Digitally Dysfunctional

Digitally Dysfunctional Investigates

WhatsApp, Twitter, Google, Facebook Messenger and Youtube.

These are social applications and internet websites that we all have and use frequently.

But do we ALL use them?

As it turns out these apps are mainly used by western countries, with places like China not using these applications. In fact, sites like Facebook and Youtube are banned.

WeChat, Weibo, Baidu, QQ and Youku replace these social apps.

Each App shares similarities with its western version, some even taking similar layout appearances.

I mean the only thing that really separates them…. is that the Chinese apps have wayyyy cooler names.

It’s the truth, come at me- I dare you.

But why don’t all countries use the same app if there isn’t any main differences between them?

The answer is just one word;

Censorship. 

China uses different types of social apps and internet sites in order to regulate both the communication and information online.

The Chinese government employed censorship online in order to have complete control over their citizens and their freedom of speech online. The government are able to oversee what is said, receive and distributed.

This differs to western countries that instead encourage freedom of speech, and have less care for regulation and information control. 

By controlling what is accessible or not, China are able to build a different value system that competes with the “liberal democracy” in western countries. 

Research found that China’s censorship is successful because not only does it make unapproved information harder to access, but also “harbours an environment” in which online users do not search for the information in the first place.

In a way, China’s censorship system is similar to George Orwell’s vision of the future world in 1984, in which the government watch over and control those in society.

Yep, I know, that’s some scary shit.

China manage to regulate and restrict sites and applications is through what is known as ‘The Great Firewall of China’.

No, I am not talking about The Great Wall of China. For the love of god, I would hope you’re smarter than to assume they are the same thing. 

*cue the typical disappointed mother look*

The Great Firewall of China is an online network security system that controls and traffics online content through government monitoring, technologies, and telecommunications companies that are compelled to enforce the rules of the country.

The government can choose to block anything they want. From sites, to selected words, to even things like a big Yellow Duck and Winnie the Pooh.

You heard right, this little bundle of love was blocked from internet usage in China. Apparently Winnie looked a little too similar to one of their presidents.

The Chinese government block anything that can be seen as threatening or controversial against the government, and unfortunately Chinese president Xi Jinping looked a little too much like the yellow bear.

However, if the multiple Jurassic Park movies has taught us anything its that:

You cannot control the natural desire and want for freedom.

Dinosaurs, in this case, are like people. Dinosaurs want to be free of leashes and stupid fenced parks, and humans want to be free of regulation and rules.

So when it comes to Censorship, users on social media have found way around the rules.

Ahhh, we love rule breakers.

Although there are a couple of ways in which people can avoid The Great Firewall, we will be looking at the most common way which is through a VPN.

A VPN is a virtual private network that can elude the censorship constrictions in china. A VPN changes your IP address letting the user have unrestricted internet access. They are usually either free or can be bought for a cheap price. 

Whether you live in China or visiting, you can get yourself a VPN and access a range of banned sites and apps.

However even though a person may have a VPN, the Chinese government in some cases can still have the upper hand. China can still find a way to step in and stop usage of particular websites or applications if the reason you are using them for are unethical, get out of hand or if what you’re searching for may cause disturbance on a large level.

Other methods also have the same end result such using memes and euphemisms to avoid being censored. For example, using a picture of a llama or saying “Grass Mud Horse”, to actually say “Go F*ck Your Mother”. Unfortunately just like the VPN, the government can step in at anytime once they catch onto what is really being said.

So to conclude, the Chinese government use censorship on social media for control/regulation in society, and while you can escape the it for a little while, they are always watching your actions, and ready to regulate if things get to far.

Gosh that sounded hella creepy- wait thats because it is.

Well that comes to the end of this era, my friends. This is digitally dysfunctional, and finally the mystery, that is this unit, has been solved. 

*cue victory dance*

Digitally Dysfunctional Investigates.

At some point in all our lives we have played or will eventually play a ‘social game’. They are kind of hard to avoid, especially since about 750 million people play them.

No matter what gender, where you come from or what you do outside the game- social gaming is for everyone. Of course just as long as you have an internet connection.

