Mediating Social Media's Ambivalences in the Context of Informational Capitalism

This essay explores the dialectics of media, by considering the socially reproductive and transformative function of social media from a political economic perspective. The authors claim that while media have consistently generated aspirations and fear of social change, their powerful capability of shaping societies depend on the historically specific social relations in which media operate. They engage such an argument by examining how the productive relations that support user generated content practices such as the ones of Facebook users affect social media in their capability to reproduce and transform existing social contexts. In the end, the authors maintain that the most prominent mediation of social media consists of the ambivalent nature of current capitalist mode of production: a contest in which exploitative/emancipatory as well as reproductive/transformative aspects are articulated by liberal ideology.

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Utopia, Labor, and Informational Capitalism

Promoting Social Change and Democracy through Information Technology - Advances in Electronic Government, Digital Divide, and Regional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8502-4.ch003 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 49-68

Author(s):

Marco Briziarelli

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Social Change ◽

Social Relations ◽

Social Contexts ◽

User Generated Content ◽

Economic Approach ◽

Informational Capitalism ◽

The Social ◽

Liberal Ideology ◽

Political Economic

Through the lens of a political economic approach, I consider the question whether or not social media can promote social change. I claim that whereas media have consistently channeled technological utopia/dystopia, thus be constantly linked to aspirations and fear of social change, the answer to that question does not depend on their specific nature but on historically specific social relations in which media operate. In the case here considered, it requires examining the social relations re-producing and produced by informational capitalism. More specifically, I examine how the productive relations that support user generated content practices of Facebook users affect social media in their capability to reproduce and transform existing social contexts. Drawing on Fuchs and Sevignani's (2013) distinction between “work” and “labor” I claim that social media reflect the ambivalent nature of current capitalist mode of production: a contest in which exploitative/emancipatory as well as reproductive/transformative aspects are articulated by liberal ideology.

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Utopia, Labor, and Informational Capitalism

Socio-Economic Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-7311-1.ch043 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 817-836

Author(s):

Marco Briziarelli

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Social Change ◽

Social Relations ◽

Social Contexts ◽

User Generated Content ◽

Economic Approach ◽

Informational Capitalism ◽

The Social ◽

Liberal Ideology ◽

Political Economic

Through the lens of a political economic approach, I consider the question whether or not social media can promote social change. I claim that whereas media have consistently channeled technological utopia/dystopia, thus be constantly linked to aspirations and fear of social change, the answer to that question does not depend on their specific nature but on historically specific social relations in which media operate. In the case here considered, it requires examining the social relations re-producing and produced by informational capitalism. More specifically, I examine how the productive relations that support user generated content practices of Facebook users affect social media in their capability to reproduce and transform existing social contexts. Drawing on Fuchs and Sevignani's (2013) distinction between “work” and “labor” I claim that social media reflect the ambivalent nature of current capitalist mode of production: a contest in which exploitative/emancipatory as well as reproductive/transformative aspects are articulated by liberal ideology.

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The Politics of Social Media

Advances in Electronic Government, Digital Divide, and Regional Development - Examining the Roles of IT and Social Media in Democratic Development and Social Change ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-1791-8.ch002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 22-54

Author(s):

Joseph L. Flores

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Social Relations ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Economic Practices ◽

Liberal Ideology ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Fundamental Tension ◽

Transformative Function ◽

Media And Communication

This chapter explores a fundamental tension of social media by considering their socially reproductive and (potentially) transformative function. The claim is that while media and communication technologies have historically fueled both aspiration and fear of social change, their ability to shape societies are contingent on the specific social relations in which they operate. By investigating social media's economic practices, primarily platform capitalism, the reproductive relations that support user-generated content that influence platform's capabilities to reproduce and transform existing social contexts are examined. To illustrate this, political discourse via social media platforms have been used to argue that social media's current capitalist mode of production exemplifies an antagonism between exploitative/emancipatory tendencies and reproductive/transformative aspects, which are further articulated by a liberal ideology.

