Computer-Mediated Communication BLOG

         Online gaming has become a very important form of entertainment for many people today; grossing 109.8 billion dollars in 2017.  There is a problem with the industry however, as more and more online game developers lean toward competitive game types without thinking about what this is doing to the communities of these games. The competitive elements in these games are a breeding ground for toxicity. As more and more gamer look for an edge in competitive play they turn to cyber bullying as an answer. Think of sports as a frame of reference. Some sport fans are some of the most competitive people. These competitive atmospheres can be a breeding ground for violence for example; After game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, a riot broke out in Vancouver after the Boston Bruins Defeated the Vancouver Canucks. The resulting violence left 140 people injured, one of which was critically injured. The key difference between sports and gaming is that in online ...

Think about your life throughout high school, and even now in college. Think of all the terrible things that you've seen said to people online, or have maybe even participated in saying, does it seem like that happened to you more than those older than you? That's because chances are, it did, and still does, happen to you more. Cyberbullying and cyberstalking are huge issues that plague our society in the age of social media. students, both in high school and college, and celebrities are the largest groups that fall victim to cyberstalking and cyberbullying the most. These issues are causing a significant increase in mental health problems in students and decreased productivity in the classroom, but despite these issues, schools aren't doing much to combat it. The way these issues affect celebrities also contributes to how much of a problem they are in schools, because students see the behavior that so many people have towards celebrities and copy that abuse onto their peer...

Author Neil Postman predicted the end of the world was near in 1985. He perceived that television would be the cause of a problematic future. Though negative in his views on the future of humanity, he had profound predictions, regardless of the time gap between now and then. When the television takeover emerged, Postman wrote, Amusing Ourselves to Death as an informational warning to society. He feared that writings would vanish and people would rely on the entertainment industry for their news and discoveries rather than learning about history about those who wrote it down. Today, not only is the television prevalent, it is a necessity for every home. The elderly, adults, teens, children, toddlers and infants are watching screens nowadays and the effect it has on the American society is substantial. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the video deficit, or the recommendation of moderate usage for infants under the age of two, is being defied by guardians. When offi...

“Sickkk views of the ocean here in Florida! Love my Spring Break tradition 💓 #BLESSED.” “Literally NEVER gonna leave this place, love me some California sunshine! #bronzedgoddess. 😎” You scroll through your news feed, seeing highlights from close friends and acquaintances that are spending time away on Spring Break, while you sit at home on your couch after a full day at work, your dog near your lap. “What’s on your mind?”   Facebook asks you. What do you do? Do you post anything? Research says you likely won’t. At least not unless it’s a highlight for you. Social Media timelines are built on highlights; we post the things that we want other people to see. Even if we post things of ranging importance in our lives, the truth of the matter is this: your entire life isn’t online. That means that as you perceive the lives around you, you are not only being deceived, but you are also deceiving others. That’s right! You’re a liar. But guess what? It gets wor...

(Photo: CNET) Swipe — right, left, right, right, left, left, what the...is that a machete on the table? Left left oh lord left!! Sound familiar? Many of us have had experiences with dating apps such as Tinder or Bumble, whether we’re the user looking for matches or just innocent bystanders entertained by it all. These dating apps (or dating “games” as some consider it) have surged in popularity over the last few years. While these PBMDAs (or “picture-based mobile dating apps”) are certainly the trend right now, dating websites are still quite popular as well. Yes, we may not be able to contain our laughter when talking about FarmersOnly.com or FurryMate.com, but as of 2017 over 40 million people had tried online dating. It’s a real thing, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. You may be thinking to yourself, “Why would anyone actually want to find a mate online? Isn’t online dating just for hookups or middle-aged divorcees?” Well, I’m here to tell you that onl...

More than any other league in the 21 st century, the NBA embraces its online presence like no other. Player personalities are on display both on and off the court, with Instagram pages showing off everything from the latest styles to their vacation to the Caribbean. Fans themselves are getting in on the action, creating their own content as well as consuming every nugget of NBA news. There was no “Big Bang” moment where the league suddenly became this way. The NBA is a follow-the-leader-type league, and its obvious who the leader is. LeBron James has been the best player in the NBA for nearly a decade, and is incredibly influential in his decisions . The leagues biggest changes over the past decade have to do with entertainment, player empowerment, and social activism, and Lebron is at it’s center. When James decided to sign in Miami in the Summer of 2010, He was seen as weak. Betraying his hometown team, and forming a super team? He...

Wendy’s and Arby’s have had a longstanding twitter feud for the past couple of years and there are many passionate people on who’s account is better for one reason or another. Well I decided to take the time and really break down these two accounts to see whose twitter is really the better twitter account. Social media marketing is a growing area in many businesses. However, most businesses like to keep their marketing on social media very professional and straight forward. Posting discount codes, deals, and just putting their name on their follower’s timeline. Wendy’s and Arby’s are both different than this. Many people like social media marketing because they can interact with organizations directly on them . The problem with this is often times the organization won’t reply or even like tweets. There’s still no real engagement.  Wendy’s and Arby’s are different, they both interact with their followers regularly. Arby's is much better at liking the tweets peop...

