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Structuralism In Digital Media

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Structuralism in digital media and editorial cartoons in post-9/11 America
There are over two billion social network users as of the year 2015 with a projected annual increase of around two hundred million (Statista). These social networks and in a wider scale, the digital media are one of the trademarks of the 21st century. It has led to the emergence of a digital media culture that reflects common place culture in different societies based on the structuralism theory. Digital media has also been utilized by groups and activists that carry different ideas and influence to promote their status and development. One example is the growing number of extremist organizations on digital media, following the U.S. war on terror, competing for hegemony …show more content…

The posting of the cartoon and puppet images with images of terrorists by various media users was perhaps to draw the connections between the effect of cartoons and comedy and that of radical extremism. It is also important to note that at around the same time there was a widely held belief that the American government was involved in the activities of terrorists directly, through foreign invasions and indirectly through influencing governments to adopt poor policies. This, in a way, explains why images were being printed on signs and poster that were anti-American. One of the images used to convey growing anti-Americanism were a creation of a Filipino-American high school student, photo editing Bert, a well-known figure of Sesame Street, interacting with Osama Bin Laden as a part of the parody collage, Bert is evil (Jenkins 1). The student later took down his collage after the photos gained worldwide attention and were being used to promote …show more content…

Social media has, especially become a dominant platform for activists to communicate and raise their agenda (Shorter 39). Cyber activism is based on the fact that digital media is perceived to be revolutionary. According to Barker, digital media has characteristics such as interactivity, interconnectivity, and informational activity which assist in explaining the ease with which people that are not professionals can produce and edit as well as consume content (365). Jenkins highlights the fact that new media technologies have enabled the flow of content through many channels (11). This is shown by how sharing of content, collection of content through the search for images and publication in platforms that material could easily be shared. This distribution of content and creation of identities is easily done on the Internet, in part due to the contemporary myth that the Web is an alternative media space which boasts of a more democratic forum than other communication media outlets (Buren

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During her speech at Virginia Tech, Zizi Papacharissi discussed the evolving industry of modern media. She argued that the recent blend of news, fact, drama, opinion, and emotion is responsible for the social and political consequences of the internet. Specifically, she was effective in her presentation by emotionally connecting to the audience, defining the evolution of news over time, and describing how social media networks can act as a news sharing mechanism.

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I agree with Jenkins assumption that when all people have control over media the results can be a good thing and at other times a very bad thing. In Jenkins article he talks about Bert in a picture with Bin Laden. The picture can be view as creative and funny because one person made an evil Bert in America. In another country when the picture is found can be viewed negatively because it was used to support Bin Laden. The creator of Sesame Street were upset because now Bert who is a nice loving character is now view as evil and a supporter of Bin Laden.

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“But there is something else at work here, in the outsized enthusiasm for social media. Fifty years after one of the most extraordinary episodes of social upheaval in American history, we seem to have forgotten what activism is” (Gladwell 44). Gladwell strongly feels that the internet has created this loss of social activism in the world, in which the internet has redefined what protesting used to stand for. Protests during the civil rights movement, was a method for people to bring about change, but since the creation of the internet people use it as a way to replace protesting. Carr believes that the internet creates a loss of reading while Gladwell thinks it creates a loss of the meaning of social activism.

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Advancements in technology have been made up to a point where it is changing the way we think about social matters and how we respond and act towards a specific social matter. Everyday our brains adapt to the way technology works and therefore create a different “output” action-- it will change the way we respond to a certain social issue. Comparing present-day “activism” and the activism from the 60s, it can be seen that indeed, technology has played a great role towards our view and definition of activism, and what being an activist really means. Both Nicholas Carr’s essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, and Malcolm Gladwell’s essay, “Small Change,” both exemplify the way in which technology can be both a positive and negative influence in

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Carr writes, “ I'm just seeking convenience, but because that way I THINK has changed”(33). For him, the internet is a way for him to access information quicker than using a book, or any other medium. This constant use of the internet has altered his thought process, in which he now it is easier for him to use the internet rather than reading a book. When writing about how the web has brought about change, Gladwell claims, “ Where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools. Facebook warriors go online to push for change (43).”

