Internet Culture Research Articles

Religious Responses to the Military Coup in Myanmar

The military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021 ended semi-civilian rule (2011–2021), bringing the country once again under direct military rule. Through a multi-methodological approach—analyzing written statements, digital data, and qualitative interviews—this article explores how multiple religious actors have responded to the coup. Our findings show that compared to previous uprisings, the 2021 anti-coup protests were characterized by global internet culture, interreligious solidarity, and new visions for a plural and democratic Myanmar. Behind the seemingly spontaneous street protests were also religious institutions and networks, indicating long-term pro-democracy education, activism, and networking within different religious fields.

Believing in Bits: Digital Media and the Supernatural

Believing in Bits: Digital Media and the Supernatural

Zoom-ing in on White Supremacy

Zoom-ing in on White Supremacy

Social Reading? On the Rise of a “Bookish” Reading Culture Online

AbstractWhile the internet is often seen as having destroyed book culture, this article is interested in those areas in our contemporary media environment where book and internet culture actually converge. Focusing on the example of BookTube, the author examines how book culture is “done” on the internet and analyzes the values attached to the media practices involved. In particular, in millennial book culture, social aspects of reading are often emphasized. This trend is usually associated with the new affordances of social media and either assessed positively (e.g., by proponents of the internet as a democratizing force) or negatively (e.g., by detractors of the internet as fostering superficiality). The author argues that such a simplistic binary view can be transcended if one takes a historical perspective, reflecting on how sociality and self-fashioning have been integral aspects of book culture for centuries. At the same time, she shows the extent to which BookTube provides new opportunities to socialize around reading.

Wanted: virtual or live! How lichens are becoming part of mass internet culture.

While restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have strongly limited and affected the work of scientists and communicators, the pandemic has also encouraged the development of new ways of networking and public engagement. People have had to resort to virtual events, with a subsequent proliferation of webinars, online meetings, and digital resources. In this situation we have had to find new ways of measuring the impact of these activities. Using the activities of the Italian Lichen Society (Società Lichenologica Italiana, SLI), Google Trends and colleagues’ contributions, we evaluated the performances and impacts of virtual tools on lichenological literacy. We compared the relative success of virtual and in-person events and the effort required; we evaluated followers’ appreciation of various categories of posts on SLI Facebook page; and designed a questionnaire to collate information on individual experiences of in-person and virtual events linked to lichens. As expected, online events generally required less effort to put together and deploy than in-person events and engaged more people, especially when recorded and made available online for a long time. Using online searches for the word “lichens” we found an association with national events, and there was a notable increase in membership of SLI over the last 10 years, demonstrating an increasing interest by people in lichens. Without excluding the positive effects of in-person experiences, we believe that online events offer a powerful tool to help increase interest in, and knowledge about lichens. This interest may help to mitigate the impact of anthropogenic activities on this sensitive component of the ecosystem and help human-lichen relationships.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13199-021-00780-6.

Russia's Media Image in Chinese Internet Memes

The topic of the article is relevant due to the fact that, being fragments of Internet culture, Internet memes are created by users, combining their own ideas, behavior and performance in the Web 2.0 environment. The aim of the article is to identify Internet memes on Chinese information resources, depicting the image of Russia and its leader with the help of figurative and at the same time economical means, to determine the functions these memes perform, as well as the impact potential of memes. The objectives of the study include identifying the range of themes and issues for memes, their semantic content, tone, and means of expression. Тhe objectives also include the correlation of scientific approaches with the analysis of the phenomenon and the practical implementation of political memes, as well as showing the transformation of the media image of the country in different periods: from the USSR to the Russian Federation with the help of comparative analysis. The objectives also include identifying potential threats to the national identity of Russians. The examples were collected using the hashtags "Russia", "USSR" and "Putin" in the social network Sina Weibo and in the application Wechat, and also in the browser Baidu. The novelty of research is in the fact that the authors are not limited to the psycholinguistic tools of the study of Internet memes, but focus on the study of the structure of the created political images of Russia and on the functions they perform. The authors are interested in the creators of minimized texts, as well as in the ways memes spread. More than 100 memes became the basis for the study. Conclusions: a trend in the establishment of friendly relations between China and Russia has been identified. Memes depict generally positive experience of Russia and Vladimir Putin.

