Showing papers in "New Media & Society in 2018"
TL;DR: This article critically interrogates the ideal of transparency, traces some of its roots in scientific and sociotechnical epistemological cultures, and sketches an alternative typology of algorithmic accountability grounded in constructive engagements with the limitations of transparency ideals.
Abstract: Models for understanding and holding systems accountable have long rested upon ideals and logics of transparency. Being able to see a system is sometimes equated with being able to know how it work...
726 citations
TL;DR: This article uses case studies of the Open Web, Facebook, and Google to demonstrate that infrastructure studies provides a valuable approach to the evolution of shared, widely accessible systems and services of the type often provided or regulated by governments in the public interest.
Abstract: Two theoretical approaches have recently emerged to characterize new digital objects of study in the media landscape: infrastructure studies and platform studies. Despite their separate origins and different features, we demonstrate in this article how the cross-articulation of these two perspectives improves our understanding of current digital media. We use case studies of the Open Web, Facebook, and Google to demonstrate that infrastructure studies provides a valuable approach to the evolution of shared, widely accessible systems and services of the type often provided or regulated by governments in the public interest. On the other hand, platform studies captures how communication and expression are both enabled and constrained by new digital systems and new media. In these environments, platform-based services acquire characteristics of infrastructure, while both new and existing infrastructures are built or reorganized on the logic of platforms. We conclude by underlining the potential of this combi...
643 citations
TL;DR: Focusing on the production of news and games, the analysis shows that in economic terms platformization entails the replacement of two-sided market structures with complex multisided platform configurations, dominated by big platform corporations.
Abstract: This article explores how the political economy of the cultural industries changes through platformization: the penetration of economic and infrastructural extensions of online platforms into the w...
485 citations
TL;DR: Although it is confirmed that content from fake news websites is increasing, these sites do not exert excessive power, and fact-checkers were not influential in determining the agenda of news media overall, and their influence appears to be declining, illustrating the difficulties fact-checks face in disseminating their corrections.
Abstract: This study examines the agenda-setting power of fake news and fact-checkers who fight them through a computational look at the online mediascape from 2014 to 2016. Although our study confirms that content from fake news websites is increasing, these sites do not exert excessive power. Instead, fake news has an intricately entwined relationship with online partisan media, both responding and setting its issue agenda. In 2016, partisan media appeared to be especially susceptible to the agendas of fake news, perhaps due to the election. Emerging news media are also responsive to the agendas of fake news, but to a lesser degree. Fake news coverage itself is diverging and becoming more autonomous topically. While fact-checkers are autonomous in their selection of issues to cover, they were not influential in determining the agenda of news media overall, and their influence appears to be declining, illustrating the difficulties fact-checkers face in disseminating their corrections.
378 citations
TL;DR: The incidentally exposed users use significantly more online news sources than non-users, and the effect of incidental exposure is stronger for younger people and those with low interest in news and stronger for users of YouTube and Twitter than for Users of Facebook.
Abstract: Scholars have questioned the potential for incidental exposure in high-choice media environments. We use online survey data to examine incidental exposure to news on social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) in four countries (Italy, Australia, United Kingdom, United States). Leaving aside those who say they intentionally use social media for news, we compare the number of online news sources used by social media users who do not see it as a news platform, but may come across news while using it (the incidentally exposed), with people who do not use social media at all (non-users). We find that (a) the incidentally exposed users use significantly more online news sources than non-users, (b) the effect of incidental exposure is stronger for younger people and those with low interest in news and (c) stronger for users of YouTube and Twitter than for users of Facebook.
368 citations
TL;DR: The quantitative literature on Internet use among older adults is synthesized, including trends in access, skills, and types of use, while exploring social inequalities in relation to each domain.
Abstract: As the world population ages and older adults comprise a growing proportion of current and potential Internet users, understanding the state of Internet use among older adults as well as the ways t...
