Call me your stock standard millennial but I love social media. I love that I can talk to my friends in London instantly on WhatsApp, I love that I can stalk my favourite celebs on Instagram, I love that can I keep extended family at a distance yet still remain connected on Facebook, I love that I can have a laugh on TikTok until the wee hours of the morning.

Exhibit A:

Does this make me a pawn in the world of Web 2.0?

This weeks reading further examined how Web 1.0 became Web 2.0 and how we as users were major instigators of this change…but was it in our favour?

“The term ‘user’ has two connotations: controller and controlled.” (pp.21)

The rise of Web 2.0 and user-generated content created a complex relationship between the users and the organisations who intended to commercialise on their online activities.  With the technical barriers for creation removed (cya, Web 1.0), more and more content was put online creating higher user engagement making it easier for marketers to gain insight for their demographics and therefore, finding ways to make some serious $$$.

A question posed from the reading: is this empowerment or exploitation?

I think it can be both. It means that once upon a time only certain powerful people had control and a voice over the majority but now the majority have a voice and control of what they want to see or hear online.  It’s empowering for the millions of users who can have all the answers they need from one search on Google, and for all the Tumblr blogs who have a platform to share their voice in any form they want and even for the Twitter enthusiast who can start a political movement and have it go viral through trending tags.

But of course it comes at a cost. Our online movements are constantly monitored and our data shared to the highest bidder as a means to find new ways to make capital, but as I mentioned in my first blog, we know this. I know this because when I scroll through stories on Instagram there is a sponsored post every so often based on things I’ve looked up previously and I know this because my YouTube recommended page is entirely made up of videos that are monetised and that are relevant to my previous watching habits.  Each of us have a profile of our online habits, a traceable map of sorts, that we don’t have access to – but someone on the other side of the planet or perhaps even next-door to you does. Creepy.

Another down fall could be our addiction to our socials. There isn’t many places I go without my phone, I’ll be honest. I mean, just take a look at my stats above…a whopping 19 hours and 53 minutes on social media alone this week.

Although, I would like to note that it has officially been one week into COVID-19 lockdown so feel free to cut me a little slack.

 

Hinton, S & Hjorth L 2013, Understanding Social Media. Sage Publications, London 2013. (pp. 1-31).