As a sociologist, my interests with social media are
particularly at the intersections of communication and social behaviors. I’m intrigued with how are people are
consuming and engaging with social media and how that then impacts their
behaviors or perceptions of others.Undoubtedly, the use of social media is pervasive with "with nearly 2/3 of American adults using it". As someone who has
been largely resistant to its use personally, my knowledge is a bit limited at
this point, but I’m learning.
Looking at the social impact of this mode of communication
and interaction, it is clearly a rich opportunity for research. Given my works in sexuality and LGBT studies
I particularly am finding myself interested in the manners social media is
being used by sexual minority groups, advocacy organizations, and health
service organizations.
Social Networking and Family Diversity
As more of us are going online, sharing more and more of our
lives, I am fascinated with how this has allowed minority populations,
particularly LGBT persons to share their lives, connect with others, and
hopefully educate those who are interested.
I am currently intrigued with the use of Pinterest to catalog and
share ideas. Personally, I tend to pin
things for my own personal reference later, but I am also interested in how
others may be using this tool and what this means for those searching out
information on specific topics. Currently,
I’m in the midst of initiating work looking at how LGBT families are being
portrayed on Pinterest, based on its visual layout and how that intersects with
information for consumers.
Mobile devices and Social Media
Given that “nearly 80% of social media time is spent on mobile devices,” I am especially interested in how its use is
interacting with our daily lives. I am
certain there are some who are checking their social media accounts immediately
upon waking and last thing before sleep, but how else is it impact one’s
lives? Is social media and the easy
access to mobile technology transforming our communication processes and
shifting us to digital dialogues and away from face-to-face interaction? I particularly ponder this point as I await
the start of a class and look around the room and see every student present on
their phones. Increasingly, I have
students indicate they “don’t know anyone” in a class – perhaps in part because
there is little social interaction in this real world scenario as students
focus upon their small screens. It is a
profound change from when I went to college.
I don’t know if it’s a good or bad change; that all depends on one’s
perspective, but it certainly is a pervasive pattern I’m observing among my
primarily young adult students.
Geo-based Social Networking Apps: Grindr
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| Source: Grindr.com |
A specific area of interest I have is with geo-based social
networking apps. Grindr, the “#1 gay social
network app” with over 2 million daily users in 192 countries. This app is primarily used by gay men to
connect with men in the local geographic region, often for the purposes of
casual sex, but may also be used for networking, meeting new friends or
potential dates, etc. Some have argued
that this app has changed gay men’s lives for the better. Meanwhile, others are noting increasedSTD rates linked to Grinder and Tinder, another similar location-based social app that primarily serves to connect
heterosexual consumers. Given my
research with gay men, I am particularly intrigued with how gay men are using
this app, both for dating and connecting, but also how they are communication and
constructing identities in their profiles.
From anecdotal experience in the app, I am intrigued with the frequency
of “body” shots of just a torso and no face and how this intersects with text
(which may indicate specific goals, ranging from friends and dating, to hookups
and casual sex). I am actually in the
process of considering how I may go about collecting a sample grindr ads across
the Atlanta metro area for analysis… we’ll see how far I get into that process!
Geo-based apps, Sexual Behavior, and HIV
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Linked to apps like grindr, I am also increasingly
interested in the intersection issues of social media and health education and
services. Particularly, as noted above, given
the tie to STDs and HIV, I am intrigued with the efforts of grindr to educate,
encourage HIV testing,
and safer sex practices among its users. The recent introduction of PrEP (Pre-ExposureProphylaxis),
a drug that may help one remain HIV-negative when engaging in unprotected sex (#DailyBlue)
has been embraced by many gay men. This
is a particularly important issue in the Atlanta metro, given that this area
has one of the highest new infection rates in the nation, ranked fifth among metro areas with populations over 500,000. It is
interesting to see how some men are deploying information about their PrEP use
in their profiles—one ponders what does this mean? Are these men advertising that they are open
to unprotected sex encounters? This is
actually a matter I’m working to examine in Craigslist personal ads among men seeking men.
Digital Media and Healthcare
Tied to all this is the issue of using social media to promotehealthful behaviors.
Social media is changing public health knowledge and perhaps social behaviors.
As we now see more insurance policies, include at KSU, offering access to digital doctors I ponder how this is a response to our
increasingly digitized media existence. Do we even want physical contact with
our doctors and exposure to the germ-laden waiting rooms? Maybe our increasing reliance on digital and
social media is changing our expectations for services as we buy online and
seek services online. I ponder if we are
actually turning to a life as shown in 1995’s The Net where are digital interaction becomes our “life” and people of the physical
world don’t really know who we are anymore?
Or maybe our digital lives are giving us freedom to create identities
and social interactions that exceed our real-life experience as in 2009’s
Surrogates or the experiences of those in Second Life
(interesting documentary Life 2.0)
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