sociology globalisation
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- Miller-uncovers the way in which people use digital communications to:1.create new groups and communities e.g. GirlsAskGuys where people ask for advice on opposite sex - 1m members2.to maintain family relationships over long distances e.g. through Facebook or Twitter3.to grow business links e.g. ASOS #AsSeenOnMe campaign has increased sales through instagram, facebook etc4.help women create indipendant lives away from the control of the patriarchy e.g. in her shoes facebook group allows women to talk about abortion ban effect son them in Ireland
- Boellstorff-ethnographic research over two years in a virtual world called second life-virtual worlds can be a liberating place for interaction and complex relationships-second life followed the liberal capitalist model by providing people with opportunities to buy, sell work + commit crime-there were prostitututes, nigh clubs, art, venues, shops-people in complex relationships and falling in love
- YouthNet-positive on online identity and relationships- young people who have grown up using social media are 'digital natives'-they feel comfortable and natural in the virtual world-YouthNet suggests that the internet allows young people to be creative and empowers them-45% of their sample said that they felt happiest when online-75% said they couldn't live without the internet
- Zhao-whether your relationships are enhanced or damaged by the online world depends on how you use it-e.g. those who used interactive connective applications strengthened their relationships-whilst others who spent most of their time surfing the net had negative correlations
- Turkle-worried no one connects to each other properly anymore-ftf communication has diminished-attention spans have reduced-people skills are lost- calls this 'alone together' - believes that the reality of human contact is richer than any online communication could be-concerned our societies are vulnerable bc of this-we expect more from tech and less from each other, so psychologically we shut off from each other-also critical of it's impact on family - parents need to text their children in order to get a hold of them ('post familial' family)
- Smith et al-found that 20% of their sample had experienced bullying in the last 2 months-bullying through texts, emails , phone calls and chat room aggression-few of the children told anyone, in most cases it stopped after a few weeks-children are vulnerable online and relationships with peers may be affected by bullying and competition
- Cross-one of the main relationship problems created by digital media is that people can now narrow their media intake by choosing only certain news-means we see a less diverse view of the world and become entrenched in existing beliefs-lead to formation of 'tribes' who know less and less about others views-the filter bubble describes the tendency of social networks like Facebook + Twitter to lock us into personalised feedback loops-'echo chamber effect' keep clicking confirms algorithm
- Castelles-believes that digital media has been radical in a way which new communication networks have grown up-which cut across hierarchies and become a form of 'mass communication'-sees trad limits of time/locality being challenged-positive about use of digital media-uses Arab uprisings to show how people used cyber activism to challenge authoritarian government-proletariat can use youtube etc to control message
- examples of online social activism-#BLM - US based campaign against police brutality towards African Americans-#RefugeesWelcome - worldwide movement following refugee crisis as a result of wars occurring in the middle east-#WomensMarch, #WhyIMarch - worldwide protest which took place in response to Trump being inaugurated and his anti-women sentiment-#MeToo - movement started by Tarana Burke to raise awareness of sexual assault/harassment of women
- Kirkpatrick-agrees with castells that digital media has been empowring for ordinary citizens-the power balance has shifted so that customers, individuals and employees now all have the power to communicate their opinions to the public, govt, companies etc-politicians are forced to respond or have their power diminished-TripAdvisor allows customers to rate places so they are influential on a business-believes digital networks empower regular people, thus reducing inequality between big corporations and individuals
- Haraway-suggests that digital media may be empowering for women if they embrace the opportunities available-groups who have been historically muted online can now forge powerful groups online-e.g. Mumsnet where at home mums can promote social change-it ran a campaign against porn magazines + for street retailers to stop selling 'ladmags
- Giddens-sees the networked digital world as a possible cause for social change-as he suggests de-traditionalisation may occur when people beign to share ideas across the globe-e.g. child marriage may reduce as people engage with more contemporary ideas about the role of women
- Kleeman-only 13% of wikipedia contributors are men-this gives men more power-what is seen on wikipedia has male bias-the list of female porn stars has over 1000 editors who have edited it more than 2500 times-vs female poets list which has been edited less than 100 times if there is not a decent biography of a woman on wiki, people will assume she is not notable-women's status as a wife, mother etc put before her notable achievements-when it comes to articles on abortion/rape thats when it really matters
- Walter-notes that the online world reinforces hypersexualisation-e.g. on Instagram women learn that the less clothes they post wearing for more 'likes' they will get
- Sarkeesian-critical of misogyny in the gaming world-women are hyper-sexualised in the gaming world-argues that gaming is male dominated and it sexualises, objectifies and trivialises women
- Cambridge Analytica Scandal-Cambridge Analytica - British political consulting firm specializing in data mining and data analysis-Harvested private information from more than 50 million Facebook users to target ads for the 2016 U.S. presidential election-Paid political ads called "psychoanalytics"-raised questions about Brexit
- Frankfurt School-argues that the digital media is a conservative force used by the bourgeoisie to maintain the unequal capitalist system-used in the following ways:1.to distract us away from the real problems of capitalism and break down community bonds-e.g. people are less likely to become poltically active and 'class conscious' if they are spending hours on facebook2.to control our understanding of reality and induce appropriate values amongst the public-e.g.Rpert Murdoch empire3.to harvest data which can be sold, or used to control people-e.g. Cambridge analytica scandal4.to make profit-e.g. googles' tax avoidance
- Zimmerman-found that men (mostly white) had formed online groups focussed on the incel movement-(involuntary celibate)-these men shared retrogressive views about their right to dominate women, have sex with women and dominate society-focused on the desire to push back the feminist movement-critical of platforms like facebook for failing to control misogynistic comments that were posted
- Criado-perez-ran a campaign for women to be depicted on British bank notes-her campaign became famous not because of support she received but for vicious trolling including death and rape threats-trolls were quoted saying "she was asking for it"
- DiReesta-studies conspiracy theories on the internet-argues that the algorithms social media platforms can distort the truth-because people write passionately to reinforce the obvious-those with extreme views produce copious amounts of material which is then shared-reinforcing other conspiracy theories-"the internet doesnt just reflect society anymore; it shapes it"-suggests this is why Trump was elected in 2016