21st Century Communication

21st Century Communication

by Tayla Dale

Pinterest communication is that of an art centred world. There is the chance for the networks within the virtual space to communicate on what seems to be the same level. Pinterest has incorporated an aspect to individually communicate, an inbox. When selecting the inbox, the following message is displayed; “Send massages to plan projects, swap ideas and share your best discoveries”. An though this is a legitimate application within the forum of those who do associate with the art world, for others it is not quite the same.

The public sphere, as defined by Hauser, “a discursive space in which individuals and groups associate to discuss matters of mutual interest…” (1999, p. 61).  Some use this concept quite literally and are using the forum for its designed purpose, allowing their minds to flourish in the surrounds. Yet for other it is an excuse, or simply just a way and a means for them to stay within the ‘trends’. They have created this profile and developed a following though sharing what they think their profile should be, which is more often then not a complete opposite to what it were to be if done genuinely. There is a common trend for users to have more than one social media account, some operate up to five accounts at a constant rate. Each of these accounts produce a different side of a person. The provide a different persona in each forum even though we are seeing the acts of a single character. With reference to Hayles in McNeill’s reading, these collectives of forums related to one person becomes posthuman. As they “becomes a very useful way to account for the subjects of digital life narratives” (p.3), with each forum accounting to different narratives.

"Forum Overload"    iMore

With post humanism in account do all these users become a fake concept? They conscript themselves to certain internet persona, but is this truly them? Or should they be considered fake? Zuckerberg is spoken about within McNeill’s reading as an essence of defence to user stating their authenticity, whereas McNeill states that these are the different roles there are to play within different social circles. With all these forums the roles of any user must be consuming, with the uses of things such as different communication it must be a struggle to keep up with what forum displays what aspect. There is a change in the communication of online accounts and with this the user must conform to a certain language within the space. Such communication can be filtered to divide the users further is to shared spaces (Kuttainen, 2017). So even within these forums there are distinctive areas for individuals. But what if you were to fake your way into such areas?

Are we cyborgs in creating one’s self a technology identity? Is the new identify the reason we are connected to technology? Are we more acclaimed to our networked self than our real self? The Pinterest network is that of such an ‘artsy’ environment, and while a sanction for some it is simply another forum to others. 

Artist unknown. (2016). iMore. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.imore.com/best-free-social-networking-apps-iphone

Hauser, Gerard A. (1999). Vernacular Voices: The Rhetoric of Publics and Public Spheres. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 61

Hashtages.org. Infographic: Today's Social Media User Has Multiple Accounts. [Hyperlink]. Retrieved from https://www.hashtags.org/platforms/infographic-todays-social-media-user-has-multiple-accounts/

Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Became Posthuman. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1999. Print

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 6: Networked Narratives. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

McNeill, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman 

Auto/Biography Biography, Volume 35, Number 1. pp. 65-82. Published by University of Hawai'i Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2012.0009

The modern day communication (Gidex Miller)

(De Looper, 2017)

“Knowledge is power, the power to make other people feel stupid” (Kuttainen, 2017). We now have whole new generations of children who have been brought up and are going to be surrounded by technology for the rest of their lives, whether they like it or not. Social media carries out so much power and manipulation that its main purpose is to keep us all connected through various forms of networks. The amount of technology that humans consume each day, through transportation, medicine, and communication etc. Has influenced people’s lives to a point where most people cannot even comprehend. Though those who come close to gaining power in the virtual world of WhatsApp and other major social media corporations, would have to publicly display themselves online in a sexual or false manner for the world to see, and for those who already have a high status within the social network and have had plenty of ‘experience’ of what needs to shared online so they can continue to feel power social media can obtain.

“Our little devices in our pocket, are so psychologically powerful that they don’t only change what we do, they change who we are” (Turkle, 2012). Users of WhatsApp falsely trust the company and its privacy of their terms and condition to believe that they are safe. Most people know that nothing and no one is ever safe on any social media regardless of what is written in the terms and condition section. All the deleted conversations or messages from WhatsApp is never actually deleted as the Police or WhatsApp itself can still recover ‘deleted’ conversations or messages. “Texting, emailing and posting, all these things let us present the self as we want to be” (Turkle, 2012). The only problem with this, is that, all the messages, videos or pictures that you share can easily be screenshotted or recorded by the receiver and used against you, and in most cases, there isn’t much that you can do but to trust the receiver that he or she will keep the videos, pictures or messages between you two and not be shared online or publicly unless approved otherwise. The power of the elites behind WhatsApp and other miscellaneous social sites have a way to keep us all connected so that we can maximize our time on screens. “You can’t be on social media without being your authentic self” (McNeill, 2012). Most people are vulnerable on the internet especially young children who still haven’t witnessed any ‘trolls’ that can take advantage of them through money scams or sexual encounters. They do not have the online wisdom that an adult has gained in the world in real life and online. The beauty behind WhatsApp is the fact that you are able to voice or video call someone from your phone to basically anywhere in the world without using your phone data. If that’s not empowering then I don’t know what is.

