Digital Communities

Forget a 9-5pm stock standard job, live streaming has entered the industry as a new method of racking in cash. And load of it. Throughout the Western world, Live streaming is becoming an increasingly popular way for online influencers to connect and communicate with the general public, allowing a more ‘personal’ interaction. However, China has been on this bandwagon for much longer, with it’s social effect having a much larger impact. Recently, live streaming has been a consistently booming phenomenon, with the market currently valued at over 11 billion dollars, which is surprisingly more than the entire Chinese Film industry combined.

Why is it such a booming market in China? 

The Chinese digital generation constantly chase what is new, current and interesting, meaning that obtaining consistent revenue and economic stability for social apps is difficult. To keep up with the current market of experience-orientated applications, live streaming has become the newest form of social interaction; but why? 

One of the central reasons for this boom can be accredited to apps like Inkes ability to have a low entry point. Opening the door for anyone with a camera and an internet connection, live streaming has allowed the general public to rise to fame and fortune over an activity that is easily accessible, and for a watcher or ametur user, it doesn't require much effort. 

In contrast from Live streaming on sites such as Instagram and Facebook in Australia, sites such as Inke allows a ‘battle mode’, known as ‘PK mode’, which “…randomly matches up two streamers who agree on the battle rules and then have seven minutes to challenge each other,” (Dudarenok 2018) with the loser having to complete a punishment. Losers are picked over the amount of viral gifts and support from viewers, fostering a personal interaction that allows user to gain a following, and audiences to feel like they are apart of the lives of those that they follow.

What does it take to become a live streaming star?

Working as a Chinese live steamer is not as simple as it may looks, with the job requiring long hours and stressful competition, to maintain a following and gain virtual gifts, which ultimately fuel their income. With materialistic features becoming very important in streaming, female broadcasters in particular, are primarily judged on their age, appearance and body figure, deeming them successful over these characteristics rather than knowledge or talent.          

Does Live streaming have any downsides?

Just like social media sites such as Instagram, the live streaming sites demanding agents are making users put themselves in situations that will resonate with their audience. This can be an issue, as risky behaviour that could harm users physically, or get them in trouble with authorities over censorship or legal issues is becoming incredibly popular. One of the most common complications that has arisen, is the issue of minors stripping online to gain viewers. To address this issue, several campaigns were released by The CyberSpace Administration to combat nudity of all sorts, overall aiming at censoring risky live content before broadcasting it, but users and viewers have shown to still find ways to manipulate the system to consume and post the content they want. 

References:

Jing, M 2017 ‘What it takes to be an Internet live-streaming star in China’, South China Morning Post, 13 December, viewed 18 May 2018, <http://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2124190/eating-yogurt-deadly-stunts-what-it-takes-be-live-streaming-star>. 

Leng, S 2017, ‘The ugly side of China’s live-streaming celebrity factories’, South China Morning Post, 30 June, viewed 18 May 2018, <http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2100713/ugly-side-chinas-live-streaming-celebrity-factories>.

From the instance it became established, to developing in current day society where it is an integrated everyday activity, video gaming has sustained a very male dominated stance across a broad spectrum of factors; including character representation, target audience and player base (Zorilla 2018).    

How are females depicted in gaming? 

Due to a perception of a one sided user-ship, characters are created to accommodate to the larger percentage of users, which is quite evenly balanced between genders, but with slightly more males as avid video gamers. Therefore, the spread of gender across character selection is favoured towards the desires of male gamers. Burgess et al. (2007) found that “[m]ales were almost five times more likely to be portrayed as the primary character…than females” (p. 424-425). This can pose as an ethical issue, as despite female characters gaining depiction in secondary or passive roles, the distribution of male to female ratio in characters, as well as race and age, doesn't accurately represent Australian society today. The question that now needs to be asked is: Why do developers create characters a certain way? What is their underlying motive?

What is the issue of sexism and harassment in the Industry?

Shifting away from the discussion of character representation, the issue of sexism is extremely prevalent within the gaming industry. Often a controversial topic for gaming scholars, the sexualisation of characters within games is observed to be much higher in female characters. Despite women in games being underrepresented as discussed earlier, “...their attractiveness and sexuality were mentioned in proportionally more reviews than that of males” (Ivory 2006, p. 110). In regards to sexism in the forms of player to player communication, online abuse is a much more prevelant issue. According (Kasumovic & Kuznekoff 2015) “...women receive up to 10 times more negative comments than men in online chatrooms and three times the negativity when playing online games.” As demonstrated through the Gamer-gate controversy, sexism is still an ongoing issue within the industry, with the instances of Anita Sarkeesian, Zoe Quinn and Brianna Wu as prime examples. The battle is to now move from Gamer-gate, to issues that women around the globe who work in technology and gaming industry face; the sexism debt must be addressed (Wu 2015).