Digging in Crypto-Communities’ Future-Making

Digging in Crypto-Communities’ Future-Making

Cryptocurrencies as an object of research in social sciences – areas of empirical exploration

Cryptocurrencies are a decentralized, peer–to–peer network architecture, cryptographically secured, based on trust and consensus, type of virtual currency, incompletely fulfilling some functions of money. They constitute a new interdisciplinary subject of scientific research. In the article, the author indicates potential areas of empirical exploration that can be conducted by representatives of social sciences. The four areas identified were: research on attitudes and opinions, the behavior of the community of cryptocurrency users, products of Internet culture and the structure of the Internet, including, in particular, the block chain. The research is based on well–established techniques, classic in research practice, which, due to the different nature of virtual and physical reality, are modified and adapted to technical conditions.

Between ‘homeland’ and ‘the local’: the shared cultural imaginary of Tantan among Chinese communities in Australia

This article examines the cultural imaginary of Tantan shared among Australian Chinese diasporic users. Drawing on data collected through the walkthrough method and 16 interviews with Australia-based Chinese users of Tantan, this article finds that participants were able to perceive and contribute to the shared cultural references and norms on Tantan, which show a close connection with social media cultures in China. However, Tantan in Australia is not merely an extension of Chinese Internet culture; rather, it features unique characteristics that reflect elements of local Australian culture. This article argues that Tantan profile styles embody Chinese users’ diasporic identification in Australia, which involves an ongoing process of cultural navigation in their host country. Furthermore, as a geolocational app, Tantan also has the potential to bridge the flow of digital culture between ‘homeland’ and ‘the local’ with the transnational movements of its users.

“I just want to be the friendly face of national socialism”: The turn to civility in the cultural expressions of neo-Nazism in Sweden

Abstract This article is based on a case study of the media narratives of the neo-Nazi organisation Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) and situates this particular actor within the broader landscape of violent extremism in Sweden today. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis informed by narrative inquiry, I examine various cultural expressions of neo-Nazi ideology in NRM's extensive repertoire of online media. Theoretically, I turn to cultural perspectives on violent extremism to bring to centre stage the role of popular culture and entertainment in the construction of a meaningful narrative of community and belonging built around neo-Nazism in Sweden today. The analysis explores the convergence between different genres, styles, and content into new cultural expressions of national socialism which bleed into mainstream Internet culture and political discourse in new ways. In the online universe of NRM, the extreme blends with the mainstream, the mundane and ordinary with the spectacular and provocative, and the serious with the silly. In this manner, the analysis lays bare the strategies through which NRM seeks to soften, trivialise, and normalise neo-Nazi discourse using the power and appeal of culture and entertainment.

Study of the Principles of Web Design as a Visual Component of Modern Internet Culture

The article is devoted to the study of effective websites design principles, adherence to which is very important and necessary in the modern information space. The article analyzes scientific research on the above problem and its results. The author defines the concept of usability, and describes its main indicators. The article considers the most important features of the user’s perception of interfaces and formulates the rules of usability through the organization of screen space. It is emphasized that the basic rules of website design are based on knowledge of the human perception mechanisms. Users’ psychophysical processes influence visual perception of screen space. Therefore, one needs to consider the psychology of human perception of the computer, the theory of information transfer, and also human psychophysiology to create highly usable interfaces and achieve effective users’ interactions with websites. All this reduces the cognitive load and time for information search, and meets users’ needs in the most convenient way. In addition, the principles of organizing web text in a way that ensures the best perception of information by the user are defined, in particular: structure, visualization, laconism and clarity. The article reveals the significance of website usability, describes criteria and methods of its assessment. Among the indicators used in website evaluation, the following are highlighted: effectiveness, navigation convenience, memorability. The author describes the methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the website, namely: statistics analysis, collection and analysis of visitors’ opinions, observing users’ actions, engaging users in testing. It is proved that the observance of usability principles results in an increased number of visitors and time they spend on a website, higher conversion rate, etc. The principles described in the article are generalization of the world experience of website design professionals.