But what exactly is a social game?

A social game is one where people can engage in the activity of playing an online game with other members of the same online group.

Social Gaming can be hosted on social network sites like Facebook, gaming consoles like Xbox & Playstation and on websites. Website games include things like World Of Warcraft and Club Penguin etc.

Oooh Club Penguin, lets take a quick moment of silence for our fallen solider. 

Anyway, some of the main characteristics of Social Gaming include: 

Multiplayer (more than one person playing)

Sharing (achievements, virtual money, items and more)

In App Purchasing (spending money to progress to the next level)

Rules & Awareness of others (both physical, social and cultural rules when playing against others)

From Sims, to Call Of Duty to Farmville and World of Warcraft, social gaming has become a big phenomena in the today’s society. It has enabled new opportunities for participation and collaboration as people come together to play or compete in a game.

If you grew up anything like me, video games and gaming in general was hard to avoid. My dad would always play Call of Duty and Halo on our Xbox, while the rest of us (my siblings and I) watched on in anticipation, and eventually took turns playing when we got old enough. 

Now we all play video games, and not to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty great at gaming. 

In the early stages of my online gaming life, I use to love the sound of male ego’s dying when I would turn on my mic to proclaim that they just got their asses whooped by a girl. 

Ahhhh good times.

It was thrilling and empowering in a way, to know that I was great at something predominantly known as a “male game”.

However I quickly stopped turning on the mic when I realised just how vile some men online can be.

Sexism in the video gaming world is a serious issue.

The types of negative connotations surrounding females playing video games is disgusting. 50% of females make up the gaming community, and yet sexism and harassment still happen. 

Women can be:

Insulted

Harassed

Receive death or sexual assault threats

Demanded to engage in sexual favours in exchange for money (virtual or real)

Be criticised for their choice to be in the game in the first place

And, stalked both online and offline.

Sexism in the gaming community is mainly about “male” being the norm while not being a man or not men who do not act “manly enough” are subjected to insults, shaming and online bullying.

A lot of women who do participate in social gaming, chose to remain unknown- selecting a male character or using text options rather than their voice when socialising.

Now, I’m not gonna repeat some of the stuff that is commonly said to gamer women, but if you just imagine an honest speaking and no filter Donald Trump talking about women- then you sorta get the gist of how bad it can be.

Yes Harry, its that bad.

Research shows that 35.8% of women have quit playing videos games for a short period of time due to experiencing sexism, while 9.6% decided to quit permanently.

But the sexism towards women doesn't just stop at the social aspect. 

Video games itself can encourage derogatory treatment of women too, with women being de-humanised and sexualised in a lot of games. Women are raped in games, and called terrible names in order for the male character to appear more “masculine”. 

Games that have more sexualised characters tend to normalise sexual harassment, and research has shown that men are more likely to harass women after play because of it.

It’s disgusting, and as much as I love gaming- it’s disheartening to see not a lot is being done to stop sexism in online games.

While some people speak out about their experiences and create awareness, the gaming community haven't actively gone out of their way to stop sexism remarks or sexualising of women in video games.

My hope for the future is that action will be taken against sexist gamers, and that future games won't sexualise women but rather take more realistic and appropriate approaches.

But until then us girls will continue kicking ass and playing to our hearts content, and if someone is a dick online.... well... we’ll kick their ass too.

Digitally Dysfunctional Investigates.

disclaimer: this post is longer than the others and will touch on sensitive materials. If you chose to read, please proceed with caution and if you feel affected please stop reading and seek help.

thank you.

Mental Health is a serious topic in today’s society as mental illness have become more and more common. So common that 1 in 5 Australians between the ages of 16 to 85 (20%) experience a mental illness in any year. 

When it comes to social media, the role social media platforms play in relation to mental health/illnesses can be see as both negative and positive.

In some cases social media can have a positive impact, however there are also instances where social media can make mental health matters worst.

This post will be looking at some of the negatives and positives when it comes to mental health and social media.

But lets be honest here, ain’t nobody got time to list them all so we are just some of the most prominent reasons. 

