One of the definitions of a portfolio is given by Collins as – “A portfolio is a set of pictures by someone, or photographs of examples of their work, which they use when enteringcompetitions or applying for work.” (collinsdictionary.com, 2019) Although the content of this module is not artistic in nature, this online portfolio is intended to be a example of my academic work. Cyberspace, Identity and Youth. The module that will be focus of this portfolio has a central concept of youth and the internet. This generation (my age and younger) has grown up with the use of technology from an early age, with social media platforms … Continue reading My Portfolio: An introduction.

This topic is the basis for understanding the rest of the module – youth are the ones who interact with cyberspace the most. They are the generation that grew up with these technological changes. To understand social media culture, we must first have an understanding of youth culture. In this blog post I will focus on discussing marginal and idle youth concepts. I will also discuss a journal article on the subject. What is marginal youth? As described in the lecture slides for this week, marginal youth is a period of adolescence that is seen as separate stage of life. … Continue reading Topic 1: Youth culture, marginal youth and idle youth.

This week the presentation focused on how identity has been shaped online since the developed of the ‘Networked Self’. Since the development of the internet, we have been able to create profiles that represent ourselves in virtual form. “The choosing, deciding, shaping human being who aspires to be the author of his or her own life, the creator of an individual identity” as “the central character of our time” (Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, 2001, p 22–23) Another quote from the presentation (slide #14), this captures the idea of a ‘project of self’. “Individuals are to become, as it were, entrepreneurs of … Continue reading Topic 2: Society, technology, cyberspace and culture.

Carrying on from last week, a large portion of this topic is about our identity online. Again, I will begin this portfolio with a quote from the lecture slides. ‘When we step through the screen into virtual communities, we reconstruct our identities on the other side of the looking glass’ (Turkle, 1995) Here, Turkle is referring to the ways in which we can present ourselves online. Interestingly, Henderson notes that Turkle was making a connection between god and the net. “Internet is one of the most dramatic examples of something that is self-organized. That’s the point. God is the distributed, … Continue reading Week 3: Youth, virtual identities, online gaming, cyborgs and avatars.

Last week we briefly discussed gaming through the lens of ‘avatars’ – online representations of ourselves in a digital space. We explored Second Life in particular following the research of Ikegami. Now we will be exploring gaming in more depth, through ‘networked interactions’. Gaming and gaming history. In this video from the Ahoy youtube channel, a demonstration is given of the development of video games. A timeline of key points in video games, with particular interest in the consoles that the games run on. Simulation, Simulacra and Baudrillard. In this video provided by Mitra and The University of Worcster, Dr. … Continue reading Week 4: Youth in transition: Personal and networked interactions.

This week’s lecture is focused on a classic topic of Sociological study, surveillance. One of the first examples given is that of the ‘panopticon’, Bentham’s concept of a continuously observed prison. I can clearly remember this as an example given in one of my first year, first semester university modules. Foucault discusses this concept of prison surveillance in his work Discipline and Punish (1977). In this work Foucault explores the uses of punishment in the 18th century. Bentham was a Philosopher from this time period, and while the panopticon in in its exact form was never constructed, elements have been … Continue reading Week 5: Youth in transition: Surveillance, reflexivity and risk.

This week I use the portfolio in a different manner. Rather than using it as a summary of the lecture, I will instead make an account of the first assessment. In order to give a full account of this process I will be completing this post after the group presentations have taken place as this will enable me to take a full reflection of the process. I have attached the presentations to this portfolio, which is work that I have contributed to. For details on this topic contents of ‘Criminality, hacking, fraud, identity theft, addiction, obsession, stalking, pornography and cyberbullying’, … Continue reading Week 6: Criminality, hacking, fraud, identity theft, addiction, obsession, stalking, pornography and cyberbullying.

This week we addressed the topic of ‘cosmopolitanism’ through the lens of cyberspace. I will again begin this post with a quote from the lecture slides. “… to make it harder to think of the world as divided between the West and the Rest; between locals and moderns; between a bloodless ethic of profit and a bloody ethic of identity; between “us” and “them.”’  (Appiah, 2006, p. 97) This quote is referring to the changing boundaries between traditionally separate social groups. It reflects on the idea that all people belong to a single global community. Appiah also notes in his … Continue reading Week 7: Cyberspace cosmopolitanism, transmitting culture through social media.

Megele, Buzzi and Longfield highlight the difference between the two terms. In their book ‘Safeguarding children and young people online’, they argue that although a term deeply connected to ideas of violence, radicalisation has been a tool of progress in history. They distinguish between the two concepts, stating that radicalisation is “open-minded” to new ideas (Megele, Buzzi and Longfield, 2018, p. 10). Extremism is defined as “closed-minded”, as it is the action of an ideological set group or individual (2018, p. 10). The key difference is the behaviour, as radicalisation simply takes place in discussing. Extremism is the possible execution … Continue reading Week 8: Radicalisation, extremism and/or terrorism in cyberspace.