Online Media Platforms and Social Networking allow for Deceptive Communication to Occur Online with Ease

 

Online Media Platforms and Social Networking allow for

Deceptive Communication to Occur Online with Ease

Abstract

This paper explores the connection between social networking platforms and the arise of deceptive communication in cyberspace as social media and technology become more interweaved into everyday routines.  The purpose of this paper is to assess how online platforms are changing the role and meaning of identity when evaluating online forums and whether social networking has encouraged deceptive communications upon individuals as new technologies have allowed for misleading and disingenuous interactions with ease. Through analyzing examples and various author studies, further clarity on this topic should be provided to understand if social platforms do indeed influence traditional communications and interactions and if in turn, have affected how identity and communities should be comprehended online.

 

Keywords: social networks, identity, online identity, community, social media, deceptive interactions, catfishing.

 

 

Online Media Platforms and Social Networking allow for

Deceptive Communication to Occur Online with Ease

 

Technology has had a profound effect on the way it has encouraged individuals to come together and communicate (Smith and Kollock, 1999). Online media platforms allow for interactions to differ from traditional face-to-face encounters, which can allow for deceptive communication to occur online, which can result in the presence of a misconstrued and phony identities being commonplace online. This has given way to the arise of catfishing and dishonest interactions in social networking platforms and within dating communities. These social networks have stripped away many of the core signals and concepts that make up the qualities of a conventional face-to-face encounter and therefore has made it easier for phonies to appear on social networks as someone they are not.  (Smith and Kollock, 1999) On these said online networks, communication is fast, inexpensive and reaches people at a world-wide level with platforms that allow for collaboration and interaction that has not yet been seen before this recent decade. (Smith and Kollock, 1999) This raises questions such as “How is the internet changing our basic concepts of identity, self-governance, and community?” (Smith and Kollock, 1999, p. 1). The powerful rise of social networking in accordance with the intensive reliance on technology this modern age has allowed, has encouraged individuals to take part in deceptive activities online, such as the introduction of ‘Catfishing’ on online platforms.

How the Rise of the Net has altered the meaning of Identity Online

The role of identity when evaluating social networks (and the communities that are created within these networks) is significant. When interacting within these social networks and communities, being aware of the persons who you are communicating and interacting with is vital. When communicating in the physical realm, individuals can be certain of whom they are connecting with, due to all the bodily cues that come with physical interaction. When evaluating virtual communication, it’s a very different premise (Donath, 1999). The online world allows people into a space which is abundant with interactive social platforms in which individuals are able to engage and meet with each other. “Instead of people talking to machines, networks are being used to connect people to people…These shifts make the creation of thousands of spaces to house conversations and exchanges between far-flung groups of people practical and convenient. Using network interaction media like email, chat and conferencing systems people have formed thousands of groups to discuss a range of topics, play games, entertain one another and even work on a range of complex collective projects” (Smith and Kollock, 1999, p.3) This has given rise to a completely new definition of identity when evaluating users of the internet, with parallel and multiple identities existing through innumerable platforms through virtual screens at a global scale (Turkle, 1997).

As Pearson (2009 n.p) outlines “Identity- as- performance is seen as part of the flow of social interaction as individuals construct identity performances fitting their milieu. With a heightened self–consciousness, online environments take this construction of performance to another level.” The internet’s technological advancement that has made way for an abundance of social networks, has indeed contributed to the sense of identity for individuals online. The introduction of these social networks is substantial, as the usage of these networks has webbed its way into countless individual’s everyday lives. Considering the limitless social network communities available to people, individuals can now express their identities through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Through Blogs, Wikis or YouTube or even through dating communities like Tinder, eHarmony, and Bumble. There are endless opportunities for consumers of the net to latch their identities onto and “Real life can be just ‘one more window’” (Turkle, 1997, p. 74) These social spaces and platforms in which people are now engaging in and expressing these identities has given rise to the question, are the people we meet and interact with online, in this window, to be trusted?

The Net is Allowing for Deceptive Communication Online with Ease

The rise of the internet has also given rise to questions about the genuineness of the individuals we interact with online, as self-presentation of individuals is an aspect that can be controlled easily raising thought about the authenticity of others online.  “We begin with a consideration of identity, the basic building block of social interaction. All of our interactions, even those with strangers, are shaped by our sense of with whom we are interacting. In face-to-face and telephone interactions, there are a wealth of cues of varying reliability to indicate our identity and our intentions. Our clothes, voices, bodies, and gestures signal messages about status, power and group membership. We rely on our ability to recognize fellow group members in order to know who we can turn to and what we can expect.” (Smith and Kollock, 1991, p.8) With these distinctive physical cues stripped away, it leaves space for the imagination to replace what isn’t there. This means anyone on the internet can be anybody or anything they wish to be. The ease of self-presentation has never been so achievable for individuals and the will to create a persona for yourself is one that many find intriguing. “Critics worry that life on the net can never be a meaningful or complete because it will lead people away from the full range of in-person contact. Or, they worry that people will get so engulfed in the simulacrum virtual reality, they will lose contact with real life” (Wellman & Guilla, 1997). Not only is it of concern that meaning, and loss of contact is possible, But, what does self-presentation mean for individuals online? Are internet users under threat of ingeniousness and unsafe encounters? “O’Brien points out that there is a strain between those who view online interaction as an opportunity to ‘perform’ a variety of perhaps fabricated roles versus those who see cyberspace as a new communication medium between “real people” (Smith and Kollock, 1999, p.12). Moreover, how are we to define and decide who a real person is?

On differing social network platforms, the terms and conditions generally differ regarding whether the users of the site are able to communicate through an alternative identity than the one they were ‘legally assigned’ (Van Der Nagel & Frith, 2015). An example of this; is the controversial “real-name” anti-anonymity movement that Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg is leading. The user policies Facebook outlines specifically state that users are expected to identify as one person. With Zuckerberg stating, “having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity” (Van Der Nagel & Frith, 2015, n.p). However, this has caused some uproar from the drag queen community after Facebook commenced a mass deletion of personal pages from those who prefer to use stage names rather than legitimate names (Buhr, 2014).

Participants of the drag community believe they identify with their stage identities more so than their lawful one and are protesting for the right to express this online. (Buhr, 2014) An extract from their appeal is as follows; “We cannot emphasize enough that Facebook is a poor arbiter of what is or isn’t a real name. Performers with legitimate-appearing names get locked out of their accounts while people with account names like “Jane ICanBeBadAllByMyself Doe” go without scrutiny” (Buhr, 2015, n.p). However, on the flipside of this argument, some argue that the allowance of using multiple identities or illegitimate identities online can be extremely dangerous and can cause major turmoil for some participants of the online world, there have been known “catfishing” incidences that are becoming commonplace amongst Facebook as well as many other social networking sites. “The net is only one of many ways in which the same people may interact. It is not a separate reality. People bring to their online interactions such baggage as their gender, stage in the life-cycle, cultural milieu, socioeconomic status, and off-line connections with others” (Wellman & Guila, 1997, p.3) But what does this signify for our basic concepts of identity, self-presentation and community when people connecting on the social realm have imagined up their own separate reality, and these factors are not true to the person behind the screen.

 Deceiving Communication, Phoney Identities and Catfishing Incidence on Social Media and Dating Platforms

The use of modern technology has become a 21st-century cultural necessity to most individuals, most finding it hard to function without the usage of social media in their daily routines. That being said, there are also certain risks that may accompany the use of particular social networking sites. With online deception and catfishing becoming relatively normal to the online realm, users are at risk of experiencing threatening and misleading encounters online (Blazka, Smith & Smith, 2017). ‘Catfishing’ is a term that encompasses the action of an individual online, enacting on an incident of treachery and deceit by fictionalizing an entire being on the virtual realm (Kotteman, 2015). These predators assume the role of an alternative identity to deliberately trick people into a fictitious romantic or emotive relationship by stealing somebody else’s personal information and pictures or by fabricating a unique identity, and in online forums, this act is becoming progressively more mainstream (Kotteman, 2015). One of the first globally documented cases of Catfishing was recorded by known NFL football player Manti Te’o who was fooled into believing his cyber girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, had passed away from leukaemia, or had even existed (Blazka et al., 2017).

The investigators of the case state; “There was no Lennay Kekua. … She was not diagnosed with cancer, did not spend time in the hospital, did not engage in a lengthy battle with leukaemia. She never had a bone marrow transplant. She did not request he send white flowers to her funeral. Her favourite colour was not white. Her brother, Koa, did not inform Manti Te’o that she was dead. She did not exist. (Kotteman, 2015, p. 2).  She was merely a creation of someone’s imagination to intentionally deceive. After the relationship between Te’o and fictitious Lennay had been so deeply broadcasted by the media, the world was introduced to the phenomenon of Catfishing, and individuals felt disturbed and scared of the online realm they assumed they could trust (Kotteman, 2015). Catfishing is not only common on social networking sites such as Facebook but has also found its way into genuine dating platforms used by innocent customers whom are intentionally searching for a life partner. “With more than one-third of relationships being facilitated through Internet dating and with 45% of online daters citing social networking sites as the primary way in which they connect with potential mates, there are clear psychological and relational implications that make studying online interaction more important than ever” (Kadrich, 2016, p.9).

The conception of online dating has given humankind the chance to witness and observe the shifting traditional standards surrounding relationships online and understand the significant features of online behaviour, such as “impression formation and self-presentation strategies” (Van Der Nagel & Frith, 2015, p. 415). As online dating has considerably transformed from being a “marginal to mainstream social practice” (Van Der Nagel & Frith, 2015, p. 415) over the past decade with 17.5% of internet users claiming they have tried online dating (Kadrich,2016 ), it can be imagined how many individuals now contribute to the online dating world and what that could signify for the genuine partakers who are forced to engage with phonies, and how these misconstrued identities are becoming more common to ensnare a stranger. In some cases, Catfishing is used as a method to scam lonely and vulnerable romantics. Ian Doney was one of many victims of Catfishing, who at 51 years of age, trusted he had finally found love after finding a woman on a single persons website (Computer Act!ve, 2017). He was scammed out of thousands of dollars, sending his ‘love’, money to meet him abroad. She never showed up. He tried again to send her money and meet her, again, to no avail. Doney was eventually scammed into substantial debts and subsequently struggled to afford basic necessities or to even eat. He eventually spiraled into an immense depression and eventually paid the ultimate price by slitting his wrists and ending his life (Computer Act!ve, 2017).

This is just one example of the dire and extensive effects Catfishing and dishonest social networking can have on innocent victims, with researching showing “that roughly 20% of online dating service users use deceptive tactics” (Kadrich, 2016, p. 52) Even if the deception is something as minor as to enhance their appearance online to appear more desirable or lying about education, culture or class (Kadrich, 2016). It is evident that the technologically reliant world in which we live is increasingly becoming more deceptive on these social networking platforms used by individuals everyday, due to the ease and effortlessness it takes for individuals to conjure up a phony identity and ensnare a stranger.

Conclusions

To close, it is undeniably apparent that modern technology has had a powerful impact on the development and progression of social networks and the way in which individuals are now choosing to interact and communicate online with other fellow networkers. As the net provides a space for individuals that is substantially varying to that of a traditional face-to-face encounter due to the lack of bodily cues, it is proving to be a space that can allow for deceptive communication with ease. The existence of fraudulent and phoney identities is becoming more commonplace with cases of catfishing and deception occurring at a high rate on varying social platforms. This is due to the effortlessness it takes for these imitation artists to fictionalise an entire identity on these platforms that run with accessibility and convenience. It is ascertaining to be a space that is potentially threatening concepts of identity and community as we know it and revolutionising how we comprehend these concepts online.

 

References

Blazka, M., Smith, L.E., & Smith, K.D. (2017). Follow Me, What the Harm? Considerations of Catfishing and Utilizing Fake Online Personas on Social Media. Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, 27, 32-90. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/HOL/Page?public=false&handle=hein.journals/jlas27&page=32&collection=journals#

Buhr, S. (2014). Facebook won’t budge on letting drag queens keep their names. TechCrunch  Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/18/facebook-wont-budge-on-letting-drag-queens-keep-their-names/.

Ellison, N., Heino, R., & Gibbs, J. (2006). Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(2), 415-441. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00020.x

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Kottemann, K. L. (2015). The Rhetoric of Deliberate Deception: What Catfishing Can TeachUs. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/docview/1707929589?accountid=10382

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Growing Up In The Social Network

Abstract: This paper explores the role that online communities and the social network play in the development and implementing of identity from adolescents through to young adults. This is done primarily through the analysis of the various features and benefits of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Blogger as well contributing factors to identity development such as community design. Various identity theories are also briefly explored to allow for an understanding of how identity development in the Web 2.0 era is changing for adolescents and young adults and becoming a key determinant in the sustainability of online communities and networks.

 

Keywords: social networks; community; social media; identity; Facebook; Instagram; Blogger; community design; identity theory

 

 

As online communities and networks expand and the number of adolescents accessing the internet continue to increase (Johnson, 2006), the role that Web 2.0 communities play in developing and implementing identity online and offline is becoming commodious. Communication is a key driving source for why and how we utilise social networks. Donath (1996) states that communication is essential for evaluating an interaction and that knowing the identity of whom we are communicating with is also essential; however, she also notes that identity can be ambiguous. In the physical world we can link our identity to our physical bodies, whereas online our identities are linked to the pictures and words we choose to post. For young people, being exposed to a multitude of content on a regular basis, during a time where their identity and self-awareness is developing, can be overwhelming but also formative of their personalities, values, attitudes and beliefs as well as how they interact in communities both online and offline. Throughout this paper I will be arguing that social networks and communities are important platforms for the growth of identity in young people in the developing digital era. I will be doing this by analyzing the features and benefits of different platforms including Instagram, Facebook and Blogger, as well as interpreting the ways in which social networks develop communities and how these communities and networks are relevant to the identities of their users.

Building Communities and Community Identities on Social Networks

 The internet, and now the rise of social networks, allows social humans the ability to learn, connect, educate, share and influence. As Papacharissi (2011) explains, networks exist to spread knowledge and that we live in an information network that continuously expands out to other users. Through these information networks, one can develop their online identity. For children who are only just beginning to form a concept of their own identity, the new multimodal forms of learning (Burke, 2013) which consist of both virtual playgrounds and school playgrounds give children great opportunity in exploration of others and themselves. Chatrooms and online video games are lending the features of avatars and anonymity at a young age and utilizing ‘play’ to create community and engagement (Burke, 2013). Buckingham and Willet (2006) analyse the online community consisting of ‘gURLs,’ which they define to be female tech savvy web users and creators that empower their thoughts and interests through their online platforms and through features of blogging websites such as text and banners; it is considered a space where girls can speak their own language and develop their online presence and identity. There are many different communities out their depending on an individual’s identity or their interests and the various digital platforms, such as online games and blogs give users the ability to express themselves through narrative and images.

Influence, whether it be from mass media created content or convergence culture within social networks, is another defining factor of identity online as much of the content one submerges themselves in is user-generated, or mass media generated, changing the inner values or desires of the user, therefore altering the content they wish to post which then in turn alters their online persona. Online communities thrive based on their community design, something that is prevalent amongst social media platforms, most recognizably on Facebook and Instagram. Design affects how people interact and how they influence one another and even the user’s interests, based on the content that they are exposed to. The design and interaction that user’s come into contact with on these platforms is what ultimately makes them want to continue using them; they may feel a sense of belonging or community or they may feel influenced or motivated by the design of the platforms to continue logging in and creating content and having an online identity. Ren, Kraut and Kielser (2007), explore the difference between identity-based attachment and bond-based attachment, these are essentially the reasons why people continue to be a part of particular communities. If you have an identity-based attachment, you become a part of and stay in the group because you identify with the group as whole; whereas bond-based attachment refers to a singular connection with an individual in the group. These two identity characteristics along with community design are dominant determinants of identity development and community construction.

