Iced Coffee, Trees & Social Commentary

When I think of activism, names like Doctor Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks come to mind, people who dedicated their lives to campaigning for human rights and social causes that brought about change on a large scale. As I began to read about activism in the digital age, I started to wonder what the activists of past generations would make of online campaigning. Would the ‘I have a dream speech’ been as potent delivered via a YouTube video instead of in front of a crowd in Washington? Would the message have had the same result, or would it have been lost within the millions of other videos? And would sharing a hashtag have brought about the same amount of change as the quarter of a million people who descended on the mall in Washington in 1963?

Today, through social media and the internet we are bombarded with charities, causes and videos showing horrific atrocities and society is quickly becoming desensitised and unmotivated to take real action. As a result, a new culture of activism is emerging known as ‘clicktivism’ and ‘slacktivism’ which Reddin (2018) defines as ‘armchair activism’ whereby ‘complex, serious issues are oversimplified to the point where viewership, likes and clicks is thought to be the equivalent of making a difference’. Scholar Evgenyi Morozov (quoted in Gerbaudo 2012) take this definition further describing slacktivism as ‘feel good activism’ that ‘creates an illusion of having a meaningful impact on the world without demanding anything more than joining a Facebook group’.

But is activism in the digital age all negative?

Absolutely not, modern movements like #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #MarchForOurLives, #Kony2012, and the Arab Spring are all grassroots causes that used social media in one way or another to further their mission and generate awareness. According to Youmans & York (2012), social media was a powerful tool in bringing about the collective actions during the Arab Spring providing a method to coordinate action, share information and raise public awareness of the issue on a global scale. Further, Rutledge (2010) strongly supports social media for facilitating sustainable activism suggesting that it brings together people who are passionate about an issue and provides them with a way to harness this collective energy and turn it into action.

There is no doubt that social media has a role to play in modern activism. However, as Sophie Egar cautions in her TEDx Talk, “social media activism is useless if it doesn’t create awareness that leads to action off the internet” (TEDx Talks 2018). Yes, real change requires action beyond the hashtag, like or share. We’re not going to change the world sitting in front of a computer.

I’ll finish with a favourite quote of mine – “it’s better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.” Actions do speak louder than words (or clicks).

I really enjoyed reading this you certainly have a way with words. I laughed at the tree picture because I have similar thoughts to you. You say that real change requires action beyond the hashtag, like or share and this is true. This  “acceptance of what happens, without active response or resistance” (Oxford Dictionaries 2019), is what oversimplifies issues that need to be taken seriously.

You make a good point about the ‘I have a dream speech’. I too wonder if the message would have the same result. 

Ange

Ass. 1b. Week 10.  Social Gaming: Playing the Crowd.

Social gaming. What is it? Social gaming is how we describe games that are predominantly made for playing on social media sites (O’Neil 2008). Though that may be the case, it would become clear that it has long since outgrown that description. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) have grown to the point that within themselves they have created a social network or social group. People do not just play the game, they team up, make plans, and execute them as if they were in the real world. Sure, going alone is an option, but enduring success is unlikely (Williams 2016 p.665).

Understanding the overall picture of the gaming world takes a lot more attention than a surface glance. When we mention online gaming, people automatically seem to think of violence or gambling. However, there are games out there that carry a far more positive aspect. Yes, games like Fortnite, War Thunder, Call of duty, and World of WarCraft call us to arms, to kill or be killed. However, it appears the hype of negative media forget the likes of Farmville, Words with Friends, and Pop Quiz entirely. All of these are social, and all stimulate our capacity to learn. Add Pokémon Go, that got people of their seats and out into the streets, and the benefits of online games become apparent.  

Okay, so we can justify the personal social side of gaming, but what about the issues? Like anything that involves human beings, there is always an issue. For example, online games usually involve an in-game currency. Fortnite had a case where it was accused of being used to launder money (Gershgorn 2019). Likewise, Eve Online has had a couple of scandals that saw players lose $300,000 worth of purchases over a simple in-game deal that went wrong (Thornhill 2014). Eve also encountered an issue when one player from the in-game council (the Council of Stellar Management), failed to step out of his game role and into reality during an online video post. The player, known as ‘The Mittani’, and for his violent and ruthless actions, made statements and threats that are not acceptable in the real world (De Zwart & Humphreys 2014 p.93). While the Mittani apologised, the damage was already done. 

