NM3205

While exploring intimacy in the digital age, Lambert studied how intimacy is mediated by relationship-tracking technology. It is important to note that definitions and development of intimacy is heavily contextualised as different cultural meanings exist and influence others in varied ways. In this case, he associates intimacy with caring and close relationships that form part of our lived experience. Relationship-tracking apps and programmes have risen in popularity on the heels of the self-tracking phenomenon. Lambert coins the increasing technologisation of creating social relationships as the “technicity of intimacy”. Depending on how these technologies are utilised, different cultural techniques are evoked. In this article, Lambert argues that relationship-tracking as a product of the “technicity of intimacy” cannot fulfil their promise of alleviating the labour of intimacy.

Focusing on the app, PplKpr, Lambert studies how this relationship-tracker and its following can create discourses about the impacts of relationship-tracking. By ranking the people one interacts with through a variety of moods and physical inputs, the app manages one’s relationships and determines those worth keeping. The creation of such applications is based on our innate human obsession with self-improvement translated into our relationships. With its roots in psychotherapy, the app offers opportunities for the externalising of emotions in order to grow more fulfilling relationships. Since such technologies produce quick and convenient results, people seek such self-tracking devices for self-improvement.

Furthermore, relationship-trackers help to navigate “intensive intimacy”, where intimacy becomes work that is hard to manage and requires learning specific sets of social skills. In contemporary societies with the proliferation of media, traditional spheres of intimacy are being transformed by new idea and beliefs, creating more complex meanings. As such, relationship-trackers jump in with objective algorithms and options that help to automate that process.

However, there are limitations to how much relationship-trackers can measure in social relationships due to the mysteries of intimacy. Invoking the concept of intimate presence, it is largely performative and based on social norms. When the media intervenes to a greater extent, media users need to be alert in multiple areas of presence. In the measurement of solely social encounters, relationship-trackers fall outside of intimate presence. Moreover, these trackers cannot measure the excess in intimacy. Using sensors restricts the full extent of intimacy as it only targets singular events while ignoring any other intersections of meanings or psychological factors. Hence, this limited scope of function signals users to the excess of intimacy which these systems cannot measure. Despite its limitations, Lambert asserts there is value in the development of relationship-tracking technology due to the emotional gain that dedicated self-trackers can achieve in their journey towards their goals.

In the era of dating apps, Chan takes an uncommon approach towards the gendered experiences encountered online. Referencing to other works exploring gender norms in dating apps, he mentions that only the demographics of either women or both women and men have been covered. However, negotiations of gender by men specifically have not been focused on.

Dating apps facilitate the connection of strangers over the Internet. However, there are multiple ways that people use dating apps to their own advantage, in which Chan highlights 3 aspects. First, users exhibit agency over the app as they employ “interpretive flexibility” over their usage however they want. Next, with the app as a medium to create relationships, a physical barrier exists, resulting in profiles being the main source of information for potential matches. Akin to the marketing of products, these profiles are crafted as to how people want to be seen by others. As such, this deliberate portrayal contributes to the assumption that online dating profiles are mostly inaccurate and cannot be trusted. Lastly, the large user database of potential matches that dating apps offer can lead to “choice overload”. This is addressed with filters applied to narrow available choices to make a more informed decision. An interesting irony pointed out by the author was our seeking of more options on dating apps lead to having to eliminate most of these options due to its overwhelming amount.

In modern China, men face a different set up of masculinity compared to women in their femininity. Though the Internet has facilitated the movement towards more progressive gender views, it is fed through a Western lens. Chan states that constructions of gender should be contextualised as different cultural environments shape different forms of hegemonic masculinities. Particularly, Chinese understandings of opposing ends of the masculinity spectrum would be characterised by the “wen-wu dyad”. As compared to those displaying wu, alluding to physical ability and appearance, wen, alluding to cultural capital, is preferred. Since wen is considered the better choice, men displaying these attributes are normalised to mistreat women. Within dating apps, men negotiate their gender identities through the continuous discourse of work in their interactions, their portrayal of a gentle, innocent, and wealthy images to mirror popular culture in China, and categorising women to maximise their opportunities.

