The Cultural Effects of Digital Media In Terms of Politics

Monumental shifts are occurring today amongst marketers in their use of digital (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) against traditional media (i.e. posters, print, flyers, newspapers, television, radio). This beckons the question: Does digital media help in advancing the political process?

Without a doubt, digital media played an important role in securing the victory of President Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Stated in a Forbe's article, the Obama campaign's "Digital First" strategy, architected by David Plouffe, pioneered new ways of reaching and mobilising voters based on a differentiated strategy. This approach contrasted with the Republican campaign largely built around reaching voters through traditional media.

Unlike then presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Barack Obama targeted specific or cultural groups of audiences such as young adults, the LGBT community, African-Americans and Latin Americans. Through digital media, President Obama was able to merge different cultural groups together in purpose of a single goal: vote for him. 

In fact, Republican 2016 presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has very much mastered Twitter as a effective tool in political promotion. Zac Moffatt says, "He's used social media to replace the traditional apparatus of a political campaign [...] Trump is living on this medium." In a nutshell, digital media is a powerful tool for political candidates to reach their supporters and gauge voters' interests.

(Image Source: thewrap.com)

Twitch.TV Streaming Culture

(Image Source: heedmag.com)

What is Twitch.tv? According to Twitch player Max Gonzalez in For Twitch, it's game on , "It's like a kind of talk show. Some people are watching me riff on the game. Some people are trying to pick up tips. It's great, because Twitch has really exploded."

Twitch.tv, introduced in June 2011, gives users the ability to stream themselves live while playing video games for others to enjoy. It is by far the largest streaming site on the internet as of now. In 2014, it is acquired by Amazon.com for a whopping $970 million. 

However, although Twitch has become a cultural phenomenon in the world of gaming, it is still an enigma and an unexplored entity to the non-gamers. To non-gamers, the thought of watching other people playing video games seem like a very odd idea. Why not play the video games themselves instead? Jimmy Kimmel, a popular talk show host has criticised on this fact and came under fire for it a few months ago. Twitch's stats prove otherwise.

So why is Twitch so popular? According to the article, "[Twitch] sometimes accounts for the fourth-highest traffic on the Internet, behind only Netflix, Google and Apple during peak viewing times." I think Twitch brings that social element to the gaming community. "What Twitch brings to it is the excitement of live possibility and the community", says James McQuivey in the article. "It appeals to a very specific target, but that target consumes it rabidly."

With a single push of a key, Twitch players like Max Gonzalez combine a mix of exciting live-streaming, social interaction and network towards the gaming community. In fact, the TV industry are in talks about having the second screen experience built in. Advertisers see a brand new niche: future generations may never subscribe to TV cable anymore.

Moreover, Twitch is very participatory. There is a whole new big participatory culture behind the Twitch community. The player experience will always be a priority over revenue in the gaming world. The big question is: Is Twitch just a fringe activity or is it here to stay? I'd reckon it's here to stay for good and will continue expanding into bigger avenues.

The World of e-Sports and The Culture Behind It

(Image Source: www.sportingnews.com)

What is e-Sports exactly? According to the dictionary definition, "Electronic Sports", abbreviated as e-Sports is used as a general term to describe the competitive play of video-games such as League of Legends, DOTA 2, Hearthstone and etc. 

In an article by Holden ZA, he writes "the eSports industry is growing rapidly, with regard to spectators and participants, as is the case of Riot's League of Legends (an online multiplayer online battle arena video game) that has seen phenomenal growth in spectatorship over the past 2 years." 

Despite the political, social and educational aspect of digital media, it has definitely become most used in the the entertainment aspect of it all. I interviewed a friend of mine who is a DOTA 2 gamer to see what his thoughts are on professional gaming.

Before the digital media revolution, video-gaming was just one or two players pitting gaming skills against each other. Today in the digital media age, millions of people globally connect with each other by playing DOTA 2 on the internet. As seen in the documentary Free to Play, entertainment has truly become a cultural and social experience in which people can interact with one another who share similar interests. In the case of DOTA 2, what was at the beginning a "real-time" strategy game has now become a world-wide phenomenon with a colossal cultural impact.

For one, digital media has enabled players and fans from all over the world to converge and attend huge tournaments such as the International DOTA 2 tournament and 2014 League of Legends World Championship in Seoul, Korea. Game enthusiasts come together to enact their favourite game quests, cosplay as their favourite characters in the game and even live -action role play in events. It is indeed a rising industry with huge potential in revenues to be made so much so that a movie based on World of Warcrafts (WoW) is set to release in year 2016 due to its immense cultural legacy.

