Key Concepts in Digital Media, Online Communities, and E-Voting

Platformization

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube structure interaction, visibility, status.

Datafication

Likes, posts, scrolls → data for prediction/influence.

Participatory culture

Users create, remix, share; not just consume.

Context collapse

Friends/family/work mix in one space.

Attention economy

Likes & followers = social currency, power.

Symbolic Interactionism

Self forms through interaction.

Social Action

People act based on meanings & expectations of how others interpret actions.

Media Ecology

Media = environments that shape interaction.

Asynchronous Communication

Communication with time delay: email, forums.

Online Disinhibition Effect

Why people act differently online.

Benign Disinhibition

Openness, vulnerability.

Toxic Disinhibition

Rudeness, hate, trolling.

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness/responsibility in groups.

Discursive Anonymity

Words detached from identity.

Social Presence Theory

Feeling of 'being with someone' through media.

Hyperpersonal Communication

Online relationships can surpass face-to-face due to selective self-presentation, idealization, asynchronicity, feedback loops → accelerated intimacy.

Identity persistence

Data trails.

Ephemeral media

Helps recover privacy.

Targeted Advertising

Uses tracking + behavior data.

Influencer Strategies

Personal branding, algorithmic awareness, parasocial relationships, community engagement, authenticity performance.

Persistence

The trait of information remaining available over time.

Replicability

The ability for information to be copied and shared.

Scalability

The capacity for a system to handle a growing amount of work or its potential to accommodate growth.

Searchability

The ease with which information can be found.

Gemeinschaft

A type of community characterized by emotional, tight-knit relationships, such as those found in family or hometown.

Gesellschaft

A type of community characterized by practical, impersonal relationships, such as those found in work or city settings.

Elements of Community

Shared identity, regular interaction, common goals/values, trust/support.

Imagined Communities

Communities where individuals feel connected without ever meeting, maintained through media, symbols, and shared narratives.

Third Places

Social spaces beyond home or work, such as cafés, forums, or Discord.

Simmel's 'sociation'

The concept that interaction forms bonds between individuals.

Social Network Analysis

A method for studying social structures through the use of nodes (individuals) and ties (relationships).

Network Society

A society shaped by technology, globalization, and cultural individualism, built around information flows.

Networking

The activity of using and maintaining a network.

Networked Individualism

A social structure where individuals are at the center of their personal networks.

Fields of Togetherness

A term blending communities and networks, showing fluid connections across offline and online spaces.

Visual Turn

A societal shift toward image-based communication, where images facilitate fast processing and high emotional impact.

Social Purposes of Selfies

Self-expression, social connection, and documentation.

Characteristics of Selfies

Instant, sharable, performative, and authentic, often involving managed presentation through filters and poses.

Cultural Attitudes (Postmodern)

Emphasizes individual expression, irony, playfulness, and the idea that identities are constructed, not fixed.

Mechanisms of Postmodernity

Simulation, fragmentation, reflexivity, and playfulness.

Visual Culture Timeline

Begins in the 19th century with photography and explodes in the 20th century with film, TV, and the internet.

E-Voting

Uses digital systems instead of paper. Can be in-person (machines) or remote (internet).

Countries Using E-Voting

Estonia (leader), Brazil, India, Philippines, Switzerland (partial), Albania (tests).

Why Estonia matters

First national internet voting. Digital ID cards. ~50% votes online. Since 2005.

Why Albania matters

Gradual pilot testing. Combat fraud + improve transparency.

Accessibility

Helps: disabled, rural, abroad; multilingual interfaces. Limits: digital divide, machine design issues.

Connectivity Example — South Africa

Weak infrastructure → risky online voting. Need strong internet for reliability.

Need Paper Backups

Essential for recounts + security. Prevent loss/hacking issues.

SAVE Act

US bill requiring paper backups, audits, transparency.

Florida Voting Machines 2024

Replacing old tech. Voting machines last ~10 years.

New Hampshire Error

Misread ballots → wrong totals → manual recount corrected.

2020 Election Claims

False fraud claims created lasting distrust. Distrust exists on both sides. 2024 election reactions may be influenced.

Open-Source Benefits

Transparency, Faster fixes, Public trust.

Research on Fraud

Fraud is extremely rare. Problems usually human error, glitches.

Arizona Post-2020

Stricter ID rules, Machine audits, Ballot tracking system.

Leon County (FL) Security

Paper backup, Post-election audits, Encryption, Public demos.

Affect vs. Emotions

Affect: pre-conscious, bodily, raw. Emotions: socially named, culturally recognized.

Four Elements of Emotions

Physiology, Cognitive interpretation, Label, Expression.

New Emotional Language

GIFs, memes, emojis, slang ("mood," "vibe").

Negative Online Behaviors

Cyberbullying: Repetition, Intent, Power imbalance.

Flame / Flame War

Hostile message → escalating insults.

Trolling

Intentionally provoking for reaction. Motivated by lulz (laughs at others' pain). Learned through group norms.

Affective Attachment

Emotional reward of sharing/connection.

Dataveillance

Surveillance of emotional data by platforms.

Emotion Spread in Networks

Emotional contagion, Affective gestures: likes, hearts, emojis.

Algorithms & Emotion

Sentiment Analysis: Measures emotional tone. Uses engagement signals to read mood.

Relationships & Love Online

Can be deep, intimate, real.

Intensity > Type

Lindgren says intensity matters more than the specific emotion.