What are the negatives?

One negative is the fact that it can be argued that social media both furthers and facilitates mental illnesses such as depression, eating disorders and more through their platforms.

By providing a platform for mental illnesses to thrive, people online can now come together and sometimes instead of helping each other for the better, encourage negative and unhealthy lifestyles.

Tumblr is a perfect example of facilitating negative mental health in some cases. Everyone knows that there are two sides to this platform. The innocent, girlish, giggly, aesthetic happy-go lucky side, and then the emo, graphic, sexual, “i wanna die” side.

Tumblr is basically a teenage girl going through the monthly cycle. 

There are definitely two sides of her.

The “dark” side of tumblr holds an online community of people who share a common interest/trait of mental illnesses. People come together and share their mental illness stories while proving each other with emotional support. And while this may be good, in some cases rather than helping it does the opposite.

“Support” isn't what is really being offered.

Pro-Ana is an example of social media facilitating negative contributions towards mental health.

Pro-Ana is short for Pro anorexia, and are groups of people who see anorexia (an eating disorder) as a lifestyle rather than a medical condition. They come together and use tumblr as a place to share tips on how to lose weight through un-orthodox ways.

This can be seen as one of the negatives of social media in relation to mental health, as it acts like a platform for these types of mental illnesses to form and thrive.

Another negative is the idea of “perfection”.

In today’s society social media has created a world in which people can share their lives through a series of pictures, tweets and status updates. Users can share their lives with a click of the button, having the choice to show as much or as little of themselves as they like.

Celebrities showcase a “perfect” life with photoshopped pictures, while others online create an online social identity- different from their true selves.

These type of “perfect” posts can damage people’s perception of themselves. Especially when users look up to celebrities who seem flawless. Evidence has shown that young teenagers will tend to physically compare themselves to others online.

Both young men and women can develop body image issues due not feeling good enough. Receiving likes for looking “good” gives of these idea of achievement and popularity, which negatively impacts users sense of self worth. 

Collecting “likes” and followers provides an immediate marker of achievement and popularity. This feed directly into users’ sense of self-worth. Viewing “perfect” images can increase women’s body dissatisfaction as they compare their own bodies to thin and lean ones (the type of body society deems good enough).

It’s amazing what people can hide behind a photo. People may seem like the life of the party in a post, but in some cases can be far from it. Basically, most people online have a secret identity and no one ever really knows someone completely.

What are the positives?

Yes, there are some benefits when it comes to social media and mental health. Social media offers the opportunity for people with poor mental health to better their own health care through social media platforms. 

Social media brings a “new dimension” to health care as people use platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to improve their mental health and seek help.

The first positive of social media in relation to mental health is that it increases interactions with others, and finds/create communities that offer support.

*shock horror* 

But yes if you didn’t gather already social media connects people from anywhere together. Not only that but these health communities that form and interact can offer each other emotional and peer support.

While some may be negative like Pro-Ana groups on tumblr, others can be more positive like One in Four which is a Facebook page that shares quotes and resources around mental health with a particular focus on depression.

One in Four look particularly at aiming to reduce the stigma and negative connotations surrounding mental illnesses. Currently there is 78 members in the closed group, but there are many other pages who have the same focus.

People in these group come to seek help, gain support and feel like they’re not alone.

Social media has also enabled mental health facilities to connect with people with depression easier.

For example, Beyond Blue have an Instagram page that contains all their contact information, information and mental health awareness posts. Users can also comment on posts or send a direct message for further information or questions.

These type of pages are good as they focus on helping those with poor mental health rather than encouraging it like some.

Yes that was some well deserved shade. In simpler terms, One in Four and Beyond Blue - good, Pro-Anna - bad.

Another positive of social media is that it can create awareness and act as a promotional tool in fundraising for Health Campaigns.

A great example is the #HereForYou Campaign on Instagram that took place in 2017. Instagram used to campaign to bring both awareness and to highlight the important of understanding mental health in the online community. 

The campaign emphasised and brought attention to people in the Instagram community who are helping others by sharing their own stories of struggle. Social media allowed for this campaign to spread as people from the around the world began to participate and tell their own stories.

