Uncategorized – Page 2 – Social Media and Digital Cultures

Blogging: The Beginning and the End

So one of my assignments this week, was to attend an Educational Tweetchat. As I reviewed the list of chats, they were almost all geared towards K-12th grade teachers. Being an instructional designer in corporate America for the past 20+ years, I had a difficult time choosing what might be applicable to me and had some doubts about the assignment.

The assignment, briefly, was to participate in a Tweetchat and blog about the experience. So I found a “Weekly Learning and Teaching in Higher Education” chat that said it was geared towards both teachers and students. As a student getting my Masters in adult learning and education, I thought this might be the one for me.

The first thing that struck me was that most of the participants were from the U.K. and a few shared photos of their cats. That in itself felt so cool to me: not only was I connecting with teachers from the UK, but they were sharing their pets. A personal touch is not a bad thing. I soon found that the questions, however, were a bit out of my area of expertise. For example, one question posed was “What advice might you give to someone considering presenting or publishing pedagogic research?” To be perfectly frank, I had to look up pedagogy. (This is only my second semester, after all.)

After the 3^rd question, I realized I was not going to add to this conversation, but instead listen quietly and try to learn as much as I could. As the other participants spoke about the importance of sharing your findings through publishing and presenting, I realized that this is the whole point of Tweetchat: learning from each other and sharing what you know so that you don’t have to duplicate efforts.

Collaboration became a huge theme of the chat. Even though at first this chat seemed a bit beyond my understanding and experience, I learned a few important points. First, collaboration is a necessity, as I saw just from the Tweetchat alone. It still is an amazing concept to me, having previously not known these scheduled chats even existed. Now I realize that I can search for chats that are more specific to instructional design and my professional endeavors in order to enhance my skills and broaden my knowledge, and I plan to do so.

Another theme that also arose over and over again was blogging. If publishing is too difficult, too expensive, too time-consuming, just blog! So here I am, doing exactly what was suggested. I had no idea when I began this assignment that the assignment itself would give credence to me blogging about it.

Use of Social Media in Social Change

What do you think of when you see this picture?

Bill Hudson’s searing images of the civil rights era documented police brutality and galvanized the public.
Credit Bill Hudson/Associated Press

This photo is one of a select few that have been credited with the growth of support of the Civil Rights movement. This photo had to be taken by a photographer, then picked up by a newspaper, then it had to be picked up by the national news, to be seen by many to spark outrage. That is a lot of layers of people deciding whether or not to run this picture. There is a good chance that no one ever sees this picture and that the Civil Rights movement struggles to gain traction.

Thankfully that was not the case; however, how many other social movements lost support, or shriveled and died because one picture, or one story was not shared by the traditional media? Social media has changed that.

In their paper, “Why Civil Resistents Works” Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan estimate that a social movement needs the support of about 3.5% of the total population in order to be effective. Examples of this can be found in the People Power Revolution in the Philippines and the Rose Revolution in Georgia. These protests sparked change with little to no help of social media, but they were difficult to organize and it took a long time for the change to happen.

This brings us to Hong Kong. It is a city that I absolutely love. I have been there on a few occasions and hope to live in someday. Here is a picture I took from Victoria Peak.

This city is unique in that it has a system of its own operating in another country. It is “one country, two systems” as both the Chinese and Hong Kong people call it. Hong Kong does not operate behind the Great Firewall of China. One can go onto social media when in Hong Kong, but cannot access the same websites while in mainland China. There was a bill recently introduced that allowed for people in Hong Kong to be taken and prosecuted in mainland China without due process. The idea of due process is a right that Hong Kong citizens enjoy that their fellow countrymen on the mainland do not. This sparked massive protest.

These protests have gain momentum because of social media.

Pitcures like these have shown up on social media, helping to gain, not only more support within Hong Kong, but all over the world.

Activists in Hong Kong protest against an extradition bill on June 16.
*Studio Incendo*

Even Twitter and Facebook have entered the fray, accusing China of spreading false information about the protest on their platforms.

There certainly is a dark side of social media; however, there are good uses for it. One of which is to get to that 3.5% support for social change. No longer do stories and pictures have to pass through multiple layers to be seen, but instead, anyone with a phone can become an agent for social change. The use of social media may become what traditional media was once known as, and that is the 4th branch of government. A way for people to hold those in power accountable.