Of course, this poses the question, are people able to distinguish between the virtual world and the real world? That will need to be thrown over to the psychologists and anthropologists of the world, while I go back to my game to fight an air battle over Great Britain.

References

De Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014, “The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online”, Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-99, viewed 17 January, 2019, <https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=225934593111540;res=IELLCC>.

Forbes 2019, Mew, [image], viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2018/06/15/you-wont-be-able-to-transfer-mew-from-pokemon-go-to-pokemon-lets-go/#48c8044f22e6>.

Fortnite 2017, Fortnite Battle Royale - Gameplay Trailer, viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gUtfBmw86Y>.

Game On 2019, GameOn, [image], viewed 29 January, 2019, <http://www.gameonlu.com/>.

GameSpot 2014, This is Eve Online - Gameplay Trailer, viewed 29 January, 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqoxRcP5kbo>.

Gershgorn, D 2019, The “Fortnite” economy now has its own black market, viewed 28 January, 2019, <https://qz.com/1528941/fortnite-is-reportedly-a-money-laundering-hotbed/>.

O’Neil, N 2008, What Exactly are social Games?, viewed 13 January, 2019, https://www.adweek.com/digital/social-games/

Thornhill, T 2014, EVE Online sees biggest ever battle involving more than 4,000 players, viewed 28 January, 2019, <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2547908/EVE-online-sees-biggest-battle.html>.

I had completely forgotten about Pokémon Go, that was an interesting time when people all went out on the streets to look for Pokemon. I do remember the time people were getting hurt while playing the particularly that of a teenager who was hit by a car while playing Pokemon go. Like you have said a lot of games are violent but they also bring people together to collaborate and share interests which is really cool.

Our lives both on and offline have meshed together as people sharing photos of themselves ‘on the go’ allows others to see how we live our lives moment by moment. As Lobinger (2015, p. 475) points out ‘Networked photography’ is photo sharing practices that share photos through mobile visual communication instantly following real-time photo capture that has become a pervasive communication routine for many.

Ephemeral Communication is “Communications that are deleted or otherwise not made available after a certain, relatively-short time period”. Social media tools that allow people to create cartoons of themselves, filters, lenses and send messages that self-destruct appear to be popping up everywhere. 

“The growing interest in platforms that are designed to erase communication artefacts after a short period are distinct from those associated with more permanent platforms” (Bayer et al. 2015, p. 957). 

Indeed, the ephemeral nature, enabled by these platforms such as those of Snapchat has gained traction for the possibilities of controlling the content one share with the audience. This “self-destructive” messaging approach affords users the capacity to communicate with close friends rather than an extensive network of more formal acquaintances, such as Facebook (Piwek & Joinson 2016, p. 365).

Facebooks highly publicised failure to acquire Snapchat twice has made it obvious that the key players in this industry are keen to progress into this field (Ganzenmuller 2014, p. 1242). However, with these affordances, there are also risks.  As Ganzenmuller (2014, p. 1241) points out this self-districting communication has enabled people to make poor choices as messages disappear users are left feeling immune to repercussions. Despite the risks, the affordance of ephemeral communication will continue to grow, and people will continue to enjoy sharing the ‘moments’ of their lives with whom they choose. 

References

Barack Obama Taking Selfie [IMAGE], in GIPHY 2019, Barack Obama Selfie GIF, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/m2J5d72A5xRXq>.

Bayer, J, Ellison, N, Schoenebeck, S & Falk, E 2015, ‘Sharing the small moments: ephemeral social interaction on Snapchat’, Information, Communication & Society, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 956-977, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1084349>.

Ganzenmuller, R. G. 2014, ‘Snap and destroy: Preservation issues for ephemeral communications’, Buffalo Law Review, vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 1239-1288, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/buflr62&id=1281&men_tab=srchresults#>.

IGI Global 2019, Communications, IGI Global, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/virtual-hoarding/60277>.

Lobinger, K 2015, ‘Photographs as things – photographs of things. A texto-material perspective on photo-sharing practices’, Information, Communication & Society, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 475-488, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1077262?needAccess=true>.

Piwek, L & Joinson, A 2016, ‘What do they snapchat about? Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging service’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 54, pp. 358-367, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0747563215301023>.

Snapchat app [IMAGE], in Getty Images 2019, Yahoo Set To Invest $20 Million In Snapchat, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://www.gettyimages.ie/photos/snapchat?family=editorial&mediatype=photography&phrase=snapchat&sort=mostpopular>.