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Radical Islamism as a Mode of Production

Teosofi Jurnal Tasawuf dan Pemikiran Islam ◽

10.15642/teosofi.2019.9.1.81-108 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 81-108

Author(s):

Masdar Hilmy

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Current Theory ◽

Production Theory ◽

Social Sciences And Humanities ◽

Norms And Values ◽

Dominant Structure ◽

Political Economic ◽

Theoretical Paradigms ◽

Epistemological Basis ◽

Mode Of Production

This article attempts to provide a breakthrough which I call mode of production theory. This theory will be employed to analyze the contemporary phenomenon of radical Islamism. The mode of production theory is meant to bridge the two clashing theoretical paradigms in social sciences and humanities, i.e., Weberian and Marxian. Despite its bridging nature, the paper argues that the two cannot be merged within one single thread. This is because each paradigm has its own epistemological basis which is irreconcilable to one another. Mostly adapted from Marx’s theory, the current theory of the mode of production covers five interrelated aspects, namely social, political, economic, cultural, and symbolic structures. If Marx’s mode of production theory heavily relies on a material and economic basis, the theory used in this paper accommodates cultural and symbolic structures that are Weberian in nature. Although the two paradigms can operate together, the strength of structure (Marxian) overpowers the strength of culture (Weberian). This paper further argues that such cultural-based aspects as ideology, norms, and values play as mobilizing factors under a big schematic dominant structure in the rise and development of the radical Islamist groups.

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Chinese Social Media Platforms and Microblogging in the Context of Public Diplomacy

Communicology ◽

10.21453/2311-3065-2020-8-1-167-179 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 167-179

Author(s):

E.S. Nadezhkina

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Public Opinion ◽

Public Diplomacy ◽

User Generated Content ◽

The Internet ◽

Interactive Communication ◽

Network Interaction ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

The Right ◽

Chinese Social Media

The term “digital public diplomacy” that appeared in the 21st century owes much to the emergence and development of the concept of Web 2.0 (interactive communication on the Internet). The principle of network interaction, in which the system becomes better with an increase in the number of users and the creation of user-generated content, made it possible to create social media platforms where news and entertainment content is created and moderated by the user. Such platforms have become an expression of the opinions of various groups of people in many countries of the world, including China. The Chinese segment of the Internet is “closed”, and many popular Western services are blocked in it. Studying the structure of Chinese social media platforms and microblogging, as well as analyzing targeted content is necessary to understand China’s public opinion, choose the right message channels and receive feedback for promoting the country’s public diplomacy. This paper reveals the main Chinese social media platforms and microblogging and provides the assessment of their popularity, as well as possibility of analyzing China’s public opinion based on “listening” to social media platforms and microblogging.

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An Intersectional Approach to the “Mobility Trap” That Ensnares Migrant Youth in China

The Oxford Handbook of Global South Youth Studies ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190930028.013.10 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaorong Gu

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Social Relations ◽

Social Institutions ◽

Urban China ◽

The Political ◽

Economic Systems ◽

Life Chances ◽

Migrant Youth ◽

Political Economic

This essay explores the theory of intersectionality in the study of youths’ lives and social inequality in the Global South. It begins with an overview of the concept of intersectionality and its wide applications in social sciences, followed by a proposal for regrounding the concept in the political economic systems in particular contexts (without assuming the universality of capitalist social relations in Northern societies), rather than positional identities. These systems lay material foundations, shaping the multiple forms of deprivation and precarity in which Southern youth are embedded. A case study of rural migrant youths’ ‘mobility trap’ in urban China is used to illustrate how layers of social institutions and structures in the country’s transition to a mixed economy intersect to influence migrant youths’ aspirations and life chances. The essay concludes with ruminations on the theoretical and social implications of the political-economy-grounded intersectionality approach for youth studies.

