Abstract
This chapter explores what it means to be ‘social’ online. We begin with a discussion of the manner in which our online social experiences, expectations, and engagements are enmeshed with extant socio-cultural resources in various ways. The discussion then moves to consider the various ways of engaging with social media beyond networking and peer interaction, before moving on to consider the importance of research exploring the ways social media is engaged with beyond content production alone. The chapter makes a clear call for a move away from big data research which at best places undue emphasis on content production and at worst wilfully misrepresents online user experiences. Finally, this chapter presents research exploring how young people negotiated the social milieu online and how they engaged with the various social media platforms they used.
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Notes
- 1.
It is worth noting that the Gamergate community claimed that they were hounding, harassing, and abusing feminists and females because of their concerns around ethics in video game journalism. It is also worth noting this claim is ridiculous.
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Dyer, H.T. (2020). What’s ‘Social’ About Social Media?. In: Designing the Social. Cultural Studies and Transdisciplinarity in Education, vol 11. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5716-3_4
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