Category: Indigenous People, Virtual Communities and Online Social Networks

This stream focuses on the use of virtual communities and online social networks by indigenous people.

Social Media: Helping to Decrease Isolation to Members of Rural Indigenous Communities

Abstract

The paper will explore the different ways that the use of the Internet, in particular social media effects members of minority groups such as the Indigenous community. It will argue that the increasing uptake of social networking sites in rural Indigenous communities, especially among youths, is a positive change as it helps to foster new communities, decrease social isolation and increase political activism. I will explore how participation in online communities such as ‘Blackfulla Revolution’ helps to decrease the sense of isolation that members of rural communities may feel but also address concerns about other ways that social media can detrimentally affect a community real life community too. I will also look closely at the connections that the Internet helps to foster between members of different rural communities and how it helps to build their sense of identity and political awareness. This paper will explore the theory of social capital and how these newly found online communities and sense of political identity can translate into and influence real life action.

Reasons Behind the high level of Social Media use in Indigenous communities.

Since the creation of social networking sites on the Internet the traditional definition of community has been challenge the communities that are created on them. No longer is there a need for a common physical location as the common location has become the internet. These groups are able to form communities with members from all different locations who share a common interest, culture or cause.

In recent times the uptake of social media channels across Australia has been growing but most surprisingly the highest growth rate we have seen is with Indigenous youth between the ages of 15 and 24 (Rice et al, 2016). A survey conducted by McNair Ingenuity Research Institute into the media usage habits of 400 members of the Indigenous community found has that in the wider Australian population 42 per cent of people are members of Facebook versus over 62 per cent of people living in remote Indigenous communities (Callinan, 2014). Reasons suggested by Matt Balogh in the article include the fact that Facebook provides a means of ‘instant and affordable communication’ that can help to bridge the geographical distance between people with similar interests, friends and family (Callinan, 2014).

Boyd (2007) acknowledges that involvement on social media in all youth, not just Indigenous youth has an effect on their identity formation and is used as a tool in modern times to help remove the filter that is put on news by traditional media sources. This may explain the large levels of Indigenous social media uptake as being a minority group they are greatly affected by the filtering most media outlets places on news stories. Engaging and participating in online communities with their peers through social media can help youth to further understand the world around them through the views of their chosen community and help to further develop their sense of cultural identity. For example Indigenous youth who do not live in remote communities and are unable to visit them can connect with those who do online to form their own opinions on social issues that may occur in these places without having to rely on the media. This was not always possible as previously all news was filtered through media outlets and portrayed only the opinion of the outlet. Communities are able to use social media to tell their own stories and for once have the platform to make their voices heard that were once ignored by the media. Rice, Haynes, Royce and Thompson (2016) note that Indigenous youth use social media to help strengthen their identities and feel power and control over their lives. Social media provides them with this opportunity as it allows them to connect with other Indigenous communities online and develop views and opinions on Indigenous issues that media filtering may not have afforded them the chance to do. Further evidence to support that Indigenous youth view social media as fundamental to their sense of identity and community is a survey done by Bronwyn Carlson that found that 73% of Indigenous individuals that answered think social media helps them express their identity whilst 81% were members of online Indigenous communities (Carlson, 2017).

Facebook groups such as ‘Blackfulla Revolution’ allow Indigenous people from all over the country to come together and comment on issues that affect them, that they may have in common with others or would like to make other members aware of. Many of the posts on the page carry messages of support or are discussions about issues that members may not have been exposed to if they were not a part of this community and help to contribute further to each members sense of offline and online identity. Lumby (2010) found that Indigenous youth use Facebook as a way to identify and connect with other Indigenous youth without having to have met them in real life, the Facebook group ‘Blackfulla Revolution’ is one example of this happening with member of this group forming connections with one another without having met in real life. The creation and participation in these communities by Indigenous community members has led to decreased feelings of isolation in remote communities and created a new definition of what a community looks like to them. Traditionally a community was defined as “people living in one locality” (Collins English Dictionary, 2012) but groups like ‘Blackfulla Revolution’ on Facebook have changed this and removed the need for people to be located in the same place to contribute or be a part of a community.

A study conducted by Bronwyn Carlson (2017) and funded by the Australian Research Council on social media revealed that some participants who are members of the Indigenous Community would feel a sense of loss if social media was no longer available similar to the sense of loss they would feel if they were no longer able to be a part of a real life community.

The sense of loss mentioned points to the fact that social media does indeed help to form meaningful relationships that support members of remote Indigenous Communities in the same way as their geographical community does. Social media platforms have allowed communities to form that never would have had the chance before, such as private groups who help to teach Indigenous languages that were thought of as lost (Carlson, 2017). The 8-way model of Aboriginal pedagogy that is explored by Townsend (2015) includes story sharing, community links, deconstruct/reconstruct, non-linear, land links, symbols and images and non-verbal as important ways that Indigenous people learn. These ways of learning can all be enhanced by social media, for example story sharing can be done with greater efficiency on social media as a user is able to share their story to large groups of people at a time (Townsend, 2015). Community links that exist in the real world already can be strengthened and expanded by the creation of social media groups. This correlation between the 8 ways and the principles of social media may also explain why the uptake of social media has been so rapid in Indigenous youth (Townsend, 2015).

Perceived Negatives to the Uptake of Social Media on Indigenous Communities

Some participants in a study on social media uptake revealed that racism, other forms of online abuse and media coverage of traumatic events involving members of the Indigenous community were hard to avoid when using social media (Carlson, 2017). John Barlow the founder of Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that while racism and abuse may still exist on social media the benefits of collaboration, connectivity and the support Indigenous communities members receive in the online world outweighs the negative comments (Carlson, 2017). Montgomery (2014) states that “Indigenous communities are at risk of being negatively affected by online racial vilification and cyber bullying” (Montgomery, 2014). It is mentioned later in this article that most often than not the problems experienced are solved by the community banding together to identify problems and find a solution. The article later states that the internet can also be used to empower Indigenous communities to fight racism (Montgomery, 2014). It can also be argued that as the issues of racism and bullying exist in the real world too they are not exclusive to the Internet and social media. Social media communities such as the ‘Blackfulla Revolution’ page on Facebook can help members of the Indigenous community to deal with the racism they are subjected to online and help to combat it. For example the pinned post on the page is a warning that the page admin will screenshot any racist comments, racist jokes or racist name calling then share it on the page and name and shame the culprit. This is an example of the community taking matters into their own hands and coming together online to support one another.

Another issue that is mentioned when researching the introduction of the social networking sites into remote Indigenous communities is generational disparity. Elders in remote Indigenous communities have expressed concerns that the increase in use of the Internet may cause loss of cultural practices, loss of language and create a lack of respect for elders in the youth in the community (Kral, 2014). Although generational disparity may cause issues between members of the same geographical physical community social media can be used to open up connections and memberships to new communities that were once not possible to join or feel accepted by. Matt Balogh states that the average age of Facebook users in Australia is increasing and this could mean generational disparity becomes less of an issue as older members of the community embrace social media as one of their new ways to communicate and relate to others (Callinan, 2014). A study that was conducted also argues that while non-Indigenous youth around Australia are dropping platforms like Facebook Indigenous youth are increasing and using this platform to engage with older generations and maintain intergenerational connections (Carlson, 2017). Social media also allows older members of the community to feel included and provides them with meaningful family and cultural connectivity (Carlson, 2017). Facebook pages that create online communities devoted to the preservation of traditional practices and languages with much wider audiences than real life communities have been set up to try to combat some of these fears.

The Internet Increasing Political Activism Among the Indigenous Community

With the increasing use of the Internet and social media amongst Indigenous people it is natural that communities have been set up online that support political issues that they are passionate about. Social media helps to increase political activism in the Indigenous Community by helping to alert them to issues that they may not have previously been aware of and also spread awareness about causes that are affecting them to the rest of the community to garner larger support. As social media platforms are also a way to distribute information to the masses instantaneously and call for action ‘Activism 2.0’ has begun (Harlow, 2011). It takes the beliefs and actions of on online community and brings them into the real world. It also allows them to engage by giving them a platform to share the issues that they are concerned about and ‘enables diverse and dissenting Indigenous voices’ to be heard (Dreher, 2015). An example of this kind of political activism online is the 2009 murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg, pages protesting the current President who had been accused of the murder were set up and had gained over 28,000 friends in three days (Fieser, 2009). Rodrigo Rosenberg example is an excellent showcase of the exponential increase in social capital that can be facilitated by social media. Social capital has been defined by Putnam (1993) as “features of social organisation, such as trust, norms, and networks, that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions.” An example of using social media to increase social capital for an Indigenous political agenda is the page ‘Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance – WAR’. Pages like this have changed the way politics has worked by helping to create ‘participatory politics’ that is more open to minority groups to have a say (Cohen and Luttig, 2016). Internet users can also use social media to help organise protests that translate their efforts online into real world results through services such as Facebook events like ‘Stolenwealth Games Protest’. This has happened because social media has allowed members of minority groups to get around the filters that the media once placed on news and content and it is not governed by socioeconomic resources (Cohen and Luttig, 2016).