Despite being one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, Papacharissi (2011) does not see platforms such as Facebook as communities but rather as social venues where communities come to meet. So what makes a community? The ability to socialize, create meaningful connections to others, provide entertainment, and allow for support and empathy to be put out into the online space are all building blocks of a community online. When you log on to Facebook the page reads: “Facebook helps you connect and share with people in your life.” This means hat you can bring your offline ommunity online but Facebook allows for this and so much more; you can now connect with people you do not know, businesses, celebrities, charities and whatever else resonates with you as an individual, which all helps to build your profile even larger.

With youths being such a heavy part of our online communities, it is unsurprising that many of them have taken up another aspect of online community collaboration, or remix culture. There are entire genre communities on platforms such as Blogger and YouTube that allow creative liberty to their users, whether it be in the form of mash-ups or through the creation of memes. These forms of creation constitute significant cultural, social, technological, and learning behaviors (Ahn et al., 2013) and as the digital sphere continues to develop it is not surprising that digital culture, along with its remixing and remediation, is becoming a part of the everyday lives of young users. As teachers urge their students to participate in class, adolescents may be just as motivated to be a part of the participatory culture taking place online. It is strongly argued also that youths cannot possibly gather the knowledge of permissive copying practices when in fact studies have found that children as young as five years old develop concepts like having ideas and voicing negative reactions to copying (Ahn et al. 2013). Essentially, this is evidence of how youths can begin developing their core understandings and values and how they can be integrated into the online social networks that they will both contribute and interact in as they develop.

You can put a definition on to what one believes community means, however the widespread nodes of the internet have allowed communities and henceforth individual users to define themselves as whatever they want to be. There is something for everyone. Young people are increasingly going online, whether to escape reality or to establish their identity in the social network. In 2004 Slater explores the idea of disembodiment from identity, that perhaps users are detaching themselves from their bodies which contains the benefits of textuality and anonymity; you can be whoever you want to be, and nobody has to know that it is you, if you do not want them to.

 

Factors of Online Communities that Influence Online Identity

 Of course our identity is firmly rooted in where we geographically come from and the cultural norms that have intrinsically shaped our values, attitudes and beliefs throughout our lives. In connection to the online sphere and social networks one can see how geographic location can impact the development of building communities online; in China, online social networkers use different platforms as compared to western users, this is primarily a result of the restrictions on internet usage but also, many of the platforms that they use such as Weibo and WeChat are designed to be appreciated by these culturally relevant users as they are utilised not only by Chinese influencers and brands but they are largely utilised across the country. If everyone in you know is Weibo then you too will most likely use Weibo to talk to them. Other cultural factors of online communities can be interests, typically music or photography; religious values and beliefs as well as the user’s propensity for privacy. How much a user wishes to share about themselves or their online identity depends entirely upon the user. Facebook does not require their users to fill out all of their profile characteristics, but rather what you want people to see. This can then be further manipulated based on the user’s security preferences. There are now so many different platforms out there to be explored by youth today based on individual factors, such as age, location and interests. For example, anyone can make a Musically account, where you film yourself parodying songs that you like or are culturally relevant in the moment. These videos can then be shared to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and depending on the audience of your profile, enjoyed. Popularity of specific applications and platforms is generated from use, inviting friends via the platform, and word-of-mouth. Boyd (2007) found that teens admire the ability to visualize how their social world would look through their networked collection of profiles; they can visualize all of their friends online so they would in turn want their friends to visualize them.

Taking a look at Facebook, approximately 940,000 users in Australia are between the ages of thirteen and seventeen and with Instagram approximately 1 in 3 Australian’s are users (Cowling, 2018). These are fast becoming prime platforms for young people to begin building their online identities and join online communities. These platforms have been so successful as a result of their customizability. The notion of building your own profile including a profile picture, facts about yourself and your interests and then hyperlinks to your other profiles and platforms is once again of interest to a wide range of internet users. It is appealing because you can make your profile accurate to your offline profile or you can live your fantasy and take on the identity of whoever you please. Young users are wanting their profiles to reflect their interests and who they are and by giving youth the opportunity to share this journey with their peers it may make it easier for other young people to help form their identities, when they may be struggling with who they want to be and who they want to be seen as online. Teens and young adults often face the question of ‘who am I?’ With a vast array of environments, knowledge networks and social networks, users aren’t limited and they can explore different customs, societies and interests without fear of being reprimanded or put down which they may fear in their offline life.

The way in which communities formed online impact one’s identity, sense of self, or sense of purpose online can be seen as a reflection of how users interact online and how they build their profiles. Social networking sites are, like we explored before, social venues where users can come to gather. A private community may require a user to apply to join; the private group can then assess the user’s profile to see if they would be an appropriate participant for their group. A private community can be created through a private Facebook page or Instagram profile (that uses hashtags and private messaging to communicate and share) or it can be created through blogging platforms such as Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr which can put passwords on their user’s blogs, and can be only be accessed if the site owner gives you their password. Private communities such as these are useful tools for young users and content creators to be a part of the current phenomenon of whatever platform is currently trending yet it also allows for their safety when sharing their profiles online. Private communities are often policed or monitored closely to watch for bullying and negativity and with most users having a shared common interest there may not be any space for poor behaviour. An example of this would stem from community Facebook pages. High schools, universities and suburbs can have their own profiles where offline community participants can congregate online to voice their thoughts or share events. Facebook has the feature of a group mediator whom has the ability to add and remove users from the profiles, as well as delete comments and images if they infringe on the set rules, which the feature of pinned posts/notices is useful. Public communities, whilst harder to monitor, may also allow for more freedom in terms of self-expression and content creation, even if that does include remixing. Both of these communities need participation, content and discussion to maintain their relevancy and the more the platforms allow their users to share about themselves, the bigger they grow.

 

Creative and Emotional Privacy for Young Internet Users

            Being a participant in online communities and of social media has become almost a compulsory act for teens and young people who are wanting to engage within the sphere of their universe, but what is it costing them (Hodkinson, 2015)? Hodkinson (2015) uses the analogy of the bedroom like that of an online space or profile for a young user; it is about ownership of space or having something of one’s own. These users are bearing all to people they do not know in offline in their safe spaces but who is to know if these spaces really are safe. I think that in an atmosphere where an individual can fully be themselves, it is important to them that the interaction that they receive on their pages or content is appeasing to them. Young people could always have more urgency towards their safety as a result of internet predators. We must think of these online spaces as teens think of their bedrooms; as a private space for them to be themselves, artistically or emotionally, and trust that they would not interact with potentially sour trolls online.

There is a sense of territory, particularly on spaces such as Blogger, where almost everything is customizable; ownership and territory are not limited to young users, however it is increasingly important that we come to acknowledge the creative and emotional importance of these spaces, rather than limit what young users can do, explain how they can protect themselves whilst also having their own space online, just as one would do if they were to rent or buy a home offline.

As social networks expand to hold multiple purposes for its users, whether it be for information, communication, content creation, business and economic purposes and even for emotional expression and connection to the world, it is important to recognize that digital media and social media communities are becoming a part of growing up and identity development. Through the establishment of both private and public communities online, on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Blogger; people now have access to a variety of ways in which they can build and expand upon their online profiles. There are new ways for them to explore the type of content that they want to put their name to and a variety of ways for them to remain safe whilst doing it. Overall, identity can be developed and expressed through the features and allowances of digital media platforms and communities can be built online based off these identities. Online communities are there to help engage users, create discussion and develop bonds and social network identities are explorative of how we as users wish for others to understand our online presence; they can help to create friendships, reinforce or explore cultural values and societal norms and can influence our overall interests therefore shaping our identities and the communities that we are a part of.

 

 

References:

 

Ahn, J. , Subramaniam, M. , Fleischmann, K.R., Waugh, A. , Walsh, G. and Durin, A. (2012). Youth identities as remixers in an online community of storytellers: Attitudes, strategies           and values. Proc. Am. Soc. Infor. Sci. Tech., 49:1-10. doi:10.1002/meet.14504901089

 

Boyd, D. (2007). Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in    Teenage Social Life. In D. Buckingham (Ed.), MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital    Learning Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume. Cambridge, MA.: MIT PRESS.

http://www.danah.org/papers/WhyYouthHeart.pdf

 

Buckingham, D & Willett, R. (2006). Digital Generations: Children, Young People, and New     Media. Retrieved from http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?pid=CUR_ALMA2186270010001951

 

Burke, A. (2013). Children’s Construction of Identity in Virtual Play Worlds: A Classroom          Perspective. Language and Literacy; Toronto. Volume 15 (issue 1). 58-73.

https://search-proquest-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/docview/1428558472?accountid+10382

 

Cowling, David. (2018). Social Media Statistics Australia – January 2018. Retrieved from
https://www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-january-2018/

 

Donath, J. (1996). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. Communities in Cyberspace.        Kollock, P. and Smith M. (eds). London: Routledge. Retrieved from:                                     smg.media.mit.edu/People/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

 

Johnson, G. (2006). Internet Use and Cognitive Development: A Theoretical Framework. E-    Learning and Digital Media, volume 3 (Issue 4). 565-573.                                                             https://doi.org/10.304/elea.2006.3.4.565

 

Papacharissi, Z. (2011). A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Networked       Sites.

 

Ren, Y. , Kraut, R. , Kielser, S. (2007). Applying Common Identity and Bond Theory to Design of        Online Communities. Organization Studies. Vol 28 (issue 3). 377-408.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840607076007

 

Slater, D.  (2002). Social relationships and identity online and offline. Retrieved from                           https://dourish.com/classes/readings/Slater-SocialRelationshipsIdentity.pdf

SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL PROTEST: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS DUE TO WEB 2.0

Abstract

A cultural transformation of society over the years besides a modern convergence of media platforms has increased the network in many communities, mainly in the political environment. According to the principles of convergence culture of Jenkins (2006), which means a new way of collaboration between users and media, this paper examines how the use of these media platforms, mainly social media, can be effective in political causes, which views are supported by political movements such as Arab Spring happened in the Middle East and North Africa, Movement 15-M in Spain and Occupy Wall Street in New York, pointed by Gerbaudo (2012) and Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015). These protests demonstrated that Web 2.0 allows transformation of individual thoughts into collective ideas, passive participation in active collaboration of users. 

Introduction

Over the last years, the society has been passing for a cultural transformation besides an evolution of technology and a changed of communication through multiple platforms of media, which is understood as culture convergence (Jenkins, 2006). The interaction between users and media, traditional and digital, but mainly social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube due to Web 2.0, besides the development of smartphones, tablets, and notebooks, has resulted in a new way of participation, production e and consumption of information, which means active collaboration and rise of networking in many niches, as political communities. Through political movements such as Arab Spring occurred in the Middle East and North Africa, Movement 15-M in Spain and Occupy Wall Street in New York, pointed by Gerbaudo (2012) and Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015), the influence of digital media not only in support but control of the protests. The movements shared civil resistance techniques in sustained campaigns online involving strikes, demonstrations, rallies, as well as the use of social media to organise, communicate and raise awareness among the population and the international community in the face of attempts to repression and censorship. In other words, the use of digital media for political purpose in communities allows transcends the online environment and starts to occupy squares and streets, as well as has the ability to provide voice and power to any citizen from any part of the world in order to report the misconduct of politics. Having said that, this paper will argue about the effective contribution of Web 2.0 and respective platforms in engagement in politics communities due to allowing an active participation collective of each user, alternative production of media and simultaneous distribution of information.

Literature Review

The migration for a new model of communication as result of the cultural transformation of society, the evolution of technology, and the use of multiple media platforms is called culture convergence (Jenkins, 2006). The social interaction of each individual, their integration with media, traditional and digital, besides the development of electronic devices has resulted in a new mode of consumption, production, and distribution of information. According to Jenkins (2006), this convergence can be understood through main concepts as media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence. The first principle regards to not only the integration of media, traditional and digital on electronic devices but also producers and audience. The participatory culture can be comprehended by Jenkins (2006) as the change of participation passive to active of the audience, which results in a change of mode of production of media, now the consumers are able to interact and create with the media corporations, a process which can be linked to the third principle. The collective intelligence is the transformation of the individual to the collective, so that each thought, view, an idea of each user is shared to increase a general one, and as an alternative source of media, it is viable networking between niches and communities according to each subject. Furthermore, according to Jenkins (2006), for being an independent collaboration of media corporations, can configure a decentralization of power of them. In summary, despite had been written more than a decade ago, the author identifies e directs the principles of production, consumption and distribution of media, which can be seen nowadays.

Principles of contemporary communication illustrated by Gerbaudo (2012) in the political environment, over recent samples of popular manifestations not only supported but controlled by social media. Through movements such as Arab Spring happened in Middle East and North Africa, Movement 15-M in Spain and Occupy Wall Street in New York, Gerbaudo (2012), analyzed mainly the use of digital media by political activists as a tool of organisation and popular mobilization for mass action on streets. According to Gerbaudo (2012), the Internet and respective platforms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and photographic sites such as Flickr, have been crucial for the creation of groups to establishing alliances and forming identities. It is through these online media tool and the interaction with electronic devices such as smartphones that not only the dissemination of ideas are made but also choreograph the logistics and operational part during the protests, in real time, such as schedules, dates and other details of the organisation of the political actions, as well as the distribution of content such as instant photos, videos and news about the actions, the so-called ‘citizen journalism’. ‘Facebook revolutions’, and ‘Twitter revolutions’ regards to the power of these media in transform the scenery political from the standpoint of society. “We are all Khaled Said” coordinated protests as a result of the shared photos on these platforms of Khaled Mohamed Saeed died after being beaten to death by police is a sample pointed by Gerbaudo (2012). Likewise, the “Indignados Movement” in Spain which each individual frustration regards to political representativeness on social media became a collective one which resulted in protests on streets organised and supported mainly through Twitter and live-streaming video platforms. In addition, Occupy Wall Street happened in New York, is another movement showed by Gerbaudo (2012), which with the slogan “We are the 99%” referring to the inequality of the income distribution of wealth in the United States between the richest 1% and the rest of the population, the Zuccotti Park was occupied. However, in contrast to the other protests illustrated above, in this case, the participation of sympathizers was motived more for emotional standpoint than the social media through a sense of solidarity spread on the community of Twitter for activists. To sum up, the author is optimistic about the use of these platforms of media against the oppression of the population, mainly for promoting minority voice, but highlighted the importance of constant reformulations in order to sustain a degree of continuity of respective approaches online and on streets.

As the same way of Gerbaudo (2012), Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015), analyze the crucial importance of digital platforms on organisation and mobilization of Arab Spring movements, country to another. However, is also considered by the authors the importance of the interaction of traditional media such as a cable television in order to maintain the effective results of the protests, which reinforces the principle media convergence argued by Jenkins (2006). For Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015), the interaction of media has motivated and increased the participation of citizens in various locations, countries, including remote ones, to participate in the movements, which means that there is no substitution process, but complementarity of media between forms of protest resulting in urban space. According to Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015), protests liked at the death of Mohamed Bouazizi is a sample of motivation due to multiple platforms of media. Mohamed was a Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation was the trigger for the protests in Tunisia that led then-President Ben Ali to resign, which images of protests shared on Facebook and Twitter through hashtags such as Twitter hashtag #bouazizi #sidibouzid #tunisia, was used as well for channels Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and France 24 which were spread and motivated protests. In addition, Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015), argue with Gerbaudo (2012) according to the necessity of sustaining a degree of continuity mainly in participation in the public space. For the authors, the revolutions can even start on social networks, but it is on the urban space with them unfold. In summary, despite to emphasize the importance of the integration of traditional media with new media and an active participation on streets, the social media still the major tool of expressions and dissemination of claim-making of contemporary society.

