MEDIA MAGIC

I really enjoyed the process behind this assignment. I loved creating content which is instructive and engaging, as well as communicating with my peers to have in depth exchange of ideas. I hope you all enjoyed :))

PS. this might not be my last post, I may make a return, however it is now time to say goodbye to this assignment and hello to my essay :)

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How online ‘trolling’, ‘flaming’ and ‘gaslighting’ makes me feel 

Week 11

Over time, the term ‘trolling’ and ‘trolls’, has observed many changes in definition and understanding. Over 18 years ago, the term trolling was coined as the catch all definition for anti-social behaviour on social media, however nowadays trolling is instead understood and defined as malicious abuse, with the intent to harm and or abuse the individual (March 2019).

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In my experience on social media, trolling has been fairly prominent, though luckily not with me as the victim, instead finding myself observing the online abusive commentary. The comments section of Youtube, or even political pages on Facebook, can only be described as “like entering a literal match of words” (Hanson 2018). This goes much beyond general heated discussion, like what you find on twitter #auspol, but instead is filled with vitriol and intent to harm.

Trolling is a complex concept, with the definition and true meaning, becoming subject to “major discrepancies ranging from researcher to researcher”, as well as confused and varied definitions understood by the public (March 2019). To uncover the true meaning of trolling, a second piece of terminology is essential, “flaming”. Flaming is described as online behaviour with hostile intentions, including use of profanity, obscenity and insults which intend to inflict harm. Whereas, trolling in actuality has much more subtle implications, described as the act of posting inflammatory and digressive off topic messages, often with the goal of insult and most importantly chaos.

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Looking at these definitions, you can see quite clearly the difference, where flaming is extreme, offensive, obscene and quite frankly disgustingly abusive, whereas, trolling is more toned down, aiming to create chaos, through the means of inflammatory or humorous commentary. It’s not to say that trolling is acceptable or should encouraged, though its important to learn the overarching fundamental differences of social media terminology. It is interesting that the definitions have had such major shifts in meaning over the course of the social media landscape and time.

A term closely associated with flaming, is gaslighting; how appropriate that they both make reference to fire. Gaslighting is a technique of abuse, with the goal of total psychological manipulation. Gaslighting is a “new term, for a relatively old set of behaviours”, which have unfortunately or fortunatly had a major resurgence recently; meaning that there is either more frequent uses of this technique, or perhaps more positively, that there is a greater increase in awareness surrounding this form of abuse.

Gaslighting is more often than not synomous with obtaining power and control that can be held over women. This includes the demeaning and offensive stereotypes such as ‘bitches be crazy’, ‘pyshco bitch’, and many others. All of these strategies are used to belittle and demean through a manipulation of a woman’s psyche. Examples of gaslighting are very clear and present in today’s society, especially in any comment section online, as well as within national leadership (cough cough Trump), but there are also ancient examples. An Ancient Greek example is the story of Cassandra in mythology. Cassandra was cursed to foresee true prophecies that others would never believe. She was cursed for refusing Apollos advances, and as a result received a lifetime of gaslighting, doomed to have her mental stability slowly eroded (Gleeson 2018).

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Whilst this ancient example, might seem like fantasy and perhaps far-fetched, very similar behaviours have been observed throughout the #MeToo movement, where women were continually dismissed and demeaned. They were questioned and told that they must have ‘misread the situation’ or even ‘imagined the abuse’, this is the text book definition of gaslighting, isolating the victim, and making them questioning their own sanity (Gleeson 2018). Gaslighting is very applicable to how women are received online today. Women are often labelled ‘villains’ by their male viewers, in order for them to gain the green light, a sense of justification for their continued harassment, abuse and adoption of ‘online misogyny’. (Marwick et al.)

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Personally, I believe that the online and digital sphere would be a vastly more effective and positive space, if there was a greater level of censorship and monitoring of ‘flame-like’ behaviours which more often than not females become the victims off. It’s also interesting to see how the term trolling, continued to develop and morph into a new piece of social media terminology over the last 20 years.

