Socio Informatics 144 A1

What is the central question of the module?

What changes have digital technologies introduced to how we relate to each other and the world, and how can these be analysed?

What is media?

Any tool that helps us get & share what we know, constantly changing, associated with social activity.

How is the digital defined?

Binary code (1 = on, 0 = off), encoding reality rather than directly representing it.

Which lens focuses on surveillance and control over data?

Control Society

What is narrowcasting?

Distribution of niche, fragmented information.

What is deep mediatisation?

Digital media as ever-present platforms for enacting social life itself, invisible and constant.

Media is static and unchanging.

False

Digital reality directly represents the real world.

False

Algorithmic social order creates “order” out of disordered human digital behaviour.

True

The enclosure movement in England is used as an analogy for digital commons.

True

Broadcasting is the current dominant media form, while narrowcasting was used in the past.

False

Deep mediatisation means digital media is invisible but ever-present in everyday life.

True

Internet 1.0 was mainly:

Read-only, decentralized web pages

Internet 2.0 introduced:

Digital social interaction, content creation, participatory culture

Which feature defines social media platforms?

Programmability, connectivity, popularity

A profile on social media is:

An individual access point to digital connection and identity construction

Which philosopher emphasized “collective consciousness”?

Durkheim

Which philosopher stressed individual agency and meaningful social acts?

Weber

Which philosopher argued identity is reciprocally constructed through sociability?

Simmel

“Clicktivism” raises the question of whether it is:

Meaningful social interaction or synchronous crowd behaviour

Networked publics blur boundaries between:

Producer and consumer

Lindgren argues symmetry between producer and consumer:

Makes the world better

Technological determinism claims:

Technology is the crucial driver of history and social change

Hard tech determinism views technology as:

Magical, with limited human agency

Soft tech determinism suggests:

Technology shapes society but with unintended consequences

Habermas argued rationality lies in:

Communication and discourse

Postman’s “Technopoly” warns that:

Technology becomes deified and determines culture

Optimistic views of digital power emphasize:

Empowerment through collaboration

Utopian hopes emphasize:

Egalitarian participation and activism

Groupthink risks include:

False consensus and reluctance to voice concerns

Luhmann’s systems theory sees technology as:

A way to reduce complexity

Lindgren concludes digital media will have:

Different consequences in different settings for different people

Essentialist view of identity sees it as:

Rooted in inner essence

Performative view of identity sees it as:

Something we do, not what we are

Moeller’s “profilicity” refers to:

Self-construction from multiple identities online

Existentialism emphasizes:

Authenticity and responsibility for actions

Six markers of online identity change include:

Interactivity, disembodiment, simulated identities, de-spatialisation, invisibility, anonymity

Simulated identities raise the question of:

Cyborg identities, partial and contradictory

Castells’ “space of flows” means:

Interaction without shared time and space

Invisibility online often leads to:

More openness and sharing

Anonymity can lead to:

Expression of intense feelings guided by external cues

Post-anonymity trends emphasize:

Stable, unified, verifiable online identities

Digital identities are always fluid and anonymous.

False

Profilicity emphasizes multiple constructed identities.

True

De-spatialisation collapses physical space, enabling global synchronous interaction.

True

According to Tönnies, community is defined as:

A place + warm sincere engagement

What is the main function of community?

To provide empathy, understanding, acceptance, and shared responsibility

Community is not a property of the place but of:

The nature of engagement

What are “third places” according to Oldenburg & Brissett?

Spaces outside home and work where roles matter less and emotional expression is freer

Pseudo-communities raise the concern that:

Digital communities may be too superficial to be real communities

What is the defining feature of a network?

Nodal connections that convey information

Communities are primarily about ______, while networks are primarily about ______.

Social belonging; information transfer

Weak ties are characterized by:

Less trust, broad reach

Manuel Castells’ Network Society emphasizes that:

Networks are the backbone of society, collapsing time and space

What is networked individualism?

Individuals at the centre of multiple partial networks, requiring active maintenance

Communities always require a physical space.

False

Third places thrive on higher levels of emotional expression.

True

Networks are static and easy to regulate.

False

Weak ties can become strong if they connect groups together.

True

In virtual togetherness, we inhabit a continuum between networks and communities.

True

What does Lindgren call the enjoyment of multiple online narratives and genres?

Narrative pleasures

In the “visual turn,” text is often considered:

Secondary to visual content

Postmodernism emphasizes:

Pluralism and decentralisation

What is “second-order observation” in postmodernism?

Observing the fact that we are observing

Surreal AI art trends may reflect:

A search for immersive dream-like unrealities as coping with disinformation

What crisis is linked to visual overload and AI content?

Crisis of observational trust

Selfies are considered:

A social action combining context and intention

Videos of affinity differ from communities and networks because they:

Require minimal trust, fostering proximity rather than deep ties

Social Presence Theory emphasizes:

Building affinity by projecting physical presence (body, face, interaction)

Emojis originated in Japan and are sometimes seen as:

A universal language and alternative to punctuation/signatures