Discussion

According to the samples argued above, seems that it is noticed the effective contribution of digital platforms in engagement in political communities and networking due to allowing an active participation collective, alternative production and simultaneous distribution of information of media.

Firstly, regards to participatory culture of Jenkins (2006), it is showed through Gerbaudo (2012) and Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015), the importance of the social media in order to  provide the active participation of activists and sympathizers in political communities around the world, which organisations and mobilizations begins on environment online and have been resulted in collective movements, the resignation of leaders, reformulation of laws until reappropriation the urban space.

Secondly, the alternative production of media as result of the collective intelligence Jenkins (2006), shows how each individual collaboration through each photo, video or text uploaded on digital media of each common citizen can contribute to building many perspectives of only one approach, a device to device, country to country. Similarly, this alternative production of media reinforces the importance of the integration of public and corporations of media, as seen between cable tv channels such as Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and France 24 and social media as on case of death of Mohamed Bouazizi, which content shared on digital media by activists was used for these Tv channels, and resulted in the dissemination effective of political networks, according to Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015). Furthermore, this alternative production of content can mean also a decentralization of power until then restricted to the mainstream media, which results for political communities more transparency of the content shared due to the fact of being distributed of ordinary citizens of many different standpoints. Having said that,  the alternative media produced by the citizens can reformulate regimes that, in this way, can question the legitimacy by rulers, which highlights the importance of alternative production for political groups online (Alsayyad and Guvenc, 2015).

Lately, the simultaneous distribution of information through digital media through respective devices allows improvement on political communities once the content can be shared and seen of many places, country to country, which can increase the effectivity of organisations of online groups and the movements on streets. The simultaneous distribution of media is a result convergence of media argued by Jenkins (2006) and can be illustrated through political protests as Arab Spring, “Indignados” and Occupy Wall Street pointed by Gerbaudo (2012) and Alsayyad and Guvenc (2015). Having said that, this contemporary distribution provides the choreography of the logistics and operational part before, during and after the protests, real-time meetings for groups online and on streets, as well as an instantaneous distribution of content.

 Conclusions and Future Study

In summary, social networks due to Web 2.0 strengthen the political movements, which means that the social media provide to activists and citizens disclose political causes, to disseminate movements, to organise protests, to join sympathizers and to cross national and international borders, articulating with other groups of political movements online and on public space. Likewise, through alternative channels provided by the Internet, social movements are now able to articulate and guide, within broad virtual spaces, issues, and discussions that will not be presented only in traditional media. Therefore, it is extremely important to the existence of interactive communication provided by Web 2.0 that lead to new concepts of reflection on political reality. Furthermore, the internet and its platforms have become tools of social transformation and to reveal the collectivity of the discontent of each citizen. However, beyond recognize the necessity of interaction of digital media with the traditional media to maintain the effectivity of the dissemination of political groups, and also highlight the importance of constant reformulations in order to sustain a degree of continuity of respective approaches of political groups, it is noticed the importance of the Internet as the major tool of networking on political communities, which has been given power to society in order to end authoritarian regimes and corrupt elites as well the revolutionize the political environment.

References

Alsayyad, N & Guvenc, M. (2015). Virtual Uprisings: On the Interaction of New Social Media, Traditional Media Coverage and Urban Space during the Arab Spring.

Urban Studies, Vol.52(11), 2018-2034.  Retrieved from:

http://journals.sagepub.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1177/0042098013505881

Gerbaudo, P. (2012). Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism.

Retrieved from:

http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?pid=CUR_ALMA51153142430001951

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press. 

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Identity as a performance: How identities are formed within the fashion community on Instagram

Abstract

This paper will argue how identities online can be shaped by their chosen communities, focussing on the fashion community on Instagram. However, these identities can sometimes be false and deceptive, which can be due to the demands and expectations within the community. Instagram has been influential within the fashion community as it is photo based, easily allows users to stay connected and create new connections. It allows users to develop a fan base and influence which can lead to being discovered and endorsed by fashion brands. Using definitions and ideas, this paper will examine the relationship between the two concepts focussing on how identity can sometimes be deceptive and the motivation behind this within the fashion community on Instagram.

Keywords: virtual community, community, identity, online identity, social media, Instagram, performance, deception, fashion, hashtags.

Introduction

The concept of what makes a community has been challenged since the development of new communities mediated through electronic communication technologies along with the way users can portray an identity. Traditionally the idea of community is considered to consist of four concepts; a place to live, a spatial unit, a way of life and social system (Katz, Rice, Acord, Dasgupta & David, 2004, p. 317). There has been an emphasis on a physical basis for a community to function throughout the years along with the inherent unity to the self, the norm of one body, one identity (Donath, 1999). However, the emergence of new virtual communities has caused the concept of communities to be challenged and redefined. Communities on Instagram can stay connected through the use of hashtags. The virtual community has allowed users form new identities different to their physical ones. However, social media communities can allow users to portray a chosen identity online which can sometimes be false and deceptive for their own benefit.

Virtual Communities & Hashtags

Katz et al. (2004) suggests that the majority of community constructs rely on social interaction and in essence, a community is a social system. This allows the concept of community to go beyond the physical definition, where a community exists only by having a geographic location (Katz et al., 2004). The physical community occupies its own physical setting and many consider the physicality of community formation important for the sense of belonging. Members within physical community’s form groups with people who exercise local autonomy in meeting their needs in a specific locality (Katz et al., 2004). The virtual community refers to communities mediated through electronic communication technologies such as social media, multiuser domains (MUDs) and internet relay chat, and also sustained through personal communication technologies such as messaging, mobile phones and email (Katz et al., 2004). The “virtual” part of a virtual community suggests a place without a geographic location which is what a traditional community is based around, and it means the primary form of communication is electronic or enabled by technology (Ridings & Gefen, 2004). Virtual communities continue to provide a social system and social interaction.

Dennis, Pootheri & Natarajan (1998) characterise virtual communities as groups of people with shared interests or goals where electronic communication is a primary form of interaction. Groups might meet regularly online to discuss a subject of interest to all members. It is argued that virtual communities are worthy of being considered a community despite not having a geospatial location like a traditional physical community. This is because of the nature of virtual communities linking large groups of people to share, ideas, feelings and desires (Katz et al., 2004). The virtual community provides ties and homogeneity by interest rather than physical location and locally isolated. Ridings & Gefen (2004) describe virtual communities as “groups of people with common interests and practices that communicate regularly…in an organized way over the internet through a common location or mechanism”.

A community is described to become “a metaphor for the primary ties outside of the households that provide us with larger social systems”. Virtual communities allow users to create and preserve ties among people who are physically separate (Katz et al., 2004). The removed physical aspect of a community also removes the traditional belief that there is an inherent unity to the self, there is one body, one identity (Donath, 1999).

Instagram is a social media platform which allows users to find and create social ties by the use of hashtags. The use of hashtags allows users to expose their brand or persona to large targeted audiences. Hashtags can be chosen to relate to a certain topic or interest, so users who relate can easily find the content and increase engagement. Hashtags help organise and categorise photo and video content which assists the process of discovery and community engagement (Loren, 2017).  Hashtags are not limited to a geographic location, which easily allows communities to form and create new connections around the world. The fashion community, like many others, is based on shared social practices and interests, unlike physical communities which are based on shared social and physical boundaries.

There are different types of hashtags including branded hashtags and community hashtags (Loren, 2017).  The use of community hashtags helps connect like-minded user around a specific subject, such as #evachenpose or #ootd. These types of hashtags can improve the searchability of a user’s posts, gain followers and grow the user’s own personal community (Loren, 2017). For example, the #evachenpose hashtag was created by Eva Chen, a fashion based instagramer and director of fashion partnerships at Instagram with 882k followers, which includes a photo of the user’s shoes, handbag and piece of fruit in the backseat of a car, which can be used sometimes as an alternative to the traditional #ootd (outfit of the day) post. This hashtag has accumulated 29.1k posts over a number of years. The #evachenpose appeals to users in the fashion community, people who like handbags and shoes and people who follow the Eva Chen Instagram (@evachen212). Chen has developed her own Instagram community and following which can be maintained and developed through the hashtag.

Instagram also allows users to ‘follow’ hashtags allowing them to stay up to date with other users in the community. Users can interact with each other by messaging each other, commenting on each other’s posts and ‘liking’ pictures and videos people post. A community is achieved through the member-generated content and the self-sustaining process it creates: “as more members generate more content, the increased content draws more members” (Ridings & Gefen, 2004). Hashtags can be utilised by the user to describe and portray their chose identities and connect to different communities.

Identity as a performance

Virtual communities allow users to put forth identity claims of the self which can be accurate or false to reality. Social media networks act as a stage in which the user can ‘perform’ and identity. Pearson (2009) puts forward that “identity-as-a-performance is seen as part of the flow of social interaction as individuals construct identity performances fitting their social environment”. Social networking platforms offer spaces which are disembodied, mediated and controllable, and also allow alternate performances for other members of the community (Pearson, 2009).

These performances by users online exist within their imagination who then use tools and technologies online to project and renegotiate their chosen identity (Pearson, 2009). Users create not only their online selves but also their staging and setting in which these selves occur by manipulating online communicative codes. However, these stages maybe social media networks which the user has chosen to be a part of. According to Schwartz & Halegoua (2015) through selected “images, videos, status updates, profiles, friend lists, visible conversations, tastes and interests, and comments that appear on their profile, social media participants present a highly curated version of themselves”. The ability to select what other people see can allow a user to put forward different identities and personas depending on the community they want to be part of and different to who they are offline. For example, if the user chooses to be a part of the fashion community on Instagram, they will then perform an identity suited for that community and follow those social cues and renegotiate their chosen identity.

 

Deceptive identities online

The online virtual community and the user as the performer, are disembodied and electronically re-embodied through the cues and signs they choose to represent their identity (Pearson, 2009). These cues and signs online can be dependent on the virtual community the user is part of. However due the fluidity the user has over the self online, the identity they perform can be inaccurate or misleading to their audience. A user can put forward as many personas online as they have time and energy to create them (Donath, 1999).

Some Instagram accounts can be fake using stock images or images of someone else without their permission. These accounts can also pay for fake followers and engagement. Purtill (2017) reported the company Mediakix created two fake Instagram accounts, @wanderingggirl and @calibeachgirl310, from scratch using stock images and secured four paid brand endorsement deals between them worth US$500 in total. This was a stunt to prove how easy it was to become an Instagram influencer. According to Purtill a user can become a fake influencer by;

  1. Finding photos: Stock images can be used or photos can be taken by the user.
  2. Purchase fake followers: It can cost around US$3-8 per 1000 followers through easy-to-find websites.
  3. Purchase engagement: It can cost 12 cents per comment and between US$4-9 per 1000 likes.
  4. Make money: get into contact with brands for endorsements.

This shows how easily users can grow and develop their Instagram accounts or several, depending on how many identities they wish to have or communities they are part of. Aspiring fashion influencers seek to accumulate a fan base which will enable fashion brands to find models and influencers to represent them. Celebrities and models are often chosen by fashion brands based on how relevant they are on social media which provides a better and more engaging story for the public (Payne 2016). This is a motivation for users to put forward deceptive identities so they can get more endorsements and influence. They can put forward as many as they desire and have the energy for. However, it can be difficult for other users to see what is ‘false’ and what is ‘true’ on Instagram.

A user can be deceptive by using items and content which do not belong to them and create a false identity. For example, users can hire clothing or bags for content to appeal to a community and its members. Instagram provides a platform for individuals in which normal societal cues are not available which allows deception to be easier. Assessment signals that help users determine deception are unavailable online (such as government issued identification) or it is not required to verify the identification of online identity (Tsikerdekis & Zeadally, 2014). According to Tsikerdekis & Zeadally (2014), conventional signals are used which are not verified and can represent deceptive information. Ways in which a user is deceptive includes information about the user’s identity, content of their posts or profile page and the channel in which communication takes place (e.g. messaging, video chat). The manipulation of any of these three categories reflects deception. Instagram allows profile management, the absence of identity verification and focuses on content which creates an environment which can be subject to deception within the three categories put forward by Tsikerdekis & Zeadally (2014). Users develop identity goals, which are used to avoid shame and embarrassment, project a more favourable image and increase social desirability (Grossman, 2017).  On Instagram, this might include creating a fake profile with false information to increase self-worth and appeal to users within a community, such as using an alternative profile picture or content. They construct their identity based on their social setting and follow communicative codes within that setting.

Conclusion

Instagram allows for identity to be a performance which can differ in communities. Identity on Instagram can also be false and deceptive depending on the user’s desires. The virtual fashion community on Instagram is maintained through electronic communication tools, such as messaging, commenting and ‘liking’ content. Instagram allows the formation of virtual communities through communicative tools and hashtags. False information can easily be concealed through strategic editing and omission of information. These tools can also shape the user’s identity performance online within their chosen communities. The traditional idea of having one body and one identity has changed with the emergence of social media, such as Instagram. Users now have the ability to create and maintain as many identities as the have the time and energy for.

References

Dennis, A. R., Pootheri, S. K., & Natarajan, V. L. (1998). Lessons from the early   adopters of Web groupware. Journal of Management Information Systems14(4), 65–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.1998.11518186

Donath, J. (1999). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. In P. Kollock, & M. A. Smith (Eds.), Communities in Cyberspace (pp. 29-59). New York: Routledge.            http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Grossman, M. (2017). Study of social media users: The relationship between online deception, Machiavellian personality, self-esteem and social desirability. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. Retrieved from https://search-proquest.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/docview/1946736580?accountid=10382

Katz, J. E., Rice, R. E., Acord, S., Dasgupta, K., & David, K. (2004). Personal Mediated Communication and the Concept of Community in Theory and Practice. In P. Kalbfleisch (Ed.), Communication and Community: Communication Yearbook 28 (pp. 315-371). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.      Available: http://www.comm.ucsb.edu/faculty/rrice/A80KatzRiceAcordDasgupt David2004.pdf

Loren, T. (2017, March 30). The ultimate guide to instagram hashtags in 2017 [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://later.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-using-instagram-hashtags/

Payne, C. M. (2016). Visual storytelling: Fashion brands engagement through instagram. Available from Proquest Dissertations &These Global. Retrieved from https://search-proquest com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/docview/1886812809?accountid=10382

Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The performance of identity in online social networks. First Monday 14(3). http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/artile/viewArticle/2162/2127

Putrill, J. (2017, August 18). InstaFraud: How fake instagram ‘influencers’ are gaming brands for money. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from  http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/how-fake-instagram-influencers-are-gaming-brands-for-money/8821440

Ridings, C., & Gefen, D. (2004). Virtual Community Attraction: Why People Hang Out Online. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 10(1).  Available: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083  6101.2004.tb00229.x/full

Schwartz, R., & Halegoua, G. R. (2015). The spatial self: Location-based identity performance on social media. New Media & Society, 17(10), 1643-1660.http://10.1177/1461444814531364

Tsikerdekis, M., & Zeadally, S. (2014). Online deception in social media. Communications of the ACM, 57(9) 72-80. https://doi.org/10.1145/2629612

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Over-sharing in an online environment and its relationship to building communities and networks of virtue friends

<a href="https://www.freestock.com/free-photos/happy-group-friends-gossiping-cell-phone-101409499">Image used under license from Freestock.com</a>

Abstract

With the expansion of social media platforms and the increase in user numbers, people are sharing personal information on an unprecedented scale. Consequently, the term “over-sharing” has been used to describe the online habits of many social media users. This conference paper draws on academic research to argue that social media users have developed online communities and social networks built on “virtue friends”, creating an environment where over-sharing is simply a normal and characteristic behaviour pattern of those seeking to maintain and build strong connections.