The Case for Documenting User Experience as Part Preservation Strategy for Internet-Based Art

Internet-based art is deeply embedded in the online behaviours, customs and traditions that are constantly emerging through user interaction and engagement. As such, user experience should be considered a fundamental aspect of the artwork in need of considered documentation. This paper provides a historical overview of Internet-based art, that presents the broader socio-cultural aspects of Internet-based art, as experienced by the user. This paper argues that Internet-based art requires the same conservation considerations as more accepted aspects of time-based media art documentation: source-code analysis, materials and equipment lists, variability and artists’ intent. By documenting user experience, it enables opportunities to navigate the culturally-embedded principles of Internet culture and contemporary technological standards that may be lost if preservation strategies utilise a more material/code specific preservation strategy. Highlighting experience as a necessary pillar of the identity of Internet-based art, in conjunction with other widely accepted aspects of time-based media art documentation approaches, allows for a richer picture and understanding of defining qualities of works, whilst providing further evidentiary activation into preservation approaches.

Building an Information and Communication Culture in the Modern Digital Environment

The study explores the problems of forming an information and communication culture in a modern digital environment. In the context of the concept of the information society, the paper considers the characteristics of various types of culture functioning in the contemporary digital environment: information, electronic, screen, Internet culture. It also reveals their typical features and distinctive features. Information culture is a type of culture that includes a system of views, ethical attitudes, rules and norms, based on information as value, and material media — means of transmission (press, radio, telephony, television and the Internet). As a synonym to “information culture,” the concept of “electronic culture” is often used. Its fundamental feature is virtual electronic platforms broadcasting cultural achievements. Screen culture is considered a kind of product of the information era, formed during the collision of a person with screen display media and inseparably associated with technological progress. Internet culture can become a particular type of culture, which includes the use of the Web as a platform for realizing the needs of communication and self-expression, developing creativity through the creation, use, transformation of virtual objects, often similar to real ones, but with a special, unique appearance. The work identified components of information culture, analyzed its interpretations within the framework of cultural, information, activity and personal approaches. In the study of electronic, screen and Internet culture, there are also several scientific approaches: cultural, philological, philosophical, psychological. The authors indicate that at this stage of the development of society, there is a formation of a new social type of person (“information”) and the nature of social relations. The authors considered the phenomenon of information and communication culture as a component of the information society and examined its formation in the digital environment using areas of education and culture as an example.

ИСТОРИЧЕСКОЕ СОЗНАНИЕ В ИНТЕРНЕТ-МЕМАХ: К ПОСТАНОВКЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ

The article examines the forms of historical consciousness that are present in the digital environment, more specifically in Internet memes. With the universal spread of the Internet, civilization received not only a new tool for communication, but also entered the phase of fundamentally new communication formats. One of them is Internet memes – understood in the article as predominantly mutable templates, in which the picture is static and the text changes. Internet memes function as two-tiered utterances. At the first level, the Internet meme is an ironic part that allows you to grab attention and go to the second level, where the utterance is made. Communication through Internet memes is the realization of everyday representations and thought structures. These structures include, among other things, historical consciousness, which can be understood as all cases of the presence of the past in everyday life. If the historical memory in the Internet culture is widely studied: narratives, symbols that are realized in various kinds of content are analyzed, then the historical consciousness still remains outside the analysis. The article raises the problem of the implementation of temporal representations, the role of the past in the processing of present events, conceptualization of the past in communication through Internet memes.

Meme language, its impact on digital culture and collective thinking

Memes have become an increasingly common form of modern communication, which has recently attracted great research interest. In this article we analyze "language - memes", its influence on digital culture and collective thinking. The Internet, by expanding social content, contributes to the variability of cultural codes and consequently changes an individual’s cultural identity throughout life. The culture composed of cultural groups is defined as a kind of macro-code, consisting of numerous codes that are commonly used to interpret reality among members of the cyber community. Identity is also transmitted through the use of a specific language during interaction, which is a marker of discourse, in which Memes represent a distinctive business card. Linguists, as well as specialists in other disciplines (such as philosophy, anthropology) use each other’s work to study the interrelationships and mutual influences of language and culture. The study proposed a hypothesis about the influence of the Internet on changes in society’s thinking, the formation of the Internet culture and language, using the example of meme language, which is confirmed by the analysis of Internet survey. The interdisciplinary nature of the research is due to the use of mathematical method and the logic of meme language, its impact on digital culture and collective thinking, which is represented in the responses of respondents to the questions in online questionnaires.

Research on the difficulties of ideological and political Education of College students in the New Media Environment

Under the background of the new era, Network New Media Technology not only brings opportunities and innovations to the ideological and political education in colleges and universities, but also brings challenges. Universities should give full play to the advantage of network new media technology, combine the traditional advantages of ideological and political education with new media and technology, realize the reform and innovation of network ideological and political education in colleges, expand the network ideological and political education platform, improve the network literacy of college students, and create excellence The Internet culture promotes the all-round development of college students and enhances the effectiveness of the ideological and political education in college in the new era.

