#swinburneonline

[communitygoesdigital]

First blog post, chookity! Not entirely sure what I’m doing, so I think this gif might be appropriate - 

Social media has enabled, even encouraged smartphone users to be “always on” (boyd, 2012), which has fundamentally altered the way we relate to one another, how we use language, as well as our basic sense of selves. Many people (myself included) experience nomophobia, the “fear of being unable to use one’s mobile device” (Arpaci et al. 2017). The definition goes on to include the “affordances these devices provide”, suggesting that it’s not just not having a phone that’s responsible for the anxiety we experience; it’s what we can do with the phone that we don’t like being without. Personally, I like to be able to find answers to questions I have as soon as I wonder about something. I’ll forget the answer almost immediately, but it’s nice to have the knowledge for 10 minutes or so!

Sherry Turkle speaks about receiving a text as like “getting a hug”. I absolutely agree with her. When I moved to the country, being connected to my friends back in Melbourne via SMS and social media was like carrying them around in my pocket. I could include them in my life through Snapchat, see what they were up to on Instagram. Turkle then goes on to make the point that we want control over how we appear through texting and posting, which struck a chord with me. The amount of time I’ve wasted poring over a post, both for uni discussions and social media engagement, is ridiculous. I’ll overthink what I’m saying and how it’s written, trying to perfect it. And I often bail on posting at all because I can’t get it right. In a classroom or a real life social situation, I’d just make a fool of myself and move on. Turkle goes on to point out that “we use conversations with each other to learn how to have conversations with ourselves”. Applying this to my situation is a perfect way to demonstrate that my social skills won’t get any better without practicing.

Siapera’s statements about individuals being able to join a virtual community “to meet like-minded people” rings very true. In my case it was like-gutted people, because when I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease, it was a Facebook group where I learned everything: available resources, not-so-well-known unsafe food practices to look out for, safe places to eat, recipes for foods I can’t eat anymore, and short and long term side effects. Then there was the support on the page – people who knew what I was going through were (and are) so supportive and understanding. Therefore, I cannot agree with Putnam’s statement of technology, that “the result (of technology) is a society that is not much more than a collection of individuals, meeting and socializing occasionally… Who do not share any strong bonds or any sense of common purpose.” My argument would be that strong bonds can be found anywhere in society, whether a common purpose is present or not. We’re social animals, after all.

Comments welcome! Thanks for reading :)

REFERENCES

Arpaci, I, Baloğlu, M, Özteke Kozan, H & Kesici, Ş 2017, "Individual Differences in the Relationship Between Attachment and Nomophobia Among College Students: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness", Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 19, no. 12, p. e404, viewed 3 December, 2018, <https://www.jmir.org/2017/12/e404/#ref28>.

boyd, D 2012, 'Participating in the always-on lifestyle', in M Mandiberg (ed) The Social Media Reader, NYU Press, pp. 71-76.

Siapera, E 2012, 'Socialities and Social Media', in Understanding New Media, Sage, London, pp. 191-208.

TED-Ed 2013, Connected, but alone?- Sherry Turkle, 19 April, viewed 26 September 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv0g8TsnA6c>.

[rochellegodwin-blog]

Shed a little light: in times of crisis.

So far, throughout my previous blogs, despite my best efforts, they have largely been centered around the negative effects of social media and digital citizenship. However, where there is dark there is also light.

Globally, it is becoming evident that social media has been a pivotal tool during emergency situations. This has been true for both those it affects and those trying to help. Emergency services can use social media posts to track badly effected areas, and provide aid to those unable to get through to blocked emergency service lines. On the other hand, users in effected areas can receive an up to date newsfeed in regards to what to be aware of, and what’s happening. This can make the difference between when to flee an effected area or not.

In the Black Saturday fires of 2008, an ABC (Australia’s official emergency broadcaster) staff member effectively utilised social media, and henceforth, setting the precedent for having a profound impact during emergency situations. ABC’s national social media co-ordinator, Ping Lo, reported that we felt it was the ABC's responsibility to continue to use social media during emergencies thereafter (Posetti & Lo, 2012). Since then, social media has been an important tool during emergency situations in Australia.