 Conclusion

Despite the perceived drawbacks to remote Indigenous communities using the Internet and social media the benefits such as an increased sense of identity, connection to online communities that decrease feelings of isolation, encourage collaboration and build meaningful relationships whilst also increasing in levels of political activism out weight the negatives. This paper proves that although these factors do negatively impact Indigenous communities there are ways that these issues can be combatted and overcome by the community such as the formation of groups that combat racism and preserve traditional practices and languages. Overall social media in Indigenous communities is used to develop a sense of identity, foster new communities, decrease social isolation and increase political activism and the social capital available to these minority groups. For all these reasons I believe that the new definition of community that does not require a physical location that has been created through social networking sites has had a positive effect on the Indigenous community.

References:

Boyd, D. (2007). Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning – Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume. Retrieved from                                                            http://www.danah.org/papers/WhyYouthHeart.pdf

Callinan, T. (2014, August 26). Remote Indigenous Australians rely on Facebook to stay in touch. NITV. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2014/08/26/remote-indigenous-australians-rely-facebook-stay-touch

Carlson, B. (2017). Why are Indigenous people such avid users of social media? The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/27/why-are- indigenous-people-such-avid-users-of-social-media

 

Cohen, C.J., & Luttig, M.D. (2016, September 9). How Social Media helps young people – especially minorities and the poor – get politically engaged. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-   cage/wp/2016/09/09/how-social-media-helps-young-people-especially-minorities-and- the-poor-get-politically-engaged/?utm_term=.12eef11c110a

 

William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. (2012). Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/community

Dreher, T. (2015). Indigenous voices and mediatized policy-making in the digital age.  Information, Communication & Society, 19(1), 23-39. Retrieved from https://www-tandfonline-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1093534?scroll=top&need    Access=true

 

Fieser, E. (2009). A murder prompts demonstrations. Global Post, 16 May. Retrieved from  http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/the-americas/090515/murder-prompts-demonstrations?page=full

Harlow, S. (2011). Social media and social movements: Facebook and an online Guatemalan justice movement that moved offline. New Media and Society, 1-19. DOI:10.1177/146144811410408

 

Kral, I. (2014). Shifting perceptions, shifting identities: Communication technologies and the altered social, cultural and linguistic ecology in a remote indigenous context. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 25(2). https://doi-org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1111/taja.12087

Lumby, B. L. (2010). Cyber-Indigeneity: Urban Indigenous identity on Facebook. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39, 68-75. Retrieved from    http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2271&context=artspapers

 

Montgomery, H. (2014). The Internet: The benefits, problems and legal difficulties for Indigenous Australians. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 8(14), 19-23. Retrieved from https://search-informit-com-   au.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/fullText;dn=20151304;res=AGISPT

Putnam, R. (1993). Making democracy work. Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Rice, E.S., Haynes, E.,Royce, P., & Thompson, S.C. (2015). Social media and digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia: a literature review. International Journal for Equity in Health. Retrieved from    https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0366-0

Townsend, P.B. (2014). Mob Learning – Digital Communities for Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tertiary Students. Journal of Economic and Social Policy, 17(2).    Retrieved from       https://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1333&context=jesp

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Can Networked Participation Deliver Political Transformation? An Indigenous Australian Activist Context

Abstract

Enthusiasm for the politically transformative potential of networked participation is echoed throughout Internet studies. In many accounts, participation in digital networks is configured as a central democratising force: if networked platforms afford an opportunity for the previously voiceless to speak, the flattening of old hierarchies, it goes, must follow. However, critics are increasingly questioning this logic as social and political inequalities persist both on- and offline. This criticism is particularly pertinent when considering the chronic inequalities that exist between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Discourse around online Indigenous activism has emphasised ‘creative resistance through daily practices’, however, I argue that an overemphasis on networked participation obscures a number of myths and inconsistencies around digital network theory, and potentially draws scholarly attention away from the role of power in networks; its existence and operation throughout and within both on- and off-line activist networks.

Keywords: activism, digital networks, Indigenous Australians, participation, politics

Carmen Reilly, Curtin University (2018).

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Introduction

Indigenous peoples from around the world have long utilised, appropriated and modified digital networks for a wide range of purposes (Dyson, 2011), including cultural resilience and preservation (Molyneaux et al, 2014; Bidwell, Radoll & Turner, 2007), maintaining cultural identity (Lumby, 2010), education (Townsend, 2014), and activism (Petray, 2011; Soriano, 2011; Carlson & Frazer, 2017). A strong focus of scholarship has been on Indigenous peoples’ digital practices, particularly the compatibility of traditional ontologies and ways of knowing, which favour storytelling, visual representation and networking, with the affordances of Web 2.0 platforms (Molyneaux et al, 2014, p. 277; Townsend, 2014, p. 4). Discourse around Indigenous activism has emphasised ‘creative resistance through daily practices’ (Soriano, 2011, p. 4), for example, social networking to sustain community resilience (Molyneaux et al, 2014), (micro)blogging injustices and dissenting views (Dreher, McCallum & Waller, 2016), and disseminating memes to create an anti-colonial politics (Carlson & Frazer, 2017). In these accounts, participation in digital networks is configured as a central democratising force: if networked platforms afford an opportunity for the previously voiceless to speak, the flattening of old hierarchies, it goes, must follow. Enthusiasm for the politically transformative potential of networked participation is echoed throughout Internet studies, however critics (Couldry, 2015; Dreher, McCallum & Waller, 2016; Nakumara & Chow-White, 2013) are increasingly questioning its logic as social and political inequalities persist both on- and offline. In this essay I first provide a review of scholarship in the area of Australian Aboriginal activism and digital network use. I then draw on the work of Couldry (2015), which highlights the myths and inconsistencies around digital networks, and Bozzo and Franceschet’s (2016) theory of power in networks, to argue that locating systems of power that operate within and across on- and off-line activist networks may enable further studies of digital network use by Australian Aboriginal activists and allies to better determine how to leverage these networks (and communities) to effect greater political change.

Australian Aboriginal activism and digital network use

In scholarly accounts, it is recognised that while known social, economic and geographical factors continue to contribute to notable lacks in internet communication technology (ICT) access and expertise among Aboriginal people, there is no shortage of political activity among those who use social networks (Petray, 2011; Dreher, McCallum & Waller, 2016; Carlson & Frazer, 2017). As Dreher, McCallum & Waller (2016) observe, there are myriad dissenting Australian Aboriginal voices online (p. 31-32). Activists like Gary Foley and Celeste Liddle actively blog and Tweet their frustrations with mainstream politics and respond to injustices, while Facebook groups like Black Fella Revolution create and share political memes and commentate on current affairs (Carlson & Frazer, 2017; Black Fella Revolution, 2014). Aboriginal people make up roughly only 2.5 per cent of the Australian population (Petray, 2011, p. 926), yet the demographic reportedly uses social media at rates up to 20 per cent times higher than mainstream Australia (Carlson & Frazer, 2015, p. 215). Furthermore, many Aboriginal users of Facebook report ‘liking’ and following Aboriginal-affiliated causes and political pages as an important part of authenticating their Aboriginal identity online (Lumby, 2010, p. 71). Among the connected Indigenous population, the conditions for political participation described by Schlozman, Verba and Brady (2010) are present, namely access, skill-level, motivation and exposure to issues (p. 487). And yet, to borrow Couldry’s (2015) observation, the causal link, or lack thereof, between the extent that networked participation of Indigenous users can be said to influence or feed into wider political discourses to effect change, remains unclear.

In her study on the use of digital technology by an Aboriginal activist group based in Townsville, Queensland, Petray (2011) recognises the clear operational benefits of utilising email, blogs and social networking to coordinate activities and mobilise political action. However, Petray concludes the use of ‘push-button’ activism such as online petitions and Facebook posts do not illicit enough engagement to sustain a movement. She calls for activists to devise clearer targets, goals and instructions to their followers in order to achieve effective political action (p. 936). The study’s faintly technological-determinist criticism is thus aimed at the functions of social networking technology for failing to inspire engagement, and responsibility laid on activists to ‘get around’ the potential traps of social network sites. Like many scholars, Petray recognises and grapples with the difficulties of sustaining an online social movement enough to extend its reach ‘offline’. Descriptions of digital participation may not be enough to render an understanding of the factors that result in political outcomes, however Dreher, McCallum and Waller (2016) may offer an inroad.