Introduction

Social media platforms today have given people the ability to craft their own identity, expand their social networks and feel as though they are part of a real but online community – all of which are intrinsically linked in contributing to a person’s online behaviour. As online connections turn into virtue friendships, over-sharing has become an expected and normal pattern of behaviour.

This paper will seek to define virtue friendship and explain why this level of friendship can be achieved in an online environment. It will also seek to explain why people look to build social networks and be part of online communities, including to illustrate what over-sharing is and investigate what motivates people to do it. This paper will combine all of these to demonstrate that over-sharing is nothing new, but rather a pattern of behaviour that has always been there between virtue friends. However, it is a behaviour that has seen greater visibility with the expansion of social media platforms.

Virtue friendship

Social media has generated much debate on whether the connections people form on platforms such as Facebook can be defined as virtue friendships, the highest level of friendship that can be reached according to Greek philosopher Aristotle. In his teaching, Aristotle believed that this kind of friendship was “based on mutual admiration of our friend’s character and sharing of the same values” and “based on mutual concern of each person for the other for his own sake” (Kaliarnta, 2016, p.66).

Aristotle’s view is consistent with more contemporary research on identity, networks and community as evident in Zizi Papacharissi’s book titled A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites, which was a collection of academic research papers on social media platforms. It concluded:

“Social network sites carry the expectations of sociability, meaningful connection to others, conviviality, perhaps even empathy and support…there can be no question that “community”, with all its affective and historical complications, will continue to frame popular understanding of MySpace and Facebook” (Papacharissi, 2011, p.106).

Through these descriptions one can draw the conclusion that people seek to build and maintain virtue friendships in both the offline and online environments. However, many researchers still believe that this level of friendship is unattainable online.

In 2012, a group of researchers published in the journal Ethics and Information Technology three key reasons as to why virtue friendship could not be achieved online. The authors expressed concern that people would only present a certain aspect of their character online, rather than reveal their complete self, which prevented the ability to build close connections. The same researchers also believed that people would be unable to pick up on subtle behaviour patterns that people exhibit when having one-on-one physical interactions in an offline environment ‑ something that would arguably allow people to gain more of an insight into another person’s character. Additionally, there was a belief that social media was changing the way people interact with one another. Specifically, that people were satisfied with having very brief connections online, rather than developing the traditional type of friendship that one would expect to achieve in an offline environment (Kaliarnta, 2016).

In contrast to the argument that virtue friendship cannot be achieved online—and in support of the thesis of this paper—researchers argue that social media platforms do the exact opposite by expanding the avenues by which people can learn about others through their online communities and social networks without having to engage in direct communication. A person’s behaviour—in terms of what they say and do—can be observed on multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and assists in building a more accurate picture of that person’s character (Kaliarnta, 2016). To illustrate this in more detail, a person may want to portray themselves in a particular light on Facebook. However, this presentation will be undermined by their own actions on other social media platforms, therefore allowing for a more accurate assessment by others. In other words, a person’s digital footprint tells a story—no matter how fragmented the information is—about where they work, what they say, what they do, what music they like, where they go for holidays, what their political affiliations are, with whom they socialise, and whether or not they are in a relationship (Power of positivity, n.d.). All this and more can be determined by observing the online activities of others without the need for any one-on-one interaction in an offline environment. This personal information, which is available from multiple social media platforms, demonstrates that virtue friendship can be achieved, or perceived to be achieved online, through the ability to determine another person’s character through their digital footprint. This was the very character Aristotle said was important to building virtue friendships. Interestingly, research has shown that an estimated 70 per cent of Facebook users have people they already know offline as Facebook friends (Kaliarnta, 2016, p76). These findings support the argument that social media platforms are being used by people to develop the connections they have offline and online and turn them into virtue friendships.

Over-sharing

The concept of over-sharing is not new at all. In the 1988 book ‘Handbook of personal relationships: theory, research, and interventions’ it was stated that “disclosure of inner feelings and experiences to another person fosters liking, caring, and trust, thereby facilitating the deepening of close relationships” (Duck 1988, p. 372). This assessment illustrated that even before social media existed, virtue friendships were built on over-sharing and that it was the normal character behaviour for people seeking to build virtue friendships and find a sense of “belonging”. Stefano Tardini and Lorenzo Cantoni’s 2018 research paper defined belonging as being part of a community (Tardini & Cantoni, 2018, p.373).

Since the introduction of social media platforms, over-sharing has become more pronounced and has received a significant amount of negative publicity. In Oversharing: A Critical Discourse Analysis, it defined over-sharing as:

“a new word for an old habit made astonishingly easy by modern technology. It is yet another product of digital advances that allow people to record and transmit their lives—in words, videos, and graphics—to anyone with internet access (Hoffmann, 2009, p.2).

This definition is consistent with other research that concluded over-sharing was:

“to divulge more of their inner feelings, opinions and sexuality than they would in person, or even over the phone. Text messaging, Facebooking, tweeting, camming, blogging, online dating…are vehicles of this oversharing, which blurs the boundary between public and private life” (Agger 2015).

Though these definitions are contemporary and are well founded, they are simplistic and do not acknowledge other research that has identified numerous phycological factors as to why people over-share on social media.

Over-sharing, belonging and community

The 2011 review Why do people use Facebook? brought together several studies that looked at the psychology behind what motivated people to use that particular social media platform. The review found that 1) a need to belong and 2) a need for self-presentation were the two key factors driving people to use Facebook (Nadkarni & Hofmann, 2011, p.245). This view is consistent with American psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which identified five key areas as to what drives a person’s motivation in life. These were physiological, safety, social or sense of belonging, esteem and self-actualization needs. Maslow’s held that:

“people act to satisfy the lower needs before satisfying their higher needs. A starving man for example, first devotes his energy to finding food. If the basic need is satisfied, he can spend more time on his safety needs, such as eating the right foods and breathing good air. When he feels safe, he can take the time to deepen his social affiliations and friendships. Still later, he can develop pursuits that will meet his need for self-esteem and the esteem of others. Once this is satisfied, he is free to actualize his potential in other ways. As each lower level need is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivator and a higher need starts defining the person’s motivational orientation” (Andreasen & Kotler, 2008).

In 2012, belonging was also defined as “the experience of being valued, needed, or important with respect to other people, groups, or environments, and the experience of fitting in or being congruent with other people, groups, or environments through shared or complementary characteristic” (Zhaoa, Lua, Wang, Chauc, Zhang, 2012, p.4), which is also consistent with Tardini and Cantoni’s definition of community. These definitions support this paper’s argument that social media users developed social networks and online communities built on virtue friends.

The review by Nadkarni and Hofmann uncovered that social media had also been an excellent tool for those who struggled to make connections offline. One of the studies highlighted in the review identified that “people with low or high levels of neuroticism were inclined to share more basic information” (Nadkarni & Hofmann, 2011, p.245).

The journal Are Close Friends the Enemy? Online Social Networks, Self-Esteem, and Self-Control published by Keith Wilcox and Andrew Stephen in 2012 conducted research into social networks, self-esteem and self-control. This study complimented and extended on the research by Nadkarni and Hofmann. The research concluded that people seeking “strong ties” online experienced an increase in self-esteem and confidence the more they browsed online, resulting in a reduction of self-control (Wilcox & Stephen, 2012). This research did not focus specifically on over-sharing but looked more broadly at the implications of a person having reduced self-control. While Nadkarni and Hofmann’s research demonstrated that some people over-share because social media platforms give them the confidence to express themselves and build connections through those platforms, in Wilcox and Stephen’s study it appears that over-sharing could be a behaviour exhibited when a person experiences an increase in self-esteem and confidence that leads to a lack of inhibitory self-control when seeking to build strong connections. These findings support this paper’s thesis that over-sharing is simply a normal characteristic behaviour that one would expect to see on social media platforms. The combination of building a social network and online community of virtue friends, having greater self-confidence, a desire to belong, and a reduction of self-control have created an environment of over-sharing.

The research so far reviewed in this paper has confirmed that it is a combination of variables that have contributed to an environment of over-sharing, with the search for belonging a common thread that connects all of them together. Several studies have introduced the concept of “social capital” to explain the connections people make and the behaviours they exhibit online today. It has been defined as:

“the core idea of social capital theory is that networks have value…social contacts affect the productivity of individuals and groups…Human capital refers to connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them” (Bartkus & Davis, 2009, p.18).

In 2007, the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication published the findings from a comprehensive study that examined the relationship between Facebook and social capital. The findings in this study again supported the results in other research identified in this paper that concluded that building strong connections had a direct relationship with self-esteem. Additionally, the journal paper supported Nadkarni and Hofmann’s conclusion that online networks were helping those who would otherwise struggle to build strong connections or find a voice, as well as encourage more self-disclosure (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007, p.1146 & 1147). This reference to greater self-disclosure can be interpreted as over-sharing. Regardless of whether you accept this interpretation or not, the finds support the argument of this paper that over-sharing online is expected behaviour between virtue friends. It also highlights that virtue friendship can be achieved in an online environment.

Conclusion

From research identified in this paper, it is evident that social media platforms have enabled people to grow their social networks widely with apparent aim of cultivating virtue friendships, the extent of which may at times seem limitless. The ability to determine a person’s character through the sharing of personal information on multiple social media platforms has been recognised as the conduit to achieve this. Through their quest for belonging, users have identified with a community and it has given those who lack confidence the means to share their stories with a wider audience. Even though over-sharing has been seen by some to be about depicting a false representation of one’s self, research has demonstrated that for others it has been about getting oneself known by actively connecting to a wide social network which over-sharing facilitates. Over-sharing is now seen as the norm if one is seeking to build strong connections in both offline and online environments, and a way of reaching-out to the world. A person’s desire to belong and build strong connections is clearly evident by the growth in the number of people joining social media platforms.

References

Agger, B. (2012) Oversharing: Presentations of Self in the Internet Age. Summary retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136448270

Andreasen, A., Kotler, P. (2008). Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. New Jersey, United States of America: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Bartkus, V., Davis, J. (2009). Social Capital: Reaching Out, Reaching In. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.  Retrieved from http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?pid=CUR_ALMA51115531750001951

Bernstein, E. (2013). Thank You for Not Sharing –  What Triggers People to Reveal Too Much; Avoiding the Post-Conversation Cringe. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323826804578466831263674230

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Ellison, E., Steinfield, C., Lampe, C. (2007). The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:” Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Site. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x

Kaliarnta, S. (2016) Using Aristotle’s theory of friendship to classify online friendships: a critical counterview. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10676-016-9384-2.pdf

Nadkarni A., Hofmann, S. (2011). Why Do People Use Facebook? Review. Retrieved from  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.11.007

Papacharissi, Z. (2011). A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=574608#

Power of positivity (n.d.) What Do Your Social Media Updates Reveal About Your Personality? Retrieved from https://www.powerofpositivity.com/social-media-updates-personality/

Tardini, S., Cantoni, L. (2018) A Semiotic Approach to Online Communities: Belonging, Interest and Identity in Websites’ and Videogames’ Communities. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266218884_A_SEMIOTIC_APPROACH_TO_ONLINE_COMMUNITIES_BELONGING_INTEREST_AND_IDENTITY_IN_WEBSITES%27_AND_VIDEOGAMES%27_COMMUNITIES

Wilcox, K., Stephen, A. (2012) Are Close Friends the Enemy? Online Social Networks, Self-Esteem, and Self-Control. Journal of Consumer Research. Retrieved from  https://doi.org/10.1086/668794

Zhaoa, L., Lua. Y., Wang, B., Chauc, P., Zhang, L. (2012). Cultivating the sense of belonging and motivating user participation in virtual communities: A social capital perspective. International Journal of Information Management. Retrieved from https://doi-org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2012.02.006

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Beauty Influencers and Their Changing Identities

Abstract

This paper explores how within the beauty community, specifically looking at the YouTube and Instagram community of influencers that have amassed millions of followers, beauty influencers are shaped by the community as they make changes to their identities based on the platforms they are on. The platforms explored are Instagram and Twitter, discussing the infrastructure and community each platform has and the power they have. Examples of beauty influencers and their scandals are used to illustrate this point. The community and individuals who participate in the community are discussed briefly, in terms of what role they play and what power they have individually and collectively. Overall, Instagram is found to lean towards community and Twitter towards infrastructure to influence change within identity in beauty influencers.

Keywords: identity, Twitter, Instagram, social media, beauty influencers, power, beauty blogging

Introduction

The beauty industry has benefited from the fast paced and ever growing community it has attracted online. The dynamics the community present many questions as to how they continue to work and grow. In this paper, I aim to look at identity in communities and networks and will focus on the online beauty community, specifically looking at the YouTube and Instagram community of influencers that have amassed millions of followers, and I argue that beauty influencers are shaped by the community as they make changes to their identities based on the platforms they are on. The theme of power will be explored as it is a concept that ties into all aspects of this paper. First, I will compare both platforms of Instagram and Twitter, discussing their differences and similarities. Next I will examine each platform individually starting with Instagram and the relationships between individuals and influencers and how this relation shapes an influencer’s identity. Finally, I will explore Twitter and its infrastructure and, community and how it can impact how an influencer creates their identity. For the purposes of this paper, I will only discuss influencers who have a relatively large following, English and Western sector of the beauty community. This will help narrow the paper and explore influencers who do alter their identity at a larger scale.

Definitions

Key concepts such as community and identity must be defined to create a framework for this essay. According to Sanders (as cited in E Rice et al., 2004, p. 4), community is made up of four elements, which include “a place to live, a spatial unit, a way of life, and social system”. E Rice et al. (2004) further states that virtual communities though may not fit into past definitions of communities which were made more for physical communities, still are communities as they are based on different ideas compared to physical communities. They are more focused on the individual conveying their identity as true as possible without general regard to social rules in physical communities. Virtual communities are based on “shared social practices and interests”, and physical based on “shared social and physical boundaries” (E Rice et al., 2004). A more recent definition by Preece (as cited in Cavanagh, 2009, p. 2) states a community’s characteristics include “shared goals, common interests, shared activities and governance, mutual satisfaction of needs, co-operation, enjoyment, pleasure and location as common understandings of community”. This definition of community can be used to define and lay out characteristics of the beauty community. The beauty community of influencers all have a shared interest in beauty, with a focus on cosmetics and they all have a mutual understanding and passion for it. They share social boundaries in the form of grouping together influencers who have the same style of makeup or content and the social practices are very similar across influencers, sharing their makeup or lifestyle surrounding the topic of beauty. Instagram’s algorithm pushes this further by recommending similar beauty accounts to a user based on who they follow, as they post similar content. This showcases that the beauty community has characteristics of a typical community and it is not a new concept of a community. Twitter showcases this as well by the hashtags displaying several users posting makeup looks or tweets relating to beauty, showing their participation and shared interests. Dyrberg (1997) defines identity as the final product of identification, one that happens due to the existence of complex power relations. Such a definition is relevant to beauty influencers that make a brand out of their name, their identity is formed through power relations and what they do.