Stock Photo [IMAGE], in GIPHY  2019, Stock Photo GIF, viewed 27 January 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/xWfCVTBxb5FYBOD4Wp>. 

I like that you drew attention to how ephemeral messaging allows users to “communicate with close friends” as opposed to our acquaintances on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. As I mentioned in my own blog, there is a very distinct difference in the way people interact with each social platform which is quite interesting. People definitely have a stronger relationship with the people they communicate with on Snapchat than they do on Facebook or Instagram. 

It’s great that you also pointed out the negative side and risks associated with this type of “self-destructing” communication. I read a few articles recently that discuss the effect that Snapchat is having on mental health and body image along with other safety concerns. Whilst there are risks associated with all social media, I think it’s up to the user as to how they choose to use this medium.

Week 7 - Trolling and Social Media Conflict. 

After reading Danah Boyd’s article of whether social media is amplifying bullying, i believe that it is important to understand that the use of technology and platforms is not the blame for the use of drama that arises between peers, however, to understand and focus on the use of media platforms and technology, that have enhanced personal conflicts and made dynamics of bullying visible. (Boyd 2014) 

Anyone who uses social media platforms throughout their life has most probably either experienced trolling, trolled another individual or witnessed trolling of others. Trolls are full of negativity. So, how do we handle trolls on social media platforms? 

Well first, what is a troll? 

Trolls are individuals who try and put people down. This is seen as a form of bullying as they get pleasure of seeing how many feelings they can hurt by writing negative information towards people or about people to get a response. To keep a reputation online and thrive with positivity. Follow these 5 steps to accomplish just that. 

Step 1 - Establish a Policy 

Establishing a policy will help detail what comments will be allowed on your media platforms. This helps trolls disappear and create a more friendly and engaging environment in the social media world. 

Step 2- Kill them with Kindness

With the use of humour, lightness and kindness, turn the tables around and respond to the troll with a positive comment. This can be seen as a great way to bring in positive attention as well kill the troll with kindness!

Step 3- Choose a path that is positive

It is important to learn to laugh at many trolls. Ignore their nasty comments and do not let them get to you, because the troll will then think they have won. It is important to remember you are the better person as you do not bring people down. 

Step 4- Unmask them 

Many trolls thrive on being anonyms, if you take away that power, it can result in that troll to think twice about what they may post on your platform. 

Step 5- Create your own community

My last and most favourite step is to create your own community. This means deleting negative people, blocking them and having no contact with them at all. By doing this, you are creating a positive community within your social media platforms and you will also see less of trolling of others and even yourself as the use of negative people on your media platforms have now disappeared. 

remember, “ Sometimes you just have to take a step back and realise what’s important in your life, what you can live with, but more importantly what you can’t live without” - Lauren Conrad 

References

arabiangazette.com, ‘ Is Online Identity To The Youth In A Contemporary Society? [image] in Google, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&biw=932&bih=470&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=DlItXNOVIIOA8wXooYP4Cw&q=media+platforms+friendly&oq=media+platforms+friendly&gs_l=img.3…3225.9524..9835…0.0..0.305.4808.0j17j6j1……0….1..gws-wiz-img…..0..0j0i67j0i30j0i5i30j0i24.Gg6hzh6_mG8#imgdii=jftdv6fYFjBgrM:&imgrc=5Ei2kLGnorBAzM:> 

Boyd, D 2014, It’s complicated: the social lives of networked teens

Daily Mail, ‘Cheerleaders sassy expression’ [image] in Google, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://www.google.com/search?q=sassy+face&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=0NLLvkLkKfNxeM%253A%252C2wa-1A9ec1cY2M%252C_&usg=AI4_-kTadicelHOXA37h8BOqNHvwebpoYg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwixgquKqtDfAhXBgLwKHUNKCgkQ9QEwA3oECAUQCg#imgrc=0NLLvkLkKfNxeM:> 

MIT Sloan School of Management, ‘ Probing the origins of happiness [image] in Google, viewed 3 January 2019, <https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=cFQtXMK7E8GE8wWtubW4Ag&q=happiness&oq=happiness&gs_l=img.3..0j0i67l4j0l3j0i67j0.1596.3012..3096…0.0..0.295.1833.0j4j4……0….1..gws-wiz-img…..0.HuaICj7lN0E#imgrc=g8qq0_6z8bInGM:> 

Unmasking them is also great advice because, as you advise, the anonymity of various platforms seems to attract the worst of the species with a keyboard and a chip or two on their shoulders. It would be great if there was more control on profiles within social media, but I think then we’re starting to push things a bit into the privacy territory.

