Category: Social Networks

This stream focuses more directly on online social networks. It explores both specific social networking sites and services, as well as issues that reach across and between different networks.

Facebook: Social network site or privacy-invading, surveillance-enabling data harvester?

Adam Meyer
Abstract: Facebook has become an apparatus for a performative and competitive collection of ‘friends’, a tool that facilitates both state and corporate surveillance, and interpersonal surveillance between friends, (ex) romantic partners and (potential) employers whilst users simultaneously watch and are watched. Given currently unfolding events embroiling Facebook, this paper will provide ample evidence that Facebook should be treated with extreme caution if one cannot completely avoid it.   Keywords: Facebook, Read more [...]

Youtube as a Social Network: The workings of an online community

Johanna Raymond5 Comments
This paper argues that YouTube is a social network and to do so, it is imperative to first understand what a social network is. A social network is where a service or platform allows for a group of individuals to create or sustain personal and business connections through comments and posts shared on the platform. (Mclean, 2014) In the 21st century however, the term social network is used for services or platforms that reside ‘online’ and that require an internet connection to access. With them Read more [...]

Tinder and the perceived intimacy of online relationships

Hayley Jones10 Comments
18084076_Jonesh_FinalConferencePaper Online dating was once stigmatised as a service designed for those who were desperate for love, and for those who wanted to deceive other people (Ramirez, Bryant Sumner, Fleuriet & Cole, 2014). Digital technology has changed this, and now approximately 15% of Australians are using mobile-dating application, Tinder (Bruce-Smith, 2015). Smartphones and applications have changed the way people approach romantic relationships (Newett, Churchill & Robards, Read more [...]

Taking the “Social” out of “Social Media”: How technological advancement and the Internet Age have affected our ability to truly connect.

Ali Muhieddine7 Comments
  PDF Version :Muhieddine_18460100_conference_paper Abstract With iconic social networking sites like Facebook now a ubiquitous and arguably integral part of daily life, it is crucial to understand the cultural impact of social media and the techno-baggage that comes with it. In the race to expand their user empires, social media companies have gradually offered more and more facets to their respective sites and apps. Sharing media and messages is easier than ever, but has this enhanced the Read more [...]

Seizing the Memes of Production: The Dictatorship of the Proletariat and Facebook

Eloise Macdonald-Meyer6 Comments
Abstract Facebook is one of the biggest social networks and is pervasive throughout much of the word with billions of users. The Dictatorship of the Proletariat is a state of government proposed, in much communist literature, as a transitional state from revolution to communism. What do these have in common and why compare a political theory with a social network? These are the questions this paper aims to answer and discuss. By examining the structures of Facebook set out for managing community Read more [...]

The anti-social network: Facebook has negative implications on the friendships of young adults

Joel Derham13 Comments
Abstract           This essay explores the negative impact that Facebook has had on the relationships that young adults share with friends and colleagues. Examining such scholarly resources as Kaliarna (2016) to classify online relationships, Young (2013) to study adult friendships in the Facebook era and Bevan, Pfyl and Barclay (2012) to highlight the ramifications of Facebook friend deletion, I will highlight the characteristics of friendship and how they compare when applied to online and Read more [...]

Twitter as a pivotal platform for engaging and participating in social change movements.

Peggy Jones10 Comments
PDF Download Abstract This paper explores digital technology and social networking sites’ abilities to create communities online. Looking at the influence of micro-blogging site Twitter and its ability to provide users with a space to voice opinion, this paper discusses the rise of social movements online. ‘Hashtag movements’ have become common place within society creating spaces where real voices, experiences and opinions are at the forefront of change. Focusing on three recent hashtag Read more [...]

Examining the exploitive nature of Companies within Virtual Communities

Angela Lougheed10 Comments
This paper explores how companies employ social networking sites and online platforms to engage with existing online communities to develop exploitative relationships with potential consumers. Examining the exploitive nature of Companies within Virtual Communities. Angela Lougheed Student Curtin University Author Note Angela Lougheed – Student NETS2004 NET204 Social Media, Communities and Networks To read offline download PDF: Net204_Final Conference_Lougheed Angela for web   This Read more [...]

Social Networking Dating Apps Such as Tinder Have Changed the Way Millennials Present Their Online Identity

Alexandra Berger7 Comments
Abstract App culture has erupted in recent times particularly in the landscape of finding love and relationships. Due to the development of Web 2.0, millennials have moved out of their excluded and private space of the bedroom and onto Apps (Hodkinson, 2015, p. 1). This conference paper explores the many research papers written by academics about social media networks and how they assist in finding love for young people in the new millennium which I will use to support my argument. Keywords: Read more [...]

Social Media Bubbles Reinforce Negative Behaviour

Sebastian Lamerichs8 Comments
PDF Copy – NET204_Final Conference_Lamerichs,Sebastian Abstract This paper explores the use of “filter bubbles” (or just “bubbles”) on the Internet,  referring to the practice of using metadata for each individual user of an online service such as a social media platform or search engine, and constructing personalised results for that user that align with their existing interests, intended to increase engagement on those platforms. While the concept of filter bubbles culturally is not Read more [...]