#digitalcommunites

Snowflake generation? A disparaging term used by older, right-wing people to mock the younger generation for their perceived intolerance and easily offended nature (Haslop, O’Rourke & Southern, 2021, p.1419). Haslop, O'Rouke, & Southern’s (2021) article covers a case study to investigate the attitude and perception shown by students from a University in England towards different forms of online harassment. The article draws on a feminist theory that forms of harassment and hate produces deep-rooted gendered inequalities in digitized spaces by adversely affecting women’s online participation and digital citizenship which has created gender-related digital divides (Haslop, O’Rourke & Southern, 2021, p.1422). Studies show that online harassment has a detrimental effect on mental health. “Online harassment can have a range of adverse emotional, psychological and physiological effects on those subjected to these practices, including stress, anxiety, fear, panic attacks and, in more extreme cases, suicidal thought” (Haslop, O’Rourke & Southern, 2021, p.1421).

The article concludes with the authors stating that “the label ‘snowflake’ is being used to undermine a new generation of activists who are raising valid and justifiable concerns and challenging persistent and continued social and political inequality”, the term can be a method of silencing and discrediting those who challenge gendered forms of marginalization and inequality (Haslop, O’Rourke & Southern, 2021, p.1432).

Social media is governed by governments, platform owners and regulators. Governments regulate activities online through legislations which is imposed onto both users and platform owners. “Governments are not able to directly block or restrict content so they delegate censorship of information” to service providers and platform owners to filter content in order to operate their platforms. (DeNardis & Hackl, 2015, p.7). Users in different parts of the world do not have the same experience with social media platforms as the legislations and censorship varies among the countries (DeNardis & Hackl, 2015, p.8). Social media platforms play a decisive role in promoting or constraining free speech online (DeNardis & Hackl, 2015, p.6). In Australia, the Online Safety Act 2021 enforces the protection of users from abuse and harassment online (safety Commissioner, 2022)

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok's terms of service exemplify platform governance as they establish the rules and regulations for user behavior on their platforms. Facebook’s terms state that users must not post content that violates community standards or infringes on someone else's intellectual property (Facebook, 2023). Similarly, Instagram's terms prohibit users from posting violent, discriminatory content, or promoting illegal activities (Instagram, 2023). On the other hand, TikTok's terms outline specific guidelines for creating and sharing content such as prohibiting copyrighted music without permission and removing content promoting harmful behaviors like eating disorders, and suicide, blocking violative content from the platform, and Age-restricting mature content so it is only viewed by adults, 18 years or older (TikTok, 2023). These platforms' terms of service and community guidelines demonstrate how companies govern their platforms to ensure the users' safety and appropriate use of social media platforms in order to create a safer online community.

The Manosphere? An overlapping collection of online men’s support communities that have emerged as a response to feminism, female empowerment, and the alienating forces of neoliberalism (Rich & Bujalka, 2023). The manosphere communities content presents deeply concerning perspectives on women but it appeals to its audience because it provides explanations and solutions to a very real set of issues faced by young men in today’s generation under the factor’s romantic rejection, alienation, economic failure, loneliness, and a dim vision of the future (Rich & Bujalka, 2023).

Mega-influencer Andrew Tate whose public persona revolves around him endorsing misogynistic aggressive viewpoints that are meant to stir controversy and promote his personal brand has made a longstanding reputation for himself as a thought leader and “top g” in the online “manosphere” community and his appeal to ‘Lost Men’ through “Hustler’s University”, a series of exclusive chat rooms promising men a solution to their fears centred on Tate’s personage and teachings which mainly emphasizes on self-empowerment and personal accountability while discarding victimhood (Rich & Bujalka, 2023). He gained more infamous attention after being banned on most major social media platforms like TikTok for promoting a variety of aggressively misogynistic positions (Rich & Bujalka, 2023). Influencers like Tate, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, and "alpha" strongman Elliott Hulse invest an immense amount of time, effort, and money on creating a crisis around these issues and putting themselves in the centre while capitalising off the anxieties unleashed by this ambiguity (Rich & Bujalka, 2023).