References

Alice E. Marwick & Robyn Caplan, 'Drinking male tears: language, the manosphere, and networked harassment'  Feminist Media Studies Volume 18, 2018 - Issue 4: Pages 543-559

Gleeson, J 2018, ‘Explainer: what does ‘gaslighting’ mean?’, TheConversation, 6 December, viewed 29 May,< https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-gaslighting-mean-107888>

Hanson, J 2018, ‘Trolls and their impact on Social Media’, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, viewed 29 May, <https://unlcms.unl.edu/engineering/james-hanson/trolls-and-their-impact-social-media>

Week 10

Gaming has always been a part of my life, I wouldn’t consider myself a gamer by any means, but playing video games has been an interest of mine since my first Nintendo Gameboy in the noughties. This early indoctrination means that gaming has become a “familiar and resonant experience for me” (Taylor, 2018 p.2). Though recently the effect that video games has had on popular culture is more overt and noticeable than ever, with games like Pokémon Go and animal crossing, dominating the gaming sphere and social media culture, bringing a new “cultural legitimacy to the gaming industry” (Keogh 2016).

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The earliest incarnation of commercial video gaming emerged in 1967, called the “Brown Box” created by Ralph Baer, which allowed two users to control cubes, which chased each other across the screen; at this early stage, there was already a multiplayer aspect to gaming,. Fast forward to today in 2020, we see and massive variety of video gaming options, and a complex and establishing gaming culture, which is intertwined with popular culture, including live streaming to the masses though platforms such as twitch.

Demographics has always been a very important aspect to gaming, with your average gamer being envisioned as young, male and white. This perpetuated idea of white gamers is a direct result of the origins of gaming. Gaming consoles and gaming was limited to those who has the access and means, usually directly associated with economic and financial status, thus more often than not limited to the upper class; those who at the time were consequentially white. Though nowadays, the gaming community is diverse and complex, being inclusive to a variety of people from different religious backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations, also accessible to those who have a disability.

However, with all good, there too is the bad, the negative and problematic side of gaming. Whilst inclusion and accessibility has improved massively over time, there are still very present and raw issues associated with representation within games.

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The gaming industry is very often “criticised for being misogynistic”, despite a large amount of the gaming community being made up of women (Sainsbury 2013). A high percentage of video gamers are women, with 40% of regular players being women, and yet women are often seeing the same repetitive and tired gendered tropes and archetypes, some of my favourites being, “the damsel in distress, the scantily clad adventurer, and the disempowered sex worker” (Hamilton 2019). Many of these same demeaning and repeated tropes are also a reality for people of colour as well, with much of black representation being either gang related or associated with villainy; these tropes are offensive and have detrimental effects on those who see themselves represented in distasteful ways.  

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Another aspect of women’s portrayal in games, is they are more often than not “targets of violence, or victims” (Hamilton 2019). This glorification of grotesques violence against women, is problematic and quite frankly disgusting; a popular example of this is Grand Theft Auto, where you gain achievements and are rewarded for violently killing sex workers on the street.

I am not saying that violence doesn’t have its time of day in games, however the way in which it is portrayed is essential. For example, my favourite game at the moment, Assassins Creed Odyssey, of course has violence involved, being an assassin and all, however the violence isn’t gendered, obscenely gratuitous, or personal. In fact, Assassins Creed Odyssey includes an amazing platform that is inclusive, where you can play as a woman, man, and make decisions exactly the way you wish, you can even decide your sexual orientation. Though some claim this ‘inclusive revisionism’ to be false and forced, though I disagree. I believe that despite a lack of exact historical accuracy, the game is progressive and is a positive force, in a very male centric gaming industry.

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Another aspect of female representation is the unfair and unrealistic representation of the female body, where game developers “use provocative female characterisation to sell their games” (GameDesigning 2020). This is exampled by the evolution of Lara Croft’s character design over the years, coming far from your stereotypical portrayal of a barely dressed adventurer. The latest 3 part series of Tomb Raider games have revolutionised Lara Crofts portrayal, now we see a accurate female body, who actually looks like she could survive a trip to a jungle; This is also supported by Alicia Vikander’s portrayal in the latest movie, a portrayal which saw much negative attention her lack of curves, but instead tone and actual muscle (which lets be real, is what an actual female adventurer would look like). This hate that was received is just one example, of the ‘male gaze’ being shattered, instead men had to see what a real women looks like; such a refreshing portrayal to see on screen.  

