Young Adults' Mental Illness Aesthetics on Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-32
Author(s):  
Somsamay Vidamaly ◽  
Soon Li Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Coping Mechanism ◽  
Mental Health Awareness ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Culture And Mental Health

Social media posts expressing mental illness such as depression are trending in today's society. The aesthetics of dark and depressing posts are highlighted in blogs or social media accounts of young individuals. Consequently, this study investigated why young people use mental illness as an aesthetic on social media. On top of that, this study contributes to the limited body of research on this subject. This study applied a method known as netnography, an analysis of social interactions online. Furthermore, the actor-network theory (ANT) was employed as an analytical tool to explore insights and draw conclusions. Seven mediators were identified as possible causes that prompted mental illness aesthetic use, including Tumblr, media, attention seekers, coping mechanism, victimhood, emo culture, and mental health awareness. These findings provided insights into developing interventions and systematic methods to discuss mental illness properly. This study also identified current challenges in social media research regarding mental illness detection.

Constructions of Banksy

2014 ◽  
pp. 62-76
Author(s):  
Cheri Lemieux Spiegel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Activity Theory ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Professional Writing ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
Great Relevance ◽  
Digital Spaces

This chapter examines how multiple, often competing, identities of the street artist Banksy are constructed through a variety of media. It uses actor network theory and activity theory to trace and analyze the contexts, or networks, wherein Bansky’s identity is constructed. Banksy’s identity is of particular interest because he is an anonymous figure, and he actively abstains from social media. This examination of how he is constructed online sheds light on the agency that individuals have in constructing their identity in digital spaces. The insight from this investigation should be of great relevance for all professionals as they consider the non-professional writing they do, or chose not to do, beyond their office walls, within the public domain.

Constructions of Banksy

2015 ◽  
pp. 1827-1841
Author(s):  
Cheri Lemieux Spiegel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Activity Theory ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Professional Writing ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
Great Relevance ◽  
Digital Spaces

This chapter examines how multiple, often competing, identities of the street artist Banksy are constructed through a variety of media. It uses actor network theory and activity theory to trace and analyze the contexts, or networks, wherein Bansky's identity is constructed. Banksy's identity is of particular interest because he is an anonymous figure, and he actively abstains from social media. This examination of how he is constructed online sheds light on the agency that individuals have in constructing their identity in digital spaces. The insight from this investigation should be of great relevance for all professionals as they consider the non-professional writing they do, or chose not to do, beyond their office walls, within the public domain.

Evolving Digital Communication

2014 ◽  
pp. 222-237
Author(s):  
Mohini Singh ◽  
Jayan Kurian
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Communication Media ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Social Entities ◽  
Short Time

This chapter analyses elements of social networking sites to establish how a combination of heterogeneous elements of technology, media, language, users, data, and information are networked together to provide this new communication media. Social networking sites are also referred to as social media sites, which can be explained using the Actor-Network Theory. Social networking sites have clearly achieved widespread adoption as a new means of communication in a very short time around the globe. An analysis of literature on social networking sites is included in this chapter to reflect the new social networking language and style, the content shared via this media, the mode of use, and the language used for communication, which is a combination of a number of technological and social entities. This chapter explains how the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) can be used to explain social networking and includes some issues for research on this topic.

Examining science communication on Reddit: From an “Assembled” to a “Disassembling” approach

2022 ◽  
pp. 096366252110572
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Edwards ◽  
Caden Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
The Common

This study examines science communication within Ask Me Anything sessions hosted by US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists on Reddit. In addition to considering a unique social media platform, our work makes an important contribution in revealing the limitations of a traditional approach to studying science communication and modeling an alternative. First, using an “assembled” approach, we qualitatively explore themes in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists’ posts and consider how they reflect the goals of “deficit” and “dialogue” models. Second, using a “disassembling” approach, inspired by Davies and Horst and actor-network theory, we more deeply examine our experiences studying the Ask Me Anything sessions. We then demonstrate how this alternative approach identifies “hidden” human and non-human actants that may have shaped science communication as “mediators.” We use these insights to reject the common assumption that science communication on social media occurs solely and directly between scientists and publics.