The 2011 Queensland Floods (10-16 January), is a prime example of effective use of social media during times of devastation. The hashtag #qldfloods became the principle communicative tool for flood-related news. Whilst I’ve spoken in the past about hashtags being a way to label yourself, in this respect it acts as communication mechanism to bring people together. The community it creates is one of support and information. During January 10-16, there were more than 35,000 tweets containing the hashtag, #qldfloods; and more than 15,500 Twitter users participated in #qldfloods (Bruns et al, 2012). Of these tweets, 50-60% of them were retweets in an effort to further spread the flow of information (Bruns et al, 2012). What’s more, emergency services and media organisations were amongst the most visible participants in #qldfloods (Bruns et al, 2012). As a result, Twitter became a primary source of news regarding the flooding. Furthermore, it also allowed a platform for those affected or involved to share their own experiences, which hence further widened the reach of coverage on the disaster.

In the hope not to bring anything dark to this light blog post, it is also worth mentioning as a side note, that there is a relevant argument toward the authenticity to user-generated posts.

Despite this, the increased use of social media does have a positive influence in such situations, and has proven so on multiple occasions.

 References:

Bruns, A., Burgess, J., Crawford, K. & Shaw, F 2012, #qldfloods and @QPSMedia: Crisis Communication, ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries & Innovation.

Posetti, J. & Lo, P 2012, ‘The Twitterisation of ABC's emergency and disaster communication’,

Australian Journal of Emergency Management

, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 34-39, viewed 3 January 2018, < https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/fullText;dn=046926063833158;res=IELAPA>

[hannahcandy-blog]

“That’s what” - She

Digitization has changed the way the world communicates. We know this right? Back in the day our ancestors would have had to send letters, smoke signals and carrier pigeons to communicate (Check out these 10 weird ways of communicating), whereas today we have the luxury of communicating via numerous social media platforms to send instant messages, share pictures and video chat. Life seems easier, right?

Unfortunately, these platforms have also allowed for wide spread negativity. Internet trolls are sweeping the web causing much havoc than ever expected. Hostile messages, abuse, deception and manipulation are all forms of trolling and it’s made social media platforms a playground of hurt. So what aspects of social media have made the job of trolls so easy?

‘Trolling has been characterised as a loose set of acts and activities, and as cultures of practice and modes of social media participation’ (Savory 2017, n.p.). But although trolling is undesirable, it is now a fact of our social media lives and is made easy through different social platforms affordances .  Journal ‘Under the bridge: An in-depth examination of online trolling in the gaming’ authors Christine Cook, Juliette Schaafsma and Marjolijn Antheunis (2017) uncovered three key motivations for trolls - those being: personal enjoyment, revenge, and thrill-seeking. All at the expense of others. 

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow for trolls to communicate with other users outside of their direct network. Therefore the disconnection is greater and the temptation for a trolls to spread their opinions or negative messaging is higher.  Boyd (2014) explains that young people use social media in a way that can create drama between peers and instead of blaming the technology or platform in which they are a user of, they should focus on the way they use the platform and better understand it’s affordances.  Do you agree? Are social media platforms making it easier to spread negativity and hatred messages? Or is society just changing? References:

Boyd, D 2014, 'Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?', in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp. 128-52.

Cook, C, Schaafsma, J & Antheunis, M 2017, ‘Under the bridge: An in-depth examination of online trolling in the gaming’,  Sage Journals, accessed online 22 January 2018, <http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444817748578?ai=1gvoi&mi=3ricys&af=R>  Savory, A 2017, ‘7.2 trolling and provocation’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials on Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 5 November 2017, viewed 23 January 2018.

[trancepanda]

What?! You Don’t Have A Facebook?!?!

Did you know they don’t have Facebook in China?!?! Or Twitter? Or YouTube?! Now, I’ve known about Facebook for a while but since I’ve never actually BEEN to China it’s never really been a problem... But, now that I think about it it actually floors me! Whenever I’m out and about and I meet someone new, my first instinct (and usually theirs) is to find them on Facebook, I take for granted that I can Google quick, self-help videos on YouTube when I have to fix something around the house and reading people’s stupid Twitter posts always helps me have a giggle! It never actually occurred to me that people wouldn’t have access to these; how do they cope without them?!