In their work, Dreher, McCallum and Waller put the onus of action not on activists and users, but on those in established positions of power to ‘listen’. They conclude that “the proliferation of diverse and dissenting Indigenous voices online does not necessarily ensure that those voices will be attended to or engaged with by decision-makers” (Dreher, McCallum & Waller, 2016, p. 33). According to them, political change fails not because of a platform’s inability to motivate users to act, nor the activist’s or everyday user’s type or level of participation, but the mainstream media and government’s failure to respond to views that are in a minority or otherwise unaligned or anathema to mainstream agendas and narratives. The mediatisation of politics is identified as one potential muffler on the ears of political elites. The authors are concerned with how the convergence of political and media interests impedes the capacity of policy-makers “to engage with grassroots or alternative media” (p. 27). The authors conclude the article calling for further investigation into the diversity of Indigenous voices, the types of views that mainstream media favour, and what might facilitate political listening (p. 35). The limit of the investigation again is that it stops at participation as the primary signifier of a healthy democracy; this time the participation of politicians, media players and prominent Indigenous figures in meaningful dialogue with diverse Indigenous voices.

Both studies point towards the impotence of networked participation but fall short of critiquing the “general logic of ‘horizontal’  networking” itself (Couldry, 2016, p. 614). Petray imagines the virtual space as separate to mainstream media and outside the control of the powerful elite – perhaps envisioning Habermas’s hypothetical ‘public sphere’ whereby inherently subjective, private individuals come together to form a necessarily rational and humane public free from government and corporate interests (Katz, Rice, Acord, Dasgupta & David, 2004, p. 319) – but surmises that these spaces are unable to challenge established politics because the platform encourages ‘armchair activism’, not ‘real’ action (McLellan, 2010 cited in Petray, 2011, p. 935). Here Habermas’s democratic public sphere fails as individuals are proven irrational or disengaged and separating virtual networks from mainstream media or state institutions is muddied. Our understandings of user practice must change, or we must refocus on locating power both within and outside networks. Dreher, McCallum & Waller’s article asks important questions about the need for political listening and surfacing diverse voices, but these discussions again beg the issue of power imbalances within networks – both ‘real’ and digital. Why are some voices listened to and not others, or to put it in Couldry’s (2015) terms, “what actions regularly get connected to what other actions, and what actions just as regularly do not get connected up in this way” (p. 615)? Next I will look at Couldry (2015) and Bozzo and Franceschet’s (2016) work to infer that a deeper understanding of how networks configure and reproduce power may go some way in pinpointing these imbalances.

Demythologising digital networks

Couldry (2015) surmises that the democratising digital network is as much a myth as the state-and-mass-media-generated ‘imagined community’ or nation state (Anderson, 1983, p. 6). Mass media has been for decades positioned as a centralised ‘collectivity’ that tells us ‘what is going on’ in the world; acting as the ‘voice’ of a nation, thus solidifying particular narratives above others over time (Couldry, 2016, p. 614). As social networks like Facebook and Twitter are increasingly seen as the places where events ‘happen’, the myth of ‘us’ has been relocated onto digital networks. In Anderson’s terms, the collective ‘us’ online has been endowed with all the attributes of an ideal community, i.e. Habermas’s public sphere in which all citizens can speak free from the constraints of authority and cut through to what is ‘really’ happening (Katz et al, 2014, p. 319). Harlow (2012) deemed that during the 2009 Guatemalan social movement, Facebook participation “helped generate debate and create a sense of community and collective identity, furthering the likelihood of users participating offline” (p. 14). However Harlow’s data shows that links to mainstream media articles were the most frequent type of post at 35 per cent, with alternative news articles comprising only 15 per cent (p. 13). Additionally, the second-highest purpose of comments was to ‘convey information’ (p. 12). It remains unclear how much of the movement’s ‘collective identity’ was shaped by mainstream information and narrative. Here we see mainstream media potentially playing a prominent role in a movement that has been critically assessed as networked and user-driven.¹ While social networks are undeniably important in mobilising political action quickly and efficiently, the danger of the egalitarian network myth is that it may obscure the intrusion of mediatised commercial and state interests in digital social space, as well as draw attention away from issues of sustaining and resourcing movements in the long-term (Couldry, 2015). I argue that issues of whether activist communities can access resources due to power imbalances in digital networks (who is ‘heard’ or given attention) and funding restrictions imposed by governments and institutions should be given more weight in scholarly case studies than participatory behaviour alone.  

Everyday users of social networks indeed now have a voice, but so do to long-established state and media institutions, who use the very same networks. These institutions have always been been networked, and have only intensified their networks in the digital age (Couldry, 2015, p. 611). The networks themselves are owned by private entities with commercial interests in the data of their users (Couldry, 2015, p. 609; Hathaway, 2014, p. 306). Furthermore, “governments are increasingly requesting and can even compel private sector assistance in conducting voice or data surveillance”, meaning governments are actively seeking pathways to access the rich data sources of social networks (Hathaway, 2014, p. 310). While on one hand we must recognise that “the very interconnectedness of people can be denied [by states] and freedom of communication and political freedoms are clearly linked” (Hathaway, 2014, p. 309), the link becomes less clear when supposed freedom of communication does not equate to full political freedom i.e. the ability to participate effectively in political debate and be heard, which has been a common experience of Aboriginal activists in Australia (Dreher, McCallum & Waller, 2016). Further to this, evidence points to long-term social patterns becoming digitally networked, such as the ‘platformed racism’ experienced by ordinary Aboriginal people online after crowds booed Indigenous Australian Football League player Adam Goodes during a match (Matamoros-Fernández, 2017). We cannot assume that freedoms of communication and participation automatically result in social and political equality.

Instead of imagining social networks as domains that automatically elevate the most persuasive or entrepreneurial voices – a prevailing concept with neoliberal undertones – Couldry unsensationally reads networks as “the outcome of local struggles over resources in particular historical contexts” (p. 614).² This shifts the approach to networks from one focused on the network as symbolic route to democracy (the only trick being to get the type and/or level of participation right), to one focused on power and resource allocation situated in time. For accounts of networked Aboriginal Australian activism, the emphasis may then change to questions of how resources – time, money and energy – flow through and are sustained in these networks, how they respond to ‘short-term external events’ and what capacity they have for ‘long-term adaptive responses’ (Bennet and Segerberg, 2013, p. 9, quoted in Couldry, 2015, p. 619). Couldry suggests sustained resourcing, not simply a free horizontal networked space, is required for a political environment in which conflict and conflict resolution are both accommodated, yet sustained resourcing implies organisational/institutional structures, which further challenges the myth of the ideal network sitting ‘outside’ structures (p. 614). Perhaps an avenue for future studies of digital Aboriginal activism could be to locate how and why activist groups are, or are not, financially and socially resourced, and put pressure back on policy-makers and other powerful elites to close disparities.

Bozzo and Franceschet’s (2016) account of how power works in networks states that an actor is more powerful if its connections do not have many of their own connections or options. Conversely, a well-connected actor linked to many other well-connected actors is not as powerful. In Bozzo and Franceschet’s view, options equal power. What political options do Indigenous Australians have? The few prominent Indigenous political players are more likely to echo mainstream party politics more than dissenting opinions (Dreher, McCallum & Waller, 2016). This suggests the government remains disproportionally powerful because Indigenous people, due to complex factors, continue to have fewer options and alternatives for political representation – and indeed for education, health treatment, employment and access to integral technologies such the Internet – than mainstream populations, who can pick and choose from a much wider range of representatives and life trajectories. Although there are arguably many options for voicing Indigenous opinions via digital networks, I would also ask to whom these voices are connected? The prevalence of social media ‘bubbles’ whereby online communities with similar interests become insular may be relevant here.

We can take as a mini case-study the recent incident involving the mainstream Australian morning television program Sunrise. Sunrise conducted a discussion panel on adoption rates of Aboriginal children. None of the panelists were Indigenous; indeed all were from white-Anglo backgrounds. The segment relayed a number of false facts and one panelist even suggested reinstating the policy which resulted in the Stolen Generation. The segment provoked widespread condemnation on social media and from other mainstream media outlets for its racist overtones, and protesters gathered outside the program’s studio, which the broadcaster blanked out (Latham, 2018). As such, an issue that would be far from new to activists, the removal of Aboriginal children from homes to enter the foster care system, is brought into the national spotlight due to the blunders of a mainstream program. The program’s power to reach a wide audience provoked a wide response, while by the same token its power enabled it to control and contain the protest by rendering the relatively small group of on-ground protesters invisible. The response to this incident involving a mainstream media player could be said to differ from other related activist action because it was ‘listened’ to – the powerful connections of the program begetting a powerful response.