Is the Industry changing?

Following a heated discussion in the MDA20009 lecture, a female student, and avid gamer, stated that “despite all the talk about sexism, it’s not all bad. I game with guys that couldn't care less about my gender.” And I think that it is an important point to leave with. Despite all this discussion surrounding sexism in the industry, it’s important to point out that not all aspects of the industry are negative, instead, majority of the males I know that play games are inclusive of women. It is rather the overarching divide between genders that is still present within the media, that is holding back the opportunity for an all inclusive gaming experience.  

References:

Kasumovic, M & Kuznekoff, J 2015, ‘Sexism in video gaming is just another form of bullying’, The Conversation, 16 July, Viewed 18 May 2018, <https://theconversation.com/sexism-in-video-gaming-is-just-another-form-of-bullying-44354>. 

Wu, B 2015, ‘A moment that changed me – Gamergate’, The Guardian, pp. 1-2.   

The introduction of the internet and social media has had a major impact on several aspects of the Public health community, leading to a variety of outcomes. 

What are the benefits of the Internet and SNS working in combination of each other?

When looking at the positives, the most beneficial outcome of integrating social media and public health is the ability for sufferers to reach out and interact with one another. Social interaction among sufferers is a crucial aspect in overcoming negative feelings associated with having a chronic illness, such as isolation and depression, as blogging communities can foster a highly intimate relationship between users, by creating a space in which they can express their emotions, and share experiences with other who can relate.

Another way social media has be able to benefit the health community significantly is its ability make information widely accessible to a global audience, and allowing people to communicate during a health crisis.  An example of this is the 2016 Zika Virus, most commonly known as the ‘mosquito virus’, and the Centre for Disease control’s use of social media during this outbreak. When the Zika virus has it’s first outbreak, It presented real challenges for Healthcare provides, as it was untreatable and very contagious. The Centre for Disease control used social media, using Twitter in particular to minimise the spread of false information, spread prevention strategies to civilians at risk, and build awareness for practitioners, as it was a very unknown virus. 

What is the downfall of Internet led campaigns?

Despite internet led public health campaigns being widely successful, there is a downfall. In this weeks reading by Jean, Burgess and Light, ‘DEEPLY SUPERFICIAL DIGITAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT?’, the issue of superficiality in regards to online health campaigns is the focal point. Just like we focused on the idea of slacktivsim and clicktivism during the political engagement week, Superficiality refers to low impact participation, in which engagement with the issues directly do not occur. An advertising campaign that calls out the the impact the internet has in actually supporting an health or global issue is ‘Liking isn’t Helping’. It displays a series of very confronting images, with peoples hands giving a thumbs up to ‘help’ the issue at hand. It was created for crisis relief Singapore, and it demonstrates that virtual things don’t actually count in real life.

Is superficiality all bad?

In contrast to what I just touched on, the concept of superficiality cannot be viewed as entirely negative, as it can lead to some very successful public health outcomes.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was described as a ‘Superficial’ based campaign, but was deemed the most successful public health campaign ever established. Despite this, the reason ALS became so viral was that many of the participants did in fact not donate, but chose to contribute through filming themselves dumping ice water over their body, uploading the footage to a social platform, and then nominating three people to do the same. This act is defined as superficial, as it doesn't directly help the issue trying to raise funds. But despite donations being the main contributing factor to ALS raising money, the use of nominating those you follow online to participate allowed the constant circulation of these videos. Meaning that they were able to reach a wider audience of people, with more chances of finding people willing to donate.

References: 

Farrell, C 2018, “Lecture 9: Public Health Communities and Campaigns ”, lecture notes, MDA20009, Swinburne University, viewed 10 April, 2018.

Burgess, J, Cassidy, E, Light, B 2014, ‘DEEPLY SUPERFICIAL DIGITAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT? THE CASE OF TWITTER AND MOVEMBER 2013’, Selected Papers of Internet Research 15: The 15th Annual Meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers, 24 October, viewed 26 April 2018,<https://ilearn.swin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-7037459-dt-content-rid-40223596_2/courses/2018-HS1-MDA20009-227427/Burgess%20etal_Deeply%20Superficial%20Digital%20Media%20Engagement_Movember%202013_IR15_2014.pdf>

Russell, J 2017, ‘Social Media in Health Care: The Benefits, Challenges, and Opportunities’, Hootsuite, 31 Janurary, viewed 23 April 2018, <https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-health-care/>. 

Collins, M 2014, “Decoding the ALS Ice-Bucket Challenge”, Presentation.

