"David Nemer draws on extensive ethnographic fieldwork to provide a rich account of how favela residents engage with technology in community technology centers and in their everyday lives. Their stories reveal the structural violence of the information age. But they also show how those oppressed by
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technology don't just reject it, but consciously resist and appropriate it, and how their experiences with digital technologies enable them to navigate both digital and nondigital sources of oppression—and even, at times, to flourish. Nemer uses a decolonial and intersectional framework called Mundane Technology as an analytical tool to understand how digital technologies can simultaneously be sites of oppression and tools in the fight for freedom. Building on the work of the Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, he shows how the favela residents appropriate everyday technologies—technological artifacts (cell phones, Facebook), operations (repair), and spaces (Telecenters and Lan Houses)—and use them to alleviate the oppression in their everyday lives. He also addresses the relationship of misinformation to radicalization and the rise of the new far right. Contrary to the simplistic techno-optimistic belief that technology will save the poor, even with access to technology these marginalized people face numerous sources of oppression, including technological biases, racism, classism, sexism, and censorship. Yet the spirit, love, community, resilience, and resistance of favela residents make possible their pursuit of freedom." (Publisher description)
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"The video-sharing social media platform TikTok has experienced a rapid rise in use since its release in 2016. While its popularity is undeniable, at the first glance, it seems to offer features already available on previously existing and wellestablished platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Fa
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cebook. To understand processes of self-making on TikTok, we undertake two methods of data collection: a walkthrough of the app and its surrounding environment, and 14 semistructured participant interviews. A qualitative analysis of this data finds three distinct themes emerge: (1) awareness of the algorithm, (2) content without context, and (3) self-creation across platforms. These results show that TikTok departs from existing platforms in the model of self-making it engenders, which we term “the algorithmized self”—a complication of the preexisting “networked self” framework." (Abstract)
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"Internally Displaced People (IDP) have received less attention in ICT4D research. This study examines how IDP in Africa use mobile phones to enhance their social inclusion. We employed Sen’s Capability Approach as the theoretical lens and a qualitative case study as a methodology. Qualitative dat
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a obtained from 21 conflict-induced IDP in Nigeria suggests that mobile phones serve not only as a self-help commodity to overcome disconnection from their communities but also a means to enhance their individual and collective capabilities, which in turn fosters their social inclusion. However, generating these capabilities depend on the personal, social, and environmental experiences of IDP. With these findings, the study offers contributions to theory, research, and practice." (Abstract)
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"Radio remains overwhelmingly the most common source for news in Africa. On average across 34 surveyed countries, two-thirds (68%) of respondents tune in at least a few times a week. Digital media use for news is growing quickly. Between 2014/2015 and 2019/2021, the share of Africans who get news fr
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om social media or the Internet at least a few times a week almost doubled, from 24% to 43% across 31 countries included in both survey rounds. Urban residents, better-educated citizens, men, and youth are most likely to use digital media in Africa. While use has increased among other groups as well, demographic gaps in digital media use have remained roughly the same since 2014/2015, and even increased with regard to urban/rural residence and education. Africans express broad support for the media's ro in fostering government accountability, and majorities support media freedoms in every country except Mozambique, Tunisia, Cameroon, Morocco, and Tanzania. But most Africans support their government's right to place limits on the dissemination of hate speech, false information, and messages that are insulting to their president. A majority (57%) of Africans see social media as having mostly positive effects on society, while just one-fourth (24%) see its impact as mostly negative. However, while Africans value social media's ability to inform and empower citizens, they also see distinct threats in its ability to spread false information and hate speech." (Key findings)
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"This study sought to assess the hypothesis that age and gender are associated with the VIAMO digital platform usage in our GOAL project UNITLIFE. The study identified significant gender- and age-based differentials in the platform usage. These findings are interpreted as suggestive evidence that mo
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bile phone-based services, while they do offer good platforms to reach underserved communities, they can also generate new inequalities, between age groups and between genders as women and men do not equally access the platforms. There is a risk that certain groups will be left behind by such services. It is evident from literature and our study that barriers to mobile phone ownership and use disproportionately and negatively impact older age groups and women, who tend to belong to the groups that are most likely to be unconnected, such as those who are unemployed or have low literacy levels and are also often affected by social norms which make mobile ownership and use more difficult." (Conclusion)
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"The emergence of social media in the late 90s resulted in information dissemination and consumption transformation. Social networking sites have increasingly been popular and appealing to youths, who often spend much time navigating across the platforms, exploiting the communication affordances. Wh