Instagram and Twitter

Both Twitter and Instagram have its differences and similarities in the way the community and platform encourage for aspects of identities. Both Instagram and Twitter have a like function which usually means that the viewer is showing their approval of the post (Anagnostopoulos, Parganas, Chadwick, & Fenton, 2018). The way one responds to post however, are different, as on Instagram, the comment stays within the post, while on Twitter, a new tweet is made but is attached to the original tweet (Highfield & Leaver, 2014). This difference can cause an influencer to alter their identity differently, as on Instagram, comments may have little effect due to the grouping of all the comments. Whereas on Twitter, each individual reply is a tweet on its own, creating a more sense of self for the individual as beyond their username, their display name and profile photo are shown, which might have a greater effect on how the influencer takes feedback from their posts and decides to alter from it. It might also affect the way a commenter makes their comment and what kind of message they decide to leave. Those on Instagram are only identified by their username in the comments but on Twitter, more of their identity is shown. The way comments are made on both platforms and how they can affect alterations in identity can be seen through the example of Samantha Ravndahl, who posted a photo of her in Japan and including in the description her experience and what lessons she has learnt through the trip (Ravndahl, 2018). Immediately, her post received negative comments, calling her privileged and uncultured. Ravndahl turned the comments off on that post and has never since posted anything on her Instagram of similar content. She also posted the same photo and caption to Twitter and received some negative comments but also received drastically different, positive comments. This shows that bad comments in her Instagram post gave little care in leaving a negative comment, whereas on Twitter, those who left comments realised and understood the content Ravndahl was posting. This example shows the differences between the two platforms and displays the different aspects of them. Conversely, influencer James Charles receives many positive comments on both platforms but projects drastically different identities on both platforms, with Twitter, he creates an identity of being relatable and tweets about everyday things, however with Instagram, he focuses more on makeup, fashion, and lifestyle, thus creating a professional version of himself. Both influencers show even on different platforms, communities can be similar or drastically different and how an influencer may want to alter their identity differently across platforms.

Instagram

The beauty community on Instagram are often mocked by influencers on other platforms, from their wavy brows to breast insert blending sponges, one may look at them and not understand how they work. The community can be broken up into four dominant users; brand accounts, influencer accounts, update accounts and, individual accounts. This paper will focus mainly on influencer and individual accounts, looking at the relationships and community formed around influencer accounts. Individual accounts can be viewed as the everyday participant on an influencer’s Instagram posts. These accounts may view their interactions on posts having little to no impact, however Granovetter (1973) argues that their interactions is tied to bigger aspects of social structure and that they have little to no control of this. Such interactions can also be viewed as weak ties, which are relationships people have that hold lesser value than strong ties which are ties that have a relationship that holds a strong bond. The interactions consist of commenting or liking an account or post and, viewing these posts, and the way they do this affects the community they form by influencing the social cues. This in turn impacts the influencer users who take the feedback they receive from the individual users to alter their posts/account and in turn they tweak their identity to fit the community.

Since Instagram is limited to photos, videos and a text description, this impacts how an influencer can build and present their identity. Highfield and Leaver (2014) point out that compared to other platforms, Instagram encourages “standardised bits of information”, instead of giving an extensive story. This is due to the limitations of the platform, one is only allowed to post media and text is only an option in captions and though one can share text via images, it still is a media format. This is also brought over to Instagram stories where stories are limited by time. This forces influencer to share a snippet of what they want to. Such standardised information is reflective of influencer accounts, with majority of their posts being photos at an event, a restaurant, the beach and, so on. This limit influencers on what and how much they can share about their identity. Thus, each post is important in helping to build and alter their identity, with help from comments and feedbacks from their followers, the individual users. This creates a feedback loop, allowing influencers to create and enhance any aspects of the presented identity that received approval to grow more. Thus, this shows how influencers are influenced by individual accounts and how they are shaped by the community and don’t shape themselves, they might create an identity initially, however are eventually shaped by the community. Such can occur through comments as help represent the community and are part of the influencer’s identity as they take on their suggestions and whenever you visit their page, the comments reflect aspects of the influencer, again showing that individual users shape influencers. This relationship works as individual users get content that they desire and the influencer gets more likes, comments and, views on their posts, thus increasing their influence on people. This reveals that identity of influencers are in the hands of their followers and the community. Due to the strong ties influencers and individual accounts have, in which individual accounts help to provide influencers the power they have, they almost force influencers to change their identity or fear losing their power. This is displayed by beauty influencer James Charles who has had his identity damaged by a racism scandal, which will be discussed later in detail, tries to the best of his ability to prevent another racist scandal to his name appear again in fear of losing his reputation (Charles, 2018). It must also be noted that influencer accounts can become individual accounts on other’s Instagram pages. This allows influencers to experience a similar role to individual accounts, but will never fully experience it as their power and influence will translate in their interactions as their fans will back them up.

Twitter

Twitter in the beauty sphere is perceived to be a smaller platform compared to Instagram, but serves a purpose for some influencers. Like the analysis done on Instagram, I will only look at influencer accounts and individual users. Twitter has a different dynamic compared to Instagram, due to the limitations of the platform, where each tweet is limited to 240 characters. Veletsianos (2012) observes that the social networks within Twitter is a result of user’s connections with one another. Twitter not only separates each tweet from another, making each unique and a post of their own, but also structures each tweet consistently, having aspects such as date and time, username, text, and if added, links, photos, videos, hashtags and, mentions (Highfield & Leaver, 2014). This consistency leads to the platform easily being used for conversation and collaboration (Gruzd, Wellman, & Takhteyev, 2011). An influencer typically has several thousand followers and interacts with their fans. Interactions include, likes, replies, follows and, retweeting/quote tweeting. Such interactions can be easily seen on the influencer’s and individual’s page. Interactions and posts are quick and fast paced, this simulates the everyday life more in comparison to other social media platforms. The community works and is active as those who participate use Twitter to keep in touch with people, in this case to learn more about an influencer’s life (Gruzd et al., 2011). Influencers can receive tweets and comments about a tweet they posted from individuals, either positive, negative or neutral. Due to more direct, public and accessible conversations, Twitter becomes a more social platform, actively displaying strong connections influencers may have.

The nature of Twitter may cause influencers to alter their identities in terms of the relationships they show publicly. This is especially relevant as in the beauty influencer industry, the friendships one makes are also business relationships, so they might want to boost each other’s following count by faking the strength of the relationship. The community here plays a part as they can be happy to see the close relationship and encourage is by following the other influencer, thus leading to both influencers gaining more power through influence. This displays the power community has on identities of influencers, if they enjoy the identity they showcase, they encourage it and follow them. A way the platform shapes influencers is the nature of the platform. It restricts influencers with the character limit and the fast-paced tweets. Information is spread quickly (Milstein, Lorica, Magoulas, Hochmuth, & Chowdhury, 2009) and can cause influencers to rethink their tweets or count on the fact that Twitter moves quickly and tweet controversial things, as it is a platform of instantaneous posting. This can be seen through the example of James Charles, who got himself into trouble by posting a racist and ignorant tweet, joking about Ebola and Africa. Charles was quickly reprimanded by many and called out for being ignorant and racist and soon after, he apologised (Tea, 2017). Charles was blind to how fast information can spread and how it doesn’t just pass and was reminded of this through his ignorant and racist tweet. After such an event, Charles is no longer seen to be joking about race or Ebola and he has yet to post a tweet without much thought. This shows the power and immense influence of the community and how they can collectively create power in numbers and use it against people who are ignorant and racist. It showcases the way a community and dynamic of a platform can cause an influencer to tweak parts of their identity to fit the platform and its user’s demands.

Conclusion

Overall, both Twitter and Instagram’s community and platform play a part in how an influencer constructs and changes their identity. After exploring both platforms and discussing their similarities and differences, both platforms either lean towards community or platforms in how they influence change. Twitter leans towards the way the platform is constructed and Instagram leaning more on the community. However, both platforms use both platform and community to influence the change. Beauty influencers gain more out of changing their identity power and influence. A little was discussed about the community and the relationship they hold with influencers and the power they have in numbers and individually.

References

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Cavanagh, A. (2009). From Culture to Connection: Internet Community Studies. Sociology Compass, 3(1), 1-15. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00186.x

Charles, J. (Director, Producer) (2018, March 30). SHANE DAWSON AND RYLAND DO MY MAKEUP [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/CeCgsmTjHjk

Dyrberg, T. B. (1997). The circular structure of power: politics, identity, community: Verso.

E Rice, R., Katz, J., Acord, S., Dasgupta, K., David, K., Dasgupta, S., & David. (2004). Personal Mediated Communication and the Concept of Community in Theory and Practice (Vol. 28).

Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380. doi:10.1086/225469

Gruzd, A., Wellman, B., & Takhteyev, Y. (2011). Imagining Twitter as an Imagined Community. American Behavioral Scientist, 55(10), 1294-1318. doi:10.1177/0002764211409378

Highfield, T., & Leaver, T. (2014). A methodology for mapping Instagram hashtags. First Monday, 20(3). doi:10.5210/fm.v20i1.5563

Milstein, S., Lorica, B., Magoulas, R., Hochmuth, G., & Chowdhury, A. (2009). Twitter and the Micro-Messaging Revolution : Communication, Connections, and Immediacy–140 Characters at a Time. Sebastopol, UNITED STATES: O’Reilly Media.

Ravndahl, S. [SsssamanthaaMUA]. (2018, January 4). Feeling pretty blessed and grateful [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/SsssamanthaaMUA/status/948739378238578688

Tea, H. F. T. (Producer, Editor) (2017, February 16). JAMES CHARLES: IGNORANT COVER BOY? [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/9dTbq5pdYC4

Veletsianos, G. (2012). Higher education scholars’ participation and practices on Twitter. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(4), 336-349. doi:doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00449.x

 

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Gaming Communities in and beyond Game Worlds

Gaming Communities in and beyond Game Worlds (Click for PDF)

Zachary Riordan

Curtin University: Bentley

Correspondence: Zachary.Riordan@student.curtin.edu.au

Abstract

This paper discusses many of the most important aspects of community in gaming, within and beyond the game world. This includes: how communities form in online games and how activities centred around gaming facilitate online communities. The paper argues that games, and online subsidiary activities centred around them, provide social benefits to participants that compliment off-line social interaction by promoting the growth of communities both within and beyond the game world. More specifically, this paper analyses and explores: game worlds, “third place”, flow, hallucination of the real, text-based messaging, Voice over Internet Protocol, playing with friends, social media content creation, and “modding”; and relates these aspects to social benefits including: bridging and bonding social capital, agency, social proximity, familiarity, and weak and strong ties.

Keywords: community, gaming, social capital, weak and strong ties.

Gaming Communities in and beyond Game Worlds

The social benefits of game play and communities created within games have been extensively researched (Trepte, Reinecke, and Juechems, 2012). In the context of 2018, communities not only thrive within games themselves but also the secondary activities surrounding the games. This paper argues that: games, and online subsidiary activities centred around them, provide social benefits to participants that compliment off-line social interaction by promoting the growth of communities both within and beyond the game world. This paper will firstly discuss how communities form within game worlds and the types of communities created. Then it will explore how these, and new, communities form and prosper via subsidiary online activities that centre around games. These subsidiary activities include, but are not limited to, social media content creation and modifying games. Throughout the paper I will also analyse the social benefits that players and participants attain because of the communities they become a part of.

In-Game Communities and Immersive Game Worlds

Online gaming has developed over multiple decades, with video games dating back over 45 years (Leaver, 2018). The realism, expansiveness and detail in video games has, obviously, increased extensively over this time. This, and the number of participants is likely to continue to increase in future years (Leaver, 2018; Kim, Lee, Thomas, and Dombrowski, 2009). Far from the likes of static games such as “Pong”, these games are detailed enough for players to express themselves within the game (Leaver, 2018). Furthermore, because of technologies such as the World Wide Web, players can interact with not only the game world but other players. This interaction, as well as communication, forms the basis for online communities to develop and grow (Steinkuehler, and Williams, 2006). As detailed below, player interaction occurs within games and using other platforms such as social media.

Many games have enough detail that immersive worlds are created, where players are, at-least for the most part, solely focused on what is happening in the game. Frostling-Henningsson (2009), describes this state of being as “flow”. Sufficiently detailed games can take multiple forms and include multiple genres of games. However, game genres such as Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are the most profound examples of online game worlds. These games can be described as “Third places”, which are “crucial… for civic interaction” (Williams, Ducheneaut, Zhang, Yee, and Nickell, 2006; Oldenburg, 1997). This is because of the extensiveness of the game and the actions available to the player (Williams and Ducheneaut, et. al., 2006). There are many roles a player can play, hence role-playing game, and no one player can be a master of everything. Therefore, to prosper in these “worlds” (Frostling-Henningsson, 2009) players should not only communicate but also cooperate with each other (Williams and Ducheneaut, et. al., 2006). This cooperation leads to communities forming within the game. Katz, Rice, Acord, Dasgupta, and David (2004) describe this type of community as a “pseudo-community”. This does not mean that the community is not real, but rather the community is based in a virtual world and has a group focus. The community type “Social Network” could also apply for some players or groups who exhibit individual centred attributes (Katz, et al., 2004). Furthermore, common goals and ongoing communication lead to partnerships, friendships and strong ties developing in the game (Williams and Ducheneaut, et. al., 2006; Domahidi, Festl, and Quandt, 2014).

One well researched game is popular MMORPG “World of Warcraft”, which at its peak had twenty million monthly paid players (Leaver, 2018). This game’s popularity can largely be attributed to the communities around and in the game that were developed because of the immersive, detailed, and continuing world centred around engaging gameplay (Williams and Ducheneaut, et. al., 2006). Game mechanics, such as an in-depth virtual economy and levelling system, lead to a “hallucination of the real” (Frostling-Henningsson, 2009) where new personas, personalities and lifestyles are created and/or expressed.

The state of “flow” and the “hallucination of the real” are both ways of describing the level of immersion games facilitate. This does not only occur in MMORPGs but also First-Person Shooters (FPSs). In these games, players are looking through the eyes of a soldier that they control. Online gameplay is centred around fighting against, and with, other players. Candy (2012) describes his level of extreme focus on trying to keep himself but more importantly, his teammates alive. With games such as “Counter Strike: Global Offensive” (CS: GO) a team of players work together to fight against another team. Much like a virtually violent sport (Williams and Ducheneaut, et. al., 2006). Candy (2012) states that the level of cooperation and fast paced nature of the games lead to strong friendships being formed. This can be described as bonding social capital which develops into strong ties (Steinkuehler, and Williams, 2006). These players turn their team into a community, one of which, the members are very close. Even so much so that once virtual friendships expand past their initial “third place” into the offline world (Candy, 2012).

As stated above, being able to communicate is obviously a key driver in forming social bonds and communities. There are many ways in which games facilitate and promote communication between players. The simplest way many games facilitate online communication, is through in-game chat. This allows players to communicate using text-based messages. However, this is crude by 2018’s standards. The time taken to create a message causes a delay between when the producer wants to communicate the message and when the viewer receives it. The, relatively, long time that the message takes to create, means that this form of communication is less often used in fast paced games and/or is often limited to use for greetings when gameplay is slower. This limits the ability for players to acquire bonding social capital or develop strong ties through using in-game, text-based messaging alone. In saying this, the messenger’s in-game name is associated with the message, meaning social proximately, familiarity, and bridging social capital is created using in-game chat (Trepte, Reinecke, and Juechems, 2012).

In many online FPSs, like “CS: GO”, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a feature that allows players to speak to other players while in the game. VoIP within the game can facilitate the communication between players who are not friends. In the case of “CS: GO”, in-game VoIP is commonly used when matchmaking with-out friends. This means the players who become part of your team are not players that you personally know. VoIP allows these new teammates to strategize, give “call outs”, or simply communicate in real time. Strategizing or simply giving good call outs result in social capital and a sense of agency for the communicator and would not be possible with-out the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (Candy, 2012). Real time communication also promotes a sense of “flow”, develops the game into a “third place”, and encourages players to form communities (Frostling-Henningsson, 2009; Williams and Ducheneaut, et. al., 2006; Candy, 2012).

