Globalisation & the Digital Social World

Question 1

Phone subscriptions in UK vs. Botswana

Answer 1

124 subscriptions per 100 people in the UK and 54 subscriptions per 100 people in Botswana - global mobile phone use but still inequality

Question 2

Access to internet in UK vs. Democratic of Congo

Answer 2

92% of the population of the UK access the internet compared to 3.8% in the Democratic of Congo

Question 3

McLuhan - global village

Answer 3

• one world interconnected by an electronic nervous system
• information can be passed on quickly
• creates new patterns of communication and social interactions
• ‘everybody lives in the utmost proximity created by our electric involvement in one another’s lives’
• wrote in 60s (time of great technological advancement) - digital communication has moved on and developed even further in 2020 - McLuhan still relevant however

Question 4

Carter - supports global village

Answer 4

• Cybercity

- suggests people are maintaining relationships online as much as offline

Question 5

Fairweather and Rogerson - cultural homogenisation

Answer 5

• unlocalised computer software will reflect Western ways of thinking
• Western advertising is global
• antisocial behaviour on the internet can reflect Western ideas about morality (accessing private information, racism, sexism, harassment of other sorts)
• digital communication does not give rules or police morality and ethics that occur in local cultures; Western views regarding liberalism for example

Question 6

Granovetter - social ties

Answer 6

• strength of ties between two people can be judged by the amount of time they spend together, the emotional intensity of the relationship, the level of intimacy and the degree of reciprocity
• strong ties with family and close friends, weak ties with acquaintances
• weak ties as important as strong ties; can lead to connections between members of networks, connect individuals with people whom they may not normally have commonalities with, helping to increase their social network
• if weak ties were lost a person’s social network could face considerable damage which can actually do more damage than if a person were to lose strong ties

Question 7

Zhao - effect of tech on social relationships

Answer 7

• internet activities that help people connect have positive effects on social ties (email, chat and social media websites) which can strengthen relationships between people
• individual activities such as surfing the web have negative impacts on relationships

Question 8

Kraut et al - effect of tech on social relationships

Answer 8

• critiqued research from the 90s that suggested the internet was having a negative impact on people’s relationships as they found that the internet played a key role in helping us to maintain and develop social ties
• found that online social ties are weaker than offline ones
• not a negative impact

Question 9

Feld - effect of tech on social relationships

Answer 9

• people use social networks as a way of evaluating both themselves and others
• an individual’s identity is partly shaped by friendship networks that are created and imagined

Question 10

Turkle - ‘Alone Together’

Answer 10

• wrote a book called ‘Alone Together’
• troubled by how we use phones in meetings, classrooms, when we are with family - denying each other attention in favour of technology
• can edit and delete interactions; shapes how we are seen
• poses a risk to relationships and identities

Question 11

Miller - Facebook

Answer 11

• ‘Tales From Facebook’
• brings life to those who have aged
• challenges privacy and creates social problems and scandal
• has hugely expanded our social relations in a global context

Question 12

Shaw and Gant - mental health and the internet

Answer 12

• study designed to test hypothesis that internet usage can affect users beneficially
• 5x chat sessions, 3x intervals administered by scales measuring depression, loneliness, self-esteem and social support
• changes in scores tracked over time
• internet usage found to decrease loneliness and depression significantly
• perceived social support and self-esteem increased significantly

Question 13

Palmer - toxic parenting

Answer 13

• toxic parenting; parents relying on technology to occupy their children
• children feel isolated
• therefore cannot relate to others face to face

Question 14

Postman - adult content

Answer 14

• children who use the internet are exposed to adult content; gambling, pornographic material etc.