Think Before you Speak

I have taken a lot of time this week trying to figure out just what to write. I agree with all of the reponses people listed in Dr. Dunlap’s blog, Five Problems with Social Media. I also think I have come across all these problems with either myself or people I am close to. One of my best friends is completely addicted to social media. But I also have another who is completely addicted to Netflix.

What I think Paul Miller found during his year of the internet, is that the internet is not to be blamed for everything. I think that is also true for social media. When the age of the internet started in the 90’s, it’s true that everything started changing and changing at an exponential rate. Growing up with no internet, then easy access to the internet at home and then having basically 24/7 access with the advent of the smartphone has changed people’s lives. But when I think back, we all had things we were addicted to before the internet and social media came. The addictions have changed, it may have even made us a more addictive society, but the basic habits are nothing new.

The one thing I think social media has contributed more to anything else is the level of bullying that occurs. Bullying has a perception of being a school age thing with words and fistfights. But adults bully more often and harsher than any teenager I have seen, especially online through cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is using texts, photos, videos or any other electronic communication to make someone feel angry, sad, embarrassed,etc.

Many people don’t realize they are initiating or participating in cyberbullying when it happens because they don’t see the victim and their virtual friends validate their thoughts, comments and viewpoints. People at a base level are reactionary, but online, this has become even more so. Since you are just putting words out there, they don’t take a beat and think before talking. Instead, whatever is in their head, comes out and it is too easy to hit post. There is also no one talking back saying “wait, let’s look at this another way.”

Cyberbullying reminds me of rioting. You may be at a peaceful march, but then people start shouting, others jump in, and now you have a riot. I like how Molly Edmunds explained this in her article, “How Riots Work.” She explains “They lose their individual values and principles and adopt the group’s principles, which, during a riot, are usually to cause destruction and avoid detection… Being in the midst of a mob can be exciting and powerful, and it can make people feel invisible — they are part of a huge group, and they won’t be detected or held responsible for their actions.”

Riot mentality has been around forever. It’s just much fast with the internet. I think a lot of the problems in social media are around this idea of instant, fast communication. Online communities can be just as valuable as in person communities, they just do not contain the filters you have in a group of people. I think we need to start putting our own filters on ourselves and realize virtual consequences are just as real as in person consequences.

Problems with Social Media

These statements are true to some extent. However, I also think that these issues have been going on for much longer than the internet and that our online life just exacerbates our natural tendency to “fit-in” or compare ourselves to others. Before Instagram models, there were fashion magazines. Way before the phone, people avoided social interaction with the newspaper.

Miller brings up a good point when he says that we are in control of our lives and we can decide how we want to use our tools. He mentions how his parents use the internet in a much more efficient and productive way, participating but not letting it consume their days. Yes, there is an addictive quality to the internet. It provides constant stimulus and relief from boredom. However, if you are unable to balance your consumption, your social-emotional health begins to decline. Miller mentions several times that he had way better conversations with people when he was off the internet. He was able to focus fully on them and not have the internet in the back of his mind. He also says that he missed out on a lot of social occasions with friends and family. Balance.

Balance is the lesson I have learned about social media use. Share those special moments with the world, but don’t miss out on them by being glued to your rectangle. Use apps such as “Time Out” that warn you when you have reached your daily limit of internet surfing. Avoid following people that are putting forth an unrealistic profile of their lives. Follow people who have an inspirational message and are genuine. It is our tool and we can choose how to control it.

FOMO

Fear of missing out. Social media didn’t create this issue, classmates have been left off of birthday party invitation lists for years. Social media highlights the issue with posts and pictures showing the cake, the ponies, and the guests at the birthday party. People only post the highlight reel, no one posts their child dropped out of college or someone got suspended, again. Social media users need to realize they aren’t seeing the entire picture, as Abe Lincoln once said….

I think Paul Miller may disagree with the responses from the 30 – Day Writing Challenge on Facebook (see below). When he unplugged from the internet for a year, he was isolated, missed parties, lost human interaction. He learned to use it in moderation, take the good with the bad.

Response A:

Social Media is a scary thing. We’ve allowed out innermost thoughts and feelings to bleed out like we all have Turrets syndrome. The universality of it is wonderful, but also causes more stressed from around the world. It destroys relationships, and creates triggers. Worst of all, we’re all addicted to it.

Response B:

–It has pulled our focus away from daily living, from enjoying the small details of life when your quiet with your thoughts and being mindful.

–It wastes precious time and energy.

–It has artificially made what other people think and vague social acceptance too important.