It was a great thing to see. Social media has truly become a powerful tool in today’s society. In this case it brought people together, and raised awareness at the same time.

A definite positive if I do say so myself. 

Just to confirm, that translates to “hell yeah it is”.

Anyway, before I end this post I just want to remind everyone on here that it is okay to not be okay. Life sometimes sucks, but you’re never alone. 

If you need to help i’ve provided some really good Australian help lines below! Speak up, and seek help. Everyone deserves to be happy.

Digitally Dysfunctional investigates.

Crowdsourcing refers to the practice of engaging a ‘crowd’ or group for a common goal that often involves problem solving, innovation or efficiency. It offers a new way for the likeminded to come together and is a powerful tool that gathers information, organises others, and raises money. 

According to Crowdsourcing For Dummies, Crowdsourcing requires four different elements:

A person who manages the process (the crowdsourcer)

A group of people who conduct the work (the crowd)

A place used to “manage the contributions of the crowd” (a market, crowdsite or platform)

And, a way to communicate with the crowd (usually the internet, but can also be with new technologies or web 2.0).

Basically, you don't have to be some hot shot band member to be apart of crowdsourcing.

Anyone can do it, that includes you.

(Yes, I am breaking the fourth wall- sue me. I dare you.)

Moving on...

Crowdsourcing can be used for a range of reasons.

In the business world, crowdsourcing is used to generate ideas, gather marketing information and to hire new employees. 

However, in today’s society Crowdsourcing is mostly used during emergencies. 

Now by emergencies I don't mean, Kim K loosing her diamond earring in the ocean type of emergency (If you do consider this an emergency, please leave this blog and seek help).

No, by emergencies I mean crises from natural disasters, to shootings to anything that leaves devastation and a call for help in its wake.

Crowdsourcing on social media has become an amazing tool that creates no geographic barriers when it comes to raising money for those in need or keeping the public up to date. 

Crowdsourced information combined with technical data that is collected about a crisis come together to improve situational awareness, decrease the reaction time of emergency services (ambulances etc), and help to create ways to address crises in the future.

GoFundMe links on social media can be shared to raise money faster, while Facebooks “safety check” option keeps people informed with whether their loved ones are all right.

An example of crowdsourcing during a crisis/emergency, was when a bombing occurred at Manchester Arena during Ariana Grande’s concert in 2017.

(Image link)

This is an example of how people utilised social media to keep the rest of the crowd informed. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook were used to spread information about what was going on, help find those missing, and raise money for the victims and their families. Even the police utilised crowdsourcing in hopes of finding the person responsible for the incident.

Crowdsourcing has even begun to take over traditional emergency response strategies. It’s a power tool, one that changes and saves lives.

It’s amazing what happens when you combine a business tool with social media, everyone in the crowd suddenly becomes a bunch of journalists.

No doubt what so ever that they are better than some of the journalists on A Current Affair.

Yep, I said it. I have no regrets, Tracy, no regrets.

So to conclude.

Anyone can crowdsource

It can be used both in business and emergencies

And it is a very valuable tool when it comes to communication and fundraising.

So if you have a question, wanna help during an emergency, or if you truly believe Kim K loosing her diamond earring is a crisis- find a bunch of people with the same beliefs and crowdsource.

Social media gives you the power. So take it and use it.

Digitally Dysfunctional Investigates.

Online Trolls.

An unavoidable part of society and the online community.

If life has taught me anything... its that Harry Potter and the gang had it easy when it came to real life trolls.

Words can hurt a lot more than an actual ten foot beast with a lack of coordination. Shocking, but unfortunately true.

Trolling is defined as a type of malicious online behaviour that is intended to disturb, cause reaction, aggravate or annoy others online through interaction and communication.

A ‘Troll’ is someone who engages in this malicious behaviour. They can be found “lurking” anywhere and everywhere online. These include: social media sites, Youtube, Wikipedia, public forums and more. 

So why do people troll?