I have a friend who is a keyboard warrior. He is polite, articulated and writes considered grammar refraining from obscenities.  He does not target an individual; he does not bully. He posts true facts and attempts to pique the interest and raise awareness of the groups in which he posts. He welcomes opinions, which he then chooses to challenge.  Whilst rallying for those who are seldom heard, today he realised he is an internet troll.

Internet trolls are often given a bad name, due to the controversial, backhanded comments which are oftentimes accompanying their posts (Cook et al. 2017). Trolls are sensation seeking and interaction seeking.  But what if the troll was an individual looking to hold a church group accountable for the predatory behaviour of its pastor, trying to assist in liberating female victims who had previously been silenced?

Let me explain.  I’ll aim to keep it brief.

The Willow Creek Community Church, one of the 10 largest churches in America was founded by Bill Hybels in 1975, with a new approach to religious teachings.  Hybels then formed the Willow Creek Association to link like-minded churches, which hosts an Annual Global Leadership Summit  to assist other churches with development and resources to help direct and manage their congregations more effectively.

What Bill Hybels has achieved for his church is profound, however his work is soured by the accusations of multiple women who state Bill Hybels groomed and sexually assaulted them.  With an accusation being just that, an accusation, there is usually due process to determine the truth of the matter. However in this instance, Bill Hybels denied the matter which drew an applause from the congregation.  There was no independent investigation.

In the age of the #metoo movement, my friend, the Keyboard Warrior took it upon himself and other Americans of similar view to troll and demand answers for the women whose voices have been silenced.  He targeted church groups, their congregation often engaging in the conversation.

My friend uses his keyboard  to ask via social media platforms Twitter and Facebook why members of the Global Leadership Summit are not demanding an independent investigation.  My friend will question those who blindly believe what they have been told without seeking further truth.  My friend will point out to people that the victims could have been their mother, their child.

My friend has found people retaliate in shocking ways, with some people likening his stance to that of the devil.  Another told him his words upset her because she was sexually assaulted as a young woman, and she didn’t want to think about it. My friend apologised for bringing back painful memories, and said he would always side with the victims. She told him to leave her church alone, and that God will make everything right. 

I’m not convinced God is able to make right all the rongs. The truth is, if we don’t talk about the accusations and have the independent investigation which is so desperately needed, we are potentially left with another man in a position of power taking advantage of young women who have no voice.

My friend is a keyboard warrior, an internet troll and I couldn’t be more proud to call him my friend.

#InternetTrolls #MeToo #ChurchToo #MDA20009

There’s a lot of good things religion is responsible for, but if it was a corporation it probably would have been put out of business a long time ago for its abuses. The moral licensing involved with religion is at times frightening. Author Robert Pirsig said, “When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called a Religion.” 

Having said that, I’ve been to areas of the world that would be lost without religion. It becomes the glue that holds communities together in places no one seems to care about. 

The individual mind, body and spirit has been interrupted by technology in today’s day and age. The way we interpret our social selves begins by revolving around the social connection through our devices. Times have most definitely changed. In the Nineteenth Century, our communication was limited to the people around us, relying heavily on face-to-face contact as the main form of communication (Siapera, 2012). During these times, humans could develop a deeper more thought provoking connection to one another, as opposed to relying solely on the messages they sent to each another through a screen.

Recently, I read an article I found on the Independent website, that reported that spending over two hours a day on social networks, your chances of feeling socially isolated are twice as high (Hosie 2017). Although we may not feel like we are being isolated, because the amount of stimulation that comes with social media and devices is endless, the real fundamentals of face to face interaction are depleted. Human beings are social creatures, and without the real life social connection, there is not much that to build from. On the other hand, if an individual has already built a foundation with someone, and then follow them on social media and connect through comments and likes, that can help build upon the relationship because it provides validation that the person is interested in your day to day life. As humans, we want as much validation as we can get, in order to feel good about ourselves.