So is e-Sports classified as a sport? I'd say yes in the sense that e-Sports involves strategic input, team play and training for hours just as physical sports do.  

Digital Media Never Forgets

Social media users should always be cautious whenever posting something public to the Internet. To say the least, the Internet does not ever forget. This is why hundreds of notable figures, be it politicians, celebrities, news reporters, journalists or even one of your friends have gone under fire for seemingly trivial social media activities. 

Negligent and incautious tweets, Facebook postings, Instagram pictures or even texts may destroy someone's reputation or damage careers. According to Jeffrey Rosen in his article titled "The Web Means the End of Forgetting", all of us stumble over the challenges of living in a world without forgetting, we need to learn new forms of empathy, new ways of defining ourselves without reference to what others say about us and new ways of forgiving one another for the digital trails that will follow us forever. In other words, think twice before sending out a message or image onto the Internet.

(Image Source: okmagazine.com)

(Image Source: i.ytimg.com)

(Image Source: yahoo.com)

Kylie Jenner, an infamous celebrity, has been sprouting a lot of controversial news lately. Not too long ago, she came under fire for the blackface controversy, lip challenge and now, her wheelchair photoshoot which has caused a whirl-storm amidst the disabled and public community alike. However, I find that some of her actions are intentional in order to gain publicity and recognition. Nevertheless, it is indeed terrifying to me that just an image or a short remark could incite hatred and critique from the mass in seconds.

Although there are "delete" and "edit" function tools on social media, there is a "screenshot" function too. This means that no matter how many times you try to delete something on the Internet, once it's out there, it's out there. Thus, I am always mindful about what I post onto digital media. This does not stop me from expressing my own  beliefs and opinions however. I just do it in a more appropriate and heedful way. 

Generation Like: A Cultural Shift

"For kids today, you are what you like," states author Doug Rushkoff in the Generation Like documentary featured on PBS Frontline. In today's age of digital and social media, is it truly "you are what you like" on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or even Youtube? Or does that make you a canny or stealth marketer according to Moira Lavelle in her contemplative article.

In the documentary, Rushkoff explores the correlation between the cultural phenomenon, that is our current generation of "likes" and happiness. Do teens really feel empowered when using social media? Do they feel the same way months later? Personally, I feel vindicated and a sense of validation from my peers whenever people "like" my posts on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. However, I feel emotionally drained when I use Facebook for hours as I scroll through pictures of people having fun and going on luxurious vacations. I interviewed one of my peers about her thoughts on getting "likes" on Facebook. Below is the short video segment of the informal interview:

According to a blog post by Walter Michka, we get off on "likes" on Facebook as the brain triggers the release of dopamine, a chemical that gives us pleasure. I've definitely experienced a pleasurable "buzz" or "high" when receiving "likes" on my Facebook status or display pictures. The Generation Like documentary refers to likes, followers, retweets and friends as social currency - the higher the likes, the better you feel. I find this definition apt and appropriate in accordance to our generation.

Nevertheless, while receiving "likes" in the form of social validation and approval feels great, it is not necessarily healthy as demonstrated by the example of Essena O' Neill in my blog post prior this. Generation Like ends on a disturbing note in which Daniela Diaz, a popular Instagrammer, says "[If] I'll get a couple of likes, I'll get a couple of views, I'll be happy with myself." I have to ask myself this thought-provoking question: Will this brief moment of pleasure bring permanent joy to her in the future?

Cultural Effects of Personal Branding on Social Media

Personal branding is indeed fast becoming an important part of living a virtual online existence. As a matter of fact, the phrase “personal branding” is not ubiquitous a few decades ago. With the arrival of various forms of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and etc, users are encouraged “to boost social status, [as] young professionals adopt self-consciously constructed personas and market themselves, like brands or celebrities, to an audience or fan base” as quoted in Alice Marwick’s book, Status Update.

(Image Source: The Guardian)

I, myself have various Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts as I enjoy social media very much. However, I have noticed that spending a huge amount of time on social media has not only caused minor migraines as a result of staring at the computer screen for too long, but also took a toll of my mental health as I felt emotionally drained after using social media. So, today, I shall be evaluating both the positive and negative cultural effects of personal branding on social media.

