As I reflect on the role of social media in
both my life and the lives of those around me, it amazes me how far this medium
has come within my lifetime, and how much it has shaped and changed the world.
As mentioned in an earlier blog ‘Life onthe edge of the digital world’I am a digital immigrant. It was not until my late teens that I was exposed to
the Internet, and that’s because it
simply was not around (at east in the form it is today). When I wanted to talk
to people, we either met up face to face, or had a phone conversation – yes we
actually talked and had real life relationships! Mobile phones were a massive
heavy brick (that looked like a car battery in size) that only the super rich
had. There was no text messaging – we talked and wrote real English – acronyms
like LOL and Gr8 were not around. And we survived.
I look at life now and how much social
media, the Internet and digital technology has entwined itself in our lives.
Personally over the years I have gone from a typewriter to a personal computer
to mobile devices. I rarely use my PC, most of my Internet interactions are
done through either my iPhone or iPad. It really would not surprise me if in
the years to come the PC will be an obsolete piece fo technology, something
those of us who lived through it reign in the technological world as the must
have for every home, will chuckle and think and we thought that revolutionized
the way we live.
Technology today has revolutionized the way
we live, interact, work and have relationships. Without these devices it is
simply very hard to live a normal life in todays world. Everything is either
online or done online.
The downside of this is that we are only
beginning to discover the ramifications of living our lives within the public
sphere of social media. Employers now scour social media sites life Facebook
when deciding on potential candidates. Huffington Post reports that 27 percent
of employers use Facebook to pre-screen applicants and 11 percent had plans to
start doing so.
The undercover recruiter provides an
insight into how employers use social media to screen applicants.
There are an abundant number of
organisations that you can now hire to clean-up your online profile. FoxBusiness provides six useful tips to clean up your social media profile
Whilst social media has many benefits we
are openly exposing ourselves and giving away our privacy so willingly through
these mediums. So quick are we to check
in at a location, update our relationship status etc – effectively informing
the world of our most intimate details and going ons. Whilst for most this does
not cause a problem, for some the dark side of the Internet rears its head and
creates an opening for some with malicious intent.
Something that keeps coming back to me is a video I saw few years ago called 'The truth about facebook'. I look at the way we interact and the 'private details and connections' of our lives we place online. Perhaps, just perhaps this video is correct. It certainly made an impression on me and has led me to consider carefully what I make available for public. Social media and the Interent are as the video shows a great source of information for governments on peoples activities.
I believe that we are on the edge of a new
revolution, change is coming (but I don’t know what) and social media, the
Interent and digital technology has forever changed the world we live in. As I
gaze to the future I cant help but see Ingrid Robertson’s argument of a cyborg
world. The devices we use to connect, interact and live our life are getting
samller but more intelligent, perhaps the future oof technology will see us
with implants making our technological devices a built in part of our bodies
“I am going to cut off your head and feed
it to your dogs on a dinner plate.” Those words still haunt me! I will never
forget the day they popped up on my mobile screen as a Facebook notification. After a prolonged series of offensive, nasty
and implied threats, this one was direct. I knew straight away who it was. I
had my ideas, but kept trying to convince myself that it could not be them, they
were family. He was the best man at my wedding only 4 months prior. But in that
moment I knew, how I knew was easy. The attacks had stopped momentarily – 4
weeks to be exact – and had started again on that day. What was significant about that day was that it was the day he returned from an overseas holiday, from a
place where there was no access to the Internet. The break coincided with the
date he left and the very day he returned. But maybe it was just a coincidence. How could I prove that it was him? The person making the threats was not using his name.
What should I do I asked myself? I asked
people who were close and aware of the situation the very same question. I knew
what I should do but needed to talk to someone, wanted other peoples advise. It
was all the same – report it to the police. After all this was now not just
indirect it was specific and detailed. How could I also be sure it was who we
thought – the person was hiding behind a ‘fake’ Facebook profile and email account. How could I protect myself? The idea that this could be someone I knew scared the hell out of me. I don't know what was worse initially, that it could be someone I knew (and therefore I knew who to be watching out for) or that it was someone I didn't know (and therefore everybody was a potential suspect). Either way I needed to take precautions.
I had to remember that it wasn't just the threats. The person knew where I lived, they had said as much "You can't hide, I know where you live, your easy to find", my car had been vandalised, my cat had gone missing (and he has never been found), courier companies that did not exist were calling me to deliver urgent packages and needed to know my exact location and other such strange events.
At the time cyberbullying did not have the prominent attention it has now. The only people I could talk to were my family and friends but the drawback was I didn't know who I could trust now. i cut so many people out of my life to protect myself as a result. I wish that at the time this was happening to me I knew more information and that sites and organisations such as Boys Town and the
Australian Government were around. I reported it to the police. I found out
that these things were traceable and it was an offence under the Australian
Legal system to use a carriage to menance, harass or cause offence. Lucky for
me, everything you do on the Internet is traceable. The police launced their
investigation and all 50 something threats had been made by who I suspected. It
was traced back to his home and work computer. A personal protection order was
put in place and a long drawn out criminal case was launched (it lasted over two
years). I still remember the day the police confirmed that they knew the identity of the offender and that it as who I had thought. I learnt somethings through my experience. While I waited for the police investigation and all the red tape they had to go through to trace te threats I did some research myself. I found out that that through certain sites you can trace an email to an IP address, ISP and general geographical. I know this works and is accurate as I came up with the same IP address and ISP provider and the 'general location proximity was spot on with the suburb as what the police investigation revealed. Threats made to you on social media platforms such as Facebook can be traced the same way easily - the trick is that you must have email notifications selected in your preferences. I had this on mine (and purely through laziness, I didn't know how to turn it off). When the notification email is sent hidden in the email header is the information needed to trace the original senders IP address and ISP. My attacker though he thought he was clever and hidden by his fake account didn't count on this bit of useful information or the fact that in the digital world everything can be traced. I also reported the events to Facebook who promptly closed the account of the offender - they had breached Facebook's terms of service by bullying harassing intimidating, doing something unlawful and malicious.