Through Chan’s article, gender norms are shown to still be perpetuated by contemporary cultural tools such as dating apps. In fact, the connectivity and anonymity of dating apps facilitate this phenomenon. During the pandemic, dating apps in China have become an invaluable resource for expanding one’s social network and meeting potential partners. Hence, the country’s numerous dating apps have developed more features to keep up with this trend, including voice message speed dating and matchmaker-mediated chat. These functions drastically increase the convenience and popularity of the apps to users (https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3082443/these-chinese-dating-apps-have-become-unexpected-necessity-during). However, these affordances can lead to others taking advantage of the apps to spread misinformation and misconceptions. With the increase in dating apps, authorities have uncovered apps facilitating prostitution and disseminating pornographic content (https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3009954/chinese-social-apps-momo-tantan-and-dingtalk-suspend-user-posts). This can be indicative of gender norms being upheld on these apps as women are being exploited through the connectivity of apps.

Burroughs and Rama (2015) advocate for the application of streaming technology and its networks in the future of virtual reality and gaming. A turning point for the eSports industry was the broadcast of a major tournament on ESPN. Being showcased by a traditional media outlet, it raised the legitimacy status of competitive gaming as its profitability and popularity have been taken note of. Aside from the recognition and publicity that mainstream media has given to eSports, the social media platform, Twitch, has been an existing monolith in the streaming industry. Providing a space for users to host livestreams online, Twitch has been the go-to platform. Expanding on the social spaces of gaming, the lines between the “real” and “virtual” world of gaming is blurred when these games are broadcasted on Twitch. During a typical livestream, the screen would show both the gamer and live gameplay which he/she is controlling. In this format, the audience can watch the gamer provide his/her reactions to the game and what he is doing simultaneously, while interacting with him in real time. Moreover, large gaming communities can be created on the platform as a social network, which increases its authenticity through the community effect.

With most of the platform focusing on gaming, it is a useful resource for further development into the future of livestreaming. Through its free access and user-friendly interface, Twitch has opened up the floor to a larger audience, from amateur to professional gamers. This is an improvement from before where only people from higher socio-economic classes could afford a high-quality gaming set up to stream their gameplays. Thus, the affordances of such streaming technology enable competitive gaming to be brought to a wider platform on a larger scale and contributes to the future of livestreaming as an arena for participation and play.

To link to another concept, the rise of Twitch can be partly attributed to interpassivity as the audience finds satisfaction and enjoyment in watching others play in place of them. Since they can also view the gamer reacting to the game live, it serves as a substitute of their own emotions, even without expressing them. Though the spectator is not actively playing the game or responding to the gameplay, they fully engage with the corresponding emotions and actions when watching livestreams. Essentially, being passive while participating in a false activity. Thus, Twitch is a prime site for interpassivity to play out as one can live their lives through a diverse range of livestreamed content, from podcasts to cooking shows.

While it might provide a source of entertainment for avid gamer-spectators, it can mix up the virtual and real worlds. As the gamer is shown side by side with the avatar’s movements in the game, it merges both worlds. When the person hosting the livestream must be on alert and put on a persona for a long period of time, it might prove detrimental to their mental health, leading them to find it hard to tell the difference. This is further amplified in the phenomenon of 24 hour streams on Twitch, where streamers go on a non-stop marathon live. For the sake of generating a larger audience or marketing their brand, these 24 hour streams are popular on the website as a tool. Through this experience, many streamers have complained about the effort put in to maintain the stream. Some have reported that it is important to keep up their character despite having no viewers as anyone might drop in at any point in time. Having to be completely focused for 24 hours is no small feat, which may lead to some being burnt out. This highlights the detrimental effects of mixing the public and private sphere.

Furthermore, catering to their following can take away the agency that streamers might think they possess while hosting streams. Some have noted that once they start hosting 24 hour streams, it is hard to go back to conducting lesser hours of streams as they might lose those tuning in to odd hours within that time frame. This poses the dilemma of whether to continue sacrificing their time for round the clock streaming or lose part of their viewership.

At the same time, some may find it beneficial to always be online. Just last year, the record for longest stream on the Internet was broken by a Twitch streamer for 1000 hours live. The user willingly broadcasts his entire life online to numerous viewers, even while he is sleeping or running errands. This is an unconventional method of streaming as he is the first person to be live 24/7 on the platform. Despite the possible side effects of living in the “virtual” world of Twitch, he seems to be excited for the prospects of growing his channel. What is interesting about this case is that the "virtual" and "real" world have merged completely. Therefore, how much of his life is his lived or imagined reality since he is constantly acting in front of the camera?