Question 15

Goffman - ‘presentation of self’

Answer 15

• more choice and resources that people can use to shape their identities; due to the development of new digital communication
• presentation of self; how people perform in a way that ensures they present a desirable image of themselves
• social media promotes this; filters, editing etc. to present said desirable image

Question 16

Williams; Ofcom’s ‘Communication Marketing Report’ data - 2x statistics

Answer 16

• 49% of people regularly ‘media stack’; use unrelated media while watching television
• household takeup of tablet PCs has undergone a sharp rise; 11% in 2012 and 24% in 2013

Question 17

Garside - generational differences

Answer 17

• ‘digital natives’; children who can use the internet before they can talk; like a native language
• young people less connected to real-life society
• old people less connected to the modern world

Question 18

Boyle - generational differences

Answer 18

• each successive generation sees a greater use of and reliance on digital communication
• ‘digital generational divide’ between the old (less likely to use new technologies’ and the young (who are proficient and reliant on technology in their daily lives
• suggests this is with regards not just to technology but to media as a whole
• two reasons for this: young people more equipped to develop skills demanded by new technologies; also want to create their adult identities, assisted by digital technology

Question 19

Berry - the elderly and the internet

Answer 19

• researched older users of the internet; found that most participants explained that lack of skills and interest was the reason for not using the internet
• ONS - 59% of over-65s only use the internet every day
• 79% of households below state pension age have internet access; only 37% of those above state pension access

Question 20

Mertens and D’Haenens - digital divide

Answer 20

• digital divide in Brussels; clear link between class and internet usage
• lower social classes; used it for entertainment
• higher social classes; used it for boosting knowledge
• 79% of those from lower social classes owned a games console in comparison to 65% of those from the higher social classes

Question 21

Helpser - digital divide

Answer 21

• those in lower education and no employment appear to be those left behind in the growth and use of the internet
• children from poorer homes; victims of a digital divide; parents lack the skills to help them use the internet effectively
• children from better-off backgrounds had a greater access to the world wide web

Question 22

Li and Kirkup - gender differences and computers

Answer 22

• gender differences and use of computers, attitudes towards the use of digital communication of Chinese and British students
• 220 Chinese and 245 British
• men from both countries more likely to use email or chat rooms than women
• men more self-confident about computer skills than women
• men more likely to express the opinion that using computers was a male activity
• patriarchal ideology evident in digital communication
• men dominate women on the internet

Question 23

Howard - Christian fundamentalism

Answer 23

• Christian fundamentalism groups used the internet to promote their ideologies
• ‘virtual church’ built around those who embraced common ideologies
• study ‘Digital Jesus’ showed how like-minded people created a large web of communication on the internet
• saw the creation of new types of religious movements without a central leader
• ethnography

Question 24

Sutton, Palen and Shklovski - disasters and digital communication

Answer 24

• carried out research during Southern California Wildfires in 2007
• new use of digital communication helped to pass on community information; argue this is impacting on the way in which institutions and organisations respond to disasters

Question 25

Kirkpatrick - ‘The Facebook Effect’

Answer 25

• focuses on how Facebook has revolutionised the way the world uses the internet
• study examines how Facebook has spread around the globe; sometimes used for surprising reasons
• instrumental part of political protests; from Colombia to Iran
• also looks at how Mark Zuckerberg has transformed the internet and the way communication, marketing, politics and business is occurring on a global scale

Question 26

Ghonim - Egypt case study

Answer 26

• due to social media permanently connecting activists, they were able to create an uprising
• Twitter, Facebook and YouTube were used to present the government abuses of citizens and to shape public opinions about issues such as repression
• Egypt used social media to counter these activist protests

Question 27

2x FEMINIST core ideas when explaining digital communication

Answer 27

IDEA 1: Feminists are critical of male use of digital forms of communication to further patriarchal discourses and exploitation of women
IDEA 2: Feminists also challenge the male-dominated nature of digital media, emphasising the role of women, feminists and cyber-feminists in developing digital communication

Question 28

FEMINIST, IDEA 1: Arlaccki - organised exploitation

Answer 28

• one of the most undesirable consequences of globalisation

- trafficking of women is furthered through digital communication; the dark web etc.

