#visualcommities

Ass. 1b. Week 9.  Visual Communities and Social Imaging.

Okay, I get it. Visual social media has taken the place of face-to-face relations and communications. Good, bad, who knows? Only time will tell. This past week I have read some stuff on visual media. Funnily enough, the material was not very visual which I found quite amusing. It is like reading a poorly written book on professional communication. Nonetheless, the following is what I have learnt. Pictures and video have always been a part of our lives. I recall a multitude of times when I have had to endure the family album or a video of my grandparents’ holiday. Blah! The boredom. However, times have changed, technology has changed, and people have changed. I enjoy seeing pictures of friends away on holiday. I enjoy the 5-minute video blogs my son posted while travelling around Europe.

 I guess if we cannot be there and share the experience, the next best thing is to watch a video of the experience. It adds to our sense of relationship with that person.  We usually gain a feeling of affinity with someone when we eat, drink and socialize together (Snickars 2009 p.78). Today, videos are an expression of the same sort, attempting to fill the gap (Snickars 2009 p.77). Of course, technology has made that a lot easier with the ability to drop a video link on Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, or a picture on Snapchat and Instagram, and then a hashtag to bring them all together.

There is a range of pros and cons associated with visual social media. In some cases, people can feel a level of anxiety as the imagery that is posted may be used and abused, taken out of context, and shared without consent. If we cast back a few weeks, I blogged about trolling and bullying. It is often in the realm of visual social media that this trolling and bullying takes place. Yes, there are means to protect yourself. However, you need to read a nasty comment before it is a nasty comment, by then the damage is done.

On the upside, you can build a genuine relationship with anyone anywhere, and you can stay close to those that are physically far away. You can also choose whom you wish to befriend. There is no need to befriend those that leave nasty and negative comments. So what if your picture is permanent. So what if your video is embarrassing. It is not like that does not happen in face-to-face communications, is it?

References

Getty Images 2015, Internet Troll Using Computer, [image], viewed 19 January, 2019, <https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/ginger-gorman/virtual-trolls-do-real-damage_b_8186848.html>.

Mak-a-meme.org 2018, That's embarrassing, [image], viewed 20 January, 2019, <https://makeameme.org/meme/well-thats-embarrassing>.

Quick Meme 2019, Joker Kid, [image], viewed 20 January, 2019, <http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3r43h5>.

Snickars, P 2009, The Youtube reader, National Library of Sweden, Stockholm, pp. 70-88.