Its now almost 3 years since these events
started, and just over one year since the last death threat was made and I am
still emotionally scared by the experience. I am overly cautious. I have moved house. I
look over my shoulder all the time. I freak out when ever I see a similar car
to his near me and only breath a sigh of relief when I ‘lose the vehicle’. I
don’t tell anyone anything personal. I don’t trust people – I changed jobs and
would not let anyone other then my husband know where I worked. I rarely share personal information. There were dark
days when I just wanted to die.
Cyberbulling is a crime. It has long
lasting effects on its victims. It changes them. Sadly people have taken their life as a
result of cyberbullying such as Megan Meirand Sheinz Erkan. The toll of
cyberbullying is high, I know I have been there. I understand the pain these
people felt – I too wanted to die at the darkest moments of my experience.
In today’s world bullying is so easy to do –
it is easy to attack and persecute someone from behind the relative safety of
your computer screen. With our constant connection to to social media, computers and mobile devices , bullies have a 24x7 link to carryout their attacks. Bullies beware,
you can and will be found out, there is no way to hide your actions – digital fingerprints
and signatures are left everywhere and you can be traced. Thankfully
cyberbullying is now out in the open.
There are abundant sources of information from organisations such as Boys Town and the Australian Government that provide guidance and support for victims.
Trolling is another form of cyberbullying where a person intentionally 'causes distress, anger and argument on an online public forum for the purpose of disturbing other' (ACMA 2012). The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) provide a great resource on how to protect yourself against trolling. Importantly it provides useful contact numbers and links for people who have been impacted by trolling and cyberbullying. For help and advice if you or someone you know has been affected by cyberbullying contact: Cybersmart Online Helpline Kids Helpline- 1800 55 1800 Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636 References
Campbell, M 2005, ‘Cyberbullying: An old problem
in a new guise?’ Australian Journal of
Guidance and Counselling, vol. 15, no. 1 pp. 68-76 viewed 27 January 2013 http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1925/1/1925.pdf
Keith, S and Martin, M 2005,
‘Cyber-Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in a Cyber World’, Reclaiming
children and youth, vol. 13, no. 4 pp. 224-228, viewed 6 February 2013 http://www.gacsi.org/sites/default/files/content/attachments/CyberBullying-
Paredes, A 2012, Melbourne Schoolgirl Sheniz Ekran Commits Suicide Over Facebook
Bullying, International Business Times: World, viewed 6 February 2013 http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/281112/20120113/melbourneschoolgirl-
Teach Today 2008, What are the effects of cyberbullying? Viewed 6 February 2013 http://www.teachtoday.eu/en/Teacheradvice/
Cyberbullying/What-are-the-effects-of-cyberbullying.aspx The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) 2012 , Protect yourself against trollling, Viewed 9 February 2013, http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_600041
If you are like me you have never heard of
the term produsage before. I didn’t even know there was such a word! So what is
it and what does it mean. Enter googleand type in ‘produsage definition’.
Interestingly the first result is a definition from Wikipedia which defines it as a term developed by Dr
Axel Bruns to describe the building of existing content through user
participation.
“the collaborative and continuous building
and extending of existing content in the pursuit of further improvement”
Why I say that the first result being a
definition from Wikipedia is interesting is that this site is exactly what produsage is
about. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that is collaboratively edited by
users. Users are able to add, edit and delete content from within the site.
The concept of this is the knowledge of
many gives a more rounded view – but does it really? Academia does not
generally recognize Wikipedia as a reliable source of evidence. Some of my lecturers
have even specifically spelt out in assessment criteria that no marks will be
given for Wikipedia referenced material. And to be honest, wilst I think there
is a place for collaborative learning and expanding on existing knowledge, I
too do not give much credibility to the information contained in Wikipedia –
anyone can edit the information, therefore is it correct? But then again, am I
stuck in ‘old way thinking’ and does something really need to be written by
someone who has lots of citations of other peoples work (sometimes making it so
hard to read) for it to be credible – isn’t this just rehashing someone else’s
work but just in your own words? Isn’t this similar to produsage? Is produsge
just a more technologically advanced method of information content sharing and
creation?
A very simple explanation of produsage can
also be found on Wikipedia which illustrates the term with “ a produsage
activity is using (consuming)media on YouTube, and producing (leaving)comments."
Finally something I can relate to.
Without realizing it I have been a
participant in produsage through my university studies. Many of the units I
have undertaken have involved collaborative assessment pieces where we have
used wiki’s and the like to piece together our assessment pieces. Each person
adding, editing, commenting on ours and others contributions.
Previously I had not been a fan of group
work, my experiences with it had not been all that crash hot, however my view
had changed (and whilst I still do prefer to work independently), collaborative
learning does have it place. The old saying of two heads are better then one
comes to mind as I think about some of the ideas that my assessment partners
have come up with which I had not thought about. It can be a real eye opener.
The technology we use today, has also
helped shape my changed view. Wiki’s make it easy to work collaboratively, it
is more effective and efficient then sending documents back and forth,
especially in the distance education world.
"We are all producers": Online participatory culture (video below) is a short video that illustrates and discusses produsage in a easy ti understand manner. The video shows how that with old technology we were passive consumers of media and that new technology has changed this and we now edit,create and share content.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Produsageviewed 4 February 2013