Functioning on a different media structure, China has depended on WeChat as an integrated social network since its creation. In WeChat: Social Network and Smart City (2019), the authors discuss the benefits of WeChat to China’s society and its contribution to the future of technology. As China strides forward towards the development of a “smart city”, the authors assert that the country is leaps ahead of others in terms of the incorporating of smart technology in urban settings to improve efficiency. Facilitated by the proliferation of smartphones, high speed Internet and easy access, smart applications like WeChat play a large role in the progress of the smart city. As a superapp containing many functions, it merges offline and online communication for its users. Through the research conducted, WeChat’s specific functions of online payment and its social network are considered.

From the use of WeChat’s various functions, a new social structure is formed through the engagement of users on the Internet. Transferring many processes online, WeChat fulfils the needs of citizens in a single application. It is considered a superapp as WeChat has Mini programs which link third-party applications to the main WeChat interface without the inconvenient downloading of multiple programs in one’s device.  

Interacting with the Internet in WeChat as a social network and tool changes the consumption patterns of users. Combining technological advances with the social networking platform, it creates higher exposure to new trends and functions. As a digital infomediary (Morris, 2015), WeChat influences users’ taste level and shapes their cultural experience online. Moreover, its ability to facilitate payments over the application is a gamechanger as it even allows utility, public transport and properties bills to be paid. With its expanded network and practical functionality, WeChat is a key tool in China, contributing to the the smart city.

Recently, another function of WeChat has been created. In response to the viral pandemic, China has developed a new health certificate programme for domestic travel. WeChat is assigned as the provider of the certificate as an accompaniment to the existing QR health codes needed for public spaces in China, which allows access to one’s health information including vaccinations and contact with any patients. Similar to the TraceTogether application and token in Singapore, it is a measure against the spread of the COVID virus. As all citizens would have already been using WeChat, it is a logical move by the government to utilise the convenience of the application instead of creating a new programme requiring installation.

(source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/china-launches-covid-19-passport-14367938)

As defined by Hochschild, working women were found to have taken on a second shift when engaging with unpaid labour at home in addition to paid work in their normal jobs. Hochschild determined the main ideologies towards the second shift: traditional and egalitarian. Those who subscribed to the traditional ideology had prescribed beliefs on gender roles in the family, leading to the women bearing the brunt of the second shift. On the other hand, those taking the more egalitarian stance were more active in sharing the work at home. Through Hochschild’s research, it can be seen that gender ideologies shaped individuals’ attitudes towards the second shift with regards to their expectations and actions. In this chapter, she examines the strategies women take to navigate the double burden they bear, including direct and indirect ways to change marital roles, supermoming, cutting back at work and seeking outside help. On the other hand, men were also observed to develop their own strategies in dealing with the second shift. More commonly, men veered towards resistance strategies to avoid additional labour at home and let the work to their wives. Though some men expressed genuine interest in cooperating with their wives, the responsibility of the second shift was still understood to rest on the shoulders of women. Hence, this depicts the power play in the labour relations between men and women.

However, the relevance of Hochschild’s work might have changed as the landscape of work adapts to the onset of modernisation, limiting women’s ability to maintain the second shift independently. With the prevalence of the gig economy, non-conventional types of work are made available for workers to choose from. Compared to Hochschild’s subjects engaging in full-time labour, the nature of the gig economy provides workers with more flexibility and control over their work. From the easy access to gig work, more opportunities are accorded to those seeking freelance work, especially women.

For example, a company aptly named The Second Shift aims to match women to freelance work. Their mission statement describes: “We are on a mission to shift the way companies look from the inside by connecting them with exceptional women from the outside”. Specifically targeting female workers, the company utilises the advantages of the gig economy to help women to find short term but higher responsibility jobs. Such companies geared towards helping women are contributing to narrowing the gender gap in the workplace. As women take on more responsibility in paid work, they have less time for the second shift. In the example of The Second Shift, freelancers are often given a fixed amount of time (24 hours) to present their work to clients, which ensues in more time allocated for paid work throughout the day.