An experiment conducted by Erin Buckles, Paul Trapnell and Delroy Paulhus found that those who troll fall under what they call the ‘Dark Tetrad of personality’. 

This triad involves people containing personality traits and characteristics of sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. The results found a strong correlation between people who troll and the Dark Tetrad of Personality.

It’s no secret that from behind a screen these true identities come out- trolls basking in the anonymity of it all, finding it easy to cause trouble and spew out words of hatred. 

Most trolls often believing that there are no consequences for their actions.

There are some acts of trolling even being deemed as socially acceptable, due to the subjectiveness of what is being said. What some may view as trolling, other’s may agree with and see as a legitimate response. 

For example, when people hit back at Donald Trump or some racist homophobic white politician online. Do we see these people as trolls or do we agree with what they are saying? Trump would say these people are trolls. However I personally think anyone who manages to silence THE Donald Trump is a legend, and far from a troll.

But trolling has consequences, and it’s not surprising to believe when people literally set out with the intention to deliberately cause drama and chaos.

“What’s wrong with a little chaos?” Ah, if young Bellamy Blake only knew.

If you haven’t seen The 100, well to put it lightly- a lot is wrong with “a little chaos.”

Due to the nature of trolling it can be viewed as similar to Cyber-bulling as they are both forms of online harassment . While Trolls usually spread their hate across a range of public forums and social media platforms, Cyber bullies usually have one direct target.

Unfortunately both of these forms can lead to consequences like self harm and suicide. People have been so badly affected by what is being said to them that they have taken their own lives. Pew Research Centre found that “41% of Americans have been personally subjected to harassing behavior online”, and that’s just Americans- imagine worldwide.

So how do you avoid trolls?

For a while the belief of “don’t feed the trolls” seemed to make sense- don't acknowledge them, hence don't give them the power. 

But by ignoring trolls over time, it has gotten to the point in which it has become a norm on social media. It shouldn’t be ok to let people get away with online harassment. 

It’s naive to think by ignoring the problem of Trolling that its just going to suddenly stop. It’s like saying if we ignore climate change it will go away. The only thing “going away” if we continue to ignore climate change- is the human race.

Any action towards silencing trolls, no matter how big or small- is still an action towards change.

So to end this post, here’s three quick tips about how to deal with trolls- by NOT ignoring them:

Tip 1. Use the report or block button provided across most social media accounts. Reporting can result in a ban being placed on the account, and prevent other people from being effect by their negative words too.

Tip 2. Kill them with facts, or kindness. If you know your stuff, don't be afraid to correct trolls. Plus if you're nice to them, it may show that you're not bothered by them- which may stop them all together. 

Tip 3. Unleash the beast. If you’re quick witted and not afraid to stand up for yourself. Go. For. It. Growing up we’re told to stand up for ourselves, but suddenly now that our bullies are hiding behind a screen its different? Smh. If you can cook up a good roast, deliver it my friend. Roast them alive. If it doesn’t go your way after it- fall back onto tip 1 or 2. But don't be afraid to defend yourself.

So don't ignore trolling, because its useless and won't change anything.

Its like ignoring the fact that Daenerys and Jon Snow frickle frackled, and that they are related.

Trolling is still trolling, incest is still incest. I said what I said.

Digitally Dysfunctional investigates. 

The term “Culture Jamming” is unfortunately not a term used to describe a particular culture/group of people- jamming to tunes. As much as I would love to see people getting down to Dancing Queen, it’s not that.

No, it’s something way cooler in my opinion.

Culture Jamming is based on the slang word ‘jamming’ that involves interrupting an exchange or transmission. To culture jam is to “introduce noise into the signal”. It’s basically causing interruption, blocking, sabotaging or pranking what is viewed as inflexible power structures that govern cultural life.

To put it more simply, its basically stopping corporate media through ways of intervention and invention. Taking something that is being put into the media and changing the message to point out the flaws.

If you asked Corporate Businesses if they liked Culture Jamming, your answer would be the same to “Is it ok for Daenerys and Jon to be together?!?!”

To be clear- the answer is a hellllll no.