Conclusion

I have presented an alternative, though admittedly ‘negative argument’ to the discourse on participation within digital networks (Couldry, 2015, p. 621). Couldry’s concept of the digital network as a myth of ‘collectivity’ highlights the need to look beyond the assumption that ‘us’/’we’ online are autonomous and ‘free’ to speak and be heard on an equal footing online – this myth potentially benefits those already in power, as networked action, though its impact remains unclear, is still imbued with transformative powers. For minority communities such as Aboriginal Australia, the Web’s unique networking capabilities to coordinate activities and mobilise political action are all the more important as the struggle for Indigenous recognition, self-determination and equality continues to have its voices silenced. However, I argue that Internet studies must encompass not just user practices and participatory behaviours but the mediatisation of and influence of commercial and state interests on networks, where resources are allocated and sustained, and macro or long-term structural forces at work. At this point in history, almost any object, group or actor has a networked web presence, so research efforts must extend beyond the idea that platforms automatically enable democracy.

Notes

  1. Another example where mainstream media’s contribution to a ‘Facebook-led’ movement has been underplayed is the 2015 Guatemalan protests. Attendees to the protest soared when a mainstream media outlet shared the Facebook event page, however the movement is attributed to nine ordinary Facebook users (Rogers, 2015).
  2. While researching this essay, I found similarities between Couldry’s (2016) unsensationalist concept of networks and Latour’s (2005) actor-network theory whereby he discourages determinist/structuralist thinking by prescribing the network scholar five areas of concern: groups, actions, objects, facts and discourse. The links need to be fleshed out but it seems both attempt to ‘see through’ digital network myths, which have tended to stand in for the ‘social’ i.e. there has been a lack of theoretical leg-work bridging digital networks and social change; scholars have simply inserted ‘network’ where they have envisioned transformation. As Couldry puts it, “we do not yet know what ‘a successful transition to [a different politics] looks like’  ([Juris,] 2013, p. 214): put more bluntly, accounts of digital networks … have not provided such answers” (2016, p. 619). Latour’s instructions may be another way to if not sketch out a ‘successful transition’ then produce research that gives sober consideration to all physical and nonphysical actors at play in digital networks.

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Indigenous Australians and social networking: Post-colonial challenges and innovative digital practice

Author:  Bec Allen

Bec Allen’s work has predominantly been with Indigenous Australian young people in the development of Kimberley-based film and photography projects. Bec is currently studying her Master of Internet Communications online from the remote town of Kununurra, the home of the Miriuwung and Gajerrong people. Her paper presents some of the challenges that Indigenous Australians face when using social networking sites as well as the innovative digital practice that comes as a result.

Abstract

The Internet is shaped by the values of post-colonial culture.  This cultural hegemony is woven through legacy media forms such as film, television and print news, and informs the political landscape of modern Australia.  Despite Web 2.0’s potential for a digital democracy that might transcend society’s economic, political and cultural boundaries, equal participation in online communities is not afforded to all members of society. This paper will argue that Social Networking Sites (SNSs) can reinforce the marginalisation of Indigenous Australians and challenge cultural protocols.  It will also show that, despite these barriers to participation, the up-take of SNSs by Indigenous Australians, and FaceBook in particular, is increasing rapidly.  Indigenous Australian users are capitalising on the open and flexible nature of SNSs to produce innovative digital practices that facilitate kinship and connectivity and address the lack of political listening.

Keywords: social networking sites, Indigenous Australians, online communities, Facebook

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Indigenous Australians and social networking: Post-colonial challenges and innovative digital practice

The engineering of positive representations of non-Indigenous Australians of European descent in the Australian mainstream media reflects the dominant, post-colonial value systems that underpin modern Australian life. These values are woven through legacy media forms such as film, television and print news and inform the “economic and cultural policy” of modern Australia (Williams, 2004, p. 739).  The Internet, as a global, mass archive of knowledge and social practice, is laden with a post-colonial value system which Brabazon (2001) describes as “invisible” and a “structuring grammar for social truths” (p. 3).  Similarly, Duarte and Belarde-Lewis (2015) emphasise that “how we structure our knowledge shapes who, what, and how we can know” (p. 684).  SNSs, and FaceBook more specifically, are often celebrated as spaces for cultural expression and collective empowerment (Jarrett, 2008). However, scholarship into the field of online networked communities identifies that not all sectors of society have equal access and participation in this space. Once a promoter of Web 2.0 as an agent of democratisation, Henry Jenkins (2014) shifts his perspective to advocate for a systematic broadening of participation and to “push back” against corporatisation and government control of the Internet (p. 290). Despite the potential for SNSs to transcend economic, political and cultural boundaries, for Indigenous Australian users, post-colonial ways of presenting and managing knowledge continue to present challenges in the online world. This paper will begin by providing context to the Indigenous Australian experience in modern Australia and the ways in which this intersects with access to the Internet. It will then discuss the many forces at play within SNSs and some of challenges faced by Indigenous Australian users when participating in these online communities, specifically in the areas of social capital and identity and intellectual property and cultural protocols. Finally, it will show that the up-take of SNSs by Indigenous Australians, and FaceBook in particular, is increasing rapidly, with users capitalising on the open and flexible nature of this online community to produce innovative digital practices that facilitate kinship and connectivity and address the lack of political listening.

Australia’s turbulent history of colonialism and the subsequent inequity that plays out in the ‘gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is well documented.  Current studies show that Indigenous Australians can expect to live 10 years less than non-Indigenous Australians (Life expectancy & deaths, 2017), with inequity manifesting in areas of health, education, politics, housing, employment and media messaging.  A decade on from the implementation of the “Closing the Gap” policy, Bunuba Elder and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar indicates that the life expectancy gap has in fact widened and that the policy has been “all but abandoned” (Oscar as cited in Lane, 2018).  Additionally, parity of access to the Internet is an area of research highlighting that Indigenous people in remote Australia have slower Internet connections, less infrastructure and a lack of training in Internet usage (McCallum and Papandrea, 2009, p. 1233) compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Although commentators often position the Internet as a catalyst for positive social change which puts users in control of the technology and the message, (Wellman and Gulia, 1999, p. 2) this perspective overlooks which sectors of society are excluded and how code is controlled. Noble (2018) challenges John Perry Barlow’s influential manifesto, “The Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace” where he envisioned the Internet as a world that “all may enter without privilege or prejudice” (Barlow, 1996 as cited in Noble, 2018, p. 61). Noble argues that scholars are countering early commentators, such as Barlow (and even Jenkins), who pushed “utopian ideals associated with the rise of the Internet and its ability to free us” (p. 61).  Importantly, Noble emphasises the significant control that the engineers of the Internet have “over the mechanics of sense making” (p. 60) when we are participating in online communities.  Similarly, Arnstein (1969) warned that without the relocation of power and the access to knowledge about its workings, the dominant hegemonies will continue to advocate that all people are considered, all the while preserving the status quo (p. 216).  The Internet is complex archive of knowledge and social practice; however, it is evident that members of marginalised communities can experience the same challenges that they confront in the offline world.

Social Capital and Identity

SNSs such as FaceBook are participatory, online communities that facilitate the formation, development and maintenance of social capital and identity (Ellison, Steinfield, Lampe, 2007, p. 1). Social capital is defined as the “tangible assets…namely goodwill, fellowship, sympathy, and social intercourse” (Hanifan, 1916 as cited in Brian, 2007, p. 102) that are generated by human interactions. Facebook’s 10.82 million Australian users (“Number of Facebook users in Australia”, 2018) are participants in an “attention economy”, which encourages an assemblage of “self-presentation” techniques to entice other users, mainly through the disclosure of personal information and insights (Marwick, 2015, p. 138). boyd (2006) points out that SNSs are performative by their nature and exist in an egocentric realm of “context collapse” (p.1) where identity can be adapted for the benefit of accumulating “friends” and building the social network.  A study by Carlson (2013) finds that Indigenous Australians are using FaceBook as a vigorous means of strengthening social capital within their own communities and to represent their Aboriginality to other users and groups (p. 147-148).  Significantly, users are “Aboriginalising” their profile pages to proudly demonstrate their identity (p. 149). Carlson also notes that research into the area of “disembodied space” (like boyd’s notion of “context collapse”) cannot necessarily be applied to Indigenous Australian FaceBook users, where it is evident that “Aboriginal people embody rather that disembody their identity and social engagements” (p.148).  While it is evident that there is a strong element of self-determination in the act of resisting censorship of identity, there are also risks associated with the embodiment of Aboriginality while engaging in the Facebook community. Social commentator and activist, Celeste Liddle is an Arrernte woman who represents herself by the social media handle, “@blackfeministranter”.  Liddle uses FaceBook to discuss political issues and the ways these intersect with Indigenous identity in contemporary Australia.  A challenge faced by Liddle and many other Indigenous Australians is “platformed racism”, defined by Matamoros-Fernandez (2017) as “a new form of racism derived from the culture of social media platforms ‒ their design, technical affordances, business models and policies ‒ and the specific cultures of use associated with them” (p. 930).  Matamoros-Fernandez discuss Liddle’s open criticism of Facebook’s community standards after she shared an image of two Aboriginal women, bare-chested, participating in traditional ceremony. She was subsequently banned for publishing the image that was deemed sexually explicit, with Facebook indicating that such content infringed their policy and could “culturally offend” some users (p. 931).  Liddle reflects on the experience of being “trolled” by “a group of narrow-minded little white men” which she believes ultimately led to the ban.  She raises concerns about response by the” trolls” and the platform which “took great offence at Aboriginal women… not only inhabiting their bodies in a way that showed no shame… but also undertaking culture within a country which has continually tried to stop them from doing so” (Liddle, 2016).