When confronting manosphere, as critical as we may be, we need to understand that it provides a sense of community and belonging, a direction, certainty, solutions to deep and systemic issues and, most importantly, hope for young men. We need to avoid stigmatising and the dismissal of people who fall into the manosphere and instead, we need to use empathy, tolerance and patience to support men in ways that lead them away from these unpleasant boroughs of the internet and make them feel connected with a larger part of society (Rich & Bujalka, 2023).

References

‘Countering hate on TikTok’ 2022, TikTok, viewed <https://www.tiktok.com/safety/en/countering-hate/>.

DeNardis, L & Hackl, AM 2015, ‘Internet governance by social media platforms’, Telecommunications Policy, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 761–770.

Haslop, C, O’Rourke, F & Southern, R 2021, ‘#NoSnowflakes: The toleration of harassment and an emergent gender-related digital divide, in a UK student online culture’, Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 1418–1438.

Instagram n.d., ‘Anti-Bullying on Instagram’, about.instagram.com, viewed <https://about.instagram.com/community/anti-bullying>.

Instagram 2018, ‘Community Guidelines | Instagram Help Center’, Instagram.com, viewed <https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119>.

‘Learn about the Online Safety Act | eSafety Commissioner’ 2022, eSafety Commissioner, viewed <https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/whats-on/online-safety-act>.

Rich, B & Bujalka, E 2023, ‘The draw of the “manosphere”: understanding Andrew Tate’s appeal to lost men’, The Conversation, viewed <https://theconversation.com/the-draw-of-the-manosphere-understanding-andrew-tates-appeal-to-lost-men-199179>.

This week’s discussion topic focuses around gaming communities and how online platforms have facilitated its emergence. Gaming has received a prominent eye in the current era of digital communities as it has had continuous exponential growth the past few years, it is known to be one of the largest forms of entertainment. Keogh's article explores the value regimes present in Melbourne's indie game scene. One of the key aspects discussed is gaming communities and their role in shaping the development, distribution, and reception of indie games.

In his article Keogh describes “videogames as a cultural, economic, and technological space. Videogame makers, audiences, and intermediaries do not simply constitute an industry; they constitute a cultural field.” (Keogh, 2021, p.209). He explains the concept of video game development as “No more a homogenous activity as is music production, acting, writing, or any other cultural field, and videogame makers are no more a homogenous group any more than ‘musicians’ or ‘actors’ or ‘writers. Videogame makers, and the scenes they constitute, are complex, contested, and ever- changing” (Keogh, 2021, p.220).

In addition, the gaming industry has given rise to two other phenomena: social gaming and live streaming. While social gaming is frequently played with friends, it can also be played online with unknown players over the internet. It enables users to interact and play not just with their friends but also with gamers all around the world. With a shared interest in videogames, social gaming often paves the way for new friendships to blossom between individuals who would otherwise remain strangers. Social gaming and live streaming are the reason for the emergence of the competitive aspect of video gaming, known as E-Sports. Livestreaming is used by professional e-sports athletes to increase their audience and to monetize through it. Livestreaming has increased the audience that watches e-sports, allowing fans to interact with one another and follow competitions around the world (Taylor, 2018, p.6).

Live streaming is done by a lot of gamers at present to showcase their gameplay and offer commentary on websites like Twitch to an audience in real-time who may engage with them using the chat feature. This gives other gamers the chance to see their favorite players engage in live gameplay. Twitch started as a platform to assist digital gaming [but] has swiftly evolved to accommodate people who wish to produce a spectrum of creative content for others. Participants are developing fresh entertainment throughout the platform that combines gaming, humor, commentary, and in-game communication with audiences and supporters (Taylor, 2018, p.9). In the article ‘Broadcasting Ourselves’ Taylor also mentions that “Twitch is certainly not alone in helping build esports; other platform companies such as YouTube or Facebook, organizations like the Electronic Sports League (ESL), DreamHack, PGL, and Major League Gaming (MLG), and game developers such as Riot, Valve, and Blizzard have all tossed their hat into the live streaming ring by producing and/or distributing broadcast content.” (Taylor, 2018, p.3). Live streaming has created a sense of community around specific games or genres, with streamers often becoming influential figures within their respective communities.