Also referred to as ‘volunteered geographic information’, Crowdsourcing provides real time information to local community areas. This is particularly useful in times of natural disaster, as it allows Emergency services to work with Social Networking Sites (SNS) to easily disrupt essential information to the public, and in return, receive vital information back from the people and communities that directly affected. By creating a channel for easy communication, the 2009 Victorian Bushfires was greatly impacted through the implementation of crowdsourcing.

Occurring during extreme bushfire weather, ‘Black Saturday’, is Australia’s most severe fire, with over 400 individual recorded fires, and over 170 individuals dying as a result. During this time, Facebook and Twitter were used by the CFA for provide the public with valid information regarding fire updates, with the aim of assisting those affected, providing people with fire updates, weather information and local community services. Facebook pages created were deemed to be extremely accurate and often had a quicker response time with relevant posts and information in comparison to government lead sites. During an era of globalization, where mobile phones and internet use is at an all time high, crowdsourcing through SNS has established it self as a significantly effective method at reducing the loss of life during a crisis such as a natural disaster. Information collection doesn’t just take the from of SNS, with app development becoming increasingly apparent in the area of crisis management, with the CFA developing VicEmergency for emergency warnings and information. The benefits of crowdsourcing over using traditional broadcast channels such as TV, is the ability to interact and gather support from people that they wouldn't have the opportunity to connect with through some Broadcast Media.

Following Black Saturday, Bushfire Connect  was developed, which “...combined several information channels, which gathered crowdsourced bushfire information through SMS and Twitter, which was then moderated and mapped, and then sent out alerts via email or SMS, the moderation filtered out noise and made alerts relevant and reliable” (Dempsey 2012). In combination with this, following the event, SNS were still actively used updated and used throughout Australia. Facebook pages were created to connect those affected, pay respects to those that lost their lives, raise money for victims and provide support networks for both victims, and the firefighters that were involved in the crisis.  The continued use of SNS allowed the sharing of experiences and stories, with this process being both therapeutic and a means to produce raw material into memory and history (Henderson and Gilding, 2004).

References:

Anon 2018, "‘Black Saturday’ bushfires kill 173 people in Victoria | National Museum of Australia", Nma.gov.au, viewed 11 May, 2018, <http://www.nma.gov.au/online_features/defining_moments/featured/black-saturday-bushfires>.

Barbieri, S 2016, "Crowdsourcing in Time of Crisis", prezi.com, viewed 11 May, 2018, <https://prezi.com/3dua-f5hu1pg/crowdsourcing-in-time-of-crisis/>.

Used to educate and mobilise individuals around the world, the development and regular use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) has revolutionised the way individuals interact and socialise. In society today, Social Media has transitioned into the mass media medium, in which a majority of users engage with content from platforms on a daily basis, meaning we are always on, and always connected to our online community.  Despite SNS ability for greatness, online aggression, harassment and cyberbullying have infiltrated social platforms significantly. According to DoSomething (2014), a website dedicated to taking action against bullying, 70% of students report seeing frequent bullying online, with around 50% of teenagers being victims of bullying. As content posted on SNS can be disseminated to global viewers with a click of a button, a single act of posting a negative comment, posting a revenge picture or sharing compromising information can taught and humiliate a victim consistently (Kemaghan & Elwood 2013), and with the ability to post anonymously, bullying increases as perpetrators are able to hide behind a screen, protecting their identity.

Within one of the readings for this week, Danah Boyd, Author of ‘It’s complicated: the social lives of networked teens’, discusses how social media has created a culture in which gossiping and spreading rumours has been normalised. At the beginning of her piece, Boyd (2014, p. 130) explores 14 year old Ashley, a girl who used gossiping as a way to fuel her own social status, which was linked to the same practices in which celebrities engage in. Boyd writes that:

                                                                                                                                            “…Ashley’s joyous recounting of school gossip paralleled her stated love of watching TV characters engage in drama and her general appreciation for knowing what’s happening in people’s lives.”                                                          

The exploration of the role celebrities and reality drama plays in influencing anti social behaviours was a really interesting aspect I took away from Boyd’s reading, and connected popular TV show Gossip Girl with many of the arguments Boyd concludes about Movies and Television creating a culture in which forms of cyberbullying and online harassment are promoted.  

Aired in 2007, Gossip Girl became an instant hit, with leading actors Leighton Meester and Blake Lively attaining as much cash flow as their Upper East Side characters Blair and Serena. Despite the show having two female leads, not much was done in relation to empowering women, instead, it centred around nasty reality drama and gossip that was created through a SNS, which is too commonly behaviour that is associated with teenage females. Whilst it is important to have a lead character that is strong, Blair Waldorf is extremely mean throughout the entire series, with her actions towards others being rewarded. In real life, harassing teachers for a good grade, and publicly humiliating friends online are condemned (Basco, 2016). However, they are consistently celebrated within this show, influencing young and impressionable viewers to get the wrong idea about how to act towards others, especially on SNS. The actions in Gossip Girl become fundamentally influential, as during this time, social media was still a relatively new phenomenon. Therefore, by watching celebrities engage in certain practices, their on screen actions are not surprisingly mirrored by fans or viewers, and in some cases, the way in which they used SNS, creates the basis for their understanding of how to navigate attention and status on real life SNS (Zhang, Yu, Wakefield & Leidner 2016). 