Recently in pop culture and media we have seen depictions of powerful women rise in popularity. There was the “nasty women” campaign when Hillary Clinton ran for office in 2016 and the box office hit “Wonder Women” came out in June of 2017. The media slowly has begun to change how they depict powerful and empowering women. However, one area of the media that has not made significant headway is the internet gaming industry. Now, it is fair to say that far more women go see movies than those who play video games but, it have been recorded that upwards of 44% of video game players are women and this number has steadily been increasing since the early 2000s ( Tsai, 2017). For many of these women the female characters/avatars are their first encounter with a depiction of a strong female. While these women may have powers and fight the monsters they are often secondary characters and overly sexualized. This not only affects how female gamers view themselves but how their male counterparts...

I nstagram has reached over one billion active users , and is one of the most used social media platforms available. People use Instagram to connect with friends, family, and even celebrities across the world. Many people follow their favorite professional athletes on Instagram as a means to be closely connected to them, and support their teams. Professional athletes have the power and platform to help create their own image online, and reach a large audience because of their fan base. Athletes use Instagram as a way to reach their fans, and create their self-presentation through the means of pictures along with captions. So what's wrong with this? Supporting professional athletes and following them online isn't necessarily bad, but research shows that viewing lives of others may create a culture that self compares, and may even reduce self-esteem in social media users. Self-esteem   Researchers have studied self-esteem in regards to social media, and some concl...

Have you ever been called out on an anonymous app? Or more directly harassed on a social media platform? When it comes to cyber bullies it is being found that both the (perceived) gender of the harasser and the victim can change how the interaction happens online. Cyberbullying shows a power struggle with the victim usually having few ways to defend themselves, and very little ramifications for the harasser. Research shows that girls tend to engage in indirect bullying tactics while boys engage in direct ones. These indirect forms show as gossip, rejection, and exclusion of others, whereas direct forms show as physical threats, and direct persona shaming. Both males and females engage in these tactics, but gender does play a role in which tactic each tends to favor. For my research I look into the comments from two genres of youtube video for females and males. I examined gaming and makeup tutorials and found a popular male and female from each category. For gaming, I found when t...

In our world today, social media and other online platforms simply consume us as users. The more we utilize specific platforms, the more accessible avenues for trolling and cyberbullying become. This being said, why do individuals feel the need to become a troll or cyberbully? With this question being prevalent throughout the whole research process, I started to discover emotional characteristics that are commonly found within those who cyberbully or troll. We are all aware of the playground bully. He/she may have said something insulting just to make you feel unsettling emotions, or even physically harm you in some way. This scenario may be felt personally, but it is also commonly portrayed in various movies and T.V. episodes. When internet accessibility started to become increasingly popular around the early 2000s nobody was prepared for the emotional damage that would arise. The same emotional damage that was happening on the playground would now be accessible at any time of day,...

As a college student, many spend time on social media platforms sharing photos, connecting with friends and much more. Thanks to social media, the quickness of spreading information across the globe is astounding. From breaking news, weather reports, to posting photos and updating your Facebook, the access is right at our fingertips. It has become a common medium of social and human interactions  Not only does social media have a positive impact, but it also can have a negative impact, especially on adolescents. Are we becoming jealous of our friend’s post? Are we being cyberbullied? Are we not happy we are not receiving as many likes as our friends? Do we have FOMO? It can't be affecting our mental health, can it? Many studies have discovered that there are correlations between the usage of social media and mental health in adolescents, significant research about specific platforms has not yet been conducted. I was intrigued to see if “Instagram” could have a negative effect...

The critically acclaimed television series, Gossip Girl, does a great job of foreshadowing the lives of adolescents in 2018. At the time it was aired, social media had just been introduced to the public. The show focuses on teens in the upper-east side of Manhattan, New York and tells a story regarding the highs and lows of high school played out through an anonymous blogger - Gossip Girl. In real time, Gossip Girl can be any one of our friends on Facebook. Facebook is no longer used for connecting with people who have similar interests, rather, it is used to show the world about the life you live in hopes that they may be jealous of it. It is also a source to stir up gossip and a feeding ground for cyber bullies. Research has shown that self-esteem is built not only by your parents and those around you at a young age, but also by how well you are received by your peers in the teenage years. I think we can all agree, high school is hard! You are always trying to be good enough, si...

     Think about the last time you logged in to Facebook to see a shared video or post about some sort of social or political cause. Did you feel you needed to engage with the post and possibly even share it on your page? Would you feel more inclined to contribute your opinions about it in order to show your friends or followers how much you care? It's not uncommon to want to feel like you're part of a group, especially when the cause seems to need a lot of attention. But why do so many people engage with these posts without actually contributing to the cause?      The answer is simple. As humans, we thrive off social interactions, and when everyone else is doing something, we want to jump on the bandwagon, often times without real commitment to the cause at hand. Research has found that the less commitment required to engage in activism, the more likely people are to promote a cause. Think about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. While millions of dollars were...

The comments section. A place in which users of the internet can create content that responds to the original poster’s created content. A place in which it would seem there are no laws or rules for how you should go about posting, the comments section has garnered a large amount of attention in recent years for being a place that encourages hateful speech. But what if the comments section served a bigger purpose than to display the hate of others? What if comments as well as the broader idea of any user generated content created to comment on another serves a wider purpose; a way for people to read multiple different opinions on a topic and therefore be able to affirm their own position more seriously. Through my research I found that at least one person is already beginning to think this (Nakayama, 2016). Though the research is very limited for various reasons, I decided to try my hand at assessing what kinds of change can be encouraged in the minds of others by viewing user gene...