349 citations
TL;DR: The method involves establishing an app’s environment of expected use by identifying and describing its vision, operating model and modes of governance, and deploying a walkthrough technique to systematically and forensically step through the various stages of app registration and entry, everyday use and discontinuation of use.
Abstract: Software applications (apps) are now prevalent in the digital media environment. They are the site of significant sociocultural and economic transformations across many domains, from health and relationships to entertainment and everyday finance. As relatively closed technical systems, apps pose new methodological challenges for sociocultural digital media research. This article describes a method, grounded in a combination of science and technology studies with cultural studies, through which researchers can perform a critical analysis of a given app. The method involves establishing an app’s environment of expected use by identifying and describing its vision, operating model and modes of governance. It then deploys a walkthrough technique to systematically and forensically step through the various stages of app registration and entry, everyday use and discontinuation of use. The walkthrough method establishes a foundational corpus of data upon which can be built a more detailed analysis of an app’s intended purpose, embedded cultural meanings and implied ideal users and uses. The walkthrough also serves as a foundation for further user-centred research that can identify how users resist these arrangements and appropriate app technology for their own purposes.
315 citations
TL;DR: It is found that positive expressions were generally perceived as more appropriate than negative expressions across all platforms, and some gender differences were found, while age showed little variations.
Abstract: The main aim of this study was to examine the norms of expressing emotions on social media. Specifically, the perceived appropriateness (i.e. injunctive norms) of expressing six discrete emotions (i.e. sadness, anger, disappointment, worry, joy, and pride) was investigated across four different social media platforms. Drawing on data collected in March 2016 among 1201 young Dutch users (15–25 years), we found that positive expressions were generally perceived as more appropriate than negative expressions across all platforms. In line with the objective of the study, some platform differences were found. The expression of negative emotions was rated as most appropriate for WhatsApp, followed by Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For positive emotion expression, perceived appropriateness was highest for WhatsApp, followed by Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Additionally, some gender differences were found, while age showed little variations. Overall, the results contribute to a more informed understanding of emotion expression online.
310 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that relationships between publishers and platforms are characterized by a tension between (1) short-term, operational opportunities and (2) long-term strategic worries about becoming too dependent on intermediaries.
Abstract: The rise of digital intermediaries such as search engines and social media is profoundly changing our media environment. Here, we analyze how news media organizations handle their relations to these increasingly important intermediaries. Based on a strategic case study, we argue that relationships between publishers and platforms are characterized by a tension between (1) short-term, operational opportunities and (2) long-term strategic worries about becoming too dependent on intermediaries. We argue that these relationships are shaped by news media’s fear of missing out, the difficulties of evaluating the risk/reward ratios, and a sense of asymmetry. The implication is that news media that developed into an increasingly independent institution in the 20th century—in part enabled by news media organizations’ control over channels of communication—are becoming dependent upon new digital intermediaries that structure the media environment in ways that not only individual citizens but also large, resource-ri...
278 citations
270 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that Instagram usage may negatively influence women’s appearance-related concerns and beliefs.
Abstract: This study examined the relationship between Instagram use (overall, as well as specifically viewing fitspiration images) and body image concerns and self-objectification among women between the ag...
TL;DR: The findings show the existence of strong connections between technology and content, “anywhere and anytime” coordinates, derivative information routines, and increasingly mediated sociability and fragmentary reading patterns, loss of hierarchy of the news, and coexistence of editorial, algorithmic, and social filtering.
Abstract: Incidental consumption of news on social media has risen in recent years, particularly among young people. Previous studies have characterized what the main dimensions and effects of this phenomenon are. In this article, we complement that literature by looking at how this phenomenon unfolds. Inspired by practice theory, we aim to answer two questions: (1) what are the practices that subtend incidental news consumption on social media among young people? and (2) What are the social consequences of these practices? We draw upon 50 in-depth interviews with respondents aged 18–29 years from Argentina. Our findings show the existence of (1) strong connections between technology and content, “anywhere and anytime” coordinates, derivative information routines, and increasingly mediated sociability and (2) fragmentary reading patterns, loss of hierarchy of the news, and coexistence of editorial, algorithmic, and social filtering. We conclude by elaborating on the empirical and theoretical implications of these f...