When developing a show intended for a global audience, especially targeted at those within a younger demographic, it’s essential to consider the impact actions within the show have on viewers, and the influence it can have on the wider spectrum of cyberbullying and online abuse.

References:

Basco, I 2016, ‘I’m glad Gossip Girl was pulled off the air,’ The Tab, 20 April, viewed 26 April 2018, < https://thetab.com/us/2016/07/05/gossip-girl-dangerous-31416>.

Boyd, D 2014, It’s complicated: the social lives of networked teens, Yale University Press books, Connecticut.

Do Something, 2017, 11 facts about cyberbullying, Do Something, viewed 26 April 2018, <https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying>.

Can dumping ice water over your head really make a difference in the ALS battle?

Following the advent of the Internet, the introduction of Social Networking Sites (SNS) have shaped us into digitally connected beings, changing the way in which we interact within our community. Altering the dissemination of information, Social Media platforms are utilised as a force to educate and mobilise individuals around the world, (Butler 2011, pg. 68) with this directly changing the face of Activism and Protest in society today. Despite arguments from Malcolm Gladwell on the emergence and issue of ‘Slacktivism’ as a result of Web 2.0 (Butler 2011, pg. 71), the successfulness of digital Activist campaigns such as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge demonstrate that Digital Activism can be just as effective as Traditional Activism in raising awareness and funds for social or political change.

Social network infiltration worldwide is increasing significantly, from 2.46 billion users in 2017, to an expected rise to 2.77 billion users in 2019, with this having a direct effect on the act of protest and activism, especially within the political landscape. Digital Activism or ‘Internet activism’, shifts away from the previous world of social movements and campaigning, towards a society in which individuals can work and collaborate without government or corporate-run infrastructures, and can easily mobilize supporters from around the globe just through a click of a button (Karatzogianni 2016). Despite this new found ability to easily create social change, social media has influenced many to support an issue, but only for a short period of time, or through putting little effort in- being defined as Slacktivism. Despite being frowned upon by many media scholars, Slacktivism can promote a new form of activism, and in the process, can lead to true change, awareness or funding for a particular cause. The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) foundation being an example of social media's ability to create real change, despite involving Slacktivism (Collins, 2014).

ALS is an incurable, progressive neurodegenerative disease, affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, which results in the loss of control of muscle movement (ALS Association, 2016). Why this social movement became so viral was that many of the participants did in fact not donate, but contributed through filming themselves dumping ice water over their body, and uploading it to a social platform, and then nominating three people to do the same. Despite donations being the main contributing factor to ALS raising money, the use of nominating those you follow online to participate allowed the constant circulation of these videos. This in turn enabled the awareness and funding of ALS to grow rapidly; as these videos were reaching more people than they would if the foundation was spreading the word about the disease, as they promoted network strengthening and social proof (Collins, 2014).

Looking at the statistics, the foundation raised $100 million from July 29 to August 29 (Owyang, 2014), and increased the views on the ALS Wikipedia page from 3,000 daily views, to over 450,000 views on August 21 (Wicks, 2014), making the ALS Ice-Bucket Challenge the most recognised health promotion activist campaign to date (Collins, 2014).

SNS allowed key dynamics of Digital Activism, and the power of Slacktivism to be infiltrated within the ALS campaign. The success of this campaign overall reinforces the overarching idea, that operations of modern society thrive and excel on mediated communication, with modern day activism and protest being no exception (Lundby, 2009).

References:

ALS Association 2016, About ALS, ALSA.org, viewed 13 October 2017, <http://www.alsa.org/ about-als/>.

Butler, M 2011, Clicktivism, Slacktivism or ‘Real’ Activism? Cultural Codes of American Activism in the internet Era, University of Colorado Boulder Cu Scholar, viewed 12th April 2018 <https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=comm_gradetds>.   Collins, M 2014, "Decoding the ALS Ice-Bucket Challenge", Presentation.

Lundby, K 2009, Mediatization, 1st ed, Peter Lang, New York, pp. 1-13.

Karatzogianni, A 2016, Beyond hashtags: how a new wave of digital activists is changing society, The Conversation, viewed 16th april 2018, <https://theconversation.com/beyond-hashtags-how-a-new-wave-of-digital-activists-is-changing-society-57502>.

Owyang, J 2014, Ice-bucket Challenge: The Cold Hard Facts and Stats, Presentation.