Former sociologist Gemeinschaft believed that through organic and natural will, humans are able to build binding relationships that are affective and strong when face to face. Humans tend to spend more time on social media then they do when interacting with each other because it is a constant stimulus. Many scholars also debate the fact that social media might not have been the driving force of isolation amongst humans, but people might have initially felt isolated and then decided to turn themselves onto social media to help cover their instability. On a personal level, I can relate to this explanation because there was a time when I didn’t feel socially secure with any communities and I was travelling a lot, so did not feel any close connection with other humans, so I turned to social media as an escape from the reality of loneliness. I was able to treat my insecurities by communicating with people I didn’t know online. I found it to be therapeutic in a way. My subconscious mind, found a connection to people I didn’t know. Weird, but truthful.

References:

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

Hosie R, 2017, Independent, Rachel Hosie, viewed 6 December, 2018,

Congratulations on a great post. It was well worth the read. I have to admit that during the last 4 years of study there has been many times I’ve felt isolated and alone as I try to get an assignment finished or catch up on texts. I’ve used Facebook more than I ever have over this time and, while it’s good for touching base with people, I don’t think it helps a great deal for taking away the loneliness when you’ve isolated yourself for one reason or another. Just today I found myself struggling a bit and human interaction (combined with a bit of a chat with an old ladies dog) was what I really needed. And a walk.

Week 1-2

Social media, social networks, and digital communities; we are all so consumed by them, and yet we know so little about them. Is it possible we are all guilty of losing ourselves to our mobile devices, checking Facebook, sending tweets, or reading someone’s blog, all the while ignoring the people right in front of us? Recently I discovered I might be an addict - a digital junkie! The question is, why does this medium so consume us, and how is it impacting on our need for community and relationships?

To understand the effects of digital communities on society we first need to understand what they are. The most basic explanation of social media is it is a medium or platform by which users can create content, share content, modify content and comment on another person’s content (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010, p. 60-64). They can include collaborative works, blogs, content communities, social networking sites, gaming sites, and virtual worlds (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010, p. 62-64). Add mobile devices like smartphones and tablets into the mix, and we can email and text whenever and wherever we want. We become permanently contactable and permanently connected. This constant connection to the digital world poses an important question, what impact is it having on our society?

In a speech on Ted-Ed (2013), Sherry Turkle suggests that we are ‘connected, but alone’. My initial reaction was one of doubt. However, further research found her opinions are widely shared. danah boyd [sic] collaborated Turkles sentiment when she wrote: “Like many others around me, I am perpetually connected to people and information through a series of devices and social media channels.” (danah boyd 2012 p. 72). I soon found myself not only agreeing, but also feeling an upward surge of dread as I realised I had become dependent on both my phone and my social networks. The question I fail to answer is to what and why am I addicted to being connected.

Siapera (2012) claims the way we commune has changed from being based on location and person-to-person or face-to-face interactions to interactions where network individualism has removed barriers and opened broader opportunities to connect. Since the individual can now control the information they share, the willingness to connect more broadly has increased (Siapera 2012). Likewise, the ability to limit information has also given us the ability to construct and display whom we wish to be (cited in Wilken & McCosker 2014 p. 292).

Like it or not, many people are displaying themselves to the world. As danah boyd (2012, p. 75) writes “publicness is one of the strange and yet powerful aspects of this new world”, but to what extent is this new publicness true? Is what we see the real world, or is the world about to implode as the self-created filter bubble collapses? After all, people are people, and the truth seems to have a way of making itself found.

References

 Ahkuoi, D 2018, Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody Parody (Opinion Rhapsody), viewed 1 December, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IABRgZH12YA .

 Boyd, D 2012, ‘Participating in the always-on lifestyle’, in Mandiberg, M 2012, The social media reader, New York University Press, New York, pp. 71-76.

 HANUKA, A 2018, Likeholic, viewed 1 December, 2018, https://www.architecturendesign.net/satirical-illustrations-show-our-addiction-to-technology/.

 Kaplan, A & Haenlein, M 2010, “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media”, Business Horizons, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 59-68, viewed 29 November, 2018, https://ac-els-cdn-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/S0007681309001232/1-s2.0-S0007681309001232-main.pdf?_tid=68fefca4-8562-4cc1-a6ea-82f4130d8b83&acdnat=1543497919_7b97a11a105f088cdb0dd2e0ee6a88bc.

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

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

 Anon 2018, Cant Escape, viewed 1 December, 2018, https://www.architecturendesign.net/satirical-illustrations-show-our-addiction-to-technology/.