Code-switching in the computer-mediated communication

Most authors admit that code-switching is the process of switching different languages, their varieties, speaking styles, etc. Today the majority of people in the world are multilingual and often mix languages in different ways, which makes code-switching a quite common global phenomenon. Code-switching incorporates government, cultural, religious and network contexts, and the frequency of code-switching in such multilingual conversations is an indicator of the global dominance of multilingualism. Online communication fosters social communicative practices consisting of code-switching and marks the development of verbal behaviour of multilingual communities. Code-switching also affects language visuality, its images are tools for the social construction of reality. The developed verbal practices support effective communication and affect the expression of new meanings. The article aims at presenting the features of code-switching in digital communication with 8 examples of different length, topic and author, in which the native Lithuanians code-switched to English and used elements of the Internet language. These examples were taken from the social networks Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the authors analyzed the grammar, spelling and punctuation of both Lithuanian and the English words, the type and use of the code-switched English elements, special characters, abbreviations, emoji and other features of the Internet language. The results show that online communication is not entirely textual, with various means of text composition communicators make their code-switched English elements more visible and alter the appearance of messages. Such practices correspond to the features of social networks and seem to follow the popular Internet culture trends.

Just a Robot Keeping It Real

One of the surprising outcomes of the social media era of the Internet is its internal contradiction between the endless possibilities for fiction, identity play, performance, and lying, and the profile structure, with its insistence on a single, unified, and quantifiable self. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg insists “you have one identity” while the entire history of Internet culture suggests one, in fact, has many. As a result, the meaning of authenticity becomes a crucial point in determining the future of online life, and in this respect, it represents a contradiction that the world of performance is uniquely familiar with. This project reconsiders virtual performances of authenticity and realness as platform-specific social texts, using performance theory to complicate the idea of univocal self-construction in online life. I present the story of Miquela, a virtual Instagram influencer whose complex creation story and dramatic reveal prompts large and nebulous questions about the nature of authenticity, performance, and self-branding in social-media space. I develop three forms of authenticity that Miquela deploys throughout her career to perform as an influencer and Instagram microcelebrity, and update connections between authenticity, intimacy, and self-image to adapt to late-2010s ways of self-branding and personal storytelling online. Further, I argue these same tools are reflected by corporate brands to further compel audiences to entangle brand identity with their own selves. The tropes of Instagram self-performance are deployed across a spectrum of personal, political, social, and capitalist modes, with authenticity enabling this new height of context collapse.

Interview with Dr Crystal Abidin

Dr Crystal Abidin is a digital anthropologist and ethnographer who examines internet culture, based at Curtin University in Western Australia as a Senior Research Fellow and ARC DECRA fellow in Internet Studies. Her current research focuses on influencer cultures, online visibility, and social media pop cultures, especially in East Asia and the Asia Pacific, reflecting also on life as an anthropologist whose work traverses both online and physical spaces and relationships. In her visit to Bangor as a keynote speaker for the Evolution of Media MeCCSA PGN conference, Dr Crystal discussed one of her more recent projects about vulnerable communities on Tumblr, exploring the evolution of culture, practice, and her research within this space.

REDDIT'S COMMUNITIES & CONSEQUENCES

As a platform, Reddit provides a bit of a conundrum. Despite being visited by more people than Netflix and remaining one of the most visited spaces on the web, it remains extraordinarily resistant to generalization. Some of the worst of Internet culture can be found on the site. It has served to amplify the voices of misogynists, supported vigilantism, and hosted child pornography. At the same time, some of the more civil conversations and learning communities appear on the site, with subreddits like Change My View fostering respectful deliberation. Even more than many other platforms, the lack of centralized moderation means that Reddit contains a very wide range of practices, some of them quite extreme. But because these exist on a single platform, users bring these practices with them, both to the “front page” of the platform, and to other areas within. The three papers that make up this panel seek to better understand localized behaviors and how they may relate to global flows of participants and practices. Of course, many of the discursive patterns that were fostered in subreddits make their way into other online and offline contexts. But before they do that, they have often been produced as part of a culture local to one subreddit, or to a “neighborhood” of subreddits. How these practices emerge, evolve, and relate to the actions of their users runs as a thread through the three presentations.