Intellectual Property and Cultural Protocols

Facebook engineers the interpersonal connections of 2.2 billion active monthly users (“Number of monthly active Facebook users”, 2018).  It is these connections, and the personal data that was harvested from its users and distributed to advertisers, that generated Facebook’s $12 billion in the first quarter of 2018 (Solon, 2018).  Benedict Anderson argued that the “convergence of capitalism and print technology…created a new form of imagined community” (1991, p. 29). Certainly, the commercial foundations of Facebook where the act of sharing intellectual property (IP) in the form of written text and images is rewarded with “public approval, attention and recognition” (Malik, Dhir and Nieminen, 2015, p. 130) is testament to Anderson’s assertions.  For Indigenous Australians, Lumby (2010) points out that “Facebook provides possibilities for extending community, for establishing connectedness and cultural belonging, through networking aspects of pre-contact culture, language, the sharing of practiced rituals, information about kin or mobs that may have been lost, photographs, stories and so on” (p. 69).  However, there are community concerns around IP being shared, copied and remixed on the Internet which can contest important spiritual and custodial obligations (Dyson, 2011. p. 257).  Christie (2001) highlights that the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land view certain knowledge around land, language and ceremony as sacred.  Although Yolngu can share specific knowledge about their own IP, they are obliged to be mindful about sharing the IP of others (p.36).   Further, Christie argues that “this is very different from the western notion of knowledge, which is represented as abstract, universal, value free, not belonging to anyone in particular” (p. 36).  Notably, Facebook’s Data Policy shows that public posts may be downloaded, re-shared and seen by anyone through search engines, apps and even offline media forms such as television (“Data Policy”, 2018). Carlson and Frazer’s (2015) research looks specifically at Sorry Business (cultural observances surrounding the death of a community member) and the ways in which FaceBook has become a space for Indigenous Australians to grieve and strengthen kinship during this cultural practice.  In their study, though, Indigenous Australians expressed significant concern about the use of FaceBook during Sorry Business as the lack of control over images of the deceased can cause distress to community members (p. 215).  Facebook’s ability to memorialise the accounts of deceased users may be a useful point of remembrance for some family members. However, to have the account of a deceased family member removed may prove challenging for some Indigenous Australians. As of 2016, one in five Aboriginal births were unregistered in Western Australia (Gaffney, 2016).  Facebook’s policy for having accounts removed requires proof of identity, such as a birth certificate or will (“Memorialized Accounts, 2018) and without this kind of legal documentation, the profile of the deceased potentially remains visible, active and ultimately becomes known as “Sorry Pages” (Korff, 2017).

Kinship and Connectivity

Recent research into the use of Facebook by Indigenous Australians indicates that while many users face challenges, this is not preventing them from joining online communities.  SNS use by Indigenous Australians is “20 percent higher than the national average” and over 60 percent of the population in remote communities are active users of Facebook (Carlson and Frazer, 2015, p. 215).  Despite the issues that most Indigenous users are confronted with while online, Facebook has become a “modern site for kinship connectivity and community” and (Lumby, 2010, p. 70) can preserve cultural knowledge, grow resilience and assist in the building of social capital (Molyneaux, O’Donnell, Kakekaspan, Walmark, Budka and Gibson, 2012, p. 3-4).  Rice, Haynes, Royce and Thompson (2016) found that Indigenous Australian young people use SNS to preserve cultural identity and strengthen kinship connections to family members and their broader communities. They also found that these connections enhanced health and educational outcomes.  The notion of “hidden transcripts”, a concept coined by anthropologist, James C. Scott, describes tactics of resistance that marginalised communities employ when in public life.  The deployment of “hidden transcripts” to communicate and maintain connectivity on Facebook illustrates how Indigenous dissent can materialise online.  Users “improvise, interpret, bend and negotiate” their online experiences (Soriano, 2011, p. 2), using cultural nuances to protect knowledge from wider public consumption. For example, the FaceBook pages, “Noongars Be Like” and “Kooris be Like” build and maintain social capital and kinship connection through memes and colloquialisms which require cultural and contextual understanding for users to participate meaningfully in the online community. Soriano (2011) further explains that this form of resistance is designed to push back against the dominant hegemony and is visible only to those with membership to the subordinate group (p. 3).    This kind innovative practice is permeating through FaceBook despite the constraints that post-colonial value structures present to many Indigenous Australians.

The Politics of Listening

The representation and debate of Indigenous affairs has traditionally been restricted to legacy media forms such as film, television and print news. The affordances of SNS have facilitated an “open journalism” movement that has mediated a diverse range of perspectives in the conversation around complex issues such as Aboriginal land rights and constitutional recognition (Ingram, 2016). In response to the mediatisation of Australian life, Indigenous Australian Facebook users are using “guerrilla tactics to create alternative spaces of meaning, memory and identity” (Brabazon, 2001) and to produce innovative digital resistance against oppressive government policies. The #Sosblakaustralia movement grew out of a “grass-roots” response to the proposed government closure of Indigenous communities in remote Western Australia. Women from the Kimberley desert community of Wangkatjungka used FaceBook to campaign against the policy and to draw attention to the injustices faced by Indigenous Australians. The movement generated international attention and verified that Facebook could be used as a tool for self-determination and activism (Carlson and Frazer, 2016, p.1). The campaign was largely omitted from the Australian mainstream media news cycle, however an offline protest in Melbourne gained attention when it featured on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald with the headline, “Selfish Rabble Shut City” (2015).  Despite the attention and protest that was generated by the women of Wangkatjungka, Dreher, McCallum and Waller (2016) find that Indigenous voices are consistently challenged by the volume of content that is generated on SNS which ultimately affects their ability to be heard (p. 28).  Dreher et al points to the “politics of listening” as an essential part of an “ensemble of practices that are as necessary for democratic communications as ‘voice’ or speaking” (p. 27).  For meaningful engagement with Indigenous affairs to occur, a focus on listening rather than speaking will move the emphasis from those who are subjugated to those who dominate the political conversation (p. 28). #Sosblakaustralia remains a strong example of Indigenous Australians using Facebook to challenge the mediatisation of Indigenous issues and to enhance offline activism (Petray, 2001, p. 925). While the rigours of a new form of “open” media has birthed collective action by Indigenous Australians, the need for long-term political transformation beyond the short-term collective disruption of protest remains a critical issue (McCallum, 2016, p. 38).

Conclusions:  Growth despite challenges

This paper has addressed the challenges that Indigenous Australians face when using SNSs. The Australian mainstream media reinforces the dominant, post-colonial value systems that permeate through modern Australian life. These hegemonic frames are also embedded within our social network.  Aitchison rightfully argues that “technology is embedded within social relations of hierarchy and control” (2013, p.2). SNSs are often heralded as a democratiser of knowledge, however, this paper has demonstrated that not all sectors of society have equal access and participation in this space. Indigenous Australians are often excluded due to the lack of infrastructure, training, literacy and conflict with the dominant social paradigms that work against cultural protocols. But Web 2.0 is providing Indigenous Australians with a platform to enhance the exploration of Aboriginality and a vehicle to bypass and challenge the gatekeepers of legacy media. Notably, the Indigenous media sector in Australia is growing exponentially in reaction to misrepresentation and the desire for self-determination (Meadows and Molnar, 2010, p.19). Indigenous Australians continue to join Facebook and use the platform to enhance self-determination and produce innovative digital resistance, both online and offline.

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Contentious Conversations:  Race, Religion and Participation Within the New Media Landscape

James Manson. May 2018.

Abstract

The ubiquity of the internet and subsequent convergence of technology and culture, combined with the functionality of social media has allowed for new media technologies to be utilised by indigenous and marginalised communities as an effective mode of communication that crosses several cultural, geographic and political lines. Social media has the capacity to democratise and empower users but also to homogenise and pervert understandings depending on its uses. This study has identified that the discussions surrounding issues dealing with indigenous and marginalised communities in Australia are not only proliferated within these communities themselves, but people are often mobilised in response to various crises and citizen reports. This uncovered an interesting mechanism whereby uninvolved agents within various political communities and special interest groups hijacked these issues surrounding indigenous and marginalised peoples, in order to, promote a loosely related agenda. Politics, power, fear, left vs right-wing politics, political correctness and human rights are identified as often at the heart of these discussions and require a discerning eye when navigating social media.