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Travelers’ Responsible Environmental Behavior towards Sustainable Coastal Tourism: An Empirical Investigation on Social Media User-Generated Content

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13010056 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 56 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohammad Tipu Sultan ◽

Farzana Sharmin ◽

Alina Badulescu ◽

Elena Stiubea ◽

Ke Xue

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Environmental Behavior ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

User Generated Content ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Environmental Concerns ◽

Destination Marketing ◽

Coastal Tourism ◽

Responsible Environmental Behavior

There has been increasing interest in coastal tourism, sparking a debate on the responsible environmental behavior of travelers visiting sustainable destinations. To mitigate this issue, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and environmental activists are trying to develop strategic approaches (i.e., by using digital technologies) to enhance the sustainable behavior of travelers. Environmental responsiveness and its impact on sustainable destinations is gaining attention by companies, scholars, and institutions. However, the relevant literature has not addressed social media user-generated content regarding sustainable destinations. Sharing stakeholder knowledge, activities, and experience on social media could accomplish this goal. Hence, this paper aims to explore travelers′ responsible environmental behavior towards coastal tourism within the social media user-generated content paradigm. To measure the effect of user-generated content (UGC), i.e., cognitive triggers and affective triggers, on the responsible environmental behavior of travelers, a survey questionnaire was used to collect data (n = 506) from the world’s longest sandy sea beach, Cox’s Bazar, located in the Southern part of Bangladesh. The data were examined by structural equation modeling (SEM). The results revealed that cognitive and affective triggers of user-generated content influence travelers’ environmental concerns and attitudes, making a significant contribution to shaping responsible environmental behavior. Additionally, the findings show that environmental concerns and attitudes play a significant role in producing commitment towards a sustainable coastal tourism practice. This study contributes to the effectiveness of user-generated content for persuasive interactions with destination marketing organizations to develop sustainable tourism practices.

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Social Media Toxicity Classification Using Deep Learning: Real-World Application UK Brexit

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics10111332 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1332

Author(s):

Hong Fan ◽

Wu Du ◽

Abdelghani Dahou ◽

Ahmed A. Ewees ◽

Dalia Yousri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Hate Speech ◽

Modern Society ◽

User Generated Content ◽

Real World Application ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Public Dataset ◽

The Uk ◽

Harmful Side Effect

Social media has become an essential facet of modern society, wherein people share their opinions on a wide variety of topics. Social media is quickly becoming indispensable for a majority of people, and many cases of social media addiction have been documented. Social media platforms such as Twitter have demonstrated over the years the value they provide, such as connecting people from all over the world with different backgrounds. However, they have also shown harmful side effects that can have serious consequences. One such harmful side effect of social media is the immense toxicity that can be found in various discussions. The word toxic has become synonymous with online hate speech, internet trolling, and sometimes outrage culture. In this study, we build an efficient model to detect and classify toxicity in social media from user-generated content using the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT). The BERT pre-trained model and three of its variants has been fine-tuned on a well-known labeled toxic comment dataset, Kaggle public dataset (Toxic Comment Classification Challenge). Moreover, we test the proposed models with two datasets collected from Twitter from two different periods to detect toxicity in user-generated content (tweets) using hashtages belonging to the UK Brexit. The results showed that the proposed model can efficiently classify and analyze toxic tweets.

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Suggesting text alternatives for images in social media

ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing ◽

10.1145/3477315.3477318 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Letícia Seixas Pereira ◽

João Guerreiro ◽

André Rodrigues ◽

André Santos ◽

João Vicente ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Social Media ◽

Shared Responsibility ◽

User Generated Content ◽

Media Content ◽

Android Application ◽

Image Description ◽

Visual Content ◽

Considerable Part ◽

The Web

Image description has been a recurrent topic on web accessibility over the years. With the increased use of social networks, this discussion is even more relevant. Social networks are responsible for a considerable part of the images available on the web. In this context, users are not only consuming visual content but also creating it. Due to this shared responsibility of providing accessible content, major platforms must go beyond accessible interfaces. Additional resources must also be available to support users in creating accessible content. Although many of today's services already support accessible media content authoring, current efforts still fail to properly integrate and guide their users through the authoring process. One of the consequences is that many users are still unaware of what an image description is, how to provide it, and why it is necessary. We present SONAAR, a project that aims to improve the accessibility of user-generated content on social networks. Our approach is to support the authoring and consumption of accessible social media content. Our prototypes currently focus on Twitter and Facebook and are available as an Android application and as a Chrome extension.

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