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ereas social media eases the consumption of news and information, it nurtures the spread and consumption of fake news which tends to influence users' perceptions, particularly, those lacking the requisite literacy to guide safe consumption of fake news. Unfortunately, during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite efforts to enlighten people on the safety measures against the disease, the spread of misinformation and disinformation about the pandemic through social media platforms tends to undermine adherence to preventive measures advised by health experts and results in incautious behavior that can worsen, instead of flattening the curve on the COVID-19. This study, therefore, examines the students' consumption of COVID-19 related fake news on social media and the extent to which social media literacy moderates its effect on their perception of the disease. A survey design has been adopted, a convenience sampling was used where a questionnaire was formed on google form and distributed to the students of the two selected polytechnics through Facebook and WhatsApp. A total of 108 responses were generated; thus, descriptive and T-test analyses were run and the result revealed that the students possess the requisite literacy to identify fake news on social media platforms, and that has a significant on their perception of COVID-19, despite consumption of fake news related to the disease based on the T-test p = 0.05. Therefore, the result suggests that the effectiveness of media literacy as inoculant moderates the effect of fake news, as asserted by the inoculation theorists, it has no bearing on the long established stereotypical notion that certain diseases are conspiracies to reduce the population of the world." (Abstract)
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"This article addresses the multifaceted and far-reaching implications of digital inequality (DI), drawing upon emerging trends and examples. The aim is to sensitize policymakers, practitioners, and academics to issues surrounding DI and foster a common and deeper understanding among relevant stakeh
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olders. While research has recognized digital inequality and its dimensions, it has not explicated its broader impact thoroughly, particularly in the current era of digital transformation. The information communication technology (ICT) domain has evolved significantly because of its strong interrelationship with many other sectors, encompassing critical issues such as ethics, inequality, leadership, social capital, governance, and management. There is still a considerable gap in understanding the complexities around digital inequality, which varies across different contexts. Reflecting on over 15 years of experience in information communication technology for development (ICT4D) as both a practitioner and researcher, the evolution of DI in terms of social transformation and its growing short- and long-term implications are discussed. Strategies and pathways for the future are presented, grouped into six areas: a call for a renewed philosophical shift and campaign for digital equality, policy interventions, inclusive technology solutionsand services, holistic human capacity building, the universities' role, and the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to address DI." (Abstract)
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"WeChat, launched in 2011, has rapidly become the most favoured Chinese social media. Globally available, equally popular both inside and outside China and widely adopted by Chinese migrants, WeChat has fundamentally changed the ways in which Mandarin-speaking migrants conduct personal messaging, en
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gage in group communication and community business activities, produce and distribute news, and access and share information. This book explores a wide range of issues connected to the ways in which WeChat works and is used, across the world among the newest members of the Chinese diaspora. Arguing that digital/social media afford a great degree of individual agency, as well as a collective capacity for sustaining an 'imagined community', the book shows how WeChat's assemblage of infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, technical capabilities, content and sense of community has led to the construction of a particular kind of diasporic Chinese world, at a time marked both by China's rise, and anxiety about Chinese influence in the West." (Publisher description)
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"On China's biggest social media platform, Weibo, feminists are staying one step ahead of the censors. Weibo Feminism is the first book to explore in-depth the connections and forms of resistance that feminist activists in China are making in online spaces despite increasing crackdowns on free speec
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h and public expression. Aviva Wei Xue and Kate Rose explore the many forms of contemporary feminism in China, from activist campaigns against sexual harassment and domestic violence, through to Weibo Reading groups of feminist texts and subversive online novels published on the platform. The book includes an in-depth case study of feminist support networks for overwhelmingly female frontline medical staff that have sprung up on social media in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Weibo Feminism goes on to asks what lessons are being learned in contemporary China for the cause of social justice for women around the world." (Publisher description)
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"Social media, with its generally reported adverse effects, has become prevalent in daily lives of young people in Zimbabwe. The aim of this article is to outline the effects of social media on youth behaviour in Zimbabwe, as described by the Ruwa youths in Harare. The article reports the results of
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survey of youth conducted through interviews and questionnaires; and, it finds that youth in Ruwa are increasingly using social media in their daily lives, especially for purposes of entertainment and communication, and they believe that it has positive effects in their lives. It recommends that youth making use of social media need to understand the intent and to remain informed. Furthermore, it recommends that youth need to ensure data protection, use social media platforms productively and guard against negative habits associated with improved social connectivity." (Abstract)
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"Die Box ist eine Sammlung von 16 ausgewählten Methoden aus der medienpädagogischen Praxis der Projekte klicksafe und Handysektor. Hier lernen Jugendliche das eigene Nutzungsverhalten auszuwerten, digitale Geräte bewusster einzusetzen und über digitales Wohlbefinden nachzudenken. Die Strategien
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reichen vom Handyfasten über Time-Out-Übungen bis hin zum handkräftigenden Finger-Yoga. Die Methoden sind für den Einsatz im Schulunterricht sowie für die außerschulische Jugendarbeit konzipiert. Sie eignen sich gut für die spontane Nutzung in Vertretungsstunden. Darüber hinaus können sie in abgewandelter Form im Familienkreis kreativ eingesetzt werden." (Seite 2)
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"Ofcom has identified three features not currently captured under the existing regulatory framework that may present a risk to media plurality: online intermediaries and their algorithms control the prominence they give to different news sources and stories; the basis on which online intermediaries
