SOCI221 – Sociology of Cyberspace

Meeting 8: November 3, 2014
Identity to Generations

Generations

First Nations CEF soldiers: By Canada. Dept. of the Interior. (Public domain)

Last Week

Social Identity

Activity: Online Reputation

• Expectations
• Factors in ease of finding
• Public/private

Required Texts

• Halford, Susan, and Mike Savage. “Reconceptualizing Digital Social Inequality.” Information, Communication & Society 13, no. 7 (2010): 937–955. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2010.499956.
• Berman, Joshua, and Amy S. Bruckman. “The Turing Game: Exploring Identity in an Online Environment.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 7, no. 3 (September 01, 2001): 83–102. doi:10.1177/135485650100700307.

Halford & Savage

Halford, Susan, and Mike Savage. “Reconceptualizing Digital Social Inequality.” Information, Communication & Society 13, no. 7 (2010): 937–955. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2010.499956.

• Inequalities vs. divides
• Links to other texts

Berman & Bruckman

Berman, Joshua, and Amy S. Bruckman. “The Turing Game: Exploring Identity in an Online Environment.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 7, no. 3 (September 01, 2001): 83–102. doi:10.1177/135485650100700307.

• Playing with identity
• How is identity constructed?

Next Week

Generations

Activity: Knapsacks

• Go through one of the following checklists.
  • Unpacking the invisible knapsack (first part): http://lar.me/2-z
  • Able-bodied privilege (pp. 5–8): http://lar.me/300
  • Daily effects of straight privilege: http://lar.me/301
  • Invisible Knapsack worksheet: http://lar.me/304
  • Gallavan version: http://lar.me/305
• For your own benefit, document the process. Any discomfort? Any realization?
• Based on the exercise, post something more general about privilege. In other words, no need to share about your own privilege, but go from that experience to something broader.
• Feel free to add something about online interactions, but that may not be necessary.

Required Texts

• Prensky, M. “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1.” On the Horizon 9, no. 5 (2001): 1–6.
• Bennett, Sue, Karl Maton, and Lisa Kervin. “The ‘digital Natives’ Debate: A Critical Review of the Evidence.” British Journal of Educational Technology 39, no. 5 (September 2008): 775–786. doi:10.1111/j.1467–8535.2007.00793.x.
• Selwyn, Neil. “The Digital Native – Myth and Reality.” Aslib Proceedings 61, no. 4 (2009): 364–379. doi:10.1108/00012530910973776.

Alternative

• White, David S. and Alison Le Cornu “Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement” First Monday, Volume 16, Number 9 – 5 September 2011

Digital Natives?

• Deconstructing Prensky’s argument
• Confirmation bias
• Concept’s usefulness
• Essentialism and reification
• Video version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WVKBAqjHiE

Online Traces

If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.” – blue_beetle http://lar.me/2zh

“I’m Not The Product, But I Play One On The Internet.” –Derek Powazek http://lar.me/2zi

• Content
• Votes, likes
• Playlistism http://lar.me/2zf
• Search History
• The dark side of data http://lar.me/2zg
• Using Metadata to find Paul Revere – Kieran Healy http://lar.me/2zd