Negative impacts
Aim: To investigate the impact social media has had on human interaction.
Trolling/ cyberbullying: When an individual/ company is persistently targeted in a negative way online, usually through social media channels. The number of social media platforms available has led to a proliferation in this, as has the fact that users enjoy a degree of anonymity when posting via social media sites.
Example: Ariana Grande
After she split with Mac Miller, and he died from a drug overdose, Grande was trolled online and blamed for his death, so she disabled her online post comments to restrict people from trolling her.
(Godwins Law)
Filters and photoshop:
E.g. Demi Lovato fat shamed on Instagram for having cellulite on her thighs after struggling with drugs.
Negative body image: obsessing over the (e.g.) instagram posts of others can lead to feelings of negative self-worth - both from the lives influences purport to lead ( they only show the good stuff) and from the the images themselves, many of which have had filters added, or have beeb excessive photoshopped,
Some lenses on camera, due to their size, distort the shape and size of the nose, again leading to feelings of negativity regarding appearance.
This can be linked to moral panic which is a feeling of fear spread among many people that some evil threatens the well-being of society. "The process of arousing social concern over an issues - usually the work of moral entrepreneurs and the mass media".
Backlashes against brands:
Social media has enabled consumers to voice their own opinion on a range of issues. These include big businesses, whose marketing and/or products they object to. An example of this is Kim Kardashian's recent 'KIMono' underwear line which is a play on her name. It received backlash because people from Japan found it to be against their culture replacing their cultural Kimonos with Kim's underwear line.
Japanese users of social media took offence to this, creating the hashtag #kimOhNo, complaining that Kardashian has misappropriated an important part of their cultural heritage. In a rare act of human decency, Kardashian has taken the decision to rebrand in the wake of criticism levelled against her.
"My brands and products are built with inclusivity and diversity at their core and after careful thought and consideration, I will be launching my Solutionwear brand under a new name. I will be in touch soon. Thank you for your understanding and support always."
One way in which brands receive negative comments is through memes. A meme is an idea, behaviour or style that spreads via social networks from person to person and that usually involves a sarcastic or critical statement. This is known as parodying. With enough shares and likes, campaigns might go viral, attracting hundreds of thousands of responses.
Another example is H&M apologising for image of black child wearing 'coolest monkey in the jungle hoodie". In result many people created memes - one in particular was a white child wearing a hoodie saying 'school shooter expert'.
Decreased productivity: many businesses use social networking sites to find and communicate with clients, the sites can also prove a great distraction to employees who may show more interest in what their friends are posting online than in their work tasks. There is also grave risk of individuals commenting about their work place online, which could lead to disciplinary action if the comments in any way bring the company into disrepute.
A false sense of connection: While Maslow's Hierarchy of needs can be applied to show why people use social media, such sites can make it more difficult for us to distinguish between the meaningful relationships we foster in the real world, and the numerous casual relationships formed through social media. By focusing so much time and psychic energy on what might be called less meaningful relationships, users may become less able to forge successful relationships in real life, at work or socially.
Loss of privacy: Social networking sites encourage people to be more public about their personal lives. While most sites allow users to control who sees things they have posted, such limitations are often forgotten, can be difficult to control or do not work as well as advertised. For example, potential employers can look you up in an instant and access material that may not be favourable.
Imperialism:
One criticism of globalisation is that it leads to imperialism – that is, the way in which predominantly Western popular culture is promoted to less developed countries. This may, in turn, lead to the gradual erosion of those less developed countries. - Disney is seen as an example of this.
Trolling/ cyberbullying: When an individual/ company is persistently targeted in a negative way online, usually through social media channels. The number of social media platforms available has led to a proliferation in this, as has the fact that users enjoy a degree of anonymity when posting via social media sites.
Example: Ariana Grande
After she split with Mac Miller, and he died from a drug overdose, Grande was trolled online and blamed for his death, so she disabled her online post comments to restrict people from trolling her.
(Godwins Law)
Filters and photoshop:
E.g. Demi Lovato fat shamed on Instagram for having cellulite on her thighs after struggling with drugs.
Negative body image: obsessing over the (e.g.) instagram posts of others can lead to feelings of negative self-worth - both from the lives influences purport to lead ( they only show the good stuff) and from the the images themselves, many of which have had filters added, or have beeb excessive photoshopped,
Some lenses on camera, due to their size, distort the shape and size of the nose, again leading to feelings of negativity regarding appearance.
This can be linked to moral panic which is a feeling of fear spread among many people that some evil threatens the well-being of society. "The process of arousing social concern over an issues - usually the work of moral entrepreneurs and the mass media".
Backlashes against brands:
Social media has enabled consumers to voice their own opinion on a range of issues. These include big businesses, whose marketing and/or products they object to. An example of this is Kim Kardashian's recent 'KIMono' underwear line which is a play on her name. It received backlash because people from Japan found it to be against their culture replacing their cultural Kimonos with Kim's underwear line.
Japanese users of social media took offence to this, creating the hashtag #kimOhNo, complaining that Kardashian has misappropriated an important part of their cultural heritage. In a rare act of human decency, Kardashian has taken the decision to rebrand in the wake of criticism levelled against her.
"My brands and products are built with inclusivity and diversity at their core and after careful thought and consideration, I will be launching my Solutionwear brand under a new name. I will be in touch soon. Thank you for your understanding and support always."
One way in which brands receive negative comments is through memes. A meme is an idea, behaviour or style that spreads via social networks from person to person and that usually involves a sarcastic or critical statement. This is known as parodying. With enough shares and likes, campaigns might go viral, attracting hundreds of thousands of responses.
Another example is H&M apologising for image of black child wearing 'coolest monkey in the jungle hoodie". In result many people created memes - one in particular was a white child wearing a hoodie saying 'school shooter expert'.
Decreased productivity: many businesses use social networking sites to find and communicate with clients, the sites can also prove a great distraction to employees who may show more interest in what their friends are posting online than in their work tasks. There is also grave risk of individuals commenting about their work place online, which could lead to disciplinary action if the comments in any way bring the company into disrepute.
A false sense of connection: While Maslow's Hierarchy of needs can be applied to show why people use social media, such sites can make it more difficult for us to distinguish between the meaningful relationships we foster in the real world, and the numerous casual relationships formed through social media. By focusing so much time and psychic energy on what might be called less meaningful relationships, users may become less able to forge successful relationships in real life, at work or socially.
Loss of privacy: Social networking sites encourage people to be more public about their personal lives. While most sites allow users to control who sees things they have posted, such limitations are often forgotten, can be difficult to control or do not work as well as advertised. For example, potential employers can look you up in an instant and access material that may not be favourable.
Imperialism:
One criticism of globalisation is that it leads to imperialism – that is, the way in which predominantly Western popular culture is promoted to less developed countries. This may, in turn, lead to the gradual erosion of those less developed countries. - Disney is seen as an example of this.
Not an LDC, but Japanese cosplay is an extreme example of how Disney has fired the imaginations of people (especially girls) across the globe – whitening of the skin, along with princess body types, are much in evidence.
Good notes, Ruby - some detailed case studies here.
ReplyDeleteMr Boon