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I got a little carried away there, because the gaming community and industry is just an amazing reflection of society and todays culture. The gaming community is diverse and colourful, and I can’t wait to see more progress and development in terms of representation in the near future.

References

Chikhani, R 2015, ‘The History of Gaming: An Evolving Community’, techcrunch, 1 Novemebr, viewed 23 May, <https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/31/the-history-of-gaming-an-evolving-community/>

Game Designing, 2020, ‘How Gaming Culture Has Envolved’, GameDesigning, 5 April, viewed  23 May, <https://www.gamedesigning.org/gaming/culture/>

Hamilton, J 2019, ‘Female Representation in Video Games: How are we doing?’, gamasutra, 24 July, viewed 23 May, <https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoriHamilton/20190724/347246/Female_Representation_in_Video_Games_How_Are_We_Doing.php>

Keogh, B 2016, ‘You can’t ignore the cultural power of video games any longer’, ABC News, 6 April, viewed 23 May, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-06/keogh-why-you-should-care-about-video-games/7303744>

Sainsbury, M 2013, ‘GTA V is realised, gets (rightfully) cristused for being misogynistic: fools throw tantrum’, DigitallyDownloaded, 17 September, viewed 23May, <http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2013/09/gta-v-is-released-gets-rightfully.html>

Taylor, TL 2018, ‘Broadcasting ourselves’, Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming, Princeton University Press, pp.1-23

Always remember to vote properly, and remain an active, responsible and informed citizen, both digitally and otherwise. (we don’t want a repeat of Scomo, if you know what I mean)

Week 9

The majority of my experience with activism, has in actuality been through digital or online means. Only very rarely have I engaged with politics and activism outside of social media, limited purely to voting and perhaps small political acts such as beach clean ups and other volunteer work.

The ease that social media allows for, makes it so simple to share and repost political and activism related content. This relative ease is so overtly contrasted with in person activism, protest and campaigning, which can require immense effort, and time spent gaining awareness, engagement as well as relationships to be formed; sometimes only to gain the same or less engagement that online posting receives.

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Moving into the technological era, it was instinctual to move protest and activism online; this includes many politics pages, conversations, as well as movements which have distinctive and now well-known hashtags associated; including #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo. Activism through social media, undoubtedly gains more traction and engagement than other means, though its “overall effectiveness still remains unclear” (Suciu 2019).

Another important aspect to acknowledge, is the voice that social media activism has allowed people from underprivileged and underrepresented groups to gain. Roughly half of social media users of colour claim that social media has a crucial role in their lives in terms of having a platform where they are able to express their views and become engaged. This is a very important aspect to online digital citizenship, where in the past people of colour and underprivileged peoples were allowed little to no free speech, are however now able express themselves fully and in depth.

Whilst many adore the new form of online activism, it also has gained much negative attention, with James R. Bailey claiming that those who rely on social media to advocate are just “plain lazy, and self-righteous” (Suciu 2019). Bailey is not alone in this sentiment, with many others also questioning the validity of social media use for creating sustained social change.

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According to Malchik, whilst social media obtains instantaneous results and citizen engagement, it never truly translates into actual policy. He claims that these movements “lack the underlying resistance, often losing focus”, attention and engagement, resulting in fleeting and inconsequential social action (Malchik 2019).

Although I believe that this is only the case for movements that perhaps don’t have any real practically or mission, movements which are predictable, habitual, repetitive and consequentially, fleeting (2019, p.3).

My argument is substantiated through the 2019 example of the global climate strike. At the time of this strike there was a lack of action, response or acknowledgment from our government, regarding a climate plan or potential action (sadly there still isn’t). The roots of the activism begun online, with discussion and plans for activism discussed and shared on a large scale. The youth of the globe wanted a platform where they could “articulate a collective voice, and wield moral power”, free from patronising response and belittlement (Thew 2019).

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The global strike had an adaptable and responsive design, which focused on using social media to gain momentum and engagement, then being able to translate the response into actual physical action and protest. This practical, goal orientated and strong movement, resulted in over 4 million protesters leaving their classroom in over 100 countries.

Ignorantly labelling online activism, saying “with speed comes weakness”, is not only ill-informed but also plainly incorrect (Malchik 2019). It is important for social media to be used in the correct manner, in combination with other political and actionable elements, in order to initiate real action. The adaptability of political campaigns and movements is paramount to their success whilst present in our current global climate which sees an “episodic rise and fall of global movements”, continually, due to trends and other factors (Alvarez 2019).