MemeGenerator, n.d, You Don’t have Facebook Despite not having some of the most well-known social media websites in the world, China has the most active social media users with individuals spending up to 40% of their day online (Chiu, Ip and Silverman, 2012)! The social media platforms in China are more fragmented with more targeted areas of focus and demographics. Take Facebook, for example. There are around four different platforms in China that cater for individuals who would potentially use Facebook (Crampton, 2011). There’s Douban for the arty, Kaixin001 for the ‘mature’ audiences, QZone for the youngin’s under 25 and RenRen for uni students. It absolutely FASCINATES me that instead of being cast in a great, wide world of social media sharing individuals in China can find something that caters to their needs and for me, opens up a whole new targeted way of making friends and ‘finding your place’ online. Perhaps if the world at large had a more targeted approach like China there’d be less bullying, trolling and general ‘meanness’ that accompanies most online forums? A great infographic on some of the different sites available on china is below!

Pinterest In addition to having different spaces for different groups, Social Media in China also plays a huge part in marketing, advertising and the consumer purchase decision making process online. According to an infographic by Jessica Draws Media, 95% of Chinese Online Shoppers said that brands who had a social media presence (or ‘microblog’) were more trustworthy than those that did not with 61% of shoppers admitting to making purchases due to this concept of a digital marketing strategy (2013). This preference can be seen when Dove launched a social media campaign and saw increases in their body wash sales by 21% and overall awareness by 44% (Chiu, Ip and Silverman, 2012). Chiu, Ip and Silverman also identified that 66% of shoppers were also more likely to trust recommendations from friends and family compared to 38% in the US. I imagine business could exploit this the way they do with things like Instagram where they get celebrities and influencers to share pictures in order to boost sales! Some more fun facts can be found in the below video (that you won’t be able to view if you live in China; just saying)!

This weeks topic was and is absolutely fascinating to me. China will probably be one of my travel destinations in the not-too-distant future and the idea that I won’t be able to use my favourite social media platforms both terrifies and excites me. All term we’ve talked about what social media does, our dependancies and some of the risks associated with our online presence and taking into consideration all the bad, it’d be interesting to see if China has less of this with their targeted, diverse approach to social media platforms and content sharing.

References Chiu, C, Ip, C, & Silverman, A 2012, 'Understanding social media in China', McKinsey Quarterly, no. 2, pp. 78-81. Crampton, T 2011 'Social media in China: The same, but different', China Business Review, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 28-31 Jessica Draws Media, 2013, Video: The Chinese Social Media Landscape, Youtube, accessed 31st January 2017 via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X92RKBE-KVY MemeGenerator, n.d, Image: You Don’t have Facebook, accessed 31st January 2017 via https://memegenerator.net/instance/18616657  Pinterest, n.d, Image: Social Media in China, accessed 31st January 2017 via https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj0rt_upezRAhVGppQKHdDbA6wQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fmthld%2Fchina%2F&bvm=bv.145822982,d.dGo&psig=AFQjCNE3Gwuz8JXtZ0WjVxNxTOiDICtLSw&ust=1485946895684690 

[rochellegodwin-blog]

The digital bully.

As we speak of digital citizenship we have to begin to understand how this affects all citizens, namely our younger citizens. Young people are growing up to be immersed in digital technology and social media. As our networks broaden, as does the potential for harm. Trolling, hating and flaming are ever-increasing terms that are being thrown around popular medias to loosely describe “cyber-bullying”. The assumption among many parents and journalists is that social media radically increases bullying; however, most adults and news media are using bullying as an umbrella term that covers, teasing, aggressive acts, harassment and abuse, when it should not (Boyd, 2014). Rather than increasing bullying, social media has merely become a new platform or avenue for such behaviour; this does not necessarily translate to more opportunity for bullying, it simply comes in conjunction with the shift in the way we communicate. Boyd (2014) agrees, stating that “although new forms of drama find a home through social media, teens’ behaviours have not significantly changed” (p.152). She continues to suggest that social media has made these dynamics more visible to more people. Therefore, in digital citizenship, these issues have not been exaggerated they have simply become more apparent and observable; thus, to blame technology would be naïve, social media is a shift in the way we communicate, and hence the ways bullies operate. Essentially, we have become more aware of the issue of bullying or trolling, as it has now been brought into view.