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serve news via their algorithms is not sufficiently transparent; consumers do not always critically engage with the accuracy and partiality of online news. As part of this work, Ofcom commissioned Ipsos UK to conduct qualitative research to help them understand people’s experiences, attitudes, and expectations around online news consumption. The research explored how well people understand the role of online intermediaries in determining the sources and types of news stories they see, how people critically assess online news stories, and whether exposure to a wide range of sources and viewpoints matters to them. Methodology: The research used a longitudinal design which combined online diaries with reconvened online deliberative workshops across four stages. This design enabled the complexity of how online intermediaries work and low levels of understanding around personalisation and media plurality rules to be fully considered, deliberated and reflected upon. Participants were given information about online intermediaries, personalisation (including the use of algorithms and choice architecture), and media plurality to help take them on a journey from spontaneous views to informed citizens." (Introduction, page 4)
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"Double-digit annual growth has taken the global social media user figure to 4.62 billion, and current trends indicate that it will equal 60 percent of the world’s total population within the next few months. COVID-19 continues to hamper research into internet adoption though, resulting in reporti
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ng delays that have kept overall growth in internet user figures down for the second year in a row. Despite these challenges, however, the latest data reveal that the number of people who don’t use the internet has now fallen below 3 billion, marking another important milestone on our journey towards equal digital access for all. Meanwhile, at 4.95 billion, we’re also tantalisingly close to reaching a global total of 5 billion internet users, and I’m looking forward to celebrating that particular milestone with you in one of our upcoming Statshot reports. As always, the data in this year’s reports goes well beyond user numbers though, and our latest collection offers some especially interesting insights into the world’s evolving online behaviours. For example, TikTok users spent an average of 48 percent more time using the platform’s mobile app over the past 12 months compared with the previous year, while YouTube users now spend almost a full day each month watching videos in the platform’s app." (Page 3)
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"This study analyses the impacts of COVID-19 and its associated public policy responses on digital and intersectional inequality in South Africa from a demand-side perspective. The overarching research question it seeks to address is: To what extent were people in South Africa able to mitigate the n
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egative (health and economic) effects of the pandemic and lockdowns through digital substitution? It draws on the results of a national phone questionnaire of 1 400 randomly selected respondents and the findings from six focus groups of men and women from urban and rural areas to examine the levels of digital substitution in relation to work, schooling and economic activity (such as banking, e-commerce and online business). It also investigates how digital substitution enabled access to social protection and COVID-19 relief. Finally, it discusses how public and infrastructure policies could be optimised for post-pandemic recovery and future policies." (Executive summary)
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"[This book] guides the reader in what different kinds of qualitative research can be applied to social media data. It introduces students, as well as those who are new to the field, to developing and carrying out concrete research projects. The book takes the reader through the stages of choosing d
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ata, formulating a research question, and choosing and applying method(s). Written in a clear and accessible manner with current social media examples throughout, the book provides a step-by-step overview of a range of qualitative methods. These are presented in clear ways to show how to analyze many different types of social media content, including language and visual content such as memes, gifs, photographs and film clips. Methods examined include critical discourse analysis, content analysis, multimodal analysis, ethnography and focus groups. Most importantly, the chapters and examples show how to ask the kinds of questions that are relevant for us at this present point in our societies, where social media is highly integrated into how we live. Social media is used for political communication, social activism, as well as commercial activities and mundane everyday things, and it can transform how all these are accomplished and even what they mean. Drawing on examples from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, Weibo and others, this book will be suitable for undergraduate students studying social media research courses in media and communications, as well as other humanities such as linguistics and social science based degrees." (Abstract)
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"Trust in the news has fallen in almost half the countries in our survey, and risen in just seven, partly reversing the gains made at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, around four in ten of our total sample (42%) say they trust most news most of the time. Finland remains the countr
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y with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while news trust in the USA has fallen by a further three percentage points and remains the lowest (26%) in our survey.
• Consumption of traditional media, such as TV and print, declined further in the last year in almost all markets (pre-Ukraine invasion), with online and social consumption not making up the gap. While the majority remain very engaged, others are turning away from the news media and in some cases disconnecting from news altogether. Interest in news has fallen sharply across markets, from 63% in 2017 to 51% in 2022.
• Meanwhile, the proportion of news consumers who say they avoid news, often or sometimes, has increased sharply across countries. This type of selective avoidance has doubled in both Brazil (54%) and the UK (46%) over the last five years, with many respondents saying news has a negative effect on their mood. A significant proportion of younger and less educated people say they avoid news because it can be hard to follow or understand – suggesting that the news media could do much more to simplify language and better explain or contextualise complex stories.
• In the five countries we surveyed after the war in Ukraine had begun, we find that television news is relied on most heavily – with countries closest to the fighting, such as Germany and Poland, seeing the biggest increases in consumption. Selective news avoidance has, if anything, increased further – likely due to the difficult and depressing nature of the coverage.
• Global concerns about false and misleading information remain stable this year, ranging from 72% in Kenya and Nigeria to just 32% in Germany and 31% in Austria. People say they have seen more false information about Coronavirus than about politics in most countries, but the situation is reversed in Turkey, Kenya, and the Philippines, amongst others." (Summary, page 10)
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