References

Alvarez N., Lauzon C., Zaiontz K. (2019) 'On Sustainable Tools for Precarious Times: An Introduction'. In: Alvarez N., Lauzon C., Zaiontz K. (eds) Sustainable Tools for Precarious Times. Contemporary Performance InterActions. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-25.

Malchik, A 2019, ‘The Problem With Social-Media Protests’, The Atlantic, 6 May, viewed 17 May, < https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/05/in-person-protests-stronger-online-activism-a-walking-life/578905/>

Suciu, P 2019, ‘Is Posting on Social Media A Valid Form of Activism?’, Forbes, 1 November, viewed 17 May, < https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2019/11/01/is-posting-on-social-media-a-valid-form-of-activisim/#182caf1921cc>

Week 8

There is no denying that in the advent of social media, the communication and implication of societal beauty standards has changed dramatically. It’s unfair to say that, they have gotten dramatically worse, however increasing statistical analysis says otherwise, with a large rise in body dysmorphia and body image related diseases; as well as a worrying “42% of surgeons reporting that their patients are seeking aesthetic surgery to improve their appearance on Instagram” (Dorfman et al. 2018, p.332).

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The health industry, whilst not commonly connected with social media, too has been affected by the introduction into the social media context. Many public health campaigns have had their time in the spotlight on social media platforms, such as the viral #IceBucketChallenge, raising funds for ALS, as well as #Movember, which brings awareness to men’s health issues. The social media element of their campaigns, assist in gaining a following and increasing engagement, ultimately teaching the general public about important health issues in an interactive manner. Another way that health has been aided by social media, is through technological educational services and platforms, which have “the ability to train and offer health care directly, to build sustainable healthcare globally” (Thompson, 2016).

Many criticise the ‘microcelebrity culture’, for being a formulaic aesthetic, and identity which relies on visibility tactics, which are synonymous with status as well as perceived influence. An unfortunate by-product of micro-celebrity culture is a transformation and morphing of their personality into the ‘ideal’, or similarity creating themselves a personal brand, which is sadly becoming a prerequisite for online influencer participation (Mavroudis 2020).

Many of these ‘microcelebrities’ endorse products and material which is harmful to the broad idea of public health, as well as very widely harmful to body image issues within society. Many doctors and professionals urge that social media companies need to ban “damaging celebrity endorsed social media ads, which promote weight loss aids” (Ives 2019).

Many celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, are irresponsible and take advantage of their loyal following, using their influence maliciously, aiming their promotion towards their vulnerable followers, many of which that are at “an impressionable stage in their lives” (Ives 2019). Not only do these celebrities communicate unrealistic and logic defining beauty ideals, perpetuated through image editing and surgery, but they further their toxic influence, by promoting appetite supressing lollipops unashamedly.

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Femininity and Masculinity have had a major shift, since the advent of social media. Instagram perpetuates a “conformance to the heteronormative notion of attractiveness”, resulting in many men and women expressing their sexuality on the platform (Mavroudis 2020). Many criticise the expression of sexuality as ‘porn chic’ or ‘objectifying’, though these concepts are underlyingly sexist in their implication.

This view infers further objectification, by not taking into account the woman’s intent or agency. This ignorance surrounding sexuality and nudity is dangerous, exemplified by the sheer amount of people who label influencers on Instagram, as ‘sluts’ or deem their content as ‘soft porn’. This unfair labelling of their content on Instagram reveals a flaw in the audience, rather than a flaw in the women who are expressing themselves on the app.

Many women are empowered through the sharing of these images, which whilst some may be deem it inappropriate, many also perceive it as simply stunning photography and a beautiful expression of art, and human form. This choice, to share such vulnerability through creative photography of the human body, is being abused by so many on Instagram. Resulting in many women becoming subject to sexually aggressive comments, and objectifying messages; triggering an endless cycle of victim-blaming, with many influencers often deciding that these comments are simply “part of the job” (Ives 2019).