As we continue to develop into a digital society, our citizens are learning to communicate and represent themselves on this platform. Young people are now constantly on show, so they have no sense of privacy, and hence, no opportunity or time for self-development. Young people are continuously under pressure to be online and available at all times… and the social pressures that go along with that are relentless (Ramsey, 2014). Perhaps this is the answer to why there has been an increase in youth suicide, it is not “cyber-bullying”, but yet the constant pressures of online communication and digital citizenships. The continuous upkeep of presenting your ideal self is tedious, and taxing on youth, with little time left for actual meaningful relationships and self-development. So thus, in an online world the youth is learning self-value based on the number of likes they get or the amount of comments they receive (Ramsey, 2014). Thus, if we are theming bullying under the same umbrella as news medias, then neglect, and not liking posts can also fall under this umbrella. Could then also, a lack of presence or active participation on social media also lead to exclusion under this umbrella.

Ultimately, social media is not the cause of further bullying and trolling, rather it is our inability to develop proper means for teaching our youth how to grow up in a digital era, that is causing the most harm.

  References:

Boyd, D 2014, ‘Bullying : is social media amplifying meanness and cruelty?’ in It's complicated : the social lives of networked teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, pp. 128-152.

Ramsey, M (2014) Why thinking you’re ugly is bad for you, TedTalks, September, viewed 30 December 2017, <https://www.ted.com/talks/meaghan_ramsey_why_thinking_you_re_ugly_is_bad_for_you#t-347726>

[rochellegodwin-blog]

Mrs. Brightside.

Sherry Turkle (2012), a professor of social studies of science and technology at MIT,  suggested that digital immersion is seductive because it seemingly addresses our human vulnerabilities. In her book, Alone Together, she states that “As it turns out, we are very vulnerable,” she says. “We are lonely but fearful of intimacy. Constant connectivity offers the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship”.

I couldn’t agree more, but I am going to point out the positives and negatives of this statement.

Firstly, negatives: thanks to social media, we are substituting friendship for mere companionship. In place of one friendship come hundreds of companions, companions that we can switch off at any time. What’s more these companions are simply projections of their ideal self. Like Turkle (2012) suggests, we are vulnerable, so social media offers a gateway to rid of those parts of ourselves we dislike and then highlight the parts that we do. As we interact on social media, those are the parts we interact with. We avoid the messiness, the confrontations and of course the vulnerabilities that make us human. Thus, blocking any chance of intimacy as Turkle (2012) would suggest. The social media platform of Tinder, is a stark representation of this phenomenon. We display the best representation of ourselves to then seek out an intimate relationship based on this representation. We are trying to seek out meaningful human connection via a platform that disrupts the idea of meaning. Essentially, Tinder is a social oxymoron. Thus, as Turkle (2012) would agree, we are stuck being alone together.

Secondly, positives: As we progress into a world dominated by social media, there is no escape and no hiding from it. To simply choose not to partake is somewhat ignorant and outdated. Yes, we may sleep with out cell phones (Ted-Ed, 2013), but we need to learn to grow with social media not point fingers at it. As Rheingold (2000) would argue virtual communities are based on shared beliefs and common ideas not our location. The separation of location is where the positive lies in social media. We can connect with people from the other side of the world. We can broaden our knowledge, not only on the topics in which we are interested but also on other cultures, religions and practices. By being ignorant to social media you ensure you remain ignorant to a wealth of knowledge and experiences. You may not necessarily be able to afford to travel the world, but you may be able to afford a connection to a broadband network that allows you to communicate in any language in any part of the world. Not only that, we are afforded the opportunity to personalise the content we receive, so if you’re a single mum you can connect with other single mums, if you study medicine you can connect with other medics making break-throughs on the other side of the world. You can learn anything, from anyone. It brings a world of knowledge to your fingertips in an instant. So rather than cursing social media, we need to learn to embrace it. There is no going back.

Here are some other articles I found interesting: 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/may/05/rational-heroes-sherry-turkle-mit 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/10/reclaiming-conversation-sherry-turkle/409273/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00604/full 

References:

Rheingold, H 2000, The virtual community : homesteading on the electronic frontier, MIT Press, Cambridge.

 TED-Ed 2013, Connected, but alone? Sherry Turkle, 19 April, viewed 5 Decemeber 2017, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv0g8TsnA6c>.