(image taken from https://www.thesecondshift.com/)

This results in more households sharing the work between partners and a more equal division of labour. Additionally, Hochschild’s work is relatively relevant here as some families would seek external help, such as domestic helpers, to manage the work at home. Hence, the second shift is not completely borne by females in the family as they engage with other forms of work.

However, gig work might not fully account for the sharing of the second shift. According to Ravenelle (2019), the casualisation of labour in the gig economy can lead to the increase in precarity in labour, where there is a lack of protection for the gig worker. In line with gig work, most would be working independently at home without an office, leading to the lack of separation between work and home and less work-life balance. Thus, those working at home, especially women, might take up the unpaid second shift concurrently with their paid work, adding on to their workload.

In a response to Jenkins’ (2012) article, Fuchs (2014) rejects and challenges his glorification of participatory culture. Where Jenkins trivialises the cultural value of participation in the media, Fuchs implores his readers to consider participatory democracy instead, where it involves political, economic and cultural scopes of influence. In portraying participatory culture as tool of empowerment for media users, Jenkins fails to consider the domination of capitalistic processes in the direction of content online. On the other hand, Fuchs details the role mass media corporations play in controlling the media, with underlying profit-making desires fuelling their decisions. Ownership of the media enables these companies to commodify the media and its audience as they turn “participatory culture” into an economic mechanism. Most importantly, with corporations managing the media, it will never be fully “participatory”.

With the example of Youtube that Fuchs raised, it is evident that despite the assumption that anyone can create and promote their content on the site, large corporations still have ownership rights and can are earning off the work their creators have put in. Social media platforms are a prime example of the digital labour enacted within the capitalistic nature of the media. Since social media promotes the idea of individuality and control of your own accounts in front of a wide audience, more users are willing to develop their brand and presence on these sites. In participating in the attention economy, we are being exploited by large corporations riding off individual production to be sold as advertising material. Hence, this gives rise to the notion of digital labour. This is especially prevalent in sites like Youtube where the individual creators are not paid by the social media company itself for posting on their website but are paid according to the number of views accumulated from other users. Essentially, we are constantly engaging with our own exploitation as unpaid labour online.

Another point that Fuchs (2014) disagrees with Jenkins (2012) is the political connotation of fan culture. Jenkins gives new meaning to the concept of fandom by endorsing its abilities in generating cultural and political change. In contrast, Fuchs questions Jenkins’ deterministic tone in linking all fan culture to have positive political undertones. Uncovering the downsides of fandom, one cannot simply assume that all fandoms are positive in nature. Though the media provides avenues for fans to learn more about issues of contention in society, this can also lead them into believing in the wrong ideas, resulting in disastrous effects.

A prominent example that came to mind was the Slender Man stabbing incident in 2014. (Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/investigators-slender-man-case-discuss-chilling-interviews-12/story?id=66320806). Upon discovering the Slender Man fandom online, 2 girls, who were 12 years old at the time, were enthralled by the fictional character, so much so, that they believed him to be real. As they familiarised themselves with the lore through online resources, they were convinced they had to murder another person to prove their loyalty to him. As such, they stabbed their classmate 19 times all over her body. This shows how influential the media is in a person’s psyche. Even if the Slender Man fandom surrounded a fictional tale and a fictional character, some may twist the conceptions of it and use it for their own interests. Furthermore, this is not an isolated incident as it influenced more people in the fandom to engage in attempted murder. Hence, online communities can be dangerous if the ideas being disseminated are destructive.

Through the consumption of media, individuals develop a sense of attachment to specific types of content, such as books or tv shows. Brought together by their mutual passion, large fan followings are generated. As social media and its affordances become more prevalent in society, fan communities are more normalised and are on the rise. Predictably, popular culture and its ideologies have seeped into reality and are “shaping pollical rhetoric and movement practices” (Jenkins, 2012). Presenting the importance of fan activism, Jenkins (2012) raised the theory of “cultural acupuncture” detailed by Andrew Slack. In order to strengthen civic engagement among youths, issues in the fictional world are translated into the current events of the real world for the easy digestion of large-scale political concerns. Using references fans are already familiar with, fans can be prompted to engage with political action and fan activism. Placing the focus on the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), it is an organisation created by and for the fans of the Harry Potter franchise, targeted at fan activism. As shown in its official website, it provides many resources to develop civic participation in the younger generation and the wider Harry Potter fandom.

Moreover, the organisation has had its impact on political activism with the number of events and movements it had arranged.

