Will the Kids Be Alright? ���

Making Sense of Social Media������

Bonnie Stewart ���@bonstewart���

University of Prince Edward Island���October 2014

Conceptual Tools

h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/zzpza/3269784239/  

Overwhelmed by Networks

h"ph"p//www.marke<ngpilgrim.com/2014/01/facebook-­‐is-­‐the-­‐most-­‐visited-­‐social-­‐network-­‐twi"er-­‐and-­‐google-­‐<ed-­‐for-­‐3rd.html  

Oversimplified Cultural Messages

Black & white perspectives

h"p://gossipgenie.com/viewpoint-­‐im-­‐a-­‐social-­‐media-­‐addict/  

3 Stories

•  Technologies as culture •  Pandora’s box •  Making a difference

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#1. Technologies as Culture  

Digital technologies amplify ���power & reach. ���

They are communications on steroids. ���

 

But the issues they reveal are NOT new

#Retaeh

h"p://www.businessinsider.com/two-­‐arrests-­‐in-­‐rebecca-­‐ann-­‐sedwick-­‐suicide-­‐2013-­‐10  

So. We have a problem. ������

But when we stick that problem in a box called ‘cyberbullying’ ���

or ‘social media,’ we limit our capacity to understand how deep it is, and ���

how it works.

The playground

…without supervision

h"ps://roadtrippers.com/blog/the-­‐worlds-­‐worst-­‐playgrounds-­‐are-­‐where-­‐fun-­‐goes-­‐to-­‐die  

 

   

…and without support.

‘Then he said, "I'm going to give you the same advice that I give to everyone else

with this problem: Stop using social media and get rid of your computer.”

���Nicole replied that she wasn't the one

who had a problem with the computer—it was Adam who had that problem.’

- Beaumont, 2014

#2. Pandora’s Box

h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelrperry/2221259599  

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/felmarah/5078680202  

4 qualities of digital communications

• Persistence: automatically recorded & archived.

• Replicability: made out of bits; can be duplicated.

• Scalability: potential for massive visibility.

• Searchability: accessible through search. ��� ��� - danah boyd, 2010

Social media networks are relational, ���like oral culture, ���

but leave permanent traces, ���like print culture

Not about online/offline

To understand stories of social media, we need to understand���

many-to-many���communications.

Social Media Broadcast Media

h"p://ezasseenontv.com/tag/as-­‐seen-­‐on-­‐tv-­‐store/  

h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/ooohoooh/1350774613/  

Social networks are not just for consuming, but connecting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tmesis/21126825/

Social networks are made of people and signals.

Once Pandora’s box is opened…

h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/tschiae/8370666089/  

Small private signals can travel to audiences never imagined

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…which can be a source of shame, and/or a source of speaking back.

Much depends on the way those

signals are received.

““There’s no point in hiding. Everybody has already seen my face and my body, but that’s not

what I am and who I am.”���

h"p://www.cnn.com/2014/07/18/living/jada-­‐iamjada-­‐teen-­‐social-­‐media/  

#3: So what makes the difference? WAIT

Suicide

“The person in whom invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill herself the same

way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise…Their terror of

falling from a great height is still just as great…The variable here is the other terror, the fire’s flames: when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors. ���

It’s not desiring the fall; it’s terror of the flames.” ���

― David Foster Wallace

Institutional approaches to network problems = BOOM

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/rowan72/8672846415/  

Speaking back at the individual level

Letting people know they’re not alone

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanr/142455033/  

Reaching out

United  States  Surgeon  General  -­‐  2012  Na<onal  Strategy  for  Suicide  Preven<on  p.15[1]  

���Speaking back at the community

level…������

Social media can be used to ���take the temperature ���

of individuals/communities, ���build relationships, ���

and allow immediate outreach.

Sharing resources around suicide

Engaging youth voices

Creating public resistance to stereotypes

h"p://dailyxtra.com/toronto/news/tweeters-­‐name-­‐and-­‐shame-­‐homophobes-­‐christopher-­‐peloso%E2%80%99s-­‐death  

Speaking back at the societal level: ���Changing the conversation

•  Emphasize help-seeking & prevention •  Share warning signs & risk/protective factors •  Highlight effective treatments •  Counter stories that present suicide as a

common or inexplicable event

•  Counter stigma with protest, education, & ���connection

Condensed  from  h"p://suicidepreven<on.ca/wp-­‐content/uploads/2014/05/strategicmessaging.pdf  

How do we begin?

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1. Build an identity

2. Build a network

h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/marc_smith/6934127903/  

3. Make your signals #visible

h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/vinothchandar/5251078306  

4. Amplify the good. Share what needs to be heard.

h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/stopdown/2837077634/  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21031300@N02/4076687726/

5. This call is being recorded. ��� Take the high road.

6. Lather, rinse, repeat

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Social media = part of the problem. ���It can also be part of making it better.

What signals will you send?

Thank you.

@bonstewart bstewart@upei.ca