'The blue sphere' by hehaden (away for ten days), licensed CC by 2.0
"The masked ball
I was an interested reader of Catherine Adam’s article ‘Female technology journalists report abuse is still the name of the game’, which details widespread harassment by male gamers.
A particularly thought provoking comparison “the masked ball that is social media” suggests new media participation is outwardly glamorous, intoxicating even, but the bacchanalia attracts shadowy figures who use anonymity for nefarious purposes. Adams makes the analogy to highlight that many women technology journalists feel compelled to disguise their gender when publishing due to high levels of harassment, which sometimes intrudes into the physical world.
The ‘Gamergate’ phenomenon of male members of the gaming community harassing female members for criticising sexist representations of women in games was well reported in the popular media but failed to prevent, it seems, further abuse. Texas State University’s Amanda Jones found the abuses widespread too. Although, counter perspectives exist.
Some journalists, who have been victims, have gone so far as to track down their abusers and make them known, stripping away the ball participant’s mask, if you will. But this is an unlikely solution for most.
"How can we make sense of this negative social practice?
How can we make sense of this negative social practice? Deakin University’s Professor Clare Bradford makes a good point:
"When young people play video games they do so as embodied subjects whose identities are shaped by the cultures in which they are situated, the circumstances of their lived experience, and the particularities of their dispositions, abilities and interests."
People don’t simply shrug off their values, attitudes and beliefs and adopt new unsavoury ones when they hop online. Young people’s online behaviour is a reflection of their lived experience in the physical world. This suggests that changing the identified anti-social behaviour begins in the homes, sports clubs and schools of the young perpetrators.
"It's not an unstudied topic
It is not an unstudied issue. The authors of the Jenkins White Paper, ‘Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century’, argue that the three main challenges for society are facilitating participation for young from diverse backgrounds and teaching young people to critically reflect on online commercial and cultural agendas.
The University of Southern California’s Ellen Seiter argues, “The Internet is more like a mall than a library; it resembles a gigantic public relations collection more than it does an archive of scholars”, shifts Adam’s analogy but still points to the gaudy distraction implying ethics are submerged.
"Education in the social practice
Helping young people to respond ethically to the challenges and opportunities promised by new media is the third main challenge for young people, identified by the Jenkins White Paper. Following reading and writing competence, the authors argue that an education in the social practice, as much as the application of new media, is essential.
Overall, the expert academics are optimistic about new media’s power to shape more rounded and ethical citizens. They cite participatory behaviour enacted through young people pooling knowledge, solving simulated real world problems, networking and negotiation practised during online activity will shape the citizens of the future for the better. However, the role of teachers and librarians is crucial in the formation of these citizens.
References:
Adams, C. (2015, October 12). Female technology journalists report abuse is still the name of the game. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/11/female-technology-journalists-abuse-zoe-quinn
Bradford, C. (2010). Looking for my corpse: Video games and player positioning. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 33(1), 54- 64, Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=731593017849200;res=IELHSS
Jenkins, H. et al. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: media education for the 21st century. MacArthur Foundation. http://digitallearning.macfound.org/site/c.enJLKQNlFiG/b.2108773/apps/nl/content2.asp?content_id={CD911571-0240-4714-A93B-1D0C07C7B6C1}¬oc=1
Jones, A. (2015). Group Coalitions in Video Games: How Gender Discrimination Influences How We Choose Our Factions (Unpublished honours thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
Seiter, E. (2005). The Internet Playground: Children’s Access, Entertainment, and Mis-Education. London: Peter Lang.
Young, C (2015, October 13). Blame GamerGate's Bad Rep on Smears and Shoddy Journalism. The Observer. Retrieved from http://observer.com/2015/10/blame-gamergates-bad-rep-on-smears-and-shoddy-journalism/
I was an interested reader of Catherine Adam’s article ‘Female technology journalists report abuse is still the name of the game’, which details widespread harassment by male gamers.
A particularly thought provoking comparison “the masked ball that is social media” suggests new media participation is outwardly glamorous, intoxicating even, but the bacchanalia attracts shadowy figures who use anonymity for nefarious purposes. Adams makes the analogy to highlight that many women technology journalists feel compelled to disguise their gender when publishing due to high levels of harassment, which sometimes intrudes into the physical world.
The ‘Gamergate’ phenomenon of male members of the gaming community harassing female members for criticising sexist representations of women in games was well reported in the popular media but failed to prevent, it seems, further abuse. Texas State University’s Amanda Jones found the abuses widespread too. Although, counter perspectives exist.
Some journalists, who have been victims, have gone so far as to track down their abusers and make them known, stripping away the ball participant’s mask, if you will. But this is an unlikely solution for most.
"How can we make sense of this negative social practice?
How can we make sense of this negative social practice? Deakin University’s Professor Clare Bradford makes a good point:
"When young people play video games they do so as embodied subjects whose identities are shaped by the cultures in which they are situated, the circumstances of their lived experience, and the particularities of their dispositions, abilities and interests."
People don’t simply shrug off their values, attitudes and beliefs and adopt new unsavoury ones when they hop online. Young people’s online behaviour is a reflection of their lived experience in the physical world. This suggests that changing the identified anti-social behaviour begins in the homes, sports clubs and schools of the young perpetrators.
"It's not an unstudied topic
It is not an unstudied issue. The authors of the Jenkins White Paper, ‘Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century’, argue that the three main challenges for society are facilitating participation for young from diverse backgrounds and teaching young people to critically reflect on online commercial and cultural agendas.
The University of Southern California’s Ellen Seiter argues, “The Internet is more like a mall than a library; it resembles a gigantic public relations collection more than it does an archive of scholars”, shifts Adam’s analogy but still points to the gaudy distraction implying ethics are submerged.
"Education in the social practice
Helping young people to respond ethically to the challenges and opportunities promised by new media is the third main challenge for young people, identified by the Jenkins White Paper. Following reading and writing competence, the authors argue that an education in the social practice, as much as the application of new media, is essential.
Overall, the expert academics are optimistic about new media’s power to shape more rounded and ethical citizens. They cite participatory behaviour enacted through young people pooling knowledge, solving simulated real world problems, networking and negotiation practised during online activity will shape the citizens of the future for the better. However, the role of teachers and librarians is crucial in the formation of these citizens.
References:
Adams, C. (2015, October 12). Female technology journalists report abuse is still the name of the game. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/11/female-technology-journalists-abuse-zoe-quinn
Bradford, C. (2010). Looking for my corpse: Video games and player positioning. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 33(1), 54- 64, Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=731593017849200;res=IELHSS
Jenkins, H. et al. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: media education for the 21st century. MacArthur Foundation. http://digitallearning.macfound.org/site/c.enJLKQNlFiG/b.2108773/apps/nl/content2.asp?content_id={CD911571-0240-4714-A93B-1D0C07C7B6C1}¬oc=1
Jones, A. (2015). Group Coalitions in Video Games: How Gender Discrimination Influences How We Choose Our Factions (Unpublished honours thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
Seiter, E. (2005). The Internet Playground: Children’s Access, Entertainment, and Mis-Education. London: Peter Lang.
Young, C (2015, October 13). Blame GamerGate's Bad Rep on Smears and Shoddy Journalism. The Observer. Retrieved from http://observer.com/2015/10/blame-gamergates-bad-rep-on-smears-and-shoddy-journalism/