References

De Looper, C. (2017, January 3). HACKERS ARE NOW USING WHATSAPP TO TARGET UNSUSPECTING USERS. Retrieved from Digital Trends: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/whatsapp-hackers-word-docs/

Kuttainen, V. (2017, August ). Network, Narratives, and the Making of Place. week 5 Lecture [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

McNeill, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. PROJECT MUSE, 65-82.

Turkle, S. (2012, February). TED Talks. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together/up-next

Connectors of Community (by Claryl Lindsay)

Our sense of self is intrinsically connected to the place that we belong to; such as a city we live in, or our neighbourhood.  So, who are we? Do we write our own narrative for ourselves, or do we write our own narrative for others to deconstruct? How much does this change, depending on our place in the world?

Social media network connection concept [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://us.123rf.com/450wm/cienpies/cienpies1104/cienpies110400016/9262885-social-media-network-connection-concept.jpg?ver=6

In the late 20^th century, post-humanism proposed critical theories about the role societies play in developing who we are (Kuttainen, 2017). When we go online, we are able to construct our life narrative within a virtual society, as social networking sites today have become communities not unlike the ones that exist in the real world.

Although the focus of McNeill (2012)’s research uses Facebook as an example, the theme of our online presence becoming a framework of narratives about the self and others (pp. 78- 79), which I have found applies to my experience with communicating with various users from different parts of the globe this week. Many films that have an important emphasis on the place they are set in such as Boston, Massachusetts in The Departed (2006). Letterboxd users from Boston resonate with a film set in the community they live in, which influences their expanding networked narratives online through discovering other users who live down the road. Therefore, it has become clear to me that Letterboxd is operates as a virtual global neighbourhood for film lovers, connecting through their frameworks.

Furthermore, if social networks insist that our identity construction relies on our categories of interest such as music, books, films and television (McNeill, 2012, pp. 68-69), perhaps we could view this as a positive thing. Although one potentially play a game of “truth or false” when comparing our virtual autobiography to our real world autobiography; our sense of self will always remain influenced by our place in society. Exploring the post-humanist lens in relation to social networks, McNeill (2012) supports the notion that the existence of virtual spaces influences our sense of identity construction, allowing us reconsider our life narratives (pp. 65 – 66).

In this digital age we are able to expand within an online community and connect with people who share similar interests to us. Moreover, Jim Rawson succinctly proposes the positive approach that, “by introducing our friends to each other, we become connectors and creators of virtual communities…we can change the world”.

Signing up to Letterboxd has encouraged me to reconsider my hesitant approach towards sharing my interests online. Social networking never seemed much different to text messaging to me, so I avoided creating accounts for popular social media websites. In the growing digital age, it can be beneficial to immerse yourself in a virtual community and construct your own network narrative

Reference List

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 6: Robots [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

McNeill, L. (2012). There is no “I” in network: Social networking sites and posthuman auto/biography. University of Hawai’I Press, 35(1), 65-82. doi: https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2012.0009

Rawson, J. [TEDx Talks]. (2015, April 9). Virtual communites and social media, [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5txst5mOywM

Social media network connection concept [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://us.123rf.com/450wm/cienpies/cienpies1104/cienpies110400016/9262885-social-media-network-connection-concept.jpg?ver=6

I'll be back! (We're all Cyborgs?)

I’ll be back! (We’re all Cyborgs?)

For this weeks blog technology and its impact on human lives will be discussed. The term cyborg in relation to modern humans will also be discussed and how we all, in some shape or form, are cyborgs.

Post humanism is a concept based on the idea of a person existing in a state beyond being human. Using social network and technology people have gained the ability to in a sense exist among multiple identities and maintain multiple perspectives. “Social networks create a post human cyborg identity. The digital era complicates definitions of the self and its boundaries, both dismantling and sustaining the humanist subject in practices of personal narrative” McNiell, (20012). Technology whether that be a phone, laptop, computer or glasses are all designed to make life more simple efficient and enjoyable. To be a cyborg is to be a blend of organic and inorganic therefor anyone using something as simple as glasses is in fact a cyborg. Being a cyborg is not as cool as it sounds.

Cyborg, Retrieved from 

 https://www.videoblocks.com/video/growing-network-communication-concept-animation-cg7kjqc/

 

For further explanation of the idea of the cyborg the TED talk by  Amy Case describes how Technology is evolving us, and how people rely on "exterior brains" (phones and computers) to communicate, remember, and live out secondary lives. (2010) See link provided.

https://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now#t-449867

The article ‘There Is No “I” in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography ‘ by Laurie McNielson, McNielson (2012) discusses observations based on the idea that virtual social networks create a post human cyborg identity.  In my chosen social network Reddit I have observed that people who operate throughout said network portray themselves in a manner befitting the chosen community’s they are involved in. Depending on the community and the subject of a community the usernames, the tone of speech, and even the friends can change.

