Social Media
According to Kaplan and Haenlein, "Social media is a collection of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and allow the creation and exchange of usergenerated content" (qtd. in Dubose).
Trottier and Lyon (in Fuchs et al, 2012) define social media as "a set of web-based services that enable users to share content with each other" (p. 89).
"...the fear of disclosure has been stifled by the joy of being noticed" (p. 23).
Facebook has been used as a confessional (Bauman & Lyon, 2013, p. 27).
Bauman & Lyon channel danah boyd's research and state, "...the voyer meets the flaneur courtsey of social media " (p. 122).
Users use social media because they want to build up what Bordieu terms "social capital (the accumulation of social relations), cultural capital (the accumulation of qualification, education, knowledge) and symbolic capital (the accumulation of reputation)" (Jansson and Christensen, 2014, p. 55).
According to Trottier (2012), "A sociological perspective highlights four dilemmas brought on by the rapid adoption of social networking technology. These dilemmas correspond to four distinct phenomena: individual usage, institutions that attempt to manage these individuals, marketers that are seeking new ways to harness (or ‘monetize’) personal information and police as well as other investigators who are turning to social media. The first dilemma is that individuals struggle with changing language, norms and practices. Users feel a tremendous social pressure to join social media" (p. 155).
There are five technical features to Facebook according to Trottier (2012). These are that, "first, users participate in a collaborative identity construction with other users. Second, friendships provide unique surveillance opportunities as users often engage with a particular audience in mind. Third, the construction of a personal social network means social ties become visible, measurable and searchable. Fourth, an ever-changing interface and privacy controls alter users’ visibility though the site. Fifth, social media content is easily re-contextualized. Information leaks are now a common outcome. The first three features illustrate interpersonal aspects of social media with an emphasis on social ties. The final two highlight its growth into social life, institutions and culture. This chapter then returns to the notion of privacy" (p. 156).
Surveillance
According to Trottier (2012 Social Media), "five key features of social media highlight a shift in the collection of personal information on the Internet and illustrate the growing liquidity (Lyon 2010) of surveillance. These are: 1) Collaborative Identity Construction (p. 158); 2) Lateral Ties Provide Unique Surveillance Opportunities (p. 161); 3) Social Ties are a Kind of Content (p. 162); 4) Interfaces and their Contents are Always Changing (p. 163); and 5) Social Media Content is Easily Re-Contextualized (p. 165).
According to Albrechtslund (2012), social media is a surveillant practice, but it is different from traditional understandings of surveillance because 1) power relations; 2) reasons for engagement; and 3) the structure for transparency (Fuchs, Boersma, & Albreschlund, 2012, p. 188).
One can be misrepresented on Facebook. For instance, Trottier (2012 Interpersonal) interviewed an individual that felt his father only focused on a picture of him holding a red plastic beer cup, but since there were no other pictures posted of him doing homework, he felt misrepresented (p. 324).
Reference:
Bauman, Z. & Lyon, D. (2013). Liquid surveillance. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Dubose, Cheryl. "The Social Media Revolution." Radiologic Technology 83.2 (2011): 112-19. Web.
Fuchs, C., Boersma, K., Albrechtslund, A., Sandoval, M. (Eds.) (2012). Internet and surveillance: The challenges of web 2.0 and social media. London: Routledge.
Jansson, A.,& Christensen, M. (Eds.) (2014). Media, surveillance and identity: Social perspective. New York: Peter Lang.
Trottier, D. (2012). Social media as surveillance: Rethinking visibility in a converging world. Abingdon: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Trottier, D. (2012). Interpersonal surveillance on social media." Canadian Journal of Communication, 37, 319-32.