Absolute Hashtagging Connects Absolutely

Absolute Hashtagging Connects Absolutely

                                          Image 1 – Pinterest networking

POWER? what does that word invoke for you? Commonly the word power is synonymous with control, leadership, influence, wealth and strength. According to Allan (2003) power is not an actual thing ‘per se’, people experience power through relationships. As Suggested (Brey, 2008, P. 73) and supported by Allan (2003) is the notion that network systems are used to construct, maintain or strengthen power relations. Their introduction and use in society deferentially empowers and dis-empowers its users.

          

The online network that I have decided to research for my assessment between ‘week three’ and ‘week eight’ is Instagram. I first became a member of the #hashtag world in April 2017, so to keep it in context and use the cultural lingo or genre as is appropriate for this social media channel, I am in fact a #newbie. At first glance of this virtual world, I was overwhelmed with its power. As Turkle (1995) quite aptly advises, the internet is a space where one can say anything to anyone, it allows networks of people to foster a new level of social power. Influence is one of the great things that can be created with power in the online space.

As suggested by Manjoo (2016) from the New York Times who writes about; “…influence and that “White Ethnonationalism” views and ignorance were restricted…” however the power of the internet has changed this. New social media power groups or social media channels have allowed and facilitated people with once- marginalised views to merge together. They can now have dominance, authority in an online space and create surprisingly influential control.  

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/12/what-is-instagram-actually-for-these-days-is-it-any-good

Social media power users are individuals with both the skills and enthusiasm to optimise social media tools and channels. This use of power became very evident to me as I delved into the world of Instagram. It is more than just a space to share photos with your followers. Instagram can, for lack of better words; ‘control you’ with its use of power. Instagram uses the theory that consumers trust the opinions of those in their social media group, their friends, fellow bloggers and celebrities, it appears they trust social network more than any other form of influence. It is an avenue to a make-believe world, that values ‘Social Capital’ as its authority. Dr Kuttainen discussed the ‘Value of Capital’ in the lecture, week three (BA1002, 2017).

Allan (2003) outlines that power is defined as; domination, authority, seduction, manipulation and coercion. Instagram has quickly emerged as one of the most popular social networks for users to manipulate and seduce followers. Manipulation can be found in between the glamorous hashtags, the filters, the advertising and the endorsements.  Manipulation does not end here, it extends into seduction. Instagram feeds off the various interactions among people, Instagram entices people to believe in a world that doesn’t even really exist. This group blindly follow and become strikingly more powerful as they grow. As Allen (2003) infers, we collectively as a group of followers are seduced into an imaginary world of the peculiarity of this power.

Reference List

Allen, J. (2003). Lost Geographies. Lost Geographies of Power. Cornwall: Blackwell Publishing.

Brey, P. (2008). Social Epistemology – A Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Policy. Critical Approaches to Technology, 22, 71-95.

Image 1 – Pinterest networking. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=power+manipulation+in+instagram&rlz=1C1GIWA_enAU728AU728&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid4Kn72c7VAhXInpQKHXEzA5sQ_AUICygC&biw=1166&bih=540

Kuttainen, V. (2017).  BA 1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place LibGuide: Blog Exemplars. James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

Manjoo, F. (2016). Social Media’s Globe-Shaking Power. State of the Art. New York Times. Nov 2016.

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the Screen. Identity in The Age of The Internet. Sydney. Simon & Schuster.