Identity

Question 1

What previous sociologists can you use to talk about identity?

Answer 1

• Van Dijk
• Carter
• Boellstorff

Question 2

What did Turkle (2011) say?

Answer 2

That internet - based social networks liberate individuals from the constraints of their physical identities, allowing them to present idealised versions of themselves

Question 3

What did Matthews (2014) find?

Answer 3

Social media can actually reinforce class - based identities by fostering a sense of community and belonging. This challenges the postmodern view through contrasting the supermarket of style as they studied a community organisation that created an online archive of a deprived neighbourhood which led to discussions about their working class identity, exclusion and marginalisation as old photographs and memories were shared on Facebook asserting the value of their community

Question 4

What are the impacts of pressure to create an online persona?

Answer 4

• Connections with like-minded people
• Anxieties around self - presentation
• Pressure to conform to social norms

Question 5

How has online and offline identities intersected with one another?

Answer 5

The UK’s first youth police crime commissioner, Paris Brown, resigned from her post following criticisms of messages she posted on Twitter from the ages of 14 - 16 which could e considered racist and homophobic

Question 6

What is the digital underclass?

Answer 6

It refers to those who don’t have access to the consumerist monopoly of digital technology since they cannot afford it as monthly internet fees cost on average £15 per month or limited access to high speed broadband. This reduces social capital as social networks are dependent on digital communication, shift in education towards digital technology and the shaping of cultural ideas on the internet

Question 7

What do Mertens and D’Haenens (2010) argue?

Answer 7

There is a digital divide in Brussels as only 81% of the lower class had internet access compared to 94% of the middle class. Those in the lower class who have the internet tent to use it for entertainment rather than knowledge and information as 79% of the lower class owned a game console compared to only 65% in the upper class

Question 8

What did Durham (2001) argue?

Answer 8

That early interactions for young males, often revolved around heterosexuality as an expression of masculine identity, focusing on female celebrities and pornography

Question 9

What does Giese (2018) argue?

Answer 9

The internet, particularly online gaming, can reinforce negative aspects of masculinity, such as aggression, competitiveness and violence

Question 10

What is the He for She campaign?

Answer 10

It encouraged men to support gender quality which was further backed up by the Gillette campaign that challenged toxic masculinity

Question 11

What percentage of younger women are more likely to use digital communication to maintain social relationships?

Answer 11

42%

Question 12

What Li and Kirkup (2007) investigate?

Answer 12

They wanted to find out the gendered differences in use of and attitudes towards the internet and computers generally for Chinese and British students. Using a sample of 220 Chinese students and 245 British students, they carried out a self - report questionnaire and found men in both countries were more likely to use emails and chatrooms than women. Men played more computer games than women through their self - confidence about their skills pushing them to express that it was a male activity and skill

Question 13

How do young people present themselves online according to Gardiner and Davies (2013)?

Answer 13

Young people create a glammed up online identity to exaggerate more socially attractive features through identity performance for public consumption

Question 14

What does Twenge (2015) argue?

Answer 14

A fear of negative reactions to their identity performance is producing rising levels of anxiety, depression, moodiness and isolation. She argues that the Igeneration ( children from the early to mid 200s who spent more time texting or calling than any other generation) was the first to spend their entire adolescence on the smartphone contributing to their narcissism towards the maintenance of the online identity as well as spending less physical time with friends

Question 15

What did a 2014 Ofcom report find?

Answer 15

• 83% of adults are online and in the 65+ age bracket 42% are online compared to 98% of all 16 - 34 year olds
• In the age group of 35 - 64 using a tablet has doubled and those aged 65 - 74 trebled from 2012 establishing them as the silver surfers
• 62% of adults who use a smartphone which is an increase from 54% in 2012

Question 16

What the ages 2.0 project (2014) find?

Answer 16

It was funded by the European union to empower older vulnerable adults with social isolation, health issues or limited mobility. They gave them specially designed computers, broadband connections and training on how to use them and tracked their experiences and outcomes over time. It found that social media stimulated mental activity and cognitive skills and boosted confidence through feelings of interconnection as they felt younger

Question 17

What did Turkle (2011 find about young people?

Answer 17

Young people are mentally tethered to their digital devices as they need to track and check their connections weakening their ability to develop a sense of self. They are too dependent on how others perceive them constructing their sense of validation removing the burdens of physical identity