Keywords: Indigenous Communities Online, Social Media, Participatory Culture, Citizen Journalism, Social Capital.

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The potential benefits of virtual communities on Facebook for Indigenous Australian youth

­Abstract

Virtual communities on Facebook have several potential benefits for young Indigenous Australians. These communities may help to reinforce young Indigenous Australians’ identities, foster new community ties and strengthen existing ones, and improve educational practices and opportunities. This paper first discusses virtual communities on Facebook and the use of Facebook by Indigenous Australians. It then examines each of the potential benefits listed above drawing on peer-reviewed studies and the popular Indigenous Facebook group, Blackfulla Revolution. Lastly, it describes the limitations of the resources used and proposes areas of study that may be beneficial in future research. 

Introduction

The true meaning of “community” has long been disputed amongst academics and theorists, and a clear definition of the word has yet to be agreed upon (Katz, Rice, Acord, Dasgupta & David, 2004, p. 304). The Internet, which allows people from all over the globe to connect with one another, has made finding a widely accepted definition even more challenging. Katz et al. (2004) describe the difference between a physical community, a “population group defined by the space that it occupies” (Park, as cited in Katz et al., 2004, p. 311), and a virtual community, characterized by “intimate secondary relationships, specialized relationships, weaker ties, and homogeneity by interest” (Wellman & Gulia, as cited in Katz et al., 2004, p. 313). While the focus of this paper will be on virtual communities, it is important to note that physical and virtual communities are not mutually exclusive – members of a virtual community may also share a physical space and vice versa. Ridings & Gefen (2006) provide a more comprehensive definition of virtual communities: “people with shared interests or goals for whom electronic communication is a primary form of interaction” (para. 5). Using this definition as a framework, this paper will explore the potential benefits of virtual communities on Facebook for Indigenous Australian youth. These benefits include the reinforcement of Indigenous identity, the building and strengthening of community ties, and improvements in education.

Indigenous Australians and Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service that allows users to create their own profile, link to other profiles by adding “friends” and/or joining groups, post and share content (e.g. photos, videos, text posts, links, etc.), organise events, subscribe to (i.e. “like”) public pages, and more. Facebook is currently the most popular social networking service in the world (Statista, 2018), with roughly 1.45 billion daily active users in March 2018 (Facebook Newsroom, 2018, para. 3). Its core functionality is its users’ ability to connect with “friends” and belong to groups of people with which they have something in common (Lumby, 2010, p. 68). Community is therefore integral to Facebook. Facebook also enables several types of communities. It may help to form new communities of people with similar interests, values and/or goals that otherwise may never have had the opportunity to meet, or it may strengthen communities that already exist offline (Rice, Haynes, Royce & Thompson, 2016, pp. 10-11). The functionality and wide, frequent usage of Facebook make it a useful tool with which to examine the potential benefits of virtual communities.

 Rice et al. (2016) state that despite the “economic, social, cultural and geographic factors” that may limit their access, Indigenous Australians have been using the Internet and social media since its early introduction in Australia (p. 2). Furthermore, since mobile phones have facilitated Internet access, the use of social media as a communication tool by Indigenous Australians has become increasingly widespread (Rice et al, 2016, p. 3). In fact, studies have found that Indigenous Australians are over-represented as users of Facebook; 73% of Indigenous Australians actively used Facebook in 2015, compared to only 62% of the general Australian population (Dreher, McCallum & Waller, 2016, p. 29). Across the board, adolescents and young adults are known to be the primary users of social media (Rice et al., 2016, p. 2). This coupled with the fact that young Indigenous Australians face a unique set of challenges – for example, poor standards of education (Townsend, 2015, p. 2) – is the reason for the focus on Indigenous Australian youth in this paper. 

Indigenous Identity

 It has been suggested that the Internet may provide a path for Indigenous people to create “richer representations” of themselves, speak up for themselves, and publish their own stories in a place where participation is not limited (Christie, as cited in Lumby, 2010, p. 70). Being a part of a virtual community, particularly one on Facebook, helps young Indigenous Australians to understand, construct and express their identities. In her study of urban Indigenous identity on Facebook, Lumby (2010) describes how several Indigenous Australian Facebook groups encourage their users to share their art, music, ideas or “anything [they] are proud of” (p. 70). She suggests that this kind of encouragement allows young Indigenous Australians to build a stronger sense of identity and “perform” it to others in these groups (Lumby, 2010, p. 70). The concept of “performing” Indigenous identity on social media has been a popular subject of research in recent years. Carlson (2016) notes that in her research on Aboriginal identity, community and social media, several of her participants stated that they “visually express” their Indigeneity to others through their Facebook profiles, posts and networks; one participant stated that her profile, photos, groups and friends on Facebook “all highlight [her] Aboriginality” (p. 255). Rice et al. (2016) argue that performing their identity to others in Indigenous-specific Facebook groups may help young Indigenous Australians to further define and affirm that identity (pp. 4-10). It seems, then, that virtual communities on Facebook may aid Indigenous Australian youth by allowing them to explore and embrace their Indigeneity.

It has been suggested that the importance that young Indigenous Australians place on representing their cultural identity online may also have negative implications, particularly for those who do not “look” Indigenous. For example, Carlson (2016) notes that “a significant number” of participants in her research reported being challenged and/or mocked for claiming to be Indigenous online, and some admitted to “fabricating aspects of cultural knowledge” so as to be accepted in online communities (p. 256). Similarly, Lumby (2010) posits that Facebook can act as a “restraining force that regulates who can and who cannot be Indigenous”, but also notes that this kind of “surveillance” of Indigeneity regularly occurs among Indigenous Australians in the offline world too (pp. 71-73). This suggests that the issue of identity surveillance is not limited to or a result of social media.

Nevertheless, the impact of virtual communities, particularly those on Facebook, on Indigenous identity are generally positive. Rice et al. (2016) point out that a “strong cultural identity” has known positive outcomes for young Indigenous Australians, including greater participation and achievement in education and improved mental health (p. 13). Furthermore, it has been argued that all “authentic” Indigenous websites (i.e. websites run for and by Indigenous people) reaffirm Indigenous identity and assert “the right of Indigenous peoples to survive” (Dyson, 2011, p. 259). It could therefore be argued that all Facebook groups, pages and profiles run by Indigenous Australians are, in themselves, reaffirmations of Indigenous identity and assertions of the right of Indigenous Australian people to live and thrive.

Community Ties

As mentioned earlier, communities on Facebook, such as groups and pages, can help foster new community ties between people who may never otherwise have met offline or strengthen ties within existing communities and networks (Rice et al., 2016, pp. 10-11). This is particularly important for Indigenous Australians, who are more likely than other Australians to live in remote or very remote communities (Rice et al. 2016, p. 10), and who are often forced to leave their original territories to seek education and/or jobs (Dyson, 2011, p. 260).

Creating New Community Ties

Dyson (2011) notes how the Internet and social media play a crucial role in helping to “reconnect the Indigenous diaspora” (p. 260). She uses the example of the Indigenous Canadian Wendat Nation, who after being widely dispersed from their original home in the 17th century, now use discussion groups on Yahoo to talk about a range of topics including identity, culture, language, planned gatherings and the reacquisition of their original territory (Dyson, 2011, p. 260). There are several Facebook groups and pages designed for Indigenous people all over Australia to connect over similar issues to those discussed by the Wendat people. For example, the popular Indigenous Blackfulla Revolution Facebook page lists their interests as: “culture, dreamtime spirituality, first nations and dialects, history, self-determination, empowerment and advancement, and awareness and education” (Blackfulla Revolution, n.d.). The page has over 170,000 likes and followers, and regularly shares Indigenous news stories, articles about issues faced by Indigenous Australians, stories of achievement by Indigenous Australians, local event details, and links to language, health, and funding resources (Blackfulla Revolution, n.d.). These posts are liked, commented on and shared by sometimes thousands of people – many of them young Indigenous Australians (Blackfulla Revolution, n.d.). Facebook groups and pages such as Blackfulla Revolution may help young Indigenous Australians gain a greater sense of connection and belonging by allowing them to discuss issues that are important to them with others who understand and share their perspective.

Strengthening Existing Community Ties

It has been noted that social networking sites – Facebook in particular, which allows users to share a wide range of content – have gained popularity among young Indigenous Australians, largely because these sites allow them to keep up with their family and friends, especially those with whom they have lost touch after moving away from home (Rice et al., 2016, p. 11). In fact, 92% of participants in a survey of mostly young Indigenous Australians by Carlson (2016) claimed to use social media to “connect with Aboriginal family and friends across distances” (p. 257). Many also suggested that they engage in online activities with friends and family just as they do offline, such as sharing photos and updates, talking about family trees, and speaking in a shared language (Carlson, 2016, p. 257). This suggests that as well as allowing disconnected friends and family to keep in touch, Facebook enables already close friends and family members to maintain and strengthen their relationships. This increased connectivity with members of their existing social networks gives young Indigenous Australians a sense of support, which may help to improve their mental health and overall wellbeing (Rice et al., 2016, p.11).