With the convenience of social media, such fan-led activism is made possible as it allows anyone with an online presence to step up. In “adult politics”, Jenkins depicts the exclusion of young people with the use of political vernacular and the minimisation of their roles and problems. Hence, social media as an outlet for fan activism is a powerful tool. This is because access to the media provides ordinary people with the ability to create and sustain social movements. Even with the HPA, it is empowered by the media and no longer powerless in the face of large political organisations. In this article, Jenkins applauds the inclusive nature of the HPA and similar fan-led organisations as they serve the fans completely by encouraging fan-made content and individuality in activism.

Jenkin’s account on fan activism raises interesting points on the capabilities of fans and the influence of their content when they are targeted at specific causes. Normally not taken seriously, fan activism has risen above expectations and demonstrated in tangible results benefitting society. Despite the pessimistic view of the culture industry by Adorno and Horkheimer (2012), Jenkins provides a different viewpoint on the potential of the industry giving rise to positive effects.

In my opinion, Jenkins has a point in the empowerment of fans through fan activism and developing their political identity through their own civic engagement. Being a part of the Harry Potter fandom since a young age, I have witnessed and participated in much fan activism in the community. Contemporary activist movements are common in many fandoms as they are manifestations of growing political engagement amongst the youths. From my experiences in fandom activities, the media can serve as a steppingstone to more civic engagement as I can related to how the Harry Potter books reflect various societal concerns. For example, the way Muggleborns are mistreated by purebloods in society is similar to the racism people of colour face purely on the basis of their origin of birth and skin colour respectively. Through participation in fandom, reading fan-made content has inculcated a certain belief system that I can apply to everyday life. Additionally, fans have been raising their voices against problematic content in the original works that they are fans of. Especially with Harry Potter, the author, JK Rowling, has been under fire for a while now for her discriminatory views and plotlines in the books. When individuals grow out of the original content to recognise the political issues for themselves and question it, they are automatically part of the activist movement for change. As shown below, people have been questioning Rowling and her ideas on Twitter.

Made easier by portable technology, individuals are able to conveniently engage with self-tracking features to enrich their daily lives. In this article, Lupton (2020) explores the importance of personal data developed from self-tracking activities. According to Lupton, self-tracking shows the complex enactments of human and nonhuman actors. Moreover, the data gained through such actions enable users to record information that is dynamic in nature as a form of memory or place-making. In this process, users play an active role in their own self-tracking as well. When individuals utilise their self-tracking devices, they have to engage with their “data sense” to interpret and apply their various personal data to their lives. As such, we display agency by managing our data and choosing to use it in ways that benefit us.

Through the lens of vital materialism, Lupton (2020) examines the personal data enactment of self-trackers and nonhuman actors. Vital materialism depicts views humans and nonhuman agents as essential to each other, complementing how they change in new encounters with other humans and nonhuman agents. Upon interacting with nonhuman objects, humans will inevitably change and adapt to the data received, where our bodily affordances can be improved or weakened. Through such encounters, Lupton deduces the affective forces that are generated and the agential capacities emerging as a result.

From the Lupton’s (2020) research, she found self-tracked data to be forceful and generative. In making relational connections with the data collected, humans are able to determine different trends and relationships. Those active in monitoring their self-tracked data considered it to be an empowering ability and a defining feature of their sense of self. Compared to human capabilities, technology is more likely to be more exact and “tell the truth”. However, users also understand that they must assess their personal data and discern the accuracy of their personal data.

Though Lupton emphasises the agency of individuals in using portable media for self-tracking purposes, the reality might seem otherwise. An interesting example of self-tracking is the compulsory Fitbits students have to purchase and wear on a university campus (Frankel, 2016). Promoting exercise and fitness among students, the university decided to take the unique step in making Fitbits mandatory in school as a means to track their students’ fitness levels. Even more out of the ordinary is the fact that these levels are graded and can affect their overall academic performance. Unable to practice their agency, students are forced to engage with self-tracking technology and report their personal data to the school. Another aspect of the loss of agency is the matter of privacy. There is no way to know if any personal information has been recorded by the school even if they claim otherwise. In the digital age, technology has grown so advanced that such breaches of privacy can be hidden easily.