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

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

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

Comments welcome! Thanks for reading :)

REFERENCES

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

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

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

Just got to say what a great read that was. For someone that wasn’t quite sure what you were doing, I’d say you’re a natural. You’re comments on Coeliac Disease was certainly interesting. I have a member of the family with the same, but he went through the discovery during the 90′s and there really wasn’t a lot of information out there to help him, apart from a few flyers at the doctor’s office and some books in the local library that were probably already 20 years old when he found them. 

Hope to see more from you soon!

Welcome to my wonderful blog, if out of change you have wondered here by mistake

You are welcome to stay and enjoy the ride. The purpose of this blog is to be perfectly honest to complete the task set out by my university course MDA20009 and hopefully complete them in a satisfactory manner that will allow me to pass.

During my trimester with MDA20009, we will be exploring the theories and ideas of Digital Communities and Social Media and reflecting week on what I have learned with each weekly module I complete, with a sprinkling on internet memes, because what is a blog without memes?

Week 1 was the Introduction to digital communities and social media platforms. Digital communities are all around us, except for a maybe one person in your social network (Jess I’m thinking of you), generally all of us are on some social media platform/digital community. I myself am pretty much on everything, I have a YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google +, Pinterest, I keep a personal WordPress blog, for work we use yammer, and now I also use Tumblr. I’m sure I have others accounts that I use. In the time of starting this blog post to writing this sentence I’ve checked my phone over 4 times. I would say that growing up in the 90’s I’m lucky enough to remember a time before the internet and after but I’m also young enough that I just took to it like a baby with an iPad.

I remember in school we were all taught not to use our real names on the internet and now we plaster them across globe for all to see. After watching the video Connected, but alone?  (TED-Ed 2013) presented by Sherry Turkle. I would say that I’m always connected but I am not alone. My friends and I may use social media to organise a catch up but when we do catch up with talk. I chat to people online, but the conversation just continues offline where it was left online. However, I can see as highlighted the negative side of always being connected. I have seen people out at lunch or dinner not saying a word and just the glow from their screens lighting their face. With everything in life moderation is key. Society has changed, I would claim that we are in the digital age and to me it seems strange when someone is disconnected.

As part of this university course, all the students are in our own digital community for MDA20009. For some of us we might even start communicating daily, however for a lot of us we have never met each other. I know when sitting in the exam room for my other uni students, it is just a sea of strangers. We’re all connected through a digital community because we all choose to complete the same study unit and not our geographical location (Siapera 2012). Siapera (2012) poses the question that is it possible that technology has hindered our way of communicating because we’re not sharing our interests in physical proximity? To this question I believe that just because you are physical located next to someone doesn’t mean you want to communicate to that person. Technology has made it easier for humanity to connect, whether you like dogs, cats or dogs dressed up as cats, you can find someone who will share in your interest making you feel a little less along even if you are isolated geographically.  I believe that because digital communities can reach far beyond the boundaries of location and with the natural level of anonymity digital communities provide gender, age race and religion and gender, the potential of having meaningful connection with someone globally is increased.

Ferdinand Tönnies in the 19th century observed the social evolution, through his theories it could be suggested that digital communities/groups will only remain successful as communities if they continue to be organic and natural. On the other hand, there is society, and this is formed due to the thought of rational will and taking part to achieve a common goal. If we were to compare this to social media, I would conclude therefore the internet gets so mad when they are lied paid product advertising pretending to be a genuine review.

As we joke about Wi-Fi becoming one of the most basic human need, it just highlights how much humanity has changed our digital lives are just an extension of our physical ones.

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

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

Images

‘Astonished Aden’ 2014, viewed 6 December, 2018, <https://imgflip.com/i/cfaz0>.

‘Level Up’ 2014, viewed 6 December, 2018, <https://www.mutilatethemortgage.com/2014/08/11/the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/>.

‘This isn’t the droid… you’re looking for’ 2018, viewed 6 December, 2018, <https://memegenerator.net/instance/63035559/jedi-knight-this-isnt-the-droid-youre-looking-for>.

I’d really like to see a sequel if Mel Brooks is reading?

I feel a bit fatigued sometimes trying to keep up with all the platforms and apps associated with the day to day grind. Just for the sake of nostalgia, I met my wife on something called Friendster, which I think eventually was one of the casualties of Facebook’s rise and rise. At the time we were on different continents and I doubt we would have ever met without the internet. 

Your point on device use is something I think everyone has seen at some time and I could certainly relate to many of the points Sherry Turkle discussed throughout her Ted Talk. And I think you make a strong point further on that there are many positives to the digital communities we’ve all created. 

Thanks for the great post!