Exploring the Digital World

The most appropriate definition of social in regards to this topic is “tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others.” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). I have always wondered about the effects of gaming on kids, but I think social gaming is a step up, in terms of interaction. I have known group of men in their 30’s to gather together at someone’s house and spend a Friday night drinking wine and play Mario Kart. I think in this sense gaming is social because they all get involved and take turns. The type of gaming that concerns me is when individuals spend all day/night in front of a screen playing World of Warcraft (WoW) by themselves. A study looking into the motivation behind playing WoW and found specific associations between motives and in-game preferences or actions (e.g. type of achievements targeted, type of server chosen, affiliation with a guild). Longitudinal analyses showed that high involvement in the game is not necessarily associated with a negative impact upon daily living (Billieux et al., 2013).

It really concerns me when it come to adolescents. I hear more and more of kids getting diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and I wonder if it is because they are getting too much stimulation all the time that when it comes time to concentrate on only one thing, the get bored quickly and act out as a result. The book ‘Multiplayer’ confirms that gamers can have social problems “despite the fact that online games are highly social spaces, the player of such games have become anecdotally and empirically characterised as socially reclusive, inept individuals” (Quandt and Kröger, 2013, p. 99). Jim Hightower, an ABC radio commentator, expressed concern about the the impact of social interaction online when he stated, “While all this razzledazzle connects us electronically, it disconnects us from each other, having us interfacing more with computers and TV screens than looking in the face of our fellow human beings” (Quandt and Kröger, 2013, p. 99). I feel his concern is a reality and I wonder how much longer this will last, if it will ever change, or will be all walk around like zombies staring at screens, even when we are amongst loved ones.

References: Merriam-webster.com, (2015). Definition of Social. [online] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social [Accessed 9 Feb. 2015].

Billieux, J., Van der Linden, M., Achab, S., Khazaal, Y., Paraskevopoulos, L., Zullino, D. and Thorens, G. (2013). Why do you play World of Warcraft? An in-depth exploration of self-reported motivations to play online and in-game behaviours in the virtual world of Azeroth. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(1), pp.103-109.

Kowert, R., Domahidi, E., Festl, R. and Quandt, T. (2014). Social gaming, lonely life? The impact of digital game play on adolescents’ social circles. Computers in Human Behavior, 36, pp.385-390.

With new applications and social media platforms, we share different information, images, videos and experiences with the people we choose to. With this, of course, came the rise of the selfie - a picture taken of a person, by that person. I have to admit I am not a fan of selfies, and think they are quite ridiculous. When I am traveling, I like to get a picture of myself and the person i’m with in front of a monument or particularly significant building or landscape. But when it comes to my Instagram feed, I think I have posted 2 selfies in the 4 years I’ve had it.

I read an interesting article recently on 21st Century Wire (2014) and here is a snippet from it which I found to be very true. “Everyone is taking selfies now. Should we really be worried about this trend, or is it just a case of people being empowered on a microblogging platform like Twitter, or Instagram? Writer Donna Highfill explains, “I have run into at least 10 people recently who have stopped on fast-moving, heavily-populated sidewalks to take a #selfie. There is no historical building behind them, no beautiful landscape, no real reason to take a picture of themselves other than the fact that they can reverse the camera on the phone, gaze at their own visage, and then share it on social media so the rest of the world can gaze upon it as well.” Does that make ‘us’ narcissistic? I’m not sure I would go that far, but some people certainly think so. I overheard my 7 year-old niece saying to her mum today, after her mum took a video of her playing the trumpet and said she was going to put it on Instagram, "No, don’t put it on Instagram and don’t tag me I look silly”. Guess she doesn’t want that to be seen by her friends…

So not only has the selfie established itself as a thing people do, there is now a TOOL to assist in the picture taking of ones self. Founder of iStabilizer sold 15,000 sticks last January alone, and thats just one company. I can’t stand selfies, but self sticks are on another level of tolerable. I was glad to read that New York museums are banning the selfie stick (Shilo, 2015). The reason for the restriction is the threat of accidental damage to museum exhibits and art work and that stopping to position for a selfie can also lead to congestion in already crowded museums. I encountered this negative experience when I was visiting Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi over New Years, where I wanted to get a picture taken with the mosque in the background, but the space was quite small due to the pillars on either side, and there was a couple standing there for a good 10 minutes taking so many pictures at so many angles and heights with their damn selfie stick. The sooner they ban them at more places, the better in my opinion.

I love this last image of a “selfie stick”.

References: The ‘Selfie’ Obsession: A Chronic, Narcissistic Mental Disorder. (2014). [Blog] 21st Century Wire. Available at: http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/12/13/selfie-obsession-a-chronicnarcissistic- mental-disorder/ [Accessed 6 Feb. 2016].

Agonistica, (2014). [image] Available at: http://agonistica.com/wpcontent/ uploads/2014/01/Schermata-01-2456659-alle-07.54.44.png [Accessed 6 Feb. 2016].

Shilo, M. (2015). New York Museums Are Officially Banning Selfie Sticks. Observer. [online] Available at: http://observer.com/2015/02/new-yorkmuseums-are-officially-banning-selfie-sticks/ [Accessed 7 Feb. 2016].