Hence, to what extent does self-tracking display our agency rather than simply feeding into health or market trends, or non-consensual data tracking? As self-tracking culture picks up momentum in society, its features have been capitalised and marketed to the masses. Since collecting data is made extremely accessible, algorithms organise the data to make portable self-tracking devices more appealing to consumers (Kelly, 2017). As such, the self-tracking culture could be just an accumulation of capitalistic practices and our interests in modern trends. Despite showcasing how humans can change through encounters with nonhuman agents, Lupton’s argument on how self-tracking exemplifies human agency can be disputed.

Frankel, T. C. (2016, February 2). Fitbits now mandatory for students at this Oklahoma university. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/02/02/fitbits-now-mandatory-for-students-at-this-oklahoma-university/

In our technology-dominated world, various forms of media are integrated in our lives, including the household. As such, Spigel (2015) highlights the role of the television (TV) set in our daily lives and its mediation of the public and private space. She explores the history of the TV and the different meanings attached to it. Upon the popularisation of the TV in the beginning, it was meant to bring families together as a contrast to the spatial homogenisation of places. As a spatial apparatus, people have arranged their furniture and themselves around the TV as a centre. Therefore, placing possessions and the household around it indicates the importance and centrality of the media. During my group discussion during the tutorial, it was noted that the common thread among the arrangement of our living spaces was the presence of the TV and its position. Many families use the space around the TV as a gathering space. With the rise of the smart TV, content we stream on our mobile phones can now be shared with others in the periphery of the TV, providing more opportunities to engage with one another.

However, the isolating nature of the TV is also an issue that Spigel (2015) was concerned about. She mentions that the concept of a “personal TV” being marketed to keep media content at home and easily accessible. This promotes the notion of individualism and a decrease in communication with the outside world. Similarly, Rodan (2019) develops the idea of the fortress mentality. As our homes are increasingly equipped with technology such as smart homes, we begin to keep to ourselves as everything we need exists in the comfort of our own homes. Fitting into the theme of keeping oneself in a bubble, the theory of suburbanisation (Silverstone, 1997) can be referenced to. As people moved into the suburbs to create new areas with only certain traits being the majority, the sense of the public sphere is lost since there is no diversity. TV and its programmes targeted people who needed to feel like they still lived in the city, allowing them to dive into the virtual world. Relating back to the creation of the smart TV, since we have every type of media content at our fingertips, it is easy for one to stay in their fortress of technology.

Expanding on Spigel’s (2015) emphasis on the spatial nature of the TV, can the TV be a desperate wish for families to be closer to each other?

As established by Couldry and Hepp (2017), we must understand “the social world as fundamentally interwoven with media”. When we consider the role of the media in our lives, the context of the digital age must be taken into account.

When we consider the role of the media in our lives, the context of the digital age must be taken into account. Through the proliferation of media, mediated communication practices are highly prevalent and have set the norm of interaction between parties. As communication becomes increasingly entwined with technology, technology has adapted likewise to include more features imitating in-person communication. These advances contribute to the social construction of reality.

Unlike the idea of social constructivism by Berger and Luckmann (1966) depicting social reality as what individuals perceive to be real and practices taken for granted, Couldry and Hepp deferred from such. Individuals play a main role in the construction of their own reality, embedded in daily processes and historical changes. By institutionalisation and materialisation, we develop our reality through these systemic mechanisms. As such, the mediatisation of reality has occurred. Considered to be a form of intersection between the differentiated domains of our social world, the media emphasises and sustains human communication. To reconcile the intersubjective nature of our social reality, the media has facilitated communication across time and space, creating a shared understanding and prompting reflection and action.

In my opinion, I resonate strongly with the notion of differentiated yet interlinked social spheres, where the media provides an outlet to cross the blurred barriers between them. This highly correlates with the communities and culture that Tumblr has created. The features of Tumblr reveal the inherently social nature of humans in the established anonymity of users. Uninhibited by social norms and pressures with identity, users interact freely and enthusiastically with each other, crossing into different social domains. Tumblr promotes diversity and the creation of a range of niche communities to fit any individual’s interests. Using its tagging and replies features, the social media platform provides a convenient method to communicate with others regardless of distance or time differences. The difference between Tumblr and other social media platforms can be attributed to its unique culture that has stood the test of time. Hence, it facilitates the shared understanding of its users who use the media.

An example of the tags and topics that can be displayed on the platform.