However, I quite like Culture Jamming as an individual. Although if someone were to corrupt a T-Swift advertisement to point out an (unlikely) flaw, I’d properly be a bit salty.

There are 4 forms of culture jamming:

performance art: artworks created through actions that are performed by artists with a deeper meaning intended, they can be live or recorded, spontaneous or scripted.

graffiti art: a radical contemporary art movement that involves applying paint or spray paint to create decorative imagery onto buildings, public transport services, or other properties.

hacktivism: the use of computers and computer networks to promote a political or social cause/agenda.

And lastly the one we will be focusing the most on, and my personal favourite: 

Adbusting. 

Adbusting, also known as Subvertising, is the practice and process of making spoofs or parodies of political and corporate advertisements.

Yes we all love a good parody, especially when it comes to mocking politicians. We can never forget the “Let It Go” Trump Parody, no matter how hard we try.

The company Adbusters is the perfect example of culture jamming through using subvertisements.

Abusters is a Canadian foundation that specialise in creating these “parody” type advertisements. The company consists of an “international collective of artists, designers, poets, punks, writers, directors, musicians, philosophers, drop outs, and wild hearts”.

They claim that they are a wide group of activists who want to “come together and commit” to “fucking up every system” that stops people from living their “dreams”.

Yes, Adbusters can be seen as the organisational equivalent of Leslie from Bridge to Terabithia

Creative, revolutionary, quick witted, and someone who fights the system.

Quite inspirational if I do say so myself.

Except unlike Leslie, Adbusters was founded in 1989 and is still kicking to this day (RIP Leslie. *cue the tears and sad flashbacks*).

But what exactly does adbusting look like? 

Here are some examples from Adbusters website: 

(viewed 11th of April)

This ad is (socially) cultural jamming McDonalds.

and this ad is attempting to culture jam those involved in American politics.

While lastly this ad is culture jamming Apple and their products.

Yes, there is no doubt that these are controversial forms of culture jamming. But at the end of the day, no matter which form of culture jamming is used, if you’re left debating your life choices about whether to eat that big mac or to buy those new air-pods, then these sub-advertisments have done their job.

Now that everything’s been covered- I'm signing off so I can go mentally prepare for the new season of game of thrones, see you on the other side.

Digitally Dysfunctional investigates.

Politics.

If you’re anything like me, its a topic you dread.

I like to think that politics is the Green Lantern of superhero movies, the mathematics of high school subjects and the Donald Trump of politicians.

Election season or not; Politicians or political drama always manage to find its way onto my timeline or be the talk of the class.

Social Media has played a large role in the rise of political conversation and has made politics harder to avoid with most politicians around the world now having some form of social media.

But why do Politicians use social media?

I have two answers; Communication, and Combat.

Lets start with communication.

Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other platforms, social media is now being used as a communication tool (The Political Power of Social Media).

Politicians utilise social media to promote themselves and their campaign, while dramatically changing the way they interact with the general public. It has given them the opportunity to be more accessible to their voters, while being able to publish and broadcast their content instantly online to millions of people (Murse, T 2019).

For example, In 2008 Barack Obama embraced platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to;

Build his brand (The Drum)

Talk about policies, and

Interact with the public.

He also used internet crowdsourcing and obtained thousands of supporters to create and distribute his content (The Drum).

He dominated social media being the most followed person on twitter during the 2008 election time period (Zeigler, T 2008).

He knew what to say, and how to say it.

However, not all politicians use social media as a communication tool.

Some politicians utilise social media as a combat tool. They use these platforms to debate and/or discredit other political figures, to “fight back” against any political conflict or press, and to share personal thoughts about controversial topics.

This means that social media can quickly become a bloodbath, especially when politicians start to square up and fire shots.

Social media platforms can quickly become a place of political argument, obfuscation and division (Sanders, S).

So here’s an example, and who better to use than the exact opposite of the Barack Obama.

Children, cover your eyes children. Monsters aren’t always under your bed.

Yes. It’s Donald Trump.

Trump has utilised his twitter platform not only to communicate but to “combat” those who have conflicting opinions to his own. Twitter, as a social media platform, has increased the attention Trump gets when he is vocal on unconventional and ‘scandalous’ matters via tweets.