TL;DR: Analysis of the various forms of social media used by citizens in their relations with Spanish local government to determine which of these achieves the strongest degree of commitment shows that Facebook is preferred to Twitter as a means of participating in local government issues.
Abstract: The social media are becoming a major channel of online interactive participation, and local governments are seizing this opportunity to enhance citizen engagement in political and social affairs. This article analyses the various forms of social media used – that is, Twitter or Facebook – by citizens in their relations with Spanish local government, to determine which of these achieves the strongest degree of commitment. We also analyse the influence of various factors on this level of commitment. The results obtained show that Facebook is preferred to Twitter as a means of participating in local government issues. Other factors that are relevant to citizen engagement are the level of online transparency, mood, the level of activity in social media and the interactivity offered by the local government website. The findings of this study contribute significantly to understanding how citizen engagement is influenced by the type of social media adopted.
TL;DR: This article explores how users make sense of the political landscape through social media platforms, which has changed dramatically in the past few years.
Abstract: Social media platforms play an increasingly important civic role as platforms for discourse, where we discuss, debate, and share information. This article explores how users make sense of the conte...
TL;DR: By examining online visitation data across mobile and desktop platforms in the months leading up to and following the 2016 presidential election, it is found the fake news audience comprises a small, disloyal group of heavy Internet users.
Abstract: In light of the recent US election, many fear that “fake news” has become a force of enormous reach and influence within the news media environment We draw on well-established theories of audience
TL;DR: This study develops and measures three theoretically grounded metrics of social media power—unity, numbers, and commitment—as wielded on Twitter by a social movement, a counter-movement, and an unaligned party over nearly 10 months.
Abstract: The exercise of power has been an implicit theme in research on the use of social media for political protest, but few studies have attempted to measure social media power and its consequences dire...
TL;DR: The masspersonal communication model is introduced incorporating two dimensions—perceived message accessibility and message personalization—that link mass communication and interpersonal communication and redefine each independent of channel.
Abstract: Theoretical discussions about the false dichotomy between interpersonal and mass communication scholarship continue while the emergence of powerful and flexible digital communication tools have mad...
TL;DR: It is found that individuals rely on both their own judgment of the source and the message, and when this does not adequately provide a definitive answer, they turn to external resources to authenticate news items.
Abstract: Through an analysis of relevant literature and open-ended survey responses from 2501 Singaporeans, this article proposes a conceptual framework to understand how individuals authenticate the inform...
TL;DR: This study proposes a VR experience model in the IJ context that integrates cognitive, affective, and behavioral factors as the primary influencing determinants and demonstrates the users’ cognitive processes of experiencing quality, value, and satisfaction, which determine how people empathize with and embody VR stories.
Abstract: Although virtual reality (VR) has been widely used to deliver news stories in immersive journalism (IJ), it is not clear how people are actually experiencing these stories and their contexts. Focusing on the immersion feature of VR stories, this study explicates the user experience to determine what it is like to experience news stories in VR and how immersion improves viewing experiences in IJ. This study proposes a VR experience model in the IJ context that integrates cognitive, affective, and behavioral factors as the primary influencing determinants. The results indicate that the meaning of immersion strongly depends on the users’ traits and contexts and that the function of immersion is strongly determined by the users’ own cognition and intentions. VR stories are viewed and accepted based on the manner that users imagine and intend to experience them. The model demonstrates the users’ cognitive processes of experiencing quality, value, and satisfaction, which determine how people empathize with and ...
TL;DR: The EU Kids Online model of children’s online risks and opportunities helps shift the agenda from how children engaging with the Internet as a medium to how they engage with the world mediated by the Internet.