The concept of gathering information from different people and sources to one forum is a great tool in many instances, particularly when it comes to crisis communication. Social media has played a critical role in natural disasters as an information propagator that can be leveraged for disaster relief (Gao, Barbier and Goolsby, 2011).

After the Haiti earthquake occurred, people published numerous messages, videos and photos about their personal experiences during the earthquake through social media sites, which they also used to keep in-touch with the world. According to Gao, Barbier and Goolsby (2011) the Red Cross received US$8 million in donations within 48 hours of the disaster via texts, which shows one positive of the powerful propagation capability of social media sites.

The recent tsunami and earthquakes in Japan caused failed mobile phone networks and make it difficult for people to communicate with loved ones. They turned to Twitter, Facebook, Skype and local Japanese social networks to communicate with each other instead. Crowdsourcing applications based on social media sites such as Twitter and Ushahidi offer a powerful capability for gathering information from disaster scenes and visualising data for relief decision making (Gao, Barbier and Goolsby, 2011).

Ushahidi emerged as a platform that gave ordinary citizens the opportunity to report human rights abuses during the Kenyan presidential elections. It has now developed so anyone can start their own mapping system which allows the public to post reports and incidents to it (Ford 2012). Projects using crowdsourcing platforms like Ushahidi can change the pace and nature of events: people can organise things faster, find others who share their views and work together in disparate locations to produce powerful sources of information. But as the sources of user-generated content grow and the volume of data increases, users of the technology face critical choices about what information to highlight, about the authenticity of reports and, consequently, which information should be declared as ‘verified’ (Ford 2012). It is in this realm that Ushahidi deployment teams face new challenges that raise questions around the role of technology, veracity and the future of citizen reporting in times of crisis (Ford 2012).

A great application that has come from crowdsourcing is Waze, “the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app. Join other drivers in the area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas money on their daily commute” (Waze 2015). I love apps like this because they collate valuable information to essentially make your journey safer and faster. I also think in the case of emergency situations, e.g. bushfires, danger zones can be highlighted and alternative routes found to get out of the area to safer grounds.

References: Gao, H., Barbier, G. and Goolsby, R. (2011). Harnessing the Crowdsourcing Power of Social Media for Disaster Relief. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 26(3), pp.10-14.

The verbal, physical and social aspects of bullying are very much present, however with the development of the internet comes a change in the environment. Bullying doesn’t stay in the school yard anymore, it can leave school and enter the safety of their homes (Running, 2012). Cyber-bullying has become a large problem in today’s society because bullies feel much freer to say what they want because they can hide behind a screen, creating an emotional disconnect. The person sending the messages tend to feel disconnected from the impact they have on others, but that doesn’t lessen the affect on the people on the receiving end.

The example of what happened to fifteen-year-old Amanda Todd shows why cyberbullying is worse than traditional bullying. She could not get away from a mistake and blackmailer because once put out on the internet, it never went away. He created a Facebook profile which used the topless photograph as the profile image, and contacted classmates at her new school, causing more grief and bullying. She moved schools several times and her tormentors still came after her. She was physically assaulted at a new school by 15 others from another school, which worsened her depression. She took her life after the endless bullying she endured (No Bullying, 2014). A tragic ending to a horrible situation for the poor girl.

According to Boyd (2014) the persistence and visibility of bullying in networked publics adds a new dimension to how bullying is constructed and understood. Engaging in cyberbullying leaves ‘evidence’ of what is being said so others can see what’s happening. However this can lead to enabling others to amplify the attacks therefore increasing the emotional duress of a bullying incident (Boyd, 2014). Technology makes bullying more damaging and hurtful because it lets people inflict continuous harm.

I remember seeing the movie Mean Girls when it came out, I was 12 at the time. I loved that movie- the plotting, scandal, attitude and revenge. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched it and would say it had an influence on me in a positive way because it has a good moral in the end. Being mean isn’t the way to go about things and that everyone is human and public humiliation is cruel. There were definitely incidents of bullying throughout high-school, but my school had a 0 tolerance policy and took it very seriously, with major consequences for those who bullied. Being “older” and looking back I’m glad I went to a school that took it seriously and did something about it. I hear of incidents in private Swedish high schools that disgust me, and teachers do nothing about the bullying and ABUSE. A good movie that highlights this problem is 'Evil’, I highly recommend watching it.

I do think though with the increasing awareness of bullying, people are standing up for people in need and coming to their defence, especially when it is done in a public forum such as Facebook or Instagram. Reading the comments on posts where someone says something mean about someone, and random people who don’t personally know either party come to the defence of the person being attacked. Maybe we’re moving into the right direction? Let’s just hope so..

References:

Running, K. (2012). Cyber-bullying and popular culture. The Observer. [online] Available at: http://www.carlyleobserver.com/news/localnews/ cyber-bullying-and-popular-culture-1.1482627 [Accessed 5 Feb. 2016].

No Bullying, (2014). The Top 6 Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases of the Decade. [online] Available at: http://nobullying.com/six-unforgettablecyber- bullying-cases/ [Accessed 5 Feb. 2016].