Games have also used other ways of connecting players with each other. A standard feature in any online game in 2018, the ability to create a list of friends and easily join each other’s games, should not be overlooked as the most important aspect of facilitating social gameplay. The widespread inclusion is likely due to social reasons being the main cause of gameplay (Frostling-Henningsson, 2009; Domahidi, Festl, and Quandt, 2014) and the exclusion of this feature, and therefore social gameplay, would be essentially unacceptable for many gamers.

In some cases, game features connect existing players with their friends whom may not play the game. Social games, or games based on social networking platforms, have used this technique for many years (Di Loreto, and Gouaich, 2010). More games, and games of different genres, are starting to utilize this technique. A recent example (2017/2018) is “Fortnite” (Bedford, 2018). When a player is not in a game of “Fortnite” they are firstly prompted to invite other friends that are online. However, players are also prompted to link their game account to Facebook. This is a clear example of “Fortnite” utilising in-game features, and other digital networking technologies, to extend the gaming community for the specific player and to increase the size of “Fortnite’s” community. This results in bonding social capital being created between existing friends who were Facebook friends but can now easily game together and strengthen their bond.

Communities in Subsidiary Activities Centred Around Gaming

Being part of a gaming community can offer much more than just playing a game. As detailed above, very strong sub-communities can form within a game itself. However, arguably to benefit most from the community around a specific game, the player should participate in multiple aspects of the community. This includes many subsidiary activities that centre around a game but are beyond gameplay. The biggest activity, in terms of active participants, is being involved in social media based on the game. The social media coverage of games is very large and complex (Minguez, 2014). The communities formed on social media platforms are not necessarily the same as the ones formed within games, but any content created by, from, or about a game is still centred around that game and connects to the game itself. Social media coverage of a game and any communities that form because of this are extensions of the game and the communities it promotes.

The media created based on games is essentially infinite and impossible to analyse in its entirety. Due to the shear amount of content, social media content about games, or a specific game, should be broken down into three groups: non-professional user-generated content, professional user-generated content, and industry generated content. Furthermore, where there is a group of participants that can share commonalities, there is a community (MacQueen, et al., 2001). This means that the members of each of these groups can be classified as a community. For example, a group of social media marketers working for a company would be considered a community.

Communities also interact with each other on social media. For example, industry members often promote professional content-creators’ work. This shares some of the industry’s agency with the content creator as a gift for creating content on their game. Specifically, “Fortnite” representatives often use their institutional authority to share and promote video content made by aspiring content creators (Fortnite, 2018). Industry members also “like” or “favourite” non-professional user-generated content. This gives the player social capital and agency in several sub-communities such as their friends or other players. Both actions, and others not mentioned, create mutual benefits and provide motivation for all parties.

Another important subsidiary activity based on gaming, is “modding” or modifying games. “Mods” or modifications to a game are quite commonplace in certain single player games such as “Fallout” (Bailey, 2018). Communities around “mods” or certain “modders” (modifiers) are also quite extensive. Because of the advancement in hardware and software used to create “mods” and the large number of people interest in games, many “mods” have been made. However, the ability to create useful, or even professional, “mods” is highly respected in the gaming community. This has meant “modders”, especially the best ones, receive a large amount of agency and social capital within their sub-community, and even the gaming community in general.

“Mods” can range in size from very small, to whole new games created in a different game engine (Bailey, 2018). The small “mods” can be made by one person, however, the largest “mods” are made by a team. This team requires large amounts of cooperation and collective problem solving. Furthermore, a team of “modders” can spend many years creating a “mod” without guaranteed financial compensation. Because of this, and the passion required to undertake such a task, the group can form a strong community based on gaming. Social capital is created within the community and received from beyond the “modding” community as detailed above. Furthermore, the feeling of belonging and accomplishment, and the friendships developed are just some of the social benefits that occur because of this subsidiary activity of gaming (Koivisto, 2003).

Conclusion

The communities formed within and beyond games can provide large social benefits to the participants. This includes but is not limited to, bridging and bonding social capital, agency, and social proximity and familiarity. All, or some, of these benefits combine and allow participants of gaming communities to create and develop friendships and belong to their community(s). This can occur within the game world or outside of it, through online subsidiary activities. However, both are centred around gaming and the communities that occur because of it.

The concept of communities, even within a gaming stream, is very large. Moreover, gaming as a stream is very broad and complex. This has meant this paper cannot, and has not, explored all aspects of community within gaming. More specifically, aspects including: e-sports, cosplay, gaming events, gaming lounges, and more, have not been discussed. Also, greater depth in the aspects discussed could occur if the focus of the paper was narrower. However, this paper has discussed many of the most important aspects of community in gaming, including: game worlds, “third place”, flow, hallucination of the real, text-based messaging, VoIP, playing with friends, social media content creation, and “modding”.

References

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Candy, G. (2012). In video games we trust: High-speed sociality in the 21st century. Fast Capitalism, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.uta.edu/huma/agger/fastcapitalism/9_1/candy9_1.html

Di Loreto, I. & Gouaich, A. (2010). Social Casual Games Success is not so Casual. Research Report, University of Montplellier – CNRS. Retrieved from http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/48/69/34/PDF/FunAndGames2010-03-22.pdf

Domahidi, E. Festl, R. and Quandt, T. (2014). To dwell among gamers: Investigating the relationship between social online game use and gaming-related friendships. Computers in Human Behaviour, 35. 107 – 115. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260947110_To_dwell_among_gamers_Investigating_the_relationship_between_social_online_game_use_and_gaming-related_friendships

Fortnite. (2018, March 31). Laugh along with @TSM_Hamlinz as he pilots his way to a win [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/FortniteGame/status/980095979608268800

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Instagram has provided a platform for social influencers to create a false sense of wants and needs among young adult women

Abstract 

This conference paper examines the social media app, Instagram and how it has provided the ideal platform for social influencers to create a false sense of wants and needs among young adult women today. It delves into the reasons why Instagram provides a place in which it makes this possible. The factors that contribute to a user becoming an influencer, and the profound effect the images uploaded on this platform have on women and their desires. The paper will disclose some of the biggest social influencers active on Instagram today and the impact they are having on young women and the decisions they make as a result of being exposed to these glimpses of influencers’ lives. The paper will consider the numerous effects influencers have on young adult women, from the clothes they purchase, to the holidays they go book, the fitness trends they partake in and more. The paper will also consider how the images portrayed on Instagram do not always portray the reality of the influencer; they are created to reflect a certain image they want followers to perceive.

Keywords:

Social Media, Instagram, Identity, Influencer, Image

Thesis statement:

Instagram has provided a platform for social influencers to create a false sense of wants and needs among young adult women.

Social media platform, Instagram, has provided a platform for social influencers to create a false sense of wants and needs among young adult women by providing influencers (including celebrities) with a platform to portray a lifestyle filled with everything someone could or should possibly desire. This includes everything from holidays, fashion, cars, beauty and health products and procedures that the impressionable and easily-influenced young adult women yearn for — to be more like the influencers everyone admires so much. Firstly I will discuss what a social influencer is and give examples of a few of the most popular ones today. Secondly I will discuss how influencers use the social media platform Instagram to achieve this status. Thirdly the effect these influencers have on young women’s wants and needs. Finally I will discuss how young women shape their identity and self-worth is shaped by influencers.

It is not a new concept that young adult women, who might arguably be easily influenced, look up to others who seemingly “have it all.” The Kardashian-Jenner family craze is a good example of this. The family who originally rose to fame with a reality show based on their everyday lives now has a cult following of young adult women across all their social media platforms, including Instagram. In turn, the members of this family all make a profitable living from their social media platforms by promoting products on their accounts.

“…the Kardashian-Jenner family members can bring in a sizable income with very minimal effort just by using their social media accounts,” (Kirst, S, 2015).

The Kardashian-Jenner family is just one example. There are numerous young attractive people on Instagram that aren’t classified as a celebrity, but have just as much influence by simply portraying a life that makes others envious. Back before Web 2.0, young adults used to seek information about these people in magazines and television interviews. However, the introduction of social media, in particular the Instagram platform, has allowed young adult women to gain a more in-depth insight into these people aka influencers and their world by building a connection with them that was not available to them previously.

Another good example of a well-known social influencer on Instagram today is Australian fitness guru Kayla Itsines, who has impacted women’s fitness with her Bikini Body Guides. She has a huge following of 9.5 million resulting from the BBG fitness movement which has seen women around the world upload their weight loss progress photos depicting the results they’ve had by using Kayla’s guides. A whole online community has evolved from this and Kayla has a high interaction rate with followers by reposting their progress photos on her account.

Whether young adult women interact with these influencers or simply double tap the photo to like it, they are connected in a way they never were before. Young adults are now privy to their world, to what they get up to on a daily basis, where they go for their morning coffee, which F45 they exercise at, what they eat for breakfast, where they go on holiday and what brand of clothing they wear to that destination. “Instagram provides information about a vast amount of other people, what they are doing, and how they are feeling.” (Vries, Moller, Wieringa, Eigenraam and Hamelink, 2017, p.3).

If followers admire an influencer’s perfect skin, they can purchase the skincare range they use, if they admire their physique, then, they can look at their Instagram profile and see what exercise program they do, according to what appears on their feed that is. For example, if someone wanted lips like Kylie Jenner, they can purchase her Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit. If someone desired to have the same physique as Kayla Itsines, they can download her Bikini Body Guide.

Unlike magazines and television, which young adult women solely relied on in the past to keep up-to-date with influencers, social media platforms like Instagram allow participants to be visible through their self-created profile and links to another network of connections. These connections are simply made by hitting the follow button. It is why Instagram is quite different to other forms of social media (particularly Facebook and LinkedIn) as it does not require someone to have a large friendship or acquaintance group to begin with, in order to grow a significant following. People simply have to have an interest in a certain account’s content. The use of hashtags on Instagram has made it easy for people to find images and accounts with specific themes or content that pertains to their interests. Because all Instagram influencers’ profiles are set to public, they are visible to everyone which has allowed people to easily connect with them on a more intimate level for the first time ever.

However, these influencers are quite insignificant without interaction from their extensive following

The text Friends, Friendsters, and Top 8: Writing community into being on social network sites (boyd 2006) states that the role of followers assist greatly in the building of a person’s online profile and the more connections we have, the greater opportunity there is to interact with others; and this rings true for Influencers, who all have a significant following and therefore have more credibility and clout over someone who just has a handful of followers.

Further to this, Donath and boyd (2004) talks about the importance of growing a network.

“Being the bridge between two otherwise disconnected people or groups is a strategically important role (Burt 2000) particularly if there is valuable information or opportunities to be shared between them. The Bridge, being connected to these disparate groups, has access to a broad range of information.” (p.71).

In this case, Instagram is the “bridge” that allows people to exchange information through images and a sentence or two that captions the image. This was simply not possible before. Instagram has allowed people with similar interests to come together from all over the world. It allows them to share ideas, advice and influence others with the images they capture and share. There is a lot of competition when it comes to Instagram as there are so many accounts to choose from to follow. The content shared by the Influencer needs to remain relevant and interesting in order to retain and increase their following.

The connection between followers and influencers was deemed so important that Instagram debut the all-important blue tick of verification of an account belonging to a celebrity or social influencer. Introduced in August 2017, this tick ensured that users were following and interacting with the “real” influencer. An article produced by UK’s Metro at this time explained the tick as being important for the Instagram platform:

“Verified means that the profile that has been confirmed by the social media platform that it is the official profile for that person, or brand that it represents. This is particularly useful for famous people, so you know you are following the person you intended to and not some phoney.” (Moloney, 2017)

This blue tick was a way of giving influencers authenticity, however it does not necessarily mean their posts will be as well. A lot of influencers are in fact paid to feature products, services, etc. to post on their Instagram.

Kirst discusses how at first glance, Kylie Jenner’s Instagram looks like homogenous photos of the influencer, but there’s much more to it.

“…when you look a little closer – and read the captions on her photos – you realize the pictures can actually be broken into two categories: Gratuitous or endorsed. From waist trainers to false eyelashes, from fashion lines to mattresses, Kylie does not discriminate.”

So, although these influencers might not actually use these products, they portray them in a way that they do. However it would be unfair to say that all social influencers use their position to promote everything and anything for money.

Either way, these posts from influencers have a powerful effect on young adult women, giving them a false sense of want and need to buy the product or use the service regardless.

As of March 1, 2017 social media influencers were made to be more transparent about what products were advertising, and what products they were promoting because they genuinely used and liked.

“…under new advertising standards, social media “influencers” have to clearly label their sponsored content. It means that, for the first time in Australia, you will have a pretty good idea whether the post in your Instagram feed has been paid for by a brand. The new code by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) covers all social media platforms, and any kind of social media user.” (Putill, 2017)

However, these products are still being featured by an influencer in a way that make followers desire them, thus creating a false sense of wants and needs.

For example, you can practice yoga in an old t-shirt and unflattering bike pants and get the same benefit from the workout as someone wearing the latest Lululemon attire.

Lululemon even have brand ambassadors that are active in the yoga scene. So the majority of yoga posts you find on Instagram are associated with the brand which further reinforces this image and a false sense of needing the clothing to partake in the activity.

A picture can convey much more than words which is why the Instagram platform is so effective. It is different to other social media platforms available today as it is predominately image-based, with text being secondary. As a result, people put more time and effort, not to mention filters, into getting the perfect photo to portray the moment in time, which will have a bigger impact on followers and make them want to buy that dress, drink that coffee from the café or visit a certain day spa for a particular facial, so that they too, can live like the person they look up to – that is, the influencer.

Even though it is focussed on images, people are able to leave comments and direct message people, and just recently post live updates, which allows for a lot more interactions between users than when the platform was first released.

Although the tagging feature is available to let followers know the place they are at and the brand of clothes etc. that feature in the image, it is the comments and direct message capability of Instagram that allows them to further communicate with the influencer to ask more about the clothing they might be wearing in the image. For example, what shop, what size they are wearing, if it’s good quality etc. all the typical questions someone would have before making a purchase. It works with everything the influencer would post about, whether it is a facial they had a particular day spa, the skincare they use on a regular basis or the gym class they just posted about attending. Due to an influencer’s extensive following and the trust they build via the two-way interactive relationship allows consumers to feel as if they are making a more informed decision when making a purchase. Influencers are deemed a credible source for information. (Glucksman, 2017).

This is why people take their advice or simply what they have to say on-board and immediately feel confident in purchasing or trying whatever the influencer has posted about.

Regardless of whether these followers actively participate by commenting, liking or direct messaging their connections, they still make up part of this community and can still be influenced by what is posted by the influencers they follow.

Pearson describes this interaction well in All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The performance of identity in online social networks with the statement:

“Performance in mediated spaces, such as those found in Web 2.0 and SNS, is an interlocution (Burnett, 2000). As such, it requires willing and engaged participation in mediated exchanges. Whilst it is true that users can lurk, even watching a performance constitutes a form of engagement.” (Pearson, 2009)

So, although followers might not interact with an influencer, it is possible to see an impressive, carefully filtered image that captures attention. In this instance, it could be a photo of an influencer at a new bar, you can then ‘follow’ the Instagram account for that bar and then later go to the bar with a sense of urgency just because it appeared on an influencers account, not necessarily because you really need to.

