Chapter 8: Power & Exploitation Dominance

Question 1

Why does Max Weber believe people have authority?

Answer 1

Authority is accepted because people agree it is legitimate, and it is embedded in social relationships.

Question 2

What is Online Tribal Bureaucracy?

Answer 2

A system where charismatic “cyberchiefs” reconnect personal authority with roles, while preserving equal participation rights.

Question 3

What is Habermas’ vision of the public sphere?

Answer 3

An idealized space for open, equal discussion to reach consensus through dialectic reasoning.

Question 4

How is dominance established in the political economy perspective?

Answer 4

Through capitalist digital economies, which limit democracy and restrict the spread of new ideas.

Question 5

What are cybertypes?

Answer 5

Online stereotypes created collectively but influenced by dominant, hegemonic cultures and discourses.

Question 6

How do the internet and social media challenge power structures?

Answer 6

By enabling self-liberation, bonding, organization, and empowerment.

Question 7

What is the second-level digital divide?

Answer 7

It refers to differences in internet skills and usage among people who have access to the internet.

Question 8

What dimensions do digital divides exist along?

Answer 8

Technical means, autonomy of use, skill, social support, and different uses of digital technology

Question 9

What is the Matthew Effect, and how does it apply to the internet?

Answer 9

A phenomenon where the rich get richer; online, popular users or websites gain more attention and influence.

Question 10

What is digital citizenship?

Answer 10

Opportunities and resources to participate online in society and politics.

Question 11

Why is digital citizenship significant for democracy?

Answer 11

Unequal access to it can limit democratic participation as more services and campaigns move online.

Question 12

How does online activity relate to political participation?

Answer 12

People who are active online are more likely to engage in political activities like voting.

Question 13

What is preferential attachment in networks?

Answer 13

A process where nodes with more connections are more likely to gain new connections.

Question 14

What is a scale-free network?

Answer 14

A network organized around influential hubs, such as popular websites.

Question 15

How does digital society reinforce inequalities?

Answer 15

Popular hubs attract more attention, while marginalized users remain less visible.

Question 16

What is online tribal bureaucracy?

Answer 16

A system combining grassroots democracy with bureaucratic structure, led by cyberchiefs.

Question 17

What types of authority does Max Weber identify?

Answer 17

Rational-legal, tradition-based, and charismatic authority.

Question 18

How do leaders emerge in online communities?

Answer 18

Through charisma and their ability to maintain formal equality while guiding collective efforts.

Question 19

What is the political economy perspective on digital society?

Answer 19

It examines how power, rooted in production and consumption, shapes digital society.

Question 20

What is digital labour?

Answer 20

User activity, like clicks and content creation, that is exploited as a commodity by corporations.

Question 21

How does the gig economy fit into digital exploitation?

Answer 21

It blurs the line between play and labour, turning user engagement into unpaid work.

Question 22

What are cybertypes?

Answer 22

Online stereotypes shaped by internet-specific processes and hegemonic discourses.

Question 23

How do digital tools affect identity?

Answer 23

They allow flexible identities but can reinforce traditional norms and stereotypes.

Question 24

What is identity tourism?

Answer 24

Using digital identities for amusement without engaging with the realities of those identities.

Question 25

How has digital technology impacted women’s agency?

Answer 25

It provides opportunities for equality and emancipation through new tools and platforms.

Question 26

What critique does Judy Wajcman offer about cyberfeminism?

Answer 26

She argues that digital spaces can still reinforce traditional gender norms and social divides.

Question 27

What was the role of the #MeToo movement in digital society?

Answer 27

It used digital platforms to amplify women’s physical and materially situated experiences.

Question 28

How does the internet affect power dynamics?

Answer 28

It amplifies the influence of those who are already powerful, perpetuating hierarchies.

Question 29

What is the dual character of digital media?

Answer 29

It is inherently democratic but also requires leadership and structure, leading to hierarchies.