The ‘invention’ of the internet and social media definitely has its perks. It makes the world a smaller place by connecting people via different channels so they can share their stories, opinions, experiences and lives with others. Instead of only being exposed to what the media reports on about certain events and situations, we can now find out more, from the people in those situations. Content shared via social media from conflict war zones has allowed us to gain a far deeper understanding of the on-the-ground realities of specific conflict than previously possible (Higgins 2015). According to Higgins (2015) in 2012, the video streaming site Bambuser was adopted by groups opposing the Syrian government to livestream videos of protests and violence from across Syria. As violence escalated, internet access in opposition-controlled areas became increasingly limited. Today, this means that the vast majority of social media accounts being used by the Syrian opposition are associated with specific locations, media centres, or armed groups. This provides researchers with a real opportunity to understand the actors and events taking place on the ground. More on this interesting topic here.

The use of social media as an instrument for activism has already begun and I believe is a catalyst for change. A year ago I become a vegetarian because of this simple image. When I saw this whilst scrolling down my Facebook newsfeed, I looked at it, thought about it, and decided that eating meat wasn’t worth the pain the animals go through. As Gerbaudo (2012) says in his book "Social media can be seen as the contemporary equivalent of what the newspaper, the poster, the leaflet or direct mail were for the labour movement. They are means not simply to convey abstract opinions, but also to give a shape to the way in which people come together and act together, or, to choreograph collective action". It does this by:

1) Being able to send one message to much more people, in a quicker way than any other form of promotion. Any news-worthy post has the potential to be retweeted, reposted and shared to millions more people and the more views have, the more likely it is to be featured on news outlets and websites, spreading the word.

2) “Social media gives people the power to call out injustices, inaccuracies and misrepresentations and brings about better understanding of other cultures and people.” (Khan-Ibarra 2014).

3) Hashtag campaigns provide the opportunity for people from all over the world can get involved in important conversations. 

An couple of examples of this is #HeForShe created by Emma Watson for gender equality and the #ICantBreathe that came from the last words Eric Garner said while being brutally detained which led to his death. This one really touched me, especially after watching the video. The decision made by the grand jury not to prosecute the arresting officer led to protest all across America. I saw some people with signs standing outside the USA Embassy in Stockholm for a few days. NBA players wore black t-shirts with the hashtag during games.

4) Social media = power, as demonstrated by certain countries banning or controlling access.

References:

Roxas, Jude. 2011. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.

Higgins, Eliot. 'Social Media And Conflict Zones: The New Evidence Base For Policymaking’. Policy Wonkers 2015. Web. 5 Feb. 2016

Gerbaudo, P 2012, Tweets And The Streets : Social Media And Contemporary Activism, London: Pluto, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2016.

As socieities propel further into the digital world, politicians have to follow suit to appeal to their publics. The limelight a rising politician can find themselves in can shine a lot brighter and faster with the assistance of social media. The first elected president whose effective use of social media helped him win was Barack Obama in his 2008 campaign. According to The European Business Review (2010) “Obama won by converting everyday people into engaged and empowered volunteers, donors and advocates through social networks, e-mail advocacy, text messaging and online video. The campaign’s proclivity to online advocacy is a major reason for his victory.” He collected 5 million supports across social networks, outperforming his contender four times over on Facebook and 23 times more on twitter (The European Business Review 2010). He set and led a successful example of how to win two presidential elections with the help of social media. Even still, he is an active user of social media posting daily videos, policy changes, updates on his twitter and Facebook accounts.

However, politicians do have to be cautious what they put out on the internet, no matter when, as with the example of the 2012 Queensland Election Campaign where ALP candidate Peter Watson’s posting homophobic comments on a blog 15 years prior, came back to haunt him and he was forced to resign his candidacy (Jericho 2012). Read more here. Our last Prime Minister was very popular according to my Facebook feed. Since I’ve been living abroad the most I heard about him and what he had been up to was through Facebook and other social media platforms, and it went from bad, to worse for him. There are still a number of Facebook pages dissing him, the one with the most ‘Likes’ (over 200,000) being ’Tony Abbott Worst PM in Australian History’. As he was quoted saying last Australia Day “I’ll leave social media to its own devices. Social media is kind of like electronic graffiti and I think that in the media, you make a big mistake to pay too much attention to social media” (The Age, 2015). Considering all the things about him out there on social media, I think he made a big mistake dismissing the importance it had on his popularity with the public and think he should have focused more of his efforts on keeping us on his side, especially after the election.

References: The European Business Review,. 'Obama And The Power Of Social Media And Technology’. N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.

Twitter,. 'Barack Obama (@Barackobama) | Twitter’. N.p., 2015. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.

Jericho, Greg. The Rise Of The Fifth Estate. Melbourne [i.e. Brunswick], Vic.: Scribe Publications, 2012. Print.

Facebook,. 'Tony Abbott - Worst PM In Australian History’. N.p., 2015. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.

Battersby, Lucy. 'Tony Abbott Dismisses Social Media As 'Electronic Graffiti’, Again’. The Age 2015. Web. 1 Jan. 2016.