–It causes grief and anxiety then we compare the lives of our social acquaintances to our own life.

–It does not begin to represent the whole picture of a persons life. It only represents a small controlled, socially acceptable glimpse.

Unplugging from the internet for a year wouldn’t be realistic for the majority of adults. Punishing a teenager by taking their phone is akin to solitary confinement. Social networking shouldn’t replace human interactions, it should complement them. Use it wisely, make plans, keep in touch with friends and family, BUT put it away the you are with friends and family. Be present. Listen to friends when they say you are on a lot, track your screen time and put it away when you reach your maximum. Social media can help you be more social but unfortunately it can also be an unsocial media.

Mom! Get out of my (publicly accessible digital) room, and close the door!

When we were kids, my mother gave my sister a diary, so that she could write down her private thoughts. It had a miniature lock and key, so she would know she was the only person with access to it.

I caught my mother reading that diary. More than once. As young as I was, I didn’t know what to do about it. Should I have told my sister? I’d be snitching on my mother. But I did not like the fact that she was violating an explicit privacy policy. It also sent me wondering if and how she might be spying on me.

Was my mother being ethical? She was likely looking for signs her daughter might be struggling in ways she didn’t want to share. Her gift of a “private” diary was definitely deceptive. What about me? Should I have told my sister what I saw? What unspoken compacts would I violate if I kept quiet?

What is the relationship between young people, the online social platforms they use daily, and their parents? Is it okay for parents to snoop on them? It’s not like they need to pick a lock to see what their kids are posting on Instagram or Facebook. Nevertheless young people expect parents to observe boundaries, to refrain from watching their every online move. This ethic, which they believe adults should understand, can easily transfer to the social media companies. Teens are by and large either under-informed or unworried about how their online footprint can haunt them and be used against them.

In 2015, the Thrive Foundation for Youth published an exhaustive report on media use by teens and ‘tweens.’ The report paints a ‘whack-a-mole’ landscape in which parents are only privy to a fraction of the depth and breadth of their kids’ activities. Kids are adept at concealing the full picture of their online presence, while also ironically wishing their parents understood their digital social lives better.

Both groups have plenty to learn. Parents are generally only partially aware of how kids socialize online, and with whom. Furthermore, at a meeting to which adults were not invited, kids have drafted a set if rules they expect mom and dad to understand and follow when it comes to reviewing their online posts.

The trust kids place in their adult guardians to know where the line is drawn is quaint. If they place a similar level of faith in the best intentions of the giant online companies whose terms of service they have signed, they risk a persistent, easily discoverable, indelible digital legacy.

When I taught high-schoolers, I asked them to look into the future, at their 30-year-old selves. I asked if they thought that person was happy with all the choices they were making today. As often as not, they looked at me with an expression that said, “I fail to see the relevance of the question.”

Scary social media

A quick search of Google Scholar of “Social Media Effects of Youth” will turn up a number of academic studies ranging from the effects of binge drinking of teenagers because of social media, to possible effects on how the mind processes information, to the social structure of the family, changing, all because of social media. All of these concerns have valid points; however, it is important to remember that every type of new technology has met some type of resistance.

The printing press, for example, came with its fair share of critics. Abbot Johannes Trithemius stated:

[The writer,] while he is writing on good subjects, is by the very act of writing introduced in a certain measure into the knowledge of the mysteries and greatly illuminated in his innermost soul; for those things which we write we more firmly impress upon the mind…While he is ruminating on the Scriptures he is frequently inflamed by them (Brann).

In other words, the printing press would take the writer, usually a monk, further from God. While one could argue that handwriting a book would put you more in touch with the author, the speed, by which new ideas could flow because of the printing press outweighed the need that every book be hand-copied.

Early Press, etching from Early Typography by William Skeen

The telephone, electricity, and even vaccinations have all come with critics voicing concerns. Some of those concerns have been valid, much like some of the criticism for social media.

Some of those concerns can be found in this article about students coming into the classroom already either having watched a video that only gives a one-sided surface level video about the topic being taught, or even to harass teachers because of something they said that was recorded.

Social media, much like these other leaps of technology, have their uses for the good of society as a whole. Because these are tools being used by humans, another, more sinister reason for use can be had as well. Think about the things that have been printed that have led to the loss of life, the number of people who are contacted by phone and scammed out of money, or the harm that social media can do to students/teachers in a classroom.