References

Keogh, B 2020, 'The Melbourne indie game scenes Value regimes in localized game development’, in P Ruffino (ed), Independent Videogames: Cultures, Networks, Techniques and Politics, Taylor & Francis Group, eBook Central (ProQuest), pp. 209-222.

This week’s reading aims to understand the behavior of the Slow Fashion consumer, their values, attitudes, and motivations, as well as to have an in-depth understanding of the slow fashion movement (Domingos, Teixeira Vale & Faria 2022, p.1).  

The necessity for slow fashion was recognized as the fashion industry is known to be one of the most polluting industries (Brewer 2019 p.2). The slow fashion movement encourages sustainable and conscious consumption of clothing and changes in the core values of the industry. It also values quality over quantity with conscious consumers focusing on durability, timelessness, and the ethical resourcing (Ethical Labor and production) of the clothing (Domingos, Teixeira Vale & Faria 2022, p.1).  

Fast fashion, low-cost, low-quality clothing collections based on current, high-cost luxury fashion trends by its very nature a fast-response system with mass- production that encourages disposability and overconsumption (Joy, Sherry, Venkatesh, Wang & Chan 2012, p.275) The fast fashion model tends to mass- produce close copies of exclusive designs which have undermined the value of intellectual property belonging to designers while dramatically expanding the carbon footprint (Brewer 2019, p.3) Unethical labor is quite often used in the production process of garments. Major players in the fast fashion market include Shein, Zara, H&M, Forever 21, and Topshop to name a few.

“The fashion industry is a $2.4 trillion-dollar industry that employs 300 million people worldwide. On the other side, it is responsible for 2–8% of the world's greenhouse gas emission, 20% of the world's wastewater, 100 billion dollars lost due to underutilization and lack of recycling, and 9% of annual microplastic losses to the ocean”. (Adamkiewicz, Kochańska, Adamkiewicz, Łukasik 2022)

Synthetic fibers like polyester, rayon, or nylon, in contrast to natural fibers like cotton or wool, take up to 200 years or more to decompose. The clothing industry has posed concerns for environmental sustainability since it consumes an enormous quantity of raw materials, produces an alarming rate of pollution, leaves an extensive carbon footprint, and produces a dangerous amount of waste. (Brewer 2019, p.3).

Greenwashing occurs when fast fashion brands falsely promote their environmental efforts whereas they spend more resources to promote the organization as green than actually engaging in environmentally sustainable and ethical practices (Adamkiewicz, Kochańska, Adamkiewicz, Łukasik 2022 p.19) or they implement the bare minimum of actions but portray to be more environmentally aware and responsible than they actually are.

H&M’s green clothing line, “Conscious Collection” is produced using 50% sustainable materials., ASOS introduced new recycled products in its "Responsible Edit”, and BooHoo introduced Kourtney Kardashian as their “Sustainability Ambassador” and a proclaimed sustainable collection to inspire a sustainable future for fashion, are some brands that received backlash for greenwashing.

Fashion brands need to adopt more sustainable and ethical production practices to meet consumer demand for slow fashion products as presently consumers are more aware of the harm caused to the environment and unethical issues relating to the fashion industry and appeal more towards sustainable and ethical brands. Online communities use social media platforms to advocate for more sustainable practices in the fashion industry which is a driving force for effective change.

References

Domingos, M, Vale, VT & Faria, S 2022, ‘Slow Fashion Consumer Behavior: A Literature Review’, Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 5, p. 2860, viewed <https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2860>.

Brewer, MK 2019, ‘Slow Fashion in a Fast Fashion World: Promoting Sustainability and Responsibility’, Laws, vol. 8, no. 4, p. 24.

Joy, A, Sherry, JF, Venkatesh, A, Wang, J & Chan, R 2012, ‘Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands’, Fashion Theory, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 273–295, viewed <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/175174112X13340749707123>.

Adamkiewicz, J, Kochanska, E, Adamkiewicz, I & Łukasik, RM 2022, ‘Greenwashing and sustainable fashion industry’, Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, vol. 38, no. 100710, p. 100710.

Igini, M 2022, ‘5 Fast-Fashion Brands Called Out for Greenwashing’, Earth.org, viewed <https://earth.org/fast-fashion-brands-greenwashing/>.

