Month: March 2019

#MeToo- How Hashtag activism is changing activism

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MeToo- How Hashtag activism is changing activism

Hashtag activism has become a beginning place for activism and is a key way for audiences to connect and become involved and participate in movements no matter their geographical location. I would argue that there are both advantages and disadvantages to using the internet to highlight issues in the world. Many people may assume that by ‘liking’ or ‘re-tweeting’ that they have done their bit for that particular movement and will not advance the cause by going to protests or enacting change outside of the internet.  However, education in issues is half the battle, and I think the more people that are educated, through whatever method this may be is an advancement and this is where social media I feel has made an impact.

“Tweeting once using a campaign hashtag, signing an online petition or changing a user icon in solidarity can demonstrate engagement with the issue or movement, but not necessarily ongoing activism” (Highfield:98)

#MeToo campaign was started in 2017 when celebrity Alyssa Milano tweeted asking anyone who had been sexually harassed or assaulted to reply to the tweet with ‘me too’. This movement not only captured the world but enacted real change. Twitter confirmed in 2017 that within a week of the tweet not only was it tweeted over 1.7 million times, but that it had been reached by at least 85 countries (had over 1000 tweets). Vaidhyanathan (2018) stated that “Facebook does amplify activism” and in this case this is true. Facebook also confirmed that within less than 24 hours there were more than 12 million posts, comments, and reactions regarding the #MeToo campaign by 4.7 million users across the globe. This shows that a high number of people were able to engage in this social movement within a week of its birth.

http://criticalmediaproject.org/metoo/

As the hashtag enabled many people to become involved in the movement, it was able to implement real change. 300 plus actresses, directors and writers launched a ‘Times Up’ movement that raised $22 million within the first month, this was put towards the #MeToo cause. A lot of this money was used to fund legal assistance for the victims that had identified themselves through this movement from suffering sexual violence or misconduct. Not only did this help financially, but it also was proven that there was a 23 percent rise in the use of rape, abuse and incest hotline from October 2017. (BBC 2018)

“a personalised frame such as #MeToo enabled a great many people to connect with its underlying concept of sexual harassment” (Meikle, G)

The #MeToo movement was also able to enact change to legislation globally. France has since introduced fines and prison for upskirting and catcalling as well as fines for work pay discrimination. Furthermore, the UK Government now requires all companies with 250 or more employees to report their gender pay gap.

Alyssa Milano talks about the progress that #MeToo campaign has had, and how far it has to go.

Research has also highlighted a differing change in attitudes, that over half of women aged 18-34 and 58% of young men are more likely to challenge behaviour that they deem inappropriate or sexist. (Fawcett Society 2018) This not only shows that social media has impacted social change in the government and legislation but has also enacted change on a more personal basis and has helped in changing mindsets to defend each other and promote equality.

Although many changes have been implemented as a result, there are still many obstacles that the #MeToo campaign did not change or improve. For example, US president Donald Trump supported Brett Kavanaugh and denigrated Dr. Christine Ford. This not only shows that sexism is prevalent in everyday life but in politics also. This can be seen further by looking at statistics in the workplace, 9 out of 10 women in UK companies are paid less than men; big digital companies are the worst for this. Google’s “female employees mean hourly rate is 17 percent lower than mens” and “just 22 percent of their highest paid staff are women”. (NS Tech 2018). Despite this, social media has enabled the #MeToo campaign to create many lasting changes, therefore making the campaign significant, effective and impactful.

Created by Emma Adkins

Bibliography:

Highfield, T (2016) Social media and everyday politics Cambridge: Polity Press

Meikle, G (2018) The Routledge companion to media and activism London: Routledge

Vaidhyanathan, S (2018) Antisocial media: How Facebook Disconnects us and undermines democracy Oxford: Oxford University Press

PSB & The Rise of Internet Companies

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PSB and the rise of internet companies

Ever since the beginning of Public Service Broadcasting in 1955, it has been popular and was designed as a public service to provide information, advice or entertainment without making a profit. In the UK, the BBC is the most prevalent, companies grouped together to form a monopoly which is funded by a license fee.

Although Public Service Broadcasting has been important in the past, with the rise of internet companies such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc, the question is whether Public Service Broadcasting is relevant anymore. In the Ofcom report in 2015, there is a lot of mention about the rise of internet companies and how this will affect / how it has affected Public Service Broadcasting.