Education

The rates of educational participation and completion among Indigenous Australians compared to the wider Australian population are very low. Rice et al. (2016) notes that 25% of Indigenous people aged 15 and over report Year 12 or equivalent as their highest level of education, compared to 52% of the non-Indigenous population (p. 2). Furthermore, of those Indigenous Australians who do enrol in higher education, only 41-65% complete their studies (Townsend, 2015, p. 2). Such low levels of education have been identified as a key factor in poor employment rates of Indigenous Australians. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014) claims that over 80% of the difference in employment rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians – which are around 44% and 72% respectively – can be attributed to differences in education (para. 4-5).

Education-based Facebook groups provide several opportunities for Indigenous Australian students – particularly for those living in remote areas who may have less access to educational facilities than those in metropolitan or inner regional areas. A study by Townsend (2015) of Indigenous pre-service teachers in remote communities reveals some major benefits of mobile learning, which involves the use of Facebook groups to connect students with their peers and teachers. Firstly, participants could give and receive academic support by connecting with each other and with staff for help with their studies outside the classroom (Townsend, 2015, p. 11). One participant claimed that he and his peers had “integrated through Facebook”, and that if they were struggling with assignments, they could reach out to each other for help (Townsend, 2015, p. 11). Participants also reported using Facebook groups to offer each other personal encouragement and develop support networks with their peers (Townsend, 2015, p. 12). Townsend (2015) notes that having the opportunity to connect with their peers and teachers online helps pre-service teachers to better engage with their studies – moreover, he argues that this increased engagement may lead to higher completion of teaching degrees among Indigenous Australians living in remote areas, which may lead to more qualified teachers and therefore improved education for future Indigenous students (p. 19). While this last point is mostly theorizing, there is evidence of the positive impact of Facebook groups on school results among non-Indigenous students. For example, a study by Chen (in press) found that students who participated in a school Facebook group achieved “significantly higher” grades than those who did not (p. 5). Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that Facebook groups may also lead to higher results among Indigenous students – especially those in remote areas, for whom online communication with peers and teachers is vital.

Limitations

There are a number of limitations to the main studies and texts referenced in this paper, including:

Limited samples. The studies by Townsend (2015) and Lumby (2010) have very small sample sizes – 28 and 26 participants respectively. There is also little diversity among participants in these studies: Townsend’s (2015) study included only Indigenous Australian pre-service teachers in remote areas of Queensland, and Lumby’s (2010) study included only current or graduated Indigenous Australian university students with Facebook accounts.

Outdated information. Information cited from both Dyson (2011) and Lumby (2010) is somewhat outdated, as these texts were written seven and eight years ago respectively. Many sources referenced in each of these texts are even older (i.e. early-to-mid 2000s).

Ambiguity. There is some ambiguity in Carlson’s (2016) text, as she draws her information from one of her “recent” studies and several of her previous studies. These are sometimes not distinguished and of which the dates, aims and samples are often not specified.

Unpublished literature. Rice et al.’s (2016) literature review includes “grey literature” – academic literature that has not been formally published (p. 3).

Conclusion

Facebook is an extremely popular social networking service that allows its users to connect with others and build virtual communities. Despite several factors that may restrict their access to the Internet and social media, Indigenous Australians are heavy users of Facebook. Belonging to virtual communities on Facebook has several potential benefits for young Indigenous Australians in particular, who face their own unique set of challenges, such as poor standards of education. Facebook enables them to explore, express and reaffirm their Indigenous identity by “performing” their Indigeneity to others in Indigenous-specific groups and in their own networks. Facebook also allows young Indigenous Australians to create new community ties – often through joining Indigenous-specific groups – and strengthen existing ones. This is particularly important for young Indigenous Australians who live in remote areas or who have lost touch with friends and family after moving away from home. Education-based Facebook groups aid young Indigenous Australian students by allowing them to connect with their peers and teachers for academic support and personal encouragement. This may increase their engagement in their studies and eventually lead to improved standards of education for Indigenous students, which are currently very poor. While there is a significant amount of research on Indigenous Australians and virtual communities on social media, much of this research is limited due to small and narrow samples, outdated information, ambiguity and the inclusion of unpublished literature. Future studies would benefit from larger and more diverse samples, the use of more recent data, greater specificity in research aims and sample details, and stricter regulations on the kinds of literature cited in reviews and discussions.

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014, February 28). What works to improve education and employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians? [Press release]. Retrieved from https://search-informit-com-au.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/fullText;dn=085566734433385;res=IELAPA

Blackfulla Revolution. (n.d.). In Facebook [News & Media Page]. Retrieved April 2, 2018, from https://www.facebook.com/ourcountryourchoice/

Carlson, B. (2016). The politics of identity: Who counts as Aboriginal today? Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Chen, M. (in press). Students’ perceptions of the educational usage of a Facebook group. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313220.2018.1434448

Dreher, T., McCallum, K., & Waller, L. (2016). Indigenous voices and mediated policy-making in the digital age. Information, Community & Society, 19, 23-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1093534

Dyson, L. (2011). Indigenous peoples on the Internet. In M. Consalvo & C. Ess (Eds.), The handbook of Internet studies (pp. 251-269). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Facebook Newsroom. (2018). Company Info. Retrieved from https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/

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.

Lumby, B. L. (2010). Cyber-Indigeneity: Urban Indigenous identity on Facebook. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39, 68-75. Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2271&context=artspapers

Rice, E.S., Haynes, E., Royce, P., & Thompson, S.C. (2016). Social media and digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia: A literature review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 15(81), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0366-0

Ridings, C.M. & Gefen, D. (2006). Virtual community attraction: Why people hang out online. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2004.tb00229.x

Statista. (2018). Most popular social networks worldwide as of April 2018, ranked by number of active users (in millions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/.

Townsend, P.B. (2015). Mob learning – digital communities for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tertiary students. Journal of Economic and Social Policy, 17(2), 1-23. Retrieved from https://epubs.scu.edu.au/jesp/vol17/iss2/2

 

 

 

 

The social media movement: The creation of online and offline communities using social media in the Black Lives Matter Movement.

The social media movement: The creation of online and offline communities using social media in the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Jessica  Petrides

 

THE SOCIAL MEDIA MOVEMENT

Abstract

This paper explores the use of social media platform Twitter and its ability to create strong communities online, which are then taken offline to enact change. I will examine what determines a virtual community and the factors that contribute to creating a strong virtual community. Building on this, I will explore how virtual communities have to capacity to transcends to that of one which also exists offline. This paper will use the Black Lives Matter movement as an example to demonstrate the way in which the online activist movement also created an offline movement by organising protests, rallies and boycotts.

 

Keywords: Black Lives Matter, social media, online communities, Twitter.

 

 

THE SOCIAL MEDIA MOVEMENT

Social networking sites (SNS’s) have the ability to connect a wide range of demographics, from all over the world, to form online communities. These virtual communities can be used to spread awareness, create support systems, facilitate relationships and generate strong-ties between users (Porter, 2015). These virtual communities also have the capacity to transfer to offline communities. An example of this is Black Lives Matter, an originally online community which has become an offline movement. The movement, which utilises the social media platform Twitter, fights to spread awareness against racial disparity in America, and was created following unfortunate events of mistreatment to African Americans. Originally starting as a hashtag (#blacklivesmatter), the movement transformed into on ground protests, boycotts and rallies right around America. By delving deeper into both the online and offline communities that Black Lives Matter has created, I will be exploring how SNS’s have the capability to go further than just virtual interaction, and its ability to spread awareness and form communities that gather face-to-face in the world to achieve a shared goal.

