Deck 1: Social Media and the Network Society

Question 1

Which of the following definitions most closely captures what social media means in general parlance?

A) Any system of communication that is utilized by a group of people.
B) A broad category of Internet and mobile technology platforms that allow users to join broad networks with others and to share content in the form of text, images, video, and links.
C) A collection of phone applications for social networking platforms.
D) A collection of websites that allow users to post images and video.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which early sociologist wrote about the social type called The Stranger?

A) Karl Marx
B) Max Weber
C) Emile Durkheim
D) Georg Simmel

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Kidd refers to social media as a kind of art. What definition of art does he use to make this claim?

A) Disciplined, creative work that may be performed by both artistic professionals and outsiders or amateurs.
B) Sacred objects or practices, as distinguished from mundane and profane ones, that must be honored in grand temples.
C) A set of genres or media formats that are socially recognized as a distinct and special form of communication.
D) Any form of expression that is recognized as being of distinctly high quality.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

How does Kidd use the term freak in Social Media Freaks?

A) A contemporary equivalent to Simmel's concept of The Stranger.
B) A derogatory term used to describe avid social media users.
C) A sociological type who is pushed to the margins of society by hegemonic forces and who embraces this marginalized identity as a source of empowerment.
D) A new identity system introduced by social actors who are seeking social transformation.

Question 5

Which type of identity, from the work of Manuel Castells, is associated with dominant groups?

A) Legitimizing Identity
B) Resistance Identity
C) Project Identity
D) Freak Identity

Question 6

Which scholar is associated with the concept of the network society?

A) Theodor H. Nelson
B) Janet Wolff
C) Manuel Castells
D) Jan Fernback

Question 7

Which term refers to a form of domination that is based on culture and politics, as contrasted with domination based on violence and military control?

A) Hegemony
B) Acrimony
C) Police surveillance
D) Oligopoly

Question 8

Which term refers to the capacity of social actors to act and make choices, even when the options are not of their choosing?

A) Power
B) Domination
C) Agency
D) Resistance

Question 9

What is sousveillance?

A) Surveillance by police
B) Surveillance from below
C) Surveillance by corporations
D) Interpersonal surveillance

Question 10

Which term refers to the use of social media to resurrect drama after it has started to simmer?

A) Baiting
B) Trolling
C) Stirring the pot
D) Doxxing

Question 11

What is the Internet of Things?

A) The network of computers, appliances, and other devices that send and receive information through the Internet, often via wireless connectivity.
B) Manuel Castells's term for the current economic mode, marked by a shift from industrial capitalism to informational capitalism.
C) The streams of posts, replies, and reposts of specific stories on social media.
D) The use of social media by an individual or group to monitor the activity of another individual or group.

Question 12

What is virtual ethnography?

A) A method of studying social behavior on the Internet and in social media.
B) A method of collecting data with online surveys.
C) A method of participant observation in public spaces.
D) A method of conducting interviews using Skype.

Question 13

What does the term techno-ambivalence refer to?

A) Arguments that technology and social media have a positive impact on society
B) Arguments that technology and social media have a negative impact on society
C) Arguments that technology and social media have a mix of positive and negative impacts on society
D) Arguments the technology and social media should be banned

Question 14

According to Castells, someone who is attempting to undermine the existing system of identity and inequality would likely embrace which type of identity?

A) Legitimizing identity
B) Resistance identity
C) Project identity
D) Freak identity

Question 15

What paradigm, used by scholar Jan Fernback to examine how online platforms create a sense of community, examines the ways that groups create meaning through social interactions.

A) Conflict theory
B) Structural functionalism
C) Symbolic interactionism
D) Network theory

Question 16

Explain and give an example of each of these three positions on technology: techno-optimism, techno-pessimism, and techno-ambivalence.

Question 17

Explain and give an example of each of these types of surveillance through social media (the example should be clearly related to social media): interpersonal surveillance, institutional surveillance, market surveillance, police surveillance, and sousveillance.

Question 18

What is virtual ethnography? Identify 4 specific components of a virtual ethnography that examines how college students use social media.

Question 19

Why does Kidd refer to social media as an artistic practice? What does it mean to call social media art and not just media? Describe a specific example to illustrate the idea that social media users are artists.

Question 20

Compare and contrast the promises and pitfalls of social media. Take a position on which outweighs the others.