Such a good read on Netflix’s rise. Love this description of an executive retreat: “We studied AOL and Blockbuster as cautionary tales. We knew we had to disrupt, including disrupting ourselves, or someone else would do it.” https://t.co/Z0Qs5TSmYy by @sherman4949— Christina Farr (@chrissyfarr) June 13, 2018

“Netflix, if not directly responsible, is at least holding the murder weapon.”

“Netflix and YouTube are able to provide, relative to PSB catch-up-services, and their significant investment in technology and the user experience, it may be increasingly difficult for PSB to maintain their current large audiences” (Ofcom 2015)

This is referenced in particular to the younger generation, with the rise of internet companies and social media becoming a new way for audiences to gather the news the need for Public Service Broadcasting may decrease. It has been found that there are more subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon and NOW TV than to traditional ‘pay’ TV services. (Ofcom 2018) This means PSB may have to look at other ways of keeping audiences especially the younger generation. However, throughout the report, it still indicates that “Importance and satisfaction is increasing” (Ofcom 2015) and that the need for PSB is still very much alive.

https://unsplash.com/photos/RBWDrxW3xog

However, it does seem that there has been a decline in children’s TV, drama and comedy, but an increase and continued investment in the news. PSB are aware that ‘News remains the most important genre to PSB audiences’ (Ofcom 2015) It could be indicated that high satisfaction with PSB may be focused on News and not these other areas. The obvious decline in these areas could further indicate the rise of internet companies as the audience may be finding better alternatives elsewhere but are still wanting to keep updated with the news in traditional ways.

It has also been proven that there is a current lack of diversity in PSB and that PSB does not portray society as a whole. For example ‘over half (55%) of people from black ethnic groups (such as African or Caribbean) felt underrepresented and a similar proportion felt that they were negatively portrayed’(Ofcom 2015)Even though similar issues are raised with others, not only ethnic groups but also LGBTQ and religious groups, the report states that this needs to be ‘monitored’, they create no plan to help the lack of representation in PSB. This could be due to an unrepresentative media workforce, or a lack of investment in diversity. This comes full circle to PSB investing more in news and less in other areas due to the lack of attention these other areas are currently receiving.

Created by Emma Adkins

Bibliography:

(Online) Ofcom (2015) Public Service Broadcasting in the Internet Age p 17-18, accessed on 31st March 2019 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/81069/psb_annual_report_summary.pdf

(Online) Ofcom (2017-2018) News Consumption in the UK: 2018: Jigsaw Research https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/116529/news-consumption-2018.pdf accessed on 24th March 2019

Gender Media issues- Ads

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Gender media issues- Ads

Media, especially social media has never been more prevalent in daily life. We are surrounded every day by media, whether consciously or unconsciously. A US adult spends on average 45 minutes per day on social media and a UK adult spends on average 32 minutes on social media. However, it has been researched and confirmed that adults spend almost 8 hours a day being consumed by different types of media. This includes television, newspapers, and radio, etc, and television is still the largest type of media that is being consumed by adults.

When looking online for how many adverts we are exposed to daily, there are different numbers, some as high as 5,000 ads per day, varying from 2,500 per day. Which is still higher than I thought the number was going to be.

Made by Emma Adkins

People use media to construct a view of reality and we draw on these representations available to us from the media, therefore if women are portrayed in a certain way, women are more likely to draw conclusions that this is the way a woman should act and be. Seeing this many ads unconsciously, automatically reinforces gender ideals that we do not even realize that we are consuming.

“The commodification of the sexualized female body, used to sell anything from cars to perfume to jeans to toilet cleaners, is seen as contributing to an increase in sexual violence against women”

(Ross 1957:8)

American Apparel (a clothing company) has come under scrutiny for their sexist ads over the years, including the sexualization of not only women but school children. American Apparel released an advert for an opening of one of their stores, this advert had the text ‘Now Open’ with a woman on the cover with her legs open. This is clearly sexualizing women to sell their products. It could be that they were aiming for the attention of men, thinking they may go to the store to buy products for the women in their lives. Or they could be targeting women, thinking that women will want to look like the woman on the front cover., Regardless, in this advertisement, American Apparel is essentially selling sex, the woman in this campaign is being portrayed as a ‘piece of meat’.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/506616/American-Apparel-back-to-school-adverts-banned