 Turkle, S 2012, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Basic Books, New York.

[trancepanda]

Image is EVERYTHING darling... Or is it?

In my very first blog post, I asked about your online activities, what they say about you and explored the fact that we can alter our online ego to be anyone we really want to be by carefully selecting our posts... Well... This week, I’d like to introduce you to my friend Snapchat A social media tool that almost CRUSHES all those rules (at least in my world).  I’m sure you’ve heard of Instagram. With it’s beautiful filters and ability to seamlessly alter a photo so it looks almost nothing like the original, it’s the photo/video sharing social media platform you use when you want to look glam! Snapchat is another photo/video sharing app however it’s messages are fleeting; you can only view them once for up to 10 seconds (unless you’re an absolute jerk and you screenshot them; an act of ultimate betrayal). 

FunnyMemes, I Trusted You

The fleeting nature of Snapchat makes for interesting communication amongst friends and a study on it’s use has indicated that it’s done mainly for bonding and not social status (Piwek and Joinson, 2016). As vain as it is, I give you exhibit A. below; a perfect illustration of the difference between Snapchat and Instagram. And yes, that’s me; aren’t I beautiful?!?! I DEFINITELY use Snapchat to bond with my close friends and the array of horrendously ugly selfies exchanged between us is pretty intense... And HILARIOUS! Snapchat is just another way for me to share my slightly geeky, slightly embarrassing self and funny moments with my good friends as they happen rather than updating it to everyone on my Facebook.

A photo posted by Tamara (@comebakqueen) on Mar 26, 2016 at 1:06am PDT

Comebakqueen, Instagram

Now... I’m not someone who massively cares about what people tag me in on Facebook unless it’s something I’m vehemently against and I don’t want to be associated with it... I’ve got plenty of ugly photos, embarrassing stories and awkward realisations that I’ve been happy to shame MYSELF with let alone other people; the photo above is one of my absolute favourites! But not everyone is like me; I’ve got plenty of friends who don’t like to have their information shared online. Additionally, I’ve got plenty of friends who get upset if they AREN’T tagged in something or find it awkward to tag certain people. When did something that’s supposed to be fun and social become so political? 

The Roundabout Crew, Tagging Your Friends Girlfriend

I found a great article by Pamela Wisniewski et al (2016) that explored the implications involved with tagging friends online. Whilst studies have shown that it can lead to higher levels of social bonding it can also lead to a sense of helplessness (p. 1884). Whilst most users choose to ignore this and post photographs anyway, some prefer the choice and have their Facebook set up so they have the option to reject Facebook tags in order to preserve their online image and keep that control.  I don’t often untag myself but I know I’m always cautious about tagging other people in my photo updates. Posting monstrously ugly photo’s of myself is one thing, but I still prefer to be in control and can fully appreciate that others feel the same. My advice to you, always try and be mindful of how other people feel about sharing information online and try to take that into consideration when sharing your own information; you never know who might get insulted or hurt if you share something unwanted. 

ImgFlip, Tagging

References

FunnyMemes, Image: I trusted you, accessed 21st January 2017 via http://www.funnymeme.com/2014/11/25/funny-memes-when-someone-screenshots-your-snapchat/  ImgFlip, Image: Tagging, accessed 23rd January 2017 via https://imgflip.com/i/f489c  Piwek, L & Joinson, A, 2016, ‘“What do they snapchat about?” Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging service’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 54, pp. 358–367 The Roundabout Crew, Video: Tagging your friends girlfriend, accessed 23rd January 2017 via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elnEWJ9L18A&feature=youtu.be  Wisniewski, P, Xu, H, Lipford, H & Bello-Ogunu, E, 2016, ‘Facebook Apps and Tagging: The Trade-off Between Personal Privacy and Engaging with Friends’, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, vol.66, no. 9, pp.1883-1896

[notasaladkindagirl]

That ironic moment when you cram like heck on a lab report supporting distributed practice. Pretty proud of how much I have done though! #2000wordsand29pagesinfourdays #psych #psychology #swinburneonline #swinburne #uni #unilyf #labreport #assignments #proud #psgetthedegrees #burningthemidnightoil https://www.instagram.com/p/B2CEj6xgCDq/?igshid=13mmqrdla3o37