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Many activists nowadays use social media to spread their message and get people to join their cause, but will it actually go anywhere? Malcolm Gladwell answers this question in his article “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted,” where he discusses the impact of social media on the ability of a revolution to actually make any change in society. Gladwell’s view is that social media, while useful in many ways, will never be able to effectively start and maintain a revolution. He presents a convincing, well written argument that plays on the logic and emotions of the readers, effectively pulling them in and persuading them to agree with his points.

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Elizabeth Kolbert brings about an argument about polarization, as well as how information is misleadingly presented and misinterpreted on the internet. Koblert explains about internet misinformation, explaining how different authors and researchers have supported the idea of the World Wide Web being a base for unreasoned ideas. I agree with Kolbert’s idea on current interne situation because, as a result of the internet and the propaganda in it, there have been several political upheavals and social status conflicts. World Wide Web is described to be a platform for rumors, misinformed and unreasoned opinions. Elizabeth Kolbert notes that, the information presented in the websites is enough reasons for someone to sit in a nice restaurant and

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The Internet is widely used around the world, originally acting as a source to find information quickly online, but nowadays it has developed so much that people also use it as a way to communicate with others, as well as sharing opinions on blogs and other social media. In the article titled “The Things People Say: Rumors in an Age of Unreason”, published in the New Yorker (November 2009), staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert discusses how individuals only believe what agrees with their views, and argues that people are the source of rumors and misinformation, especially online. Kolbert supports this claim by first introducing the video of a birther speaking out against President Barack Obama’s birth certificate as an example, describing the skepticism

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Gladwell is able to exhibit his values, and gain the trust of his readers by displaying his knowledge and research on the topic. He presents such statements as “This is the second crucial distinction between traditional activism and its online variant: social media are not about this kind of hierarchical organization.” (Gladwell). Not only does he reveal countless evidence throughout the article, but he starts to take a deeper look into what the issues are versus just expressing his opinion. In addition to his style of writing, he discusses how social media forms a large network based upon consensus while lacking a central authority.

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n today’s society the internet plays a huge role in the everyday lives of many people, therefore many individuals’ main form of communication is over sites like Facebook, and twitter. In Malcolm Gladwell’s essay, “Small Change, Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted,” he explores the different methods used by activists nowadays versus those used by the activists in the 1960s. Gladwell argues that social media is not an effective tool to initiate revolutionary movements or any change at all for that matter, based off its weak ties formed over different social networks. Gladwell illustrates multiple cases of protests and adds that without the assistance of social media, these protests were stronger, prearranged and based off deeper emotional ties. Throughout the article Gladwell continuously returns to the Civil rights movement and why it was effective.

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Introduction There is great contention regarding the impact of social media on political activism in Canada. While social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter offer users new opportunities to communicate, share, and disseminate memes and ideas, they also promote or facilitate the movement into streets for protests or other forms of activity. The arguments against social media generally revolve around its disposition towards remaining sedentary, behind the screen of a laptop or smart phone, writing short messages for the opposition to witness instead of actually making a physical presence in the real world. Alternatively, those who regularly engage in social media activism argue that they are raising awareness for their cause, which is theoretically true if one is to consider the sudden surge in discussion about specific topics.

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Many people over the world rely on ‘real life’ and ‘offline’ action and behaviours to express their opinion on politics. For those without the internet, their voices may go unheard and ignored. Furthermore, Papacharissi expresses that popular forums online may not create a utopian democratic society as many extremist groups are able to discuss their views online. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a great illustration of how the internet can publicize extremist views and undemocratic values, as they promote racism towards African-American citizens. These negative effects are a creating a significant obstruction towards the creation of a global democratic society.

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Web 2.0 is a popular word in the last decade. It includes blogs, photos and files sharing systems and networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These media have already changed our way of communications. And they have great impacts on other aspects of our lives. They also present great power in political campaigns.

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In conclusion, political impact on social media is huge and obvious. Social media platforms is substituting the traditional formal news media which has restrictions on the news and information they share especially in closed societies. Governments of closed societies are facing a problem because the government cannot control the news and the information shared on the internet which diminish the government authority to control their citizens. Lack of control on internet has made social media a platform for activists in politics and human right

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Social Media for The Community In this Modern Era, Social Media plays an pivotal role in communicating. If we look according to the expert B.K Lewis, media social is label for digital technology that allows people to interact,providing and sharing the message content. We know that social media is very close to the community. Even it can be said that “human’s can’t lived without social media”.

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