 

Social media communities and the Black Lives Matter movement 

Porter (2015) describes virtual communities as passion-centric, where the focal point of the communication by individuals is a shared interest and the interaction of this is supported by technology. To build a strong virtual community there are a set of factors which create its foundations. These factors include a fulfilment of needs, shared emotional connection between members and a sense of belonging (Hersberger, Murray, & Rioux, 2007). Because of these foundations, the assumption for a well maintained community should include content and support which reaches its member’s expectations, be engaging and act in solidarity. As Forman, Kern, and Gil-Egui (2012) discuss, the fulfilment of needs, shared emotional connection and sense of belonging, are all factors which can be achieved in both virtual and face-to-face communities. This provides a transition from virtual community to face-to-face, and vice versa, to be that of a smooth one.  Virtual communities forming on social media websites can be said to be split into two groups, computer supported social networks (CSSNs) and the other, a network-based virtual community (Porter, 2015). CSSNs cover users who only communicate over computers and have the potential to have strong, moderate or weak ties. The second, network-based virtual communities, covers those individuals who are geographically dispersed where members seek social benefits (Porter, 2015). The creation of these online communities can be performed through gaming, chat rooms and social media. With the ease of access to social media, it can be utilised as a space to gather, communicate and discuss issues. This can be seen on Twitter, which now amasses over 330 million users worldwide (Statista, 2018). The creation of online communities assisted in creating a large and ongoing civil movement in the United States of America. The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013, as a response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal of the shooting and killing of unarmed, 17 year old, African American, Trayvon Martin. Created by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, three African American women who were united together in their stance to form a revolutionary peace movement, the term Black Lives Matter was created. The purpose of their movement was to, and to this day still is to, affirm African Americans humanity, contributions to society and resilience in the face of deadly oppression, as they wish to live in a world where black lives are no longer targeted for demise (“Herstory,” 2013). The movement is strong and powerful and truly took off in 2014, when protests commenced in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting and killing of Michael Brown, who was once again an unarmed, African American, teenager. Brown’s death by a white police officer gained a large amount of traction on Twitter, with the Black Lives Matter hashtag being tweeted about on an average of 58,747 times per day for three weeks after Michael Brown’s death (Anderson & Hitlin, 2016). The large amount of media coverage and response to this incident brought to light topics of national debate including race, rights and gun control. From these unfortunate events, and many others since (“Timeline: The Black Lives Matter movement,” 2018), the Black Lives Matter virtual community was born, and was used as a platform and tool to organise on-ground events for communities to engage in this social activism in person.

 

How Black Lives Matter created an online community

Black Lives Matter, which originally began as a hashtag on Facebook (#Blacklivesmatter), transcended into an extremely popular and widespread Twitter movement. It created a large community of users and from the movement entered a recognisable community, with its own agenda and identity, to end racial disparity and police brutality (Freelon, McIlwain, & Clark, 2016). Twitter emerged as a platform where users shared stories, found common ground in their concern of the events occurring and together were fighting for reform (De Choudhury, Jhaver, Sugar, & Weber, 2016). Millions of users expressed their concerns over brutality, and a recognisable community with its own agenda and identity formed (Freelon et al., 2016). This growing community utilised multiple hashtags, as shown in Table 1 in the appendix. With over 21 million tweets regarding the Ferguson riots, and over 9 million regarding the killing of Michael Brown. Millions of tweets including the names of other victims of police brutality were also posted. Members of this community were fighting give a voice to those who could no longer speak for themselves. Amongst the millions of tweets displayed in appendix one, De Choudhury et al. (2016) discovered that users with high participation in the movement rarely expressed high levels of negativity or anger in their posts. They were determined to fight for change, as a calm collective. They were firm in their stance to organise action and were socially connecting, supporting, coping and engaging with each other as a community (De Choudhury et al., 2016). The online community grew so rapidly in size, that these users had the capacity to spread news of any brutality and issues regarding the movement faster than mainstream media (Miners, 2014). Adding to this, Patterson (2016) found that the community associated with Black Lives Matter was larger than any communities that were associated with mainstream media outlets. This formed a powerful community that had the ability to be well-informed and knowledgeable and was able to control the speed of information dispersed. As Freelon et al. (2016) discusses, supportive communities consistently attract more attention than those that are unaligned or opposed, and the Black Lives Matter movement who involved users rallying together so their voices could be heard and their desire for change further discussed, is a prime example of this. Twitter support from celebrities including Lebron James, Kim Kardashian West and Lady Gaga among many more, expanded the movements reach even further (James, 2016; Kardashian West, 2016; Gaga, 2016). With celebrities having a reach of millions on Twitter, this type of traction on the issue assisted in the movements capacity to those outside of the community of the issues at hand.

 

How Black Lives Matter created an offline community. 

From reaching millions to create a virtual community on Twitter, the Black Lives Matter movement also adapted to on-ground communities right around America. Using Twitter as the main platform, it was able to facilitate the organisation of Black Lives Matter protests, boycotts and rallies. The organisation of these demonstrations were not just completed by the founders of the movement, but were done by many individuals and other organisations who shared the same goals. From July 2014 to March 2018, over 2300 protests or other demonstrations were held in support of this movement . Some protests attracted thousands and lasted for days, the biggest, and most covered by the media being the Ferguson protests which attracted a great amount of worldwide media attention. Community members who were on-ground at the protests, continued to update members of the community who were unable to make the Ferguson protests due to geographical location (Freelon et al., 2016). DeRay McKesson was one of these community members who live-tweeted his experience at the protests. This total amount of retweets and mentions of the brutality that was displayed at the protests amassed to 1 million (Freelon et al., 2016). With people from around the world seeing what this community was capable of arranging, the protests not only become widespread throughout the United States, they also became international and continued to attract thousands, with solidarity marches held in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Bristol (Pidd, 2016). On-ground support of the movement was also demonstrated by celebrities who had originally expressed their support of the campaign via Twitter. Celebrity husband and wife duo John Legend and Chrissy Tiegen hired several food trucks to serve free food to those protesting the movement in New York, Jay Z and Beyonce hosted a charity ball where they raised $1.5 million to donate to social justice groups including Black Lives Matter, four NBA players delivered a speech at the opening of the 2016 ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards where they brought to light their strong support of the Black Lives Matter movement and actor Jesse Williams produced a documentary titled ‘Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement’ (Price, 2016). This transition to what once began as a hashtag, to millions worth of donations, a documentary and people demanding action on-ground, is a true testament to what a Twitter movement has the capability to do.

 

Conclusion

As shown above in the Black Lives Matter movement, strong virtual communities have the ability to become offline communities. Virtual communities with strong foundations and a clear purpose as discussed by have similar characteristics to traditional communities, and therefore can be both online and offline. Twitter gave the Black Lives Matter movement a global audience and the employment of this social media form gave way for Twitter users to also become a part of on-ground activism rather than just online activism. The sheer magnitude of protests, boycotts, rallies and media attention the movement received is a testament to this. Although it is impossible to measure if the movement would have been as influential without the Twitter movement, I believe it would not have gained the vast amount of traction and support that is has, and still does.

Appendix:

Table 1: Retrieved from “Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggles for Offline Justice,” by D. Freelon, C. D. Mcllwain, and M. D. Clark, 2016.

 

References:

Anderson, M., & Hitlin, P. (2016). The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter emerges social activism on Twitter. Social Media Conversations About Race.  Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/08/15/the-hashtag-blacklivesmatter-emerges-social-activism-on-twitter/#

At least 2,356 Black Lives Matter protests and other demonstrations have been held in the past 1,353 days. (2018).   Retrieved from https://elephrame.com/textbook/BLM

De Choudhury, M., Jhaver, S., Sugar, B., & Weber, I. (2016). Social Media Participation in an Activist Movement for Racial Equality. Proceedings of the … International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media. International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, 2016, 92-101.

Forman, A. E., Kern, R., & Gil-Egui, G. (2012). Death and mourning as sources of community participation in online social networks: R.I.P. pages in Facebook. 2012. doi:10.5210/fm.v0i0.3935

Freelon, D., McIlwain, C. D., & Clark, M. D. (2016). Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice.

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James, L. (2016, July 7). This article says it all…[Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/kingjames/status/751234227836841989

Kardashian West, K. (2016, July 8). BLACK LIVES MATTER [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/kimkardashian/status/751430737304252416?lang=en

Miners, Z. (2014). Analysis of Ferguson tweets shows Twitter’s quick grip on the news. Retrieved from PCWorld website: https://www.pcworld.com/article/2540140/analysis-of-tweets-around-ferguson-shows-twitters-quick-grip-on-the-news.html

Patterson, B. E. (2016). Black Lives Matter is Killing it on Twitter. Retrieved from Mother Jones website: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/study-shows-how-black-lives-matter-controls-police-narrative/

Pidd, H. (2016). Thousands attend Black Lives Matter solidarity march in Manchester. Retrieved from The Guardian website: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/11/black-lives-matter-solidarity-march-protest-manchester

Porter, C. E. (2015). Virtual communities and social networks. In L. Cantoni & J. A. Danowski (Eds.), Communication and technology (Vol. 5, pp. 161-179): Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.

Price, L. (2016). How Celebrities have Supported Black Lives Matter. Retrieved from People Celebrity website: http://people.com/celebrity/how-celebrities-have-supported-black-lives-matter/#the-weeknd

Statista. (2018). Number of monthly active Twitter users worldwide from 1st quarter 2010 to 4th quarter 2017 (in millions). Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-active-twitter-users/

Timeline: The Black Lives Matter movement. (2018). Retrieved from ABC News website: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-14/black-lives-matter-timeline/7585856

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