Not too long ago, a news about a beautiful Australian teen, Essena O’Neill with more than 612,000 Instagram followers quit Instagram claiming social media “is not real life” (Hunt, 2015). She described it as “contrived perfection made to get attention”. Essentially, she was self-promoting herself on social media and somehow became consumed in personal branding herself so much so that she decided to delete thousands of photos “that served no real purpose other than self-promotion”.

According to Alice in Status Update, “strategic online self-presentation plays an enormous role in increasing one’s social status, how one is viewed both online and off”. Nonetheless, Essena’s “strategic presentation” of herself online was to “suck in stomachs” or to “push up boobs”. She got sick of constantly hungering for social media validation and thus, her decision to quit.

I truly admire her bravery and honesty in doing so. She has made me realized that you should not obsess over your virtual self-image. I guess it took a humongous toll on Essena’s mental health although she was paid to market products on social media.

(Image Source: Hollywood Reporter)

On the other hand, personal branding can have positive impacts on your professional career. For instance, the judges known as “sharks” on the popular national TV show Shark Tank are constantly encouraging and advising business pitchers to “personally brand” their businesses as consumers easily associate the products they wish to buy with your brand. There are so many products with similar functions. To consumers, we just want a quick solution and will buy the product with the more popular brand. Thus, earning money and gaining recognition are the perks of personal branding whether it be on social media, business companies or in your career.

In sum, I do not think personal branding is a bad or good thing, per se. However, I do agree with Llopis’s statement that personal branding is not just about self-promotion, it is a full-time commitment to the journey of defining yourself as a leader. With that said, social media should be used responsibly and appropriately to wholly optimize the personal branding building experience.

Smartphone Separation Anxiety

Sherry Turtle mentioned in her book Alone Together, both teenagers and adults alike feel a sense of anxiety and discomfort when they do not have their smartphones by their sides. You would think that you are doing yourself a massive favor by leaving your smartphone behind for dinner with the family or a formal meeting, but a new study from the University of Missouri suggests that the opposite is true. 

(Image Source: Huffington Post)

Based on the study, being separated from you [phone] can lead to physiological anxiety and poor cognitive performance. According to Russell Clayton, a doctoral candidate at the MU School of journalism and lead author of the study, says "our findings suggest that [phone] separation can negatively impact performance on mental tasks. Additionally, the results from our study suggests that [phones] are capable of becoming an extension of our selves such that when we separate, we experience a lessening of "self" and a negative physiological state." 

This is quite strange to say the least. Some might argue that this is basically a type of cell-phone addiction. However, the solution isn't exactly what you might think as suggested by USA Today: Keep your phone close when completing tasks that involve a lot of attention, or so they suggest.

Alone Together During Thanksgiving

Today marks the start of the holiday spirits. The upcoming weeks will be filled with warm family and friend reunions involving hearty foods such as turkeys with stuffing, pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce and casserole. Sadly, we live in the age of the digital and technology era and these will unavoidably disrupt the holiday festivities with not only children and teenagers but also adults grappling the tiny devices in their hands instead of catching up and talking to one another. Thus, Sherry Turkle’s book, Alone Together comes into play here in the Thanksgiving scene as displayed in the below image.

(Image Source: isys6621.com)

What does it mean to be “alone” together? Basically, what Turkle is saying in her book is that although technology is constantly virtually connecting us with each other, it is difficult for us to experience alone time. I think Turkle is right in the sense that people are losing the tangibility and authenticity of genuine human interactions with the rise of technology. I agree with her that although new technology may alleviate certain anxieties but it also create new ones as well. After reading Sherry Turkle’s book, Alone Together and watching her TED Talk video, I immediately thought of the movie “I, Robot” with Will Smith in which robots take over the world as humans rely on them to accomplish their day to day activities.

Of course, I am definitely not saying that robots will take over our world in the near future just as in the movie, but I do feel that people have become quite dependent on technologies. I see people being active on their phones checking on their Facebook during Thanksgiving lunch and dinner, a period when we are supposed to relish in family gatherings.

Even though I proclaim myself to be a social media aficionado, I must say that I agree with Sherry Turkle that we hide behind these social media platforms instead of face-to-face conversations due to covering up our vulnerabilities. I can edit and control what I want to say with texting and Facebooking. However, it frightens me that in a real-time conversation, I have no control whatsoever. Therefore, the irony of “alone” together. Nonetheless, although technology has in a way, made it hard for us to be in solitude, it has definitely not annihilated human interactions. To me, technology, if used correctly and appropriately, is an incredible tool that can empower human beings.