be established in particular that has given rise to cyber-bullying. Such social norms are afforded through YouTube's more anonymous network (Halpern and Gibbs 1) where it is increasingly difficult to be accounted for one's actions and know one's identity in comparison to platforms like facebook or instagram where the account is generally set up using one’s real details as opposed to a screen name or brand. These keyboard warriors, a term given to those who make abusive and argumentative posts on the internet, think that because they have been afforded a comments section in which they can communicate and express their opinions. Rather than use this to give constructive feedback they instead feel it gives them right to attack other users who perhaps they don’t agree with and/or attack the content and producer themselves. Leaving trails of hate comments which are uncalled for. The social norms established on YouTube are not all bad but because of the platforms more anonymous nature it has led to increasingly destructive norms that are not what YouTube's affordances were developed for. As a result it is sad to see that cyberbullying has become a more prominent social norm.
As YouTube’s affordances have grown over time we have seen how we have become more connected than ever. However, we are not maximizing on this as a way communicate common understanding, to create and recreate culture based on love and unity. Instead we are seeing how with the growth of YouTube as a way to make money, this has driven its content distributors to produce content which lacks substance. Where the main aim is to remain relevant through the production of fast paced, topical content in order to build the view count and amount of activity so to gain the most capital. YouTube affords its users with a channel by their own screen name where they can upload video content expressing their views (Soukup 18). They are then able to interact with other users through liking or disliking videos and subscribing to their channel. There is also the ability “with a free account, one can create personalized playlists, subscribe to favorite videographer submissions, share videos on Facebook, embed them in blogs and other applications, and write comments about the videos” (Ariew 2057). With all things, YouTube’s affordances were limited but as the platform grew these affordances expanded to things like the ability to connect with the world, where one video starts in the bedroom of a young New Zealand teen, like Shannon Harris better known through her brand name ‘Shaaanxo’, to being viewed by her 3 million subscribers around the world only a few years later. Another affordance of YouTube is the ability to build relationships. Relationships between YouTuber and Subscriber, YouTuber and YouTuber, and between YouTuber and Industry. Building relationships between YouTuber and Industry can also afford the ability to bring about brand awareness. Although, the most important of these relationships would have to be that between the YouTuber and their Subscribers for without this relationship there are no views, likes, comments. No activity, no success. YouTube also affords the ability to lead a generation however I am seeing that as we become more exposed to destructive YouTube content we as viewers are being steered in the wrong direction becoming desensitized, viewing these trends and actions as acceptable and perhaps even ‘normal’ in today's society.
We are blind followers when it comes to being presented with content and information in general (Vugt). So because of this inability to really analyze and process the content, we use these not always positive examples as influences in the way we interact with one another. Such examples are the changing trends on YouTube one particularly prominent at present is "diss tracks" in which one YouTuber basically raps rubbish about another whether genuine or not in order to get views. Each of these videos gaining upwards of 10 million views. What is this content teaching it’s mainly teenage demographic? That it is okay to talk down on other people, that we should focus on their flaws rather than their strengths. These viewers then endorse the video and these actions by liking, commenting and sharing with their friends. This portrays an image that to judge and put down friends or even strangers is acceptable behaviour. Which it is not. Another instance is the amount of profanity used in some of these videos, David Dobrick’s 4 minute 21 second long videos are an example of fast paced content in which there is a lot of commentary and jokes surrounding drugs, the sexualisation of men and in particular women and inappropriate sketches.
[A couple thumbnails and taglines of videos on Davids channel which highlight these jokes and inappropriate behaviour in his content]
In most cases it is played off as “harmless” fun, but these videos are gaining around an average of 4 million views each. The videos are showing his mostly younger viewers that their actions and how they are interacting between one another is okay even if they are just “doing it for the views”. Lastly, since YouTube relies on user generated content where anyone with an email (all that one needs to create an account) can upload content, this makes way for videos which have no place being on YouTube. Videos which are filmed and uploaded mostly without consent that are embarrassing or degrading to those in them. They are then riddled with unnecessary rude and hateful comments. These are just few examples of the destructive content that is becoming increasingly more prominent on YouTube and as we view these videos we are both consciously and not influenced by the material this is affecting our view of social norms which are afforded through YouTube's social media platform.
As we move forward in a world never more defined by technology than now, we must be more conscious of the content we share and the scope at which it is received. YouTube has the ability to connect the world and spread awareness through uplifting and constructive content. However the user led platform has become increasingly destructive because of the content driven by a desire to make capital, which in turn influences the social norms established both on the site through it’s many affordances that connects the world together as well as how one interacts in their physical lives. We as content consumers must open our eyes and really analyse the content we are viewing, learn to form our own opinions rather than without question accept the information that is feed to us. Those who are content distributors must make more effort to produce content which is less destructive and more constructive, after all technology is shaping our generation and the norms that continue to be established.
Works Cited: Ariew, Susan. "YouTube Culture and the Academic Library: A Guide to Open Access Videos" Choice 45.12. 2057-2063, 2008. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/antoniocajas/docs/youtube_culture_and_the_academic_libraries .
Halpern, Daniel and Gibbs, Jennifer. Social media as a catalyst for online deliberation? Exploring the affordances of Facebook and YouTube for political expression. Computers in Human Behavior. 29. 1159–1168. 10.1016/j.chb.2012.10.008 , 2013.
Hutchby, Ian. Technologies, Texts and Affordances . Sociology Vol 35, Issue 2, pp. 441 - 456, BSA Publication Ltd, 2001. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/S0038038501000219
James T. Spartz, Leona Yi-Fan Su, Robert Griffin, Dominique Brossard & Sharon Dunwoody. YouTube, Social Norms and Perceived Salience of Climate Change in the American Mind, Environmental Communication, 11:1, 1-16, 2017. DOI:10.1080/17524032.2015.1047887.
Matney, Lucas. "YouTube has 1.5 billion logged-in monthly users watching a ton of mobile video." TechCrunch, June 22, 2017, https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/22/youtube-has-1-5-billion-logged-in-monthly-users-watching-a-ton-of-mobile-video/.
Meikle, Graham. Social Media: Communication, Sharing and Visibility. Chapter 1, "What are Social Media?" (p. 1-23) London: Taylor & Francis, 2016.
Soukup, P. A., S.J. Looking at, with, and through YouTube(TM).Communication Research Trends, 33(3), 3-34, 2014. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1566387376?accountid=14782
Vugt, van Mark. "Natural Born Followers" Psychology Today, April 15, 2012, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/naturally-selected/201204/natural-born-followers.
Xenitidou, Maria, and Edmonds Bruce. The Conundrum of Social Norms. In: Xenitidou, Maria, and Edmonds, Bruce. (eds) The Complexity of Social Norms. Computational Social Sciences. Springer, Cham, 2014. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-05308-0_1