Overall influencers portray a life of almost perfection, in which “everyday” young adult women aspire to. By letting followers into their worlds, influencers are giving them desires that they might not have even thought of before or realised that they needed. A lot of what is seen is a highlights reel of the influencer’s life, mundane tasks, or actions are photographed in a way that makes it looks far more exciting than it is portrayed through filters.

More often than not, the typical young adult women feel the need to live up to these unrealistic expectations after following the influencers’ accounts.

“Individuals compare themselves and their lives to others based on the information they receive about these others. Given the vast amounts of social information that social media offer, it is not surprising that university students said in interviews that they compared themselves to others on social media.” (Doyle et al., 2017)

However they will be persuaded to use the same beauty product, or perhaps undertake the influencer’s fitness campaign in order to be more like them in some shape, way or form or perhaps be inspired to pursue the same career or have the same ambitions as someone they follow.

In the paper entitled Public displays on connection (Donath and boyd, 2004) it reaffirms this and touches on how these platforms and displays facilitate these connections. It states:

“Social networks – our connections with other people – have many important functions. They are sources of emotional and financial support, and of information about jobs, other people, and the world at large. The types of social networks that develop in different communities have a profound effect on the way people work, the opportunities they have, and the structure of their daily life.” (Donath and boyd, 2004, p.1).

Instagram definitely provides the ideal platform for connections and with people that we normally would not be able to connect with before its existence. As a result, like Donath and Boyd said, it has a “profound effect on daily life,” (Donath and boyd, 2004).

Social media platforms in general have produced a generation of people who document their everyday living on their Instagram accounts. It is a common occurrence to see people publicly taking selfies with their cocktails, at the beach, or out shopping, similar to those influencers they so eagerly follow. As a result, a lot of young adults today base their worth upon the number of likes and followers they have on their Instagram accounts.

To draw on Pearson’s reading again entitled, All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The performance of identity in online social networks it refers to this display of people’s lives on social media as the glass bedroom. The text states that:

“The metaphor can take a number of forms, but at its core it describes a bedroom with walls made of glass. Inside the bedroom, private conversations and intimate exchanges occur, each with varying awareness of distant friends and strangers moving past transparent walls that separate groups from more deliberate and constructed ‘outside’ displays. The glass bedroom itself is not an entirely private space, nor a true backstage space as Goffman articulated, though it takes on elements of both over the course of its use.” (Pearson, 2009.)

This reading gives a rather accurate description of Instagram and the way people, in particular Influencers utilise the social media platform in a way that sees them only sharing images that depict them in a light they want to be viewed, allowing them to control what is presented to the audience.

As a result, social media and Instagram in particular is often referred to as someone’s “highlights reel” – people are viewing all the good things happening in someone’s life and this is not always accurate.

Many young adult women of today have a desire to be an influencer themselves. Instagram has seen the emergence of people making a living from sponsored posts. Influencers get paid by companies to feature products on their in order to market them to their extensive following. This creates a false sense of needs and wants among the young adults following them. While achieving celebrity status might not be within reach for most people, it is more likely they can be like their favourite influencer and have “it all” – just like them.

Lifestyle envy is the psychological term that explains the feeling that someone gets when they see a picture on Instagram that they want. It is this comparison young adult women feel when scrolling through Instagram that gives them a false sense of needs and wants.

Young adult women do not need things, or products to be happy, but Instagram is shaped in a way that influences them to believe they do.

As a result, Instagram has indeed provided a platform for social influencers to create a false sense of wants and needs among young adult women. It is almost forced upon us, sometimes subliminally to want what they have and more.

 

References:

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The Social Capital of SMIs in the Consumerist Realm

Abstract:
            Social Media Influencers (SMIs) play a growing and important role within the consumerist realm. The wealth of SMIs social capital lies in the number of followers they have who are loyal patrons to the SMIs brand. Companies have realised they need to take advantage of the power of SMIs’ social capital to successfully advertise their goods and services in the modern market. Specifically, paid partnerships and brand collaborations are the main avenue that SMIs and brands are optimizing their reach. SMI and micro-celebrity Sarah Stevenson, popularly known as Sarah’s Day on social network sites, is used as an example to portray the way these marketing techniques are launched on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. It is evident from the examples provided, complimented by scholarly theory that it is mutually beneficial, financially and social capitally, for SMIs and enterprises to work together.
Introduction:

The virtual revolution through the rise of social networking opened an entire new perspective on online commerce. Now, more than ten years on from the birth of social media networking, the fine-tuned tools of technology are beginning to create a market shift in world of advertising. The market is now saturated with advertising plastered across every orifice, which is desensitizing customers. It is becoming clearer that traditional forms of media promotion, such as television, newspaper, radio and magazine advertising are quickly becoming outdated. This has left establishments scrambling to find the next wave of marketing techniques to sell their latest products and services while re-finding the attention of their consumers, leading to partnerships with Social Media Influencers (SMIs) to access their community of followers. SMIs are the new form of “micro-celebrity,” exposing their personal brand online to their thousands of faithful followers (Khamis et al., 2016; Hearn & Schoenoff, 2016). The term “micro-celebrity” is now becoming synonymous with SMIs and is defined as “mind-set and a set of practices that courts attention through insights into its practitioners’ private lives, and a sense of realness that renders their narratives, their branding, both accessible and intimate” (Khamis et al., 2016, p.202). Companies now realise the social capital that SMIs create through their followers can highly valuable in branding and marketing. This paper will discuss the importance of optimizing SMIs community of social capital to create effective and successful sales for brands on social networks such as Instagram and YouTube.

 

Social Networks and Social Media Influencers:

With social networking becoming ubiquitous within our lives its capabilities have a powerful influence over how we construct our existence. Whether that is entertainment, socialization, play or information sharing, social networking sites have become the platform where an increasing amount of our activity plays out (Langlois, 2016). These days, a potential “worldwide audience” is at the fingertips of anyone that has to access to a smartphone (Dijkmands et al., 2015, p.58). SMIs have capitalized on this possibility by exposing themselves to the online world and in return for their “micro-celebrity” status they have received an overwhelming response of support in the form of followers. More and Lingam (2017) define SMIs as

“any person who reviews product, posts a blog about a new product, any industry expert or any person who has a potential to influence people” (p.1).

Therefore a SMI can be anyone with social media platforms that have a few thousand followers to a few hundred thousand followers. Influencers are formed over time, not born instantly, through designing themselves on their social networks through their own original and reliable personal brand (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2016, p.194). Although it may be thought that the basis SMIs influence lacks credibility and depth, Freberg et al. (2011) found in a survey that SMIs were believed to have similar qualities to CEOs. SMIs were “perceived as smart, ambitious, productive, poised, power-oriented, candid, and dependable” (Freberg et al., 2011, p.91). Clearly, through their qualities and intense community of following, SMIs are held to a high regard from their audiences. Most importantly to companies promoting their products and services SMIs “help potential customers make a buying decision by influencing [their] opinion, through social networking” (More & Lingam, 2017, p.1). This makes it vital for brands to work with influencers to promote their goods and services with the goal of having a positive impact on marketing and sales.

 

Business on Social Media:

Many companies, and their customers, see it as essential to have a presence on Social Networking Sites (SNS). In Kaske et al.’s (2012) studies, it was even found that companies that have a social media presence tend to have “higher customer retention, better customer communication, potential avoidance of outrage, sales increases, and greater reach” (p. 3904). Although not all businesses are based economically online, having a presence to engage with customers is shown to improve “customer retention, customer communication, and outrage avoidance” which becomes an asset termed ‘customer equity” (Kaske et. Al., 2012, p. 3901; p. 3903). Media saturation in today’s social networking systems, sites and platforms has lead to collaboration with SMIs to optimize their community of followers’ trust, commercializing the attention economy. SMIs now hold the loyal attention of a large number of people on social media so it is simple to understand the reasoning behind the drive to work with them. Thayne (2012) continues that

“in contemporary societies we are confronted with more information than can possibly be fully processed; therefore, attention economics emphasizes the significance of designing and developing methods to swiftly and effectively direct attention in order to deliver the right advertisements to the desired target market” (p.2).

This rethought process has been accessed by optimizing on the social capital of SMIs to market their products through avenues such as paid partnerships and collaborations. Within this essay this will be displayed using a local Australian SMI called Sarah’s Day who has recently been optimizing on her strong social capital.

Defining Social Capital:

Keely (2007) simply explains that social capital can be thought of as a common set of understandings and values within a community or society, allowing groups to develop levels of trust and provide an environment where they can work together if they are so inclined. Katz et al., (2004) states that “[strong] community ties are linked to intimacy, voluntary involvement, frequency of communication, feelings of companionship, knowing each other in multiple contexts, enduring ties, mutual ties, having one’s needs met, and shared social characteristics. Virtual communities and online environments deliver all of these” (p.337). Until the rise of the Internet and particularly SNS, societies were not able to form these intimate ties with such a large scale of individuals negating the boundaries or distant, race, time-zone’s and even language. This is because in because pre-Internet social capital had a stronger tie to spatial proximity (Katz et al., 2004). The mechanics to allow communication and the relationship formation outside of spatial proximity were tied to telephone and mail communication, which deterred the formation of strong ties, widespread asynchronous communication and community construction. SNS have allowed astronomical growth of social capital because connections are “based more on common ideas, interests, and occupations” rather than purely location (Katz, 2004, p.345). Koput (2010) believes that the expansion of social capital is rooted in repeated contact, which “must be ongoing, meaning that it is subject to occurring again at some time, although such a time can be indefinite” (p.3). SNS allows fluid and repeated access to promote communication with ease.

 

Discussing SMIs and Social Capital Optimization through Marketing:

It is clear that SMIs, through the power of the affordances of social media in a technological driven world, are able to gain an extreme amount of social capital online. SMIs have created virtual communities by promoting their personal brand and attracting like-minded people to follow them. Whether that community be based around fitness, fashion, beauty, sport, gaming, cooking or even mindfulness, SMI’s are tapping in on the variety of the Internet to extradite their niche group of followers. The success of SMIs and a method to measure their social capital is based “on factors such as number of daily hits on a blog, number of times a post is shared, or number of followers” (Freberg et al., 2011, p.90).

 

Figure 1: Sarahs Day Instagram account (Stevenson, May 2018c)

To expand on the methods utilized by SMIs and provide industry examples I will use a well-known Australian SMI called Sarah’s Day (@sarahs_day) and formally named Sarah Stevenson who is a New South Wales based Instagrammer, YouTuber and self-titled content creator. Originally Sarah started her YouTube channel in 2013 and has grown her “micro-celebrity” status to now having over four hundred thousand followers on Instagram and over six hundred thousand subscribers on YouTube (www.youtube.com/SarahsDay). Sarah engages frequently on accounts posting daily on Instagram, interacting multiple times a day on her Instagram stories and posting videos on YouTube channel every three days. She has been chosen as a case study due to her recent surge of working with other businesses for mutually benefiting profit through paid partnerships and collaborations.

Sarah is a vlogger, therefore someone who creates vlogs which Gao et al. (2010) claims is rooted from the amalgamation of the two separate words video and blog. It is obvious that video’s “can show a lot more than text, [therefore] vlogs provide a much more expressive medium for vloggers than text-blogs in which to communicate with the outer world” (Gao et al., 2010, p.2). Sarah Days’ niche in the building of the personal brand that she attracts is females who are interested in holistic health, fitness and cooking. She has built a community online from her followers around the world which she calls her #sezzysquad. Sarah’s Day clearly has created a strong social capital emphasized by Katz et al.’s (2004) belief that “[the] functions of virtual communities to foster communities of interest, information spread, and equality of status all work to enhance social capital, despite their lack of direct physical orientation” (p.325). It is Katz et. al’s (2004) belief that more recently, because of the common basis of ideas, occupations and interests, that ties and relationships have become more “organic.” Because Sarah’s community are people that follow her for her health and fitness advice alluding to the fact that their following is based in common interests, it is clear that Sarah has built a strong community with hundreds of thousands of followers.

 

 

In more recent months Sarah’s Day has proved Katz et al.’s (2004) thought that an increase of social capital online will transfer to a “rise in offline contact, civic engagement, and a sense of community, and the other traditional forms of social capital” (p. 325).  Although the financial aspect of companies alliance with this SMI haven’t been made public, Sarah’s Day has recently been working with White Fox Boutique, an online clothing store and iHerb.com an online health food store (Stevenson, 2018a; Stevenson, 2017; Stevenson, 2016). I will use Sarah’s Day affiliations with brands through collaborations and paid partnerships to understand the mutual financial benefit of optimizing the social capital of SMIs networks.

Paid Partnerships:

An article in the economist detailing the finances behind paid partnerships proves that companies are exploiting influencers’ social capital. It is now believed that “[hiring] such influencers allows companies to reach a vast network of potential customers” (“Celebrities’ endorsement,” 2016, para. 2). Paid partnerships or sponsored posts are a relatively new realm in the social media world however social networking sites are starting to form rules around this area to ensure that followers understand what is authentic and what is paid. Frier (2017) explains that in the past year “[influencers] are supposed to signal when they are being paid via hashtags on their posts that say #ad or #sponsored” (para. 4). In October 2016, Sarah’s day posted a video that she sneakily said was brought to subscribers by iHerb.com, meaning that she was paid to publish this vlog. Although it may have aligned with her content, she didn’t outwardly and clearly announced that it was a paid partnership because many influencer “simply fail to note the relationship at all out of concern they’ll appear inauthentic” (Frier, 2017, para. 4). As Hearn and Schoenhoff (2016) state, “[the] pursuit of “authentic” promotional connections with fans can include celebrities posting “candid” photos of “everyday life” in brand- name outfits on Instagram, or mentioning a product they have encountered on Twitter” (p.204). This example is shown by Sarah’s Day underwhelming emphasis to mention the paid partnership and over emphasis of stating that these are products she would usually buy however she wanted to make it more accessible to all of her fans by using an online store.

The perks of these partnerships can be astronomically and financially beneficial for the SMI involved. According to the Economist a SMI with between half a million to a million subscribers can be paid up to twenty-five thousand dollars for a sponsored YouTube video (“Celebrities’ endorsement,” 2016), that amount can even soar to three hundred thousand dollars per video on the basis of having over seven million subscribers. Although that amount may seem astronomical as Freberg et al. (2011) claims, SMIs “represent a new type of independent third party endorser who shape audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media” (p.90). The trust built from the social capital of Sarah’s Days’ following has a positive impact on the iHerb.com by providing a positive review of their products and service shifting the desired eyes of the attention economy onto their business.

Figure 2: The Economist detailing differentiation of compensation for SMIs for each platform dependent on the size of their social capital through the number of followers they have (“Celebrities’ endorsement,” 2016)

 

According to the statistics of this particular video review, as of March 27th, 2018 Sarah’s recording had over one hundred and sixty thousand views, which lead to over two hundred shares and provided her with over two hundred and fifty subscriptions (Stevenson, 2016). The number of subscriptions and shares driven from this particular video proves that mutually beneficial relationship for both company and SMI.

Brand Collaborations:

SMIs’ CEO like qualities are helping them realize the benefits of being business savvy where they hold the power in a knowledge economy (Freberg et al., 2011; Crogan & Kingsley, 2012). Therefore, another form of alliance with companies is shown through official collaboration. This is when an SMI works with a brand to collectively create a product from that brand associated with the influencer SNS pseudonym. Recently there have been many examples of this however in the case of Sarah’s Day in recent months she has collaborated with White Fox Boutique, an online clothing shop. Sarah announced on February 27th, 2018 that she had spent half a year “designing and developing a 15 piece active wear collection [from scratch],” with the online clothing boutique (Stevenson, 2018a). The line gained so much attention from her followers that on the launch date the site crashed from overflowing traffic (Stevenson, 2018b).