Abstract: In this article, we reflect critically on the research agenda on children’s Internet use, framing our analysis using Wellman’s three ages of Internet studies and taking as our case study the three phases of research by the EU Kids Online network from 2006 to 2014. Following the heyday of moral panics, risk discourses and censorious policy-making that led to the European Commission’s first Internet Action Plan 1999–2002, EU Kids Online focused on conceptual clarification, evidence review and debunking of myths, thereby illustrating the value of systematic documentation and mapping, and grounding academic, public and policy-makers’ understanding of ‘the Internet’ in children’s lives. Consonant with Wellman’s third age, which emphasizes analysis and contextualization, the EU Kids Online model of children’s online risks and opportunities helps shift the agenda from how children engage with the Internet as a medium to how they engage with the world mediated by the Internet.
TL;DR: It is argued that algorithmic judgment should be considered distinct from journalists’ professional judgment based on the twin beliefs that human subjectivity is inherently suspect and in need of replacement, while algorithms are inherently objective and in needs of implementation.
Abstract: Journalistic judgment is both a central and fraught function of journalism. The privileging of objectivity norms and the externalization of newsworthiness in discourses about journalism leave littl...
TL;DR: It is found that sharing tabloid news on social media is a significant predictor of democratically dysfunctional misinformation and disinformation behaviors and the consequences for the civic culture of social media and the direction of future scholarship on fake news are explained.
Abstract: The use of social media for sharing political information and the status of news as an essential raw material for good citizenship are both generating increasing public concern. We add to the debat...
TL;DR: The notion of calculability is countered with that of “qualculation,” an affective style of reasoning that workers employ in response to algorithmic workforce management and which highlights how on-the-job decisions are made within a shifting moral economy of work.
Abstract: The “on-demand” economy is built upon company strategies of arbitrage between worker autonomy and worker control. Using ethnographic and interview data, I show how these strategies undermine the ec...
TL;DR: Findings at the global level support the socializing role of Facebook in cultivating more relaxed privacy attitudes, subsequently increasing self-disclosure in both offline and online contexts, and longitudinal trends indicate that while risk perceptions increased for heavy users, they remained stable for light users.
Abstract: In light of the omnipresence of personal information exchange in the virtual world, this study examines the effects of Facebook use on privacy perceptions and self-disclosure behaviors across a 5-year period from 2010 to 2015. Findings at the global level support the socializing role of Facebook in cultivating more relaxed privacy attitudes, subsequently increasing self-disclosure in both offline and online contexts. However, longitudinal trends indicate that while risk perceptions increased for heavy users, they remained stable for light users. Furthermore, the negative relationship between privacy concerns and self-disclosure weakened across time. Implications for the application of cultivation theory to a contemporary social media context and the year-to-year changes in the impact of Facebook use on privacy attitudes and self-disclosure are discussed.
TL;DR: The authors showed that social media users actively appropriate online platforms and change privacy settings in order to keep different social spheres and social groups apart, and suggested a theoretical refinement of affordances, and proposed affordances-in-practice.
Abstract: Drawing on data gathered during ethnographic fieldwork in Mardin, a medium-sized town in southeast Turkey, this article shows that social media users actively appropriate online platforms and change privacy settings in order to keep different social spheres and social groups apart. Keeping different online social contexts distinct from each other is taken for granted as a way of using social media in Mardin. By contrast, social media scholars have extensively discussed the effects of social media in terms of context collapse. The article highlights how context collapse is the result of patterns of usage within Anglo-American contexts and not the consequence of a platform's architecture or social media logic. It then suggests a theoretical refinement of affordances, and proposes the concept of affordances-in-practice.
TL;DR: A theme particularly evident in the latter part of the volume is that there remain challenges in developing and adapting computational linguistic tools to text analysis from an SFL perspective because of the multifunctional nature of the lexicogrammar and the meaning-based focus of the theory.