Assoune, A 2020, ‘Fast Fashion Brands Accused of Greenwashing’, Panaprium, viewed <https://www.panaprium.com/blogs/i/fast-fashion-brands-accused-of-greenwashing>.

@citizzen_wolf 2022, October 26, viewed 11 April 2023, <https://www.instagram.com/p/CkKvSyyuCc_/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D>.

@consciousstyle 2022, November 10, viewed 11 April 2023, <https://www.instagram.com/p/CkvxPXquyKz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link>.

@consiousstyle 2022, September 03, viewed 10 April 2023, <https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAwPejudTt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link>.

An iteration from Habermas ([1989]1991) on Public Sphere, A place where “private people come together as a public” (Flinchum, Kruse & Norris 2018 p.62). Tumblr is a platform that allows users to freely voice out their opinions and thoughts creatively while finding likeminded content through hashtags and reblogged posts from other users and forming a creative and digital community. Tumblrs’ specialty is that users are allowed to keep their anonymity as they are not tied to their real names. Hence, makes it a comfortable and safe space for people to share what they cannot express on other social media platforms due to the fear of judgement or criticism.

As Cwynar-Horta said, the majority of Western mass media still upholds a narrow standard of female attractiveness that is nearly impossible for women to achieve. (Reif, Miller & Taddicken 2022. P.1) Hashtags make it easy for users to connect with other like-minded people. In contrast to general mainstream hashtags such as #selfie where selfies are often edited and posted on social media to fit into stereotypes of unrealistic expectations of society, the use of specific hashtags such as #bodypositive on tumbler helped to make diverse forms of femininity and body types be it plus size, petite, people of color or Transgender be more visible and a source for empowerment to be themselves (Reif, Miller & Taddicken 2022. P.4) Tumblr is also known as a site of emotional authenticity for people to be open and honest while forming counter public spaces for marginalized and progressive communities to feel a sense of comfort knowing there are others facing the same struggles and that they are not alone. (Reif, Miller & Taddicken 2022. P.6|7)

‘Tumblr is the easiest digital space to practice feminism as a young person’ says Jessalynn Keller in “Oh, she’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms” (Keller 2019. p.7) after a focus group conversation with several young London school girls. She says that young teenagers are more drawn to Tumblr to speak about their experiences with sexism rather than Twitter or Facebook where they have a fear of being attacked or judged unfairly. (Keller 2019. p.7). In conversation with Dara, a 14-year-old girl she says “when I have experienced [sexism], I don’t really feel like putting it on Twitter because I just feel like I’ll be attacked for it. And actually, I want to put it out here so people know this stuff is going on” (Keller 2019. p.7|8). she goes on to say she would share her experience on Tumblr as she feels anonymous and a lot safer (Keller 2019. p.8). On Tumblr, there is a less negative commentary and more helpful conversation that fosters a feeling of community and acceptance.

Concluding, Tumblr as a public Sphere and a Digital community Is an inclusive space for people from marginalized and minority groups to feel a sense of acceptance and safely discuss controversial topics without the fear of misunderstanding from society.

References

Kruse, LM, Norris, DR & Flinchum, JR 2017, ‘Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media’, The Sociological Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 62–84.

Reif, A, Miller, I & Taddicken, M 2022, ‘“Love the Skin You‘re In”: An Analysis of Women’s Self-Presentation and User Reactions to Selfies Using the Tumblr Hashtag #bodypositive’, Mass Communication and Society, pp. 1–24.

How do political parties and politicians connect with their communities (local, state and national) through social media networks?

Politicians and their advisers campaign and frequently communicate with their supporters via a range of social media platforms, including, but not limited to: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Tumblr. Whilst social media is extensive in its reach and a highly effective medium for disseminating information, targeting voters, and thus influencing the publics’ ideas and opinions, comments must also be meticulously managed to avoid mass public scrutiny. As reinforced by journalist John Kerrison (cited in Jericho 2012), “you need to imagine every one of your tweets written on the side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge”, suggesting that if a tweet could be deemed offensive or inappropriate to any member of the public, it’s best to strongly reconsider the post. In 2009 Barak Obama strongly urged school-aged children to take care with what they posted on YouTube and Facebook, as rightly or wrongly, content posted can always be retrieved and to demonise one’s character (Jericho 2012).  