‘Reassembled resemblings’ of teachers’ learning practices with Twitter

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-284
Author(s):  
Ian Fraser Guest
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
New Research ◽  
Heterogeneous Ensemble ◽  
Research Avenue

Some teachers claim Twitter has become a useful source for their professional development and learning. As a social media platform, Twitter constitutes a heterogeneous ensemble of humans and things. However, research has yet to allow the nonhuman participants in Twitter to speak for themselves, reveal what they do and present the webs of relations that they enact. I offer here an approach to address that issue by drawing upon actor-network theory and interviewing objects, whilst evoking the spirit of the Parisian flâneur. I begin by untangling a tweet to identify each of the human and nonhuman actors, what they do and how they assist in performing teachers’ learning activities. I then ‘Gather Anecdotes’ describing how two other heuristics – ‘Following the Actors’ and ‘Studying Breakdowns’ – were appropriate for this study, how they were deployed, what fresh knowledge they produced and how a new research avenue was opened. I conclude by reflecting on some of the tensions which emerged when bringing a sociomaterial analysis to teachers’ practices.

scholarly journals What makes a robot ‘social’?

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raya A Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Social Robotics ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Level Of Analysis

Rhetorical moves that construct humanoid robots as social agents disclose tensions at the intersection of science and technology studies (STS) and social robotics. The discourse of robotics often constructs robots that are like us (and therefore unlike dumb artefacts). In the discourse of STS, descriptions of how people assimilate robots into their activities are presented directly or indirectly against the backdrop of actor-network theory, which prompts attributing agency to mundane artefacts. In contradistinction to both social robotics and STS, it is suggested here that to view a capacity to partake in dialogical action (to have a ‘voice’) is necessary for regarding an artefact as authentically social. The theme is explored partly through a critical reinterpretation of an episode that Morana Alač reported and analysed towards demonstrating her bodies-in-interaction concept. This paper turns to ‘body’ with particular reference to Gibsonian affordances theory so as to identify the level of analysis at which dialogicality enters social interactions.

scholarly journals Gender, Voice and Online Space: Expressions of Feminism on Social Media in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  
Cilia Willem ◽  
Iolanda Tortajada
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Marketing Strategy ◽  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Personal Brand ◽  
Main Fault ◽  
Media Research

Feminism’s current momentum, encouraged by movements such as #NiUnaMenos or #MeToo, has caused many social media agents to adopt some degree of feminism as a part of their online image or personal brand. ‘Being a feminist,’ for some, has become a marketing strategy in times of great polarisation between progressive forces and a reactionary backlash against feminism. The appropriation of feminism by the global market challenges public opinion, media, and academia to think and rethink feminism, and to consider whether these changes have voided it of political meaning (Banet-Weiser, 2012, 2018; Gill, 2016b). In Spain, the (extreme) right is continually launching attacks against feminism. At the same time, minority collectives such as LGBTQ+ or Roma are helping to spread feminist values into the mainstream, denouncing one of its main struggles: structural and intersectional violence against women, including online hate and harassment. In this context of confrontation, social media agents are keeping the debate about feminism alive and are picking up Spanish grassroots movements’ claims (Araüna, Tortajada, &amp; Willem, in press). In this article we outline the latest trends in feminist media research in Spain, examining 20+ years of postfeminism as an analytical tool, and highlighting new trends. Through recent research results, we show that in the Spanish (social) media landscape many different strands of feminism are entangled, all struggling to impose their narrative of what feminism looks like in the post-#MeToo<em> </em>era. We will examine the main fault lines along which feminism is divided into different undercurrents, some of which are fostering the progress of feminism, and some of which are undermining it: age (generation), class, race, and sexual identity.

scholarly journals Using Conversation Analysis for Examining Social Media Interactions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Farina
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research

Social media research has grown exponentially in recent years. However, it seems that to date only a few studies have applied Conversation Analysis (CA) to study social media interactions. The aim of this paper is to show the benefits of using CA for the analysis of this type of social interactions.

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