Now here’s the evidence:

This is a tweet of Trumps that is promoting one of his new ideas.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1113488660777906179

This is a tweet of Trumps in which he "attacks” ObamaCare which was started by former president Barack Obama.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1112711557681762306

Take note of the difference in likes and retweets.

Instead of people caring about what policy is being updated or what new idea Trump has thought of, Trump receives more publicity and attention for battling other candidates and political figures online. 

And we all know that any publicity- is good publicity.

So to conclude:

Politicians use social media as both a communication tool to reach out to voters and promote their campaigns.

They also use it as a debating tool to combat against other politicians, those who disagree with their ideas or to deal with negative publicity.

This world is not a Nicholas Sparks novel, meaning there is no Safe Haven in trying to escape politicians on social media.

So buckle up and suck it up, because no doubt there will be more and more politicians that will begin to use social media as a political tool.

But I mean- there is always the block button.

Digitally Dysfunctional investigates.

We’ve all been gathered here today for an important question.

Is Tumblr a blog or social network site?

A question like this is similar to crucial questions like: 

French fries or curly fries?

One Direction or BTS?

Hard taco shell or soft taco shell?

Technically the kid is right.

Tumblr is both a social networking site and a form of blogging site depending on how you use it (Lifewire)

Let’s break this down. 

*cue the pink panther theme music* 

A social media networking site is defined as a site that “enables constant communication and connection to others,” while at the same time encouraging an increasing level of “public self disclosure and exposure” (Wilken, R & McCosker, A 2014). For example, on Instagram you can share photos, talk with others, stay connected with celebrities, and showcase your life as if you strut down the runway every single day. (Yes Kim K, we are looking at you. No one is ever that perfect, shock horror- photoshop exists.)

Just like Instagram and other social networking sites, Tumblr offers similar features. Just like on Facebook, you can comment and like others posts, private message, make posts and add people (on Tumblr known as ‘followers’). However what really differs Tumblr from other social networks is its ability to be a more ‘discrete’ social platform. Although some people use their real names like on Facebook, a lot of the times people create an “online identity” to communicate with others online (Hamburger, E).

For example, my real name is Abbey but on here I go by “Digitally Dysfunctional”. Although I may appear extroverted on here- I’m usually an introvert in real life. 

This is a social identity I have created. 

Many others on Tumblr do the same but to different degrees. While my reasons are for schooling, others are influenced by factors like; the need to fit into a online community (Mousavi S, Roper, S & Keeling KA), privacy, themes, or even oppression.

But like stated previously, Tumblr isn’t just a social network.

It can be used as a blog too.

A blog is an online platform in which a person can share a regular recording of their thoughts, opinions and experiences for others to interact with (Cambridge). Each blog usually has a topic or genre that each of their posts revolves around (StarBloggingOnline). For example, a ‘Food Blogger’ may regularly update their blog with new recipes, tips on how to cook certain foods, or even ratings of restaurants they’ve visited (Ramya Menon). 

Tumblr contains a “mishmash” of thematic blogs and has almost every topic imaginable (Power, J.). Whether you’re fangirling over Harry Styles or attempting to be the next Shakespeare, Tumblr offers you the opportunity to write about it.

But Tumblr can be described as a Microblog; a highly visual and short sentenced form of blogging. Tumblr allows the writer to express their writing though texts, gifs, memes, audio, photos and even videos. 

Tumblr really has it all. It’s almost like an ‘All you can eat’ buffet. You can add and pick whatever you want. You want pizza? They got it! Wanna place an ABBA gif in the middle of your blog? 

-You can.

And this is all because Tumblr is not only a social networking site, but a form of blogging.

So to conclude: 

Tumblr can be either solely used for social networking or as a microblog, or it can be used for both. 

The beauty of Tumblr giving you all these options is that you can choose how you want to operate it.

Tumblr doesn’t make you choose between curly fries or french fries, One Direction or BTS, hard taco shell or soft taco shell.

Because Tumblr is both.