THIS YEAR THERE ARE FIVE CONFERENCE TOPICS
Our conference interrogates the question “How do People Form Connections and Communities Through social media?” by looking at five separate topics.
FAN CULTURE
Fandom has been a contested field where people form communities, develop subcultures and collective actions, and engage in conflicts. Papers in this topic address various issues around online fandom, discussing possibilities and limitations facilitated by online connectivity.
QUEER
Many LGBTQ+ people turn to online spaces to find community, exchange information, and build forms of intimacy and support. Papers in this topic discuss how online communities and networks can continue to serve as a safe place for queer people, challenging social stereotypes.
YOUTH
Social media and online communities have become a new playground for young people, but their voices are often dismissed in public debates. Papers in this topic pay attention to such hidden voices, practices, and agency of young people by looking at their cultures of social media, communities, and networks.
DISABILITY
Online spaces offer various ways to engage with society beyond physical limitations, particularly useful for people with disabilities. Papers in this topic look at how social media enable them to talk about their disability, raise social awareness, and forge connections.
TRANSNATIONALITY
Social media connects people across the globe. Papers in this topic explore such transnational and global connectivity cultivated by social media, communities and networks, and how people develop digital diaspora.
We hope that by exploring the topics, you will gain a deeper understanding of the way digital and social media can be used to create forms of social life involving human interaction and engagement.
Question 1: When I think back on my presentation, I see that one of its shortcomings was that I neglected…