 Which begs the question…

Given the risks, why do politicians and political parties choose to connect with the community through social media networks?

Jericho (2012) argues that there’s still limited evidence as to whether a politician’s social media following correlates with gaining more votes, however, as stated by Prime Minister Malcom Turnball (2012, p.265), Twitter is a very valuable communication tool that instantaneously delivers a message directly to the people. This can be viewed as a positive for civic culture in that the public has a sense of feeling well-informed with the shape of the nation, however a cynic might also suggest that social media is simply just a different stage than the press conference we were historically accustomed to prior to the emergence of social media. Moreover, politician Tony Burke is said to of gained the largest Twitter following in Australian politics, attributed to his witty and inoffensive tweets that were believed to of connected with people on a personal, less political level (Jericho 2012).

Despite the unknown effect on votes, social media continues to prove highly effective in generating discussion on key local and foreign political issues, understanding the concerns of the public, and most importantly for politicians, augments publicity for their party and reputation.

Perhaps some of the most effective uses of social media networking in politics is that of Barak Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008, and most recently, Donald Trump’s sensational presidential campaign in November 2016, both successful in being elected President of the United States of America. Whilst both undoubtedly used different campaign strategies, they similarly demanded a constant social media presence to drive and communicate their message to where they knew the majority of the public would be, on their devices…  

 References

Jericho, G 2012, 'How many votes are there on Twitter?', in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia.

Social gaming: playing the crowd 

Gaming can be a fantastic way to socialise with people. A game such as World of Warcraft is the most popular one. People can get so into the game that they are stuck in that social-sphere.  On the other hand people can become so passionate and have so much of hate on other people on the gaming world that they are harassing people. Someone like Zoe Quinn whom created the game Depression Quest that is played more than a million times has received many threats: “For the past eighteen months, the twenty-seven-year-old Quinn has received a cavalcade of similar threats, which have created an ambient hum of menace in her life, albeit one that she has mostly been able to ignore. But at the end of August she was “doxed,” a slang term for document tracing, which is when a person’s personal details—home address, phone numbers, bank details, and, in some cases, social-security number—are made public on the Internet. Doxing carries with it a tacit invitation to harangue and harass the subject. After the developer was doxed, the prank calls, threatening e-mails, and abusive tweets intensified to such a degree that Quinn, fearing for her safety, chose to leave her home and sleep on friends’ sofas. She is now working with authorities to find the faceless attackers.” (Parkin).  

The term ‘#gamergate’ is used to describe a group of people that gang up on someone and harass them. Suzor and Woodford explain how there isn’t much the government can do to stop these people that harass on people on gaming or even social media. “The legitimate resolution of disputes in online communities is dependent upon the consent of participants. The formal legal mechanism for identifying consent – acceptance of contractual terms – is not well suited to resolving disputes in communities where the contractual terms do not reflect the norms or rules-in-use of the community.’ (2013). This link looks at #gamergate;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYJ0idbQlU

Another barrier of sociality in gaming is not paying for your bill. If you don’t pay for a monthly bill and cannot play, you’re not able to communicate to other gamers and play. This can be very frustrating, as someone experienced: “The 29-year-old from Costa Mesa, California, said: ‘Supposedly, it was set up for auto-pay, just like any other bill in real life, but either that didn't happen or the money wasn't in the wallet, and then everything just escalated out of control from there.”

People that cannot through games may be in their own world, far from reality when doing it. But they should never exploit the social web and go out to destroy someone’s life and hurt them.

References Hathaway, Jay. 'What Is Gamergate, And Why? An Explainer For Non-Geeks'. Gawker. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 May 2015. Mail Online,. 'EVE Online Sees Biggest Ever Battle Involving More Than 4,000 Players'. N.p., 2014. Web. 10 May 2015. Nick Suzor and Darrel Woodford (2013) 'Evaluating consent and legitimacy amongst shifting community norms: An EVE Online case study' Journal of Virtual Worlds Research