The ignorant and unfair label of ‘porn’ being applied by so many, leans into the sexist male gaze, encouraging a level of abuse and aggressive disrespectful behaviour to incur. This demonization of women’s self-expression and bodies needs to stop, instead realising that empowerment and expression is diverse, and a beautiful way for women to take control of their so often objectified bodies.

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References

Dorfman, R.G, Vaca, E.E, Mahmood, E, Fine, N.A, Schierle, C.F 2018, ‘Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilisation on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol.38, no.3, pp. 332-338.

Ives, L 2019, ‘Celebrity ads for diet aids should be banned, says top doctor’, BBC News, 2 February, viewed 7 May 2020, <https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47090374>

Mavroudis, J 2020, ‘Public Health Campaigns and Social Media Influence’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Modules via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 6 May, viewed 7 May 2020.

Week 7

‘Eco fashion’ or ‘slow fashion’ isn’t a new concept, but in actuality is a movement which first gained momentum in the 1980s with the “anti-fur movement” (Alevizou et al. 2017, p. 81). Protests against unsafe and unethical working conditions were common in the 1990’s to 2000’s, as well as even a concept that was present in England, during the Industrial Revolution, objecting child labour practises in factories. Though these movements were present and gaining momentum, the ideas were often temporarily indulged, then disregarded as a fad (Alevizou et al. 2017, p. 81). However, today due to the modern era being increasingly more politically and environmentally aware as a result of social media communication, a disregard for humanitarian issues is now no longer as viable as it once was.

Social Media has revolutionised many aspects of society, including the awareness and coverage that the media can now bring to social issues, such as unsafe labour practises, and wastage in the fashion industry. “Fashion is inextricably woven with time”, and similarly with fast moving social trends, fashion to follows trends; resulting in fast fashion (Brewer, M.K. 2019).

Fashion begun as a niche, personalised, and very creative form of design in the year of 1826. Charles Frederick was believed to be the first fashion designer, who begun his practise by tailoring each garment perfectly for the individual, in a manner which was personal and specific to their needs and desires. Later, in the mid 20th Century, garments begun being mass-produced, kickstarting fast fashion, unsafe working conditions, trends, as well as wastage. 

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Fast fashion is a threat to our planet, and many users on Instagram have recognised this and have created content and platforms which promote mindfulness of purchase decision making. Many social media content creators promote ways to “shop consciously and ethically”, as well as emphasise problems with the current industry (Chan 2018). This new use of Instagram sees influencers promoting the reselling of clothes, through clothes share apps, such as Depop, Vinted and Thredup; sites which focus on sharing clothes, reusing and recycling clothes, encouraging sustainable and eco practices. Some accounts on Instagram that are promoting ethical resharing and recycling of garments are bigsisterswap, littlepineneedle, the_second_runway, and tullavintage, as well as some promoting slow fashion focused brands. Another great aspect of these clothes sharing apps, is the price range, these apps often resell and share clothes at much cheaper rates than an outright purchase, making these more ethical practises, more easily desirable as well as accessible to individuals who come from a lower SES; who can’t engage with slow fashion due to it typically being luxury and expensive.

A more negative aspect of Instagram and social medias interaction with the fast fashion movement is influencer promotion. Fast fashion products are often described as “low quality, and harmful”, and are repeatedly promoted by large Instagram content creators (Chan 2018). Both fast fashion and Instagram are synonymous with trends and trendsetting, and therefore quite as easily as Instagram can be successful in promoting ethical practises; it can also allow for an encouragement of unethical brands to a worryingly large number of viewers. 

The mass production, and mass promotion of fashion, has a direct association with the creation of cheaper garments, that directly “contribute to a throw away culture” (Brewer, M.K. 2019). Social Media, mainly Instagram, has the ability to both promote healthy ethical purchase behaviour, as well as encourage unhealthy, and un-eco-friendly behaviours; again emphasising the importance be aware digital citizens, who make ethical, informed and intelligent decisions. 

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References

Brewer, M. K. 2019, ‘Slow Fashion in a Fast Fashion World’, Promoting Sustainability and Responsibility, vol.2 no.24, pp. 1-9.

Chan, J 2018, ‘Ethical Clothing: Fast Fashion & Sustainability on Social Media’, Linkfluence, viewed 2 April 2020, < https://www.linkfluence.com/blog/ethical-clothing-fast-fashion-sustainability-on-social-media>