Chapter 3
- Use of social media in Britain is among the highest in the world. What are some of the main consequences? Think about its uses in social life, politics, advertising and shopping.
- Research online to find some statistics about internet use in another country, and make a short presentation, comparing the situation with the UK. What could be some reasons for the differences?
- Consider your own use of the internet. How much time do you spend each week online? What proportion is spent on social media? Do you wake at night to check messages? Would you like to spend less time looking at the screen?
- When reading news, reviews and other comments posted online, how do you decide what is true and what is not?
- Do you concentrate less when reading online, and quickly move from one topic to another? How do you think digital media are changing our reading patterns and attention span?
- Do you tweet or blog? If so, what about, and why? Do you ‘follow’ others’ tweets and blogs? What appeal or interest do they have for you?
- What should be done about online abuse, harassment and bullying? Should those responsible be punished in the same way as those committing crimes in person?
- How much time do you spend each week playing computer games? What do you think are the effects, if any, of playing violent games? Carry out research to find evidence.
- Online surveillance and monitoring of communications by employers, state authorities and other organisations is becoming more common. How do you feel about this? Are you concerned about private communications being seen by others? What about in cases of so-called ‘political radicalism’? Is ‘digital policing’ ever justified? If so, when, by who and why?
- In what ways do you think online communications will develop in future?
Books
Bell, D. (2006) Cyberculture Theorists: Castells, Haraway, London: Routledge.
Boyd, D. (2015) It’s Complicated; the Social Lives of Networked Teens, Newhaven, CT: Yale University Press.
Carr, N. (2011) The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brain, London: Norton.
Ellis, K. and Kent, M. (2013) Disability and New Media, London: Routledge.
Fuchs, C. (2013) Social Media a Critical Introduction, London: Sage.
Fuchs, C. (2015) Culture and Economy in the Age of Social Media, London: Routledge.
Harper, T. (2014) The Culture of Digital Fighting Games, London: Routledge.
MacCallum-Stewart, E. (2014) Online Games, Social Narratives, London: Routledge.
Nayar, P.K. (2010) An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures, London: Wiley
Payne, R. (2013) The Promiscuity of Network Culture: Queer Theory and Digital Media, London: Routledge.
Soujung-Kim Pang, A. (2013) The Distraction Addiction, London: Little, Brown.
Suhr, H.C. (2014) Online Evaluation of Creativity and the Arts, London: Routledge.
Turner, F. (2008) From Counterculture to Cyberculture, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Turow, J. (2012) The Daily You: How the Advertising Industry is Defining Your Identity and Your World, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Van Dijck, J. (2015) A Culture of Connectivity: a Critical History of Social Media Oxford, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Journals
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking
Journal of Games and Culture
Journal of Social Media
Journal of Social Media in Society
Journal of Social Media Studies
Journal of Social Networks
Discussion on the influence of social media on British politics (2015)
Social media and its role in the 2011 riots (2011)
Panorama documentary about online dating (2013)
The making of Grand Theft Auto (2009)
The history of Grand Theft Auto (2012)
The making of Lara Croft (2006)
From Counterculture to Cyberculture (Fred Turner)
Popular cyberculture videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNBOkp346G8&list=PL0IAUaxfLxmPKAjgH9StMRc44TEBUsNZ-