In the lecture by Dr Victoria Kuttainen (2017)  posthumanism is described as something that “Challenges the boundaries between the mechanical and the technological. These collapsed boundaries are represented in the figure of the cyborg. Cyborg as metaphor for modern life as human at interface of technology (and therefore multiple, contingent).” to summarise technologies are created to benefit human life and today's technology is utilized in such a way that a large amount of an individual's time is spent around using such technologies, making them a vital 'extension of self. It is the very aspect of a technology being an extension of self that creates the use for a term such as cyborg, as previously stated a cyborg is organic and inorganic, human and technology. Using technology such as social media the way it is used today creates a second self, a part that is physical and and non physical, both coexisting, both everpresent. 

 References

McNiell, l. (2012). There Is No “I” in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography, 35 (1) (p.p.65). University of Hawai’I Press.

Videoblocks. Cyborg [image]. Retrieved from https://www.videoblocks.com/video/growing-network-communication-concept-animation-cg7kjqc/

Case, A. (2010, December). We are all cyborgs now [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now#t-449867

Kuttainen, V. (2017). Networked Narratives. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/portal/execute/tabs/tabAction?tab_tab_group_id=_292_1

Controlling our Identities

As humans we are moulded by the things, people and information that surrounds us. What happens when specific algorisms control the information and things we are able to see?  As McNeil explains, “the series of algorithms the company has written to track, direct, and disseminate information about its members’ activities” control the online narrative of its users (McNeill, 2012).  Everyone’s virtual social networks are being controlled by a cybernetic force which create a post human like identity. This blog will specifically analyse the cybernetic control on the social network of persons Instagram identity. 

Image 1 LET’S NOT BE OVERDRAMATIC ABOUT INSTAGRAM

(Lim, 2016)

In March of 2016 Instagram revamped the way it displays content, changing from oldest-to-newest to a new algorism based feed. According to an article published by ‘The Guardian’, ‘An algorithm-driven feed, “ordered to show the moments we believe you will care about the most”, would be introduced “in the coming months” to rectify this’ (Ellie Hunt, 2016). The way these algorithms work must be analysed to decide how much this change would effect the users. Moreover, in an article by ‘Business Insider’ the author explains that there are several key factors that decide what we see in our feeds, these are:

1.       The relationship between you and the person who (or company that) posted the photo

2.       Timing of post (when it was posted)

3.       Likes and comments (amount of likes and comments the post has)

4.       Direct shares (posts we share with people)

5.       Profile searches (the people we search will be higher in our feed)

(Tim Stenovec, 2016)

Now to get lots of people to view your posts you have to add loads of hashtags to your pictures according to a blog on ‘Later’(Chacon, 2017). This is a tactic used by companies and celebrities to increase the number of people that see their posts. The posts we see at the top of our feed (and just in our feed) are placed through this algorithm of specific features which ultimately controls what we see and in what order. This cybernetic control mechanism moulds our on-line social identity. The main problem with this control is that we cannot access information outside of our usual comfort zone which keeps us looking at the same points of views and opinions.

This leads to a posthumanism identity. An aspect of this theory is that ‘societies determine who we are and our feelings’ and moreover, ‘humans are not singular’ as they are seen in the humanism theory (Kuttainen, 2017). We are categorically placed into an online society with millions of others without being able to see other information or opinions of other societies and vise-versa. On a ‘Ted Talk’ Eli Pariser calls this “Filter Bubbles”, his problem with these filters is that “the internet is showing us what we want to see – its not necessarily what we need to see”(Pariser, 2014). This idea of only seeing the same information that we want to see by the algorithms of our favourite online reality gives retailers, news outlets and companies easy access to specific societies that would buy into what they are selling.

Lim, Dinnie. (12^th May 2016). LET’S NOT BE OVERDRAMATIC ABOUT INSTAGRAM [Image]. Retrieved from https://wearesocial.com/sg/blog/2016/05/lets-not-be-overdramatic-about-instagram

Pariser, Eli. (1^st February 2014). Beware online “filter bubbles”. Retrieved from https://tedsummaries.com/2014/02/01/eli-pariser-beware-online-filter-bubbles/

Chacon, Benjamin. (16^th July 2017). 5 Things to Know About the Instagram Algorithm. Retrieved from https://later.com/blog/instagram-algorithm/

Stenovec, Tim. (22^nd March 2016). Instagram's got a new way to determine which photos show up in your feed -- here's how it works. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com.au/what-will-go-into-instagrams-algorithm-2016-3?r=US&IR=T

Hunt, Elle. (7^th June 2016). New algorithm-driven Instagram feed rolled out to the dismay of users. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/07/new-algorithm-driven-instagram-feed-rolled-out-to-the-dismay-of-users

McNeill, Laurie. (2012). There in No “I” in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. Project Muse, 35(1), 65-82. doi: http://doi.org/10.1353/boi.2012.0009

Kuttainen, Victoria. (2017). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 6: Networked Narritives. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au