It is incumbent on all of us to call out the behavior we do not approve of and that can cause harm. This tool can be used for such good and can connect people and groups that no other technology has been able to before. My hope is that we can come together as a community and ignore divisive forces.

Brann, N. L. (1981). The abbot Trithemius: (1462-1516): the renaissance of monastic humanism. Leiden: Brill.

Skeen, William (1872). Early Typography. Ceylon: Government Printer, Colombo. p. 122.

Spiders, the web, and me

Flowering plant with a spiderweb attached.

I am pretty phobic about spiders, so when I saw one hanging out (literally) in the shower tonight as I started to step in, it occurred to me that my uphill battle against spiders in the house has some parallels to my efforts to maintain decent barriers within my internet and social media usage. (I would say I’m slightly less paranoid about the internet tracking) First, autumn seems to be on its way, and the spiders are either moving in to the house, or just being more visible. We’ve dealt with a minimum of a dozen spiders in the last week. I think spiders are marvelous outside the house, which I consider to be their proper setting. I enjoy watching them scramble around in our garden space, eating pests and keeping their numbers in check. They have amazing physical characteristics and an ability to go almost anywhere. Various internet providers, online services, and social networks can also be extremely useful and have a similar, more metaphorical ability to be everywhere. I recognize that my house will never be spider-free, and my network interactions will never be surveillance-free. On the other hand, I’m willing to go to some effort to minimize both spiders and data surrender. We try to minimize obvious cracks and food sources for arachnids in the house, and online, I pay attention to what information I’m willing to share and how I access various sites.

As I read through the various resources about what gets shared, stored, and tracked, I was edified to see that there wasn’t a ton of information that was entirely new to me. I use minimal profiles and background on my social media that I use for truly social purposes, like Facebook. For my more professional usage, I focus on more narrow, work-oriented background and contacts. I use multiple email addresses, including an essentially throw-away option for signing up for online services and the occasional online purchase, which I also try to minimize. I started using DuckDuckGo as my search engine a few years ago, and prefer the interface and results lists to Google. I clear history and cookies with some regularity, and the fact that my job as a librarian has me using multiple different computers in the course of a day or week, and searching for a wide variety of topics and products well outside my actual interests feels like a bit of extra camouflage as well.

There are certainly levels of privacy protection that I’m not ready to tackle yet and don’t really feel a need to utilize. I’ve been tempted to play with Tor browsing on occasion, but I am not really interested in the attention that can also arise from that usage or that of some of the more anonymous email providers. I’m also not ready to go to a progression of burner phones or drop boxes that start to feel more like I’m playing a role in a spy thriller than managing communication. Since so many industries and jobs expect some form of an internet presence, I’d rather manage and curate one that sends a message I want rather than be completely invisible to potential colleagues and employers.

Private Eyes, They’re Watching You…

Privacy by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

Privacy in the digital realm is of major concern. Which is no wonder as the number of data breaches of big companies continues to grow.

There is another concern, however, and that is the question of how companies and governments will use this information to influence society.

On need only look at China’s “Social Credit System” to bring up ideas of Orwell’s 1984 and Big Brother watching you.

This social system has been in development for a while. The system has roots in Mao’s rule, but in its current state, was created in 2001 (Hoffman). Sold as a way to build up a system for distributing credit, and illustrating trust, this program has a number of much more sinister applications. One can listen to what happens when a Chinese citizen gets a low social credit score, as this episode of NPR’s “Planet Money” covers.

In addition, there is a not so far fetched episode of Netflix’s “Black Mirror” that shows what could happen when someone’s social score drops so low that services are denied. Do people think that this episode mimics China’s Social Credit System? This video explains just that.

In this article from the Washington Post, there is an exploration of what the Chinese people think about this credit scoring system. Could this happen in the United States? This article in Fast Company suggests that it has already happened.

Is it as bad as most people from the West seem to think? According to this article in the MIT Technology Review, the answer may not be as straight forward as we think. In addition, the fact is that Chinese tradition is that of finding ways to incentive moral behavior.

Is this program a simple nudge to get people to behave in a way that is better for the greater good? Does this program make free-thinking citizens into robots who simply follow rules and do not question authority? What happens to those who are marginalized by this system? These questions might be answered with more study of this program.

Regardless of what one might think, as many of these videos and articles suggested, it is impossible not to have your data out there for companies or governments to use. In the end, every time we click “Accept terms” for forfeit a little privacy to get what we want or need from those companies.