In another advert, they advertised a back to school range, the main picture for this is a photo shows a model bent over and she is being photographed from a low angle, because of this low angle you can see her buttocks. This not only sexualizes women, but it is sexualizing children. This advert was complained about and ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) upheld the complaints stating, “We considered the images were gratuitous and objectified women and were therefore sexist and likely to cause serious and widespread offense.” The ASA also mentioned that this could be considered as ‘upskirting’ and this picture looks like it has been taken without consent, which makes it even further offensive. The ASA warned American Apparel to not produce content like this in the future.

http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/gallery/21016/1/american-apparel-advertisement-archive

Both adverts are also not ‘professional’ photography and almost seen as amateur photography. This could be so that the women seem more real, but in reality, it makes the adverts look more sexualized.  And even though women are being used in these adverts, it certainly seems that these adverts are more focused on men.

“The power of the culture industry’s ideology is such that conformity has replaced consciousness”

(Adomo 1991:90)

Advertising and the media matters, it tells us what is ‘normal’ and content like the ads previously discussed are designed to shock and break through the 5,000 adverts that adults see every day. However, this causes a negative effect as the sexualization of women and in American Apparel’s case, of children becomes normalized. Unrealistic expectations within adverts are what sells the product, we as consumers are shown an ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ way of life that we should be living, and instead of selling their product, they sell this idea.

#AmericanApparel causes outrage with brow-raising back-to-school ad http://t.co/BsXBC6VOGY pic.twitter.com/wJ5a8ZDLmk— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) August 8, 2014

Bibliography:

Ross, K (1957) Gendered Media women, men, and identity politics, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield

Adomo (1991) from Gauntlett, D (2008) Media, gender and identity: An introduction,New York, N.Y. : Routledge

Brexit: How social media impacted the referendum

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Brexit: How social media impacted the referendum

Just as social media has become ingrained in our everyday lives, we can only assume that it now has become ingrained in not only advertising but news and political marketing too. With social media becoming the most popular type of online news, used by 44% of adults (Ofcom 2017-2018:2) it is only expected that information on the 2016 Brexit referendum was easily available and accessible online.

The turnout for the referendum was at a high, with 72.2 percent of the population voting, which eclipsed the turnout for the 2015 general election which was at 66 percent. The young vote (18-24-year olds) was also at a twenty-five-year high. Although strictly there is no correlation it has been commented that “the press on both sides of the argument did an effective job of stimulating public interest and action” (Hänska; Bauchowitz, 2017) and this includes the use of social media.

Made by Emma Adkins

Research showed that many Twitter users who were supporting the ‘LEAVE’ campaign were more active and prevalent online in expressing their views than ‘REMAIN’ users, who were less visible and less engaged online. Similar patterns were found on Instagram and Facebook, they found “similar patterns of Eurosceptic views being communicated with a greater number of users on those platforms” (Herman; Polonski, 2016:33)

Not only did the ‘LEAVE’ campaign have more support social media, but this was also similarly seen in newspaper content. The right-leaning press came out with nearly 4.8 million sales for the Leave campaign. However, the more liberal and left-of-center newspapers who backed the remain campaign sold 1.8 million. (Brexit, Trump and the media)

https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=272610&picture=brexit-background

In regard to social media, it is important to mention the Cambridge Analytica scandal that was key in influencing votes. The company managed to get access to personal Facebook data of 87 million people via a personality quiz on Facebook. In turn, this was sold to advertisers to sway key potential votes. Cambridge Analytica sold data to political parties and businesses who wanted to change the audience’s behaviour (Osbourne 2018). This could be viewed as psychological manipulation in order to achieve the outcome the businesses or political parties favored. The only goal was capital gains and not the best interest of the public.

But this was not the only type of media that could be argued did not serve the public good, for example ‘Vote Leave built a campaign around one big resounding number: Britain was sending the EU £350m a week, which could be spent on the NHS instead’ (Worrall 2017: 230) this was reported in newspapers and on social media. In this instance the media did not serve the public good, false information was presented as facts which people used to make an informed decision about their position.

Bibliography:

Herman; Polonski, Hänska; Bauchowitz; Worrall (2016-2017) Brexit, Trump and the media, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk : Arima Publishin

Ofcom (2017-2018) News Consumption in the UK: 2018: Jigsaw Research https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/116529/news-consumption-2018.pdf

Osbourne, H (2018) The Guardian, What is Cambridge Analytica? The format the centre of Facebook’s data breach https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/18/what-is-cambridge-analytica-firm-at-centre-of-facebook-data-breach accessed 04/12/2018