Question 29

FEMINIST, IDEA 1: The Centre for Social Justice (2013)

Answer 29

• study to examine the nature and extent of slavery in the UK
• both UK nationals and those from abroad are exploited in the sex industry through forced labour, domestic servitude and forced criminal activity

Question 30

FEMINIST, IDEA 1: Hughes - DC & patriarchy

Answer 30

• digital communication helps to reproduce patriarchy through sex exploitation; bride trafficking, sex tourism (people visit parts of the world where sex can be bought with little risk of punishment)
• digital communication means information about to buy prostitutes can occur, plus live sex shows are able to be viewed through videoconferencing

Question 31

FEMINIST, IDEA 2: Haraway - cyborg study

Answer 31

• ‘A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism’
• women should be a part of the technological advance occurring rather than reduced to the social construction of what a woman ‘should’ be
• discusses image of cyborgs; part human and part machine
• interested in the ways in which technology can provide a way for women to become more empowered through changing their identities rather than conforming to patriarchal ideals

Question 32

FEMINIST, IDEA 2: Nakuamara - forum for support

Answer 32

• digital global world being used increasingly more by women from a range of different ethnic and class backgrounds
• social media and digital communication can be used by women as a forum for support when they face discrimination and inequality
• EXAMPLES: Feministing, Everyday Feminism, Bitch magazine, autostraddle

Question 33

FEMINIST, IDEA 2: Cochrane - challenging patriarchy and sexism

Answer 33

• examines the range of ways in which women have used digital communication in order to challenge patriarchal and sexist attitudes
• EXAMPLES: The Girl Guides: campaigning and activism badge; Mumsnet.com: 59% of their users considered themselves feminists, Larasi: campaigned to address racist and sexist attitudes in music videos, students campaigned for the banning of the song ‘Blurred Lines’ from being played on uni campuses

Question 34

FEMINIST: Evaluation of Cochrane: Schuster - generational divide in feminism

Answer 34

• noted that online activism is the preserve of the young
• due to closed nature of some social networks, feminist discussion is often hidden from those who are not sufficiently networked e.g. the elderly

Question 35

2x MARXIST core ideas when explaining digital communication

Answer 35

• IDEA 1: de-regulation of the media and digital communication]
• IDEA 2: digital communication provides a new form of surveillance

Question 36

MARXIST, IDEA 1: Garside - digital communication = entertainment

Answer 36

• Marxists critical that DC sties are regulated by private companies; little social control surrounding what occurs as a result of digital communication
• little financial incentive to protect vulnerable people
• Garside says that we spend 8hrs 41mins on social media each day but only 8rs 21mins asleep - DC is a way of entertaining people - this poses no threat to the existing capitalist society

Question 37

MARXIST, IDEA 2: Cornford and Robins - surveillance

Answer 37

• argue that DC is another way in which we can be ideologically controlled by capitalists who own and control this form of media
• argue that we are presented with social media in a way that makes us feel as though we have freedom, democracy and equality but in actual fact it is another way in which capitalists can make money and control us
• threatens individual freedom
• EXAMPLE: The Snowden Report

Question 38

POSTMODERNIST: Collins - chains

Answer 38

• to understand society, the chains between people must be understood
• importance of researching with a micro-approach to compare peoples’ on and offline lives
• EXAMPLE: the TV program ‘Catfish’

Question 39

POSTMODERNIST: Bjorklund - ongoing autobiography

Answer 39

• until recently, individuals have used autobiographies to describe their lives near the end of their lives
• in a PM world, people take a different view of defining the self
• EXAMPLE: Facebook is an ongoing autobiography where people can present themselves as they see their lives

Question 40

POSTMODERNIST: Hart - online and offline identities

Answer 40

• people are writing and re-writing their lives
• present values that are important to them and to society
• claims that as a result, people are creating both offline and online identities
• EXAMPLE: status updates on Facebook are not necessarily superficial, but perhaps significant and relevant to the individual

Question 41

POSTMODERNIST: Case - adolescence and online mistakes

Answer 41

• by posting lives online we face challenges
• in particular adolescents - have two adolescences; one online and one offline
• can be hard to remove mistakes if they remain documented
• hard to know what private data is stored online even when it is ‘deleted’ by the owner
• can cause disputes

Question 42

POSTMODERNIST: Elliot - fragmentation

Answer 42

• pessimistic about the fragmented nature of identity as a result of sites such as Facebook

Question 43

POSTMODERNIST: Foucalt - the effectiveness of surveillance

Answer 43

• argues that surveillance is likely to become an effective means of regulating behaviour and reducing crime in contemporary society
• EXAMPLE: surveillance through the use of DC used by Google Ads; they track your interests using previous search data and guess your profile; adverts are then targeted