Figure 3: Sarah’s announcement that her overwhelming loyalty from her social capital led to a website crash from overflowing traffic when her collaboration was released (Stevenson 2018)

 

It is fascinating that “simply by expressing themselves, individuals have become empowered participants in an emerging online reputation economy, where the reputation generated by social media participation functions as a new form of currency and, more generally, value” (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2016, p.203). This has literally turned in financial currency for both influencers and the brands that they associate with. There is no denying from the information shown for SMIs combined with the traffic and attention gained through SMIs social capital that collaborations are mutually beneficial.

 

Conclusion:

This paper has discussed the economic benefits for SMIs and companies combined in a society that is noticing the rise of the “micro-celebrity” (Marwick, 2016). Influencers are becoming the new powerful ‘authentic’ voices online in a world that is saturated with advertising and commercialism. The desire to hold onto authenticity while self-sustaining through business relationship is the unwavering downfall of these relationships. SMIs are chasing to form a “perception of authenticity [to create] a space that is readily exploitable, insofar as SMIs can parlay the trust they inspire into myriad commercial arrangements” (Khamis et al., 2016, p.203). SMIs are trying to under emphasize the affiliations with brands through paid partnerships and move to more collaborations to hold steadfast strength in their social capital. Nevertheless, the combination of “influence maximization” and “social influence” have created a new wave of marketing online through social media (More & Lingam, 2017). It is undeniable that there is bilateral economic prosperity gained through the union of SMIs and brands with the strength of the community of social capital in SMIs networks.

 

 

References:

Celebrities’ endorsement earnings on social media. (2016). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/10/daily-chart-9

Chen, H. (2017). College-Aged Young Consumers Perceptions of Social Media Marketing: The Story of Instagram, Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 39(1), 22-36. doi:10.1080/10641734.2017.1372321

Crogan, P., & Kinsley, S. (2012). Paying attention: Toward a critique of the attention economy. Culture Machine, 13, 1–29. Available: http://www.culturemachine.net/index.php/cm/issue/view/24

Dijkmans, C. Kerkhof, P. and Beukeboom, C. (2015). A stage to engage: Social media use and corporate reputation. Tourism Management 47. 58 – 67.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman2014.09.005

Freberg, K., Graham, K., Mcgaughey, K., & Freberg, L. A. (2011). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 90-92. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.11.001

Frier, S. (2017, June 14). Instagram to Make It Clearer When Influencer Posts Are Paid Ads. Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-14/instagram-to-make-it-clearer-when-influencer-posts-are-paid-ads

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Hearn, A. and Schoenhoff, S., 2016. From celebrity to influencer: tracing the diffusion of celebrity value across the data stream. In: P. David Marshall and S. Redmond, eds. A companion to celebrity. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 194–212.

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Katz, J. E., Rice, R. E., Acord, S., Dasgupta, K., & David, K. (2004). Personal Mediated Communication and the Concept of Community in Theory and Practice. In P. Kalbfleisch (Ed.), Communication and Community: Communication Yearbook 28 (pp. 315-371). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Keeley, B. (2007). OECD insights human capital: how what you know shapes your life. Paris: OECD

Khamis, S., Ang, L., & Welling, R. (2016). Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the rise of Social Media Influencers.Celebrity Studies, 8(2), 191-208. doi:10.1080/19392397.2016.1218292

Koput, K. W. (2010). Social capital : an introduction to managing networks. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Langlois, G., (2016) Social Networking and the Production of the Self. Meaning in the Age of Social Media, 26(4), 131-145. doi:10.1057/9781137356611.0008

Marwick, A. E. (2015). Instafame: Luxury Selfies in the Attention Economy. Public Culture, 27(1 75), 137–160. http://doi.org/10.1215/08992363-2798379 [Available via Reading List]

Marwick, A.E., (2016). You may know me from YouTube: (micro-) celebrity in social media. In: P.D. Marshall and S. Redmond, eds. A companion to celebrity. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 333–350.

More, J. S., & Lingam, C. (2017). A SI model for social media influencer maximization. Applied Computing and Informatics. doi:10.1016/j.aci.2017.11.001

Stevenson, S. [Sarah’s Day]. (2016, October). Healthy Snacks | Healthy Food That Taste Naughty [VEGAN]. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyRWbEbyZIw&t=318s

Stevenson, S. [@sarahs_day]. (2017, October 5). [Photograph of @loving_earth products]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ3Fa5yHmik/?taken-by=sarahs_day

Stevenson, S. [@sarahs_day]. (2018a, February 22). [Photograph of Sarah’s day holding Tropeka Products]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BffAYrdHicD/?taken-by=sarahs_day

Stevenson, S. [@sarahs_day]. (2018b, February 27). [Photograph of Sarah’s Day and White Fox Boutique Collaboration]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BfrQMM3n-M2/?taken-by=sarahs_day

Stevenson, S. [@sarahs_day]. (2018c, May 5). [Photograph of Sarah’s Day Instagram Account]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/sarahs_day/

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Communities Embracing and Adapting to the Web 2.0 through Facebook

Abstract

This paper investigates the adaptation of communities to the Web 2.0, and how it has become a major characteristic to the construction of online relationships, involving the social media site Facebook. Virtual communities are explored and linked to the current digital era and how social virtual communities are using the Facebook platform in everyday life to publish content, taking part in user connection through their activity. Beverungen, Böhm, and Land (2015, p. 479) believes that user connection focuses on the ‘audience’, now ‘users’, as online communities who publish content to Facebook for users to read and use. This content may be productive or unproductive, however, Facebook is one of the leading reasons for social relationships and virtual communities and the shift from physical to virtual. Virtual communities now have the ability to connect to users they may not know personally, resulting in new relationships and interlinked personal communities (Gruzd, Wellman & Takhteyev, 2011, p. 1). This paper analyses how online user activity on Facebook has been a factor that assisted the evolution and adaptation of offline communities to online communities.

Keywords: Facebook, communities, representations, connection, interaction, users, adaptation

 

The role of communities embracing and adapting to the Web 2.0 through Facebook

 

Since the release of the social networking site Facebook, users have been given the opportunity to generate and publish their own content to their profiles ‘free-of-charge’. This impressive site has now reached an incredibly high number of users, attaining 2.2 billion active users by 2017, with numbers still rising (Constine, 2017). Facebook is not the only form of interaction for virtual communities, with popular discussion websites such as Reddit (2005) and other Internet forums also forming virtual communities where users can interact. These sites have become the most popular way to communicate in the twenty-first century, providing various options including blog-type techniques, photos and videos. Not only do they allow users to publish content but they also provide them with websites where they can listen to music, read news and play. It has become a procedure for people to sustain connections to others, communicate themselves and construct new relationships. Similar to physical communities, this shift has allowed people to also become part of virtual communities, motivating users to the adaptation of communities on the Web 2.0. With the growing development of Facebook, it has significantly impacted lives by becoming a daily activity for entertainment and cultural purposes (Jin, 2015). The site has become an environment for self-expression and participation amongst various age groups. User activity has become a major factor in the process of communicating online through Facebook, allowing these online communities to share stories, opinions and anything that takes their interest. The social networking site has not only allowed people to communicate with users’ friends or family, but has enabled them to engage with other users that they may not know personally. This has not only expanded the number of users to communicate with, but has granted the ability to form online communities with people from all over the world. User connection is the transfer from physical connection and interaction into the online world of the Web 2.0, connecting a set of people and creating a sense of community (Gruzd et al., 2011). The adaptation of groups within the social networking site Facebook has formed a sense of community in this digital era, through users participating in online discussions and debates.

            The Welcoming of User Connection

User connection is similar to the traditional meaning of connecting and creating a community – A set of people with strong interaction and connection, creating a sense of unity (Gruzd et al., 2011). Communication on Facebook can be compared to being similar to offline interaction, as information is posted and stored on personal profiles, including relationships statuses, hobbies and even debatable topics which can all be discussed in offline communities. Facebook has assisted in the creation of communities that produce their own content. User activity was created as a defining process for users who create and publish their own work online, attracting other users to read and connect with the publisher or other readers. Not only does online activity give users’ a purpose for interaction, it also serves others with new social connections and assisting with maintaining existing relationships (Gruzd et al., 2011). With the transition from audiences to online users, there has become a mass broadcast of information to social networking sites such as Facebook (Thompson, 2008).

User connection focuses on connecting and responding to others, as well as keeping up to date with new information or news that can create conversation between users or communities, similar to that of a friend group. This is the reasoning behind the concepts ‘following’ and ‘adding’. This concept focuses on the users or information that is chosen to be accessed by the account holder, placed onto a ‘News Feed’ on social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Zuckerberg stated that a ‘news feed’ is “a stream of everything that’s going on in their lives.” referring to content that is being posted in an up-to-date timeline (Thompson, 2008). This feature on Facebook enables user connection to occur, with people responding or commenting on posts that they feel are relatable. This engagement is a state of mind of users that are committed, passionate and dedicated to connecting online within virtual communities about various topics and situations (Porter, 2015). Emotions of users stimulate actions, which initiate participation in the community, such as the comment section on published content that allow users to debate and discuss specific topics relating to news, games, videos etc. This connection via different hobbies and interests on Facebook groups and pages has constructed a sense of community through virtual interaction.

            Sense of Community in the Digital Era

The Web 2.0 relies on online users to generate the content, creating an approach that can define the labour that is associated with the formation of Web 2.0 content (Jin, 2015). The creation of collaborative content is one of the main aspects of the Web 2.0, including multiple media posts on Facebook and the interaction between others online that it may initiate. Facebook has enabled users to connect and converse through text, photos and videos on their profiles, providing engagement and motivating interaction with other users within the community. The Internet has opened this new economic form where user-generated content has become part of the primary attributes. Facebook has assisted in the movement of communication from purely offline to online at any time of the day. Not only has it permitted users to create an online version of their identity, users’ can create pages and groups through their accounts depending on their interests. Any user is able to request to be part of the group of be invited, creating communities with various people from around the world. Multiple social media identities are quite common, however, Facebook makes it difficult to make multiple profiles as different email addresses and information are needed to create a new account. Instagram and Tumblr allow users to create numerous accounts, even by using the same log in details. These social media sites embrace the use of multiple accounts, with Instagram allowing a user to have up to 5 pages (Instagram, 2018). Social networking sites give users the ability to follow specific accounts on a certain account and make posts that are separate to their other profiles. Social media users can be a part of multiple communities depending on the account that they are logged in to, and can communicate from multiple profiles. Facebook has limited this access as a user can be added to multiple groups and pages at one time.

For example, users may take interest in other communities focusing on cooking, exercise, fashion or even religious communities, interacting with others who have similar interests. This sense of place drives the audience to feel as if they belong to a community, also giving them a reason to generate their online identity. Social communities are a location for users’ to receive support or socialize with others through user activity, resulting in communication, similar to what people would do in offline situations. These virtual communities perform in sensible arrangements for society, as they support amalgamation and belonging. New societal communities are developed as a united establishment that influences the value of responsibility and oversteps the power of politics and wealth, functioning as groups that have the power to influence. Users that are taking part in this influential establishment have various character and disposition, representing themselves through various personal interests within communities.

            Representations of the Internet User

Internet users that are involved in virtual communities are typically portrayed in ways that reflect their personal interests and the communities they are part of. It is common for users to represent a certain style of virtual identity, usually labeled within various categories. Users have embraced the opportunity that Facebook has given them, granting them the possibility to meet their individual goals of sharing their personal disclosures in a public forum (Aguiton & Cardon, 2007). A users status and influence can define a virtual community, as activity and influential entities inspire other community members (Porter, 2015). Internet users can represent themselves in different forms through social media networks, using this form of identity to attract other users through their posts and discussions online.

Facebook has enabled users to interact with others, although, this may only be a one-way action. Users are able to follow profiles, but this does not necessarily mean the account has to follow back (Gruzd et al., 2011). Due to this process, users behind public or personal pages have been able to form communities with millions of users who may follow their page just for their content without following back. These page creators or celebrities have the capability to communicate with millions of users online, and has assisted with the creation of smaller communities within the page that may result in a perception of a real community. There are a few different types of virtual community members, as users have a different approach to online engagement and the limits of their public discussions. One user may take the personal interest approach, using Facebook to search for information, buy and sell goods and promote their capabilities to gain a certain status and maximization of recognition (Aguiton & Cardon, 2007). Another type of user focuses on their belonging within the virtual community, stimulated by distributing knowledge, collective concern and volunteering, ensuring they take part in mutual activities (Aguiton & Cardon, 2007). As there is an array of different virtual communities, there are many representations of users on social media platforms such as Facebook. Virtual community members find value in communities that seek to construct relationships through interaction and helping others, and the gratification that results from these notions. Some members also join virtual communities for the enjoyment of control in participation, having access to data, and having a sense of belonging and bond to a community (Porter, 2015). Depending on how active, significant and consistent a user is their aims can be seen as adjustable and defined by their involvement. Self-identity of members is also another factor within virtual communities, as users aim to attain a responsive and comprehensive connection to please their experience within a Facebook community (Porter, 2015). This self-awareness has transferred from physical communities to the Web 2.0, allowing users to adapt to their portrayal of themselves online.

            Communities adapting to Web 2.0

Social communities are persistently changing, integrating and redefining groups that have transferred from physical communities. Cultural marginalisations and controlled progress have shifted from physical to digital communities, placing this change in a notable point in cultural conventions. Facebook contains social attributes that create expression by users through personal content, forming communities on in the virtual world. As Facebook now has millions of active users, it is difficult to determine limits and features of the social service and the spread of information through multiple communities that have formed within the network. Facebook is a clear guide to the relational virtual domain on the Web 2.0 that has been adapted by physical communities in their own environments. This digital exchange through virtual communities from ‘face-to-face’ interaction has become a voluntary progress and coordinative collaboration.

Social media platforms were the beginning of the transformation of communities, giving people a network where they can connect and engage with friends or family without having to speak to them in person. Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard University student, created Facebook in 2004 to connect to his friends on campus (Thompson, 2008). The network has now become one of the biggest social media platforms for users to interact with one another, and create groups and communities through connection and collaboration. Facebook has integrated peoples businesses, hobbies and interests through its many features, providing users with various options to communicate and socialize. It has given business owners the opportunity to use this platform as a way to maintain and create relationships, as well as allow workers and companies to promote their brand and preserve an online existence (Beverungen et al., 2015). Thompson (2008) used an example of a student who created a group, which declared her love for Coldplay and her wish to participate in Greenpeace, sparking many other users to join the group with her. This group provided a sense of community within the users who had joined, granting them with an environment that takes their interest. These users may not know each other outside of the social media network, but it compares to a physical community discussing these interests in a real environment. Communities have begun adapting to the Web 2.0 and the features it provides in order to build a sense of community online.

Conclusions and Future Study

            With the growing confirmation of interaction on social media sites, communities have been able to expand and adapt to the virtual world on the Web 2.0. The shift has assisted in the construction of online relationships, resulting in virtual communities and their significance to online communication. Research into the success rates of virtual communities must take place in order to study how different Internet users are finding their virtual communities and how they compare to the physical.

Facebook has provided features to assist in the growth of virtual communities and users connecting through their strong interaction, creating a sense of unity within these groups of people. As virtual identities can represent multiple versions of a person, it has permitted people to engage with specific groups and pages that take their interest, comparable to the way physical communities interact. These social media websites have opened a virtual society where user-generated content has become a major attribute to social relationships through the Web 2.0. Communities have adapted to online engagement as features online have made the process effortless to find information that captures users and inspires them to take part in user connection.

 

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