Clement, J. (2019, July 9). Global identity theft data breaches 2018. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/215794/identity-theft-data-breaches-worldwide/
Elgan, M. (2019, August 26). Uh-oh: Silicon Valley is building a Chinese-style social credit system. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/90394048/uh-oh-silicon-valley-is-building-a-chinese-style-social-credit-system
Kostka, G. (2019, March 21). What do people in China think about ‘social credit’ monitoring? Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/21/what-do-people-china-think-about-social-credit-monitoring/
Hao, K. (2019, April 23). Is China’s social credit system as Orwellian as it sounds? Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/f/613027/chinas-social-credit-system-isnt-as-orwellian-as-it-sounds/
Hoffman, Samantha (12 December 2017). “Programming China: The Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security” (PDF). MERICS CHINA MONITOR. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
Netflix. (2016, October 21). Nosedive. Black Mirror. New York, New York.
NPR. (2018, October 26). Blacklisted In China. Planet Money. New York, New York.
YouTube. (2018, April 4). Is China Becoming A Black Mirror Episode (Social Credit). Asian Boss.

Safety, Privacy, Security Thoughts

As you think about your own use of social networking and media tools and platforms, what are your thoughts about the issues of safety, security, and privacy?

In 2001, the Patriot Act was born out of the events of September 11th. The government openly said to the public that they were monitoring computers and telephones to find terrorist activity.

I remember the debate well between people back almost two decades ago. One side would say “We have a right to freedom! I don’t want some stranger peaking into my private life.” The opposing view would counter with “It’s for our own protection. They could be stopping thousands of terrorists attacks before they ever occur.”

Memes about government surveillance are still incredibly popular online today.

It’s funny that 18 years later, we are still discussing this issue. Only this time, it revolves around the social media platforms we use everyday.

In my opinion, as soon as you log onto the internet you are forfeiting your right to privacy. Your favorite search engine is building a profile on your search habits. Your go-to shopping website is keeping track of your purchases, updating what they advertise to you, and selling your information to other websites. Even insurance providers purchase your online data from companies to confirm or deny claims.

I have always grown up with some form of the internet for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t great when I was a kid, not like it is now. Ask Jeeves was still the premier search engine for school projects.

I’d imagine that my views on privacy are quite different than those who didn’t have internet growing up. In my mind, if I have to get an x-ray and take off my shoes at the airport, why should my online experience be any different? How about those pages of user agreements no one ever reads? Or the permissions granted to applications you use on Facebook? Privacy is not obtainable if you want to be “plugged-in” to society. That’s the world I was raised in.

What are your concerns?

My concern is not exactly about privacy. It’s more about how our online data is used to manipulate us. Facebook used targeted ads during the last presidential election to spread hate-filled messages and misinformation. Social media determines your political views and makes sure that what you are presented matches what you believe. Social media tricks kids into spending their parent’s money on micro-transactions.

At some point, the data being collected stops helping us. It started innocently enough. Targeted shopping advertisements, helpful automated search queries, and news articles that you might find interesting.

However, when social media begins to impact society as a whole in negative ways, that’s when I start getting concerned. Social media often seems to bring out the worst in people. There is no filter online. The ignorance and hate flows through message boards and comments. People spout hate speech, festering like a sore. Pretty soon, it spurs others to act out against other groups.

Churches get shot up. Gay night clubs get shot up. Schools get shot up.

I firmly believe that social media is one of the top catalysts for domestic terrorism. Security is not what these platforms aim for. Sensationalism makes money. Safety does not.

What are your ideas for addressing them in ways that still allow you to take advantage of the value of social networking and media?

Personally, I am very weary of which platforms to utilize. I do not subscribe to a lot of sites. I am not a part of Twitter. I post occasionally on Facebook to advertise my shows, but I never engage in the community. During vacations, I post pictures to Instagram to store my photos and to let people know where I am and that I am safe.

That’s it.

My solution to my concerns has been to minimize my time in these social media communities. I use them when I need something specifically. I don’t use them to kill time or to follow strangers. I never use social media for news anymore. To get my news, I listen to NPR and go on to the BBC website for articles.

Often, I will use a VPN and clear my cookies to help keep my data collection to a minimum. If you haven’t tried this, I’d recommend it. You’ll notice a difference in your online experience. Ads will be different. News headlines will be more varied on Facebook. Most importantly, your data will be encrypted and protected from hackers.