Abstract: scholars who do not wish to compromise on theoretical features and analytical tools. Menzel presents a very careful and thoughtful comparison of ellipsis in cohesive ties in an English-German corpus. She notes the difficulty in finding comparable text types and results and notes the need to manually transcribe spoken data. Shagalov and Fine work through clinical interviews of speakers with schizophrenia and mania, annotate and analyze the corpus using the UAM CorpusTool, and develop 46 linguistic variables to determine the “best subset” of combinations of variables which can more accurately classify the language of speakers with schizophrenia or mania. The importance of this kind of work for clinical diagnosis is made clear. Perhaps due to the large number of chapters (21 including the introduction) and likely constraints on space, some chapters lacked detailed analyses and discussions. Nevertheless, as a whole, the volume will appeal to a wide range of researchers in discourse analysis due to the variety in content, computational methodologies, and corpus tools. There is also a fairly broad spectrum of SFL concepts and analytical levels and frameworks covered, including lexicogrammar, register, method of development, multimodality, genre, appraisal, and cohesion. One area of work that might have been included, however, is O’Halloran’s (2015) work on “multimodal digital humanities.” For those new to SFL theory, most chapters do not require too much background in the theory. A theme particularly evident in the latter part of the volume is that there remain challenges in developing and adapting computational linguistic tools to text analysis from an SFL perspective because of the multifunctional nature of the lexicogrammar and the meaning-based focus of the theory.
TL;DR: Researchers interested in using CTDA will find it an intervention into normative and analytic technology analyses, as CTDA formulates technology as cultural representations and social structures in order to simultaneously interrogate culture and technology as intertwined concepts.
Abstract: Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA) is a multimodal analytic technique for the investigation of Internet and digital phenomena, artifacts, and culture. It integrates an analysis of th...
TL;DR: This article shows how untagged pro- ED content can be found without using the hashtag as a search mechanism, and how platforms’ recommendation systems recirculate pro-ED content, revealing the limitations of hashtag logics in social media content moderation.
Abstract: Social media companies make important decisions about what counts as “problematic” content and how they will remove it. Some choose to moderate hashtags, blocking the results for certain tag searches and issuing public service announcements (PSAs) when users search for troubling terms. The hashtag has thus become an indicator of where problematic content can be found, but this has produced limited understandings of how such content actually circulates. Using pro-eating disorder (pro-ED) communities as a case study, this article explores the practices of circumventing hashtag moderation in online pro-ED communities. It shows how (1) untagged pro-ED content can be found without using the hashtag as a search mechanism; (2) users are evading hashtag and other forms of platform policing, devising signals to identify themselves as “pro-ED”; and (3) platforms’ recommendation systems recirculate pro-ED content, revealing the limitations of hashtag logics in social media content moderation.
TL;DR: A case study of the data broker industry reveals the limits of transparency and shows that commodification of personal information is at the root of the power imbalances that transparency-based strategies of consumer empowerment seek to rectify.
Abstract: In the United States the prevailing public policy approach to mitigating the harms of internet surveillance is grounded in the liberal democratic value of transparency. While a laudable goal, transparency runs up against insurmountable structural constraints within the political economy of commercial surveillance. A case study of the data broker industry reveals the limits of transparency and shows that commodification of personal information is at the root of the power imbalances that transparency-based strategies of consumer empowerment seek to rectify. Despite significant challenges, privacy policy must be more centrally informed by a critical political economy of commercial surveillance.
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that cyber-nationalism is a phenomenon contested across different digital groups in China, and it should be analyzed more as a case of ambivalence in digital activism than as a manifestation of state propaganda or growing radical nationalism in contemporary China.
Abstract: In 2016, Little Pink has emerged as the label for a new wave of female-led cyber-nationalism in China. While increasingly popularized in media and online discourses, little is known about the evolu...