So, just separately from my core post, I thought it would be interesting to test out Danah Boyd’s theory that
“ In essence, MySpace is the civil society of teenage culture: whether one is for it or against it, everyone knows the site and has an opinion about it” (Why Youth ♥ Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life, p3)
As most of us were highschool/teenage aged when MySpace was released, I wanted to test this, and find out whether, in fact, everyone knew of/ had an opinion about the site. Furthermore, I thought it would be interesting to find out which of Danah’s categories of MySpace users/non-users did you (or do you) fit into if any ….
- MySpace teen
- those who sign up, create an online body/virtual identity and participate in a network public
- Disenfranchised teen
-those who don’t have a MySpace Account because of lack of internet access
- those who don’t have a MySpace Account because the only internet access available is at school/public places where social networking sites are off limits
- those who are banned from the site by parents/guardians
- Conscientious objector
- those who refuse to sign up in a protest against the corporate ownership of MySpace
-those who respect or agree with the moral/safety concerns of parents
-those who either feel not cool enough (maginalized teens) or too cool for these sites (Boyd,p3)
I will answer my own question by saying that in highschool, I was definitely a MySpace lover/addict (but have long since abandoned it for the new social networking mecca-Facebook) In parts of the reading I cringed a little, for it reminded me of my former self !
Have some fun, I would especially like to hear from those who fit into category C :)
Boyd, Danah. (2007) " Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life." MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning- Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
9 comments:
Cool experiment Ellery, I think I fit into category C only by default or pocess of elimination. I had to self regulate because I knew that if I joined myspace I would have never been able to complete my TEE. I guess I would have loved to have joined but I suppose this was why I took a stance against it in a way...saying that I am ADDICTED to facebook now through my uni years :) I dont think I missed much with myspace because at the time I was able to see my friends every day, not facebook is my social tool for networking more than anything!
Without a doubt... I am in category A.
Although I can confidently say I never subscribed to one of those 'friend trains'...
Pimpmyspace.com was one of my most frequently visited websites. It also introduced me to the world of html which is useful i guess!
Hm.
I think, when in high school, I would have been in category B, only dial-up outside of school, that I was rarely allowed to use (strict parents). Plus I'd never heard of Myspace.
Once I hit university I think I wound up in Category C, in that I didn't have any friendship networks on Myspace. Plus high school kids used it. It was too uncool :P
I think this might be misleading though. A few months into uni I became a Livejournal teen and facebook certainly seems to have surpassed both lj and myspace as the online playground of choice these days.
Like Rebekah, during high school I would have fit into category C by default. MySpace wasn't really part of my world, and seemed pointless when you saw your friends every day at school... although in uni I became addicted to Facebook because it's a great way to keep in touch when you don't have time to physically catch up with everyone - and it does feel like a whole other world.
When we were out recently, someone was taking a group photo and said, 'There's my new profile pic for Facebook.' Has online identity formation spilled over into real life?
By the time MySpace became really big, I was well and truly out of high school, and although some of friends were really into it, I never was. I definitely fall into category C because I thought it was kind of waste of time and a little self indulgent. Also, my sister was always accusing it of being used just as a dating site, so I guess a little of that rubbed off onto me. Although, I do now have a Facebbook account, so I guess I can’t be too self-righteous...!
However, I’ve always considered Facebook to be more about posting photos to share with your friends and keeping in touch with others, plus you don’t have to fill out the profile if you don’t want to, whereas MySpace just always seemed about ME. The people whose profiles I would be interested in are my friends, and as my friends, I already know most of that info anyway. To be honest, I’m not really interested in anyone else.
I definitely fit into Category A (sadly). I still have a myspace page but I don't think i've logged in in about 2 years. It just simply redirects people to find me on facebook.
I wanted to have as many friends as possible on myspace - I made 'friends' with bands etc. On facebook I would never add a person I did not know well. I consider it to be more of a place to catchup with people that you don't get to see that often. It's also good for making plans - 'creating events.' Myspace was definitely more about how many friends you had. The section about 'top friends' in the reading made me laugh because I can sadly say that I remember moving someone from my top friends in highschool and there was a huge outcry. Probably shouldn't be admitting this...
I would have to say that I am part of group A. I never really used it much though because as a few have already said, you saw your friends everyday. I joined facebook because I have lived in so many different countries since I was a teenager it was one of the only ways for me to remain in touch with my friends. I moved from Argentina to Australia last year and through facebook I am able to know what all of my friends back home are up to so I am not so far out of the loop...even if I live half way across the world.
Definitely C, or well, sorta.
I signed up for an account when everyone was getting into it, just for the sake of checking it out. But then I found the layout too messy, it wasn't user-friendly, and I decided heck, I don't care I'm just going to stick to Friendster (which was the social-network site I was hyped about at that time..before the era of Facebook!). So yea.. Didn't like it so I laid off it. (:
(sorry I'm posting my comment so late!)
Post a Comment