Digital Socialities Personal and Political

Anthropology of Media ANTH 2301 Digital Socialities: Personal and Political How often do you have conversations with your friends? How do you plan a group gettogether? Texts and social media are probably a big part of your buddy coordination and communication if you're an American. Researcher Danah Boyd, who examined American teenagers between 2004 and 2007, discovered that texting strengthened one-on-one connections while social networking sites like Facebook were essential for forming new friendships and solidifying existing ones (Ito et al. 2010). Actually, kids cited friendship as their main motivation for using digital media—rather than, example, searching the internet for material for school assignments or messaging their parents to find out where they are at midnight on a Friday night. Naturally, it is not shocking nor new that American teenagers are preoccupied with social issues. However, modern media provide new methods to interact, such the "always on" texting of closest friends or "friends" on social media who are strangers or even adversaries rather than true friends. In addition to giving users new tools for creating their own identities, social media also gives them the opportunity to look up information about other people that can cast doubt on the identities they claim to be. While American teenagers usually view texting and social media as means of forming friendships, they are far more concerned about the role that these platforms play in the other aspect of social relationships—the breakup. Anthropologist Ilana Gershon once questioned her undergraduate students, "What counts as a bad breakup?" (2010). Gershon was shocked to hear so many students complaint about breakups over Facebook or text, since he had expected stories of adultery and lying. Digital media used this manner may lead to confusion and grief, as anybody who has ever checked onto a social networking site to find their sweetie's relationship status changed to "single" can attest to. Drawn to the murky waters of internet courtship etiquette, Gershon penned a book examining how Americans utilise digital media to manage and even end murky or problematic relationships. Media ideologies, or beliefs about how digital media works and how it relates to traditional kinds of communication like the phone and in-person interactions, are at the core of the issue, according to Gershon. For some Americans, the best way to avoid a highly charged emotional scenario during a breakup is to use digital communications. This idea is based on a media philosophy that says that, for the sake of convenience and efficiency, several communication channels may often be used in place of one another. Others, on the other hand, believe that the text breakup is cowardly, harsh, and disrespectful as it turns the process of breaking up into a one-sided speaking act rather than a dialogue-based, consensual act. The breaker-upper can escape seeing the results of their actions thanks to digital media. According to this media philosophy, many communication channels are acceptable for various social action channels and cannot be used in place of one another without carefully weighing the emotional fallout. Digital media are becoming indispensable components of social interaction in civilizations everywhere, from intimate love connections to more expansive, publicly visible collectivities. By investigating the usage of digital media in contexts outside of the United States and western Europe, media anthropologists and communication academics have both contributed to an attempt to de-westernize media studies. Digital media are crucial instruments for social connection and political opposition because conventional media and in-person political action are sometimes severely restricted in cultures with authoritarian governments. Media historians Gholam Khiabany (2010) and Annaelle Sreberny (2010) emphasise the significant contribution that blogging has made to political action and public speech in Iran over the last few decades. Iran is home to over 700,000 blogs, many of which are written by women. Iranian intellectuals, who are suppressed in public, have turned to blogging as a platform for their opinions. Sreberny and Khiabany demonstrate how bloggers frequently include subtly political undertones in their ostensibly personal writing, despite the fact that many Iranian blogs are devoted to personal observations or opinion on entertainment or sports. Iranian blogs are always a part of social situations, whether they are overtly political or not, much like Egyptian and Indian soap operas. It's true that some blogs are fiercely political, and the government has arrested some political bloggers for being dissidents. Similar to this, bloggers in South and Central America create activist groups dedicated to promoting equality and social justice (Arriaga and Villar 2021). Blogger Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramírez focuses on racial and gender issues in Cuba through her blog. In Brazil, journalist Silvana Bahia runs an organisation that aims to provide digital technology tools to a variety of populations, especially Afro-Brazilian women. She has participated in initiatives to educate women programming and how to use digital skills for further social causes. She sees a more diverse and inclusive digital space where Black, LGBTQ+, low-income, and marginalised groups' viewpoints are included.