Paper 3 Section A Theories Summary

PESSIMISTIC:

•Adults also now spend excessive amounts of time online, to the extent that the balance between sleep and screen-based activities has now tipped

•The typical adult spends eight hours and 41 minutes each day communicating or consuming media, including books and newspapers, and just eight hours and 21 minutes asleep (Garside, 2014)

PESSIMISTIC:

•Cornford and Robins argue that digital communication is simply a way of capitalism controlling people more subtly through their use of various social media under the excuse of protecting people from extremism or criminal acts

‘The continuation of power being concentrated in the hands of a few’: Cornford and Robins (1999):

•Cornford and Robins argue that the digital communication is presented to the public as a positive new form of democratic, where open communication can lead to greater equality in the creation and spread of new ideas

OPTIMISTIC:

•Haraway (1985) wrote a ground-breaking article entitled "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century" in the Socialist Review. 

•Haraway argued that feminists must not be excluded from the technological advances that were taking place and instead, be part of them and inform them.

•Haraway’s manifesto argues that what is considered to be female is socially constructed. She suggests that cyborgs, which are part-machine, part-human entities, might allow people to rise above gender-bound ideas of what it means to be a person.

•In other words, Haraway suggests that technological advances offer the possibility for women to create new forms of identity not bound by traditional ideas or dominant patriarchy. 

•Haraway uses the cyborg idea to explain how problems with feminism and capitalism might be overcome through greater understanding of identity. 

•Haraway is among the first feminists to consider technology to be a way for women to become more empowered offering possibilities beyond those which traditional social life can offer.

PESSIMISTIC:

•There are increasing concerns about the exploitation of children through various forms of digital communication. 

•For example, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in 2012-13 reported that: 790 children were subject to safeguarding or protection as a result of online activity.

•There were 18,887 reports relating to child sexual exploitation. 192 people suspected of online child exploitation were arrested.

OPTIMISTIC:

•New forms of digital global communication are being used as tools that are allowing women to build a strong, popular, reactive movement online. 

•This is evidenced at all ages, for example, The Girl Guides organisation introduced a campaigning and activism badge this year and a survey of Mumsnet users found 59% consider themselves feminists, double those who do not (Cochrane, 2013).

PESSIMISTIC:

•As national boundaries have become less significant, the illegal movement of people has become so much easier to coordinate and as a result, people trafficking has risen.

•Arlaccki (1997) who led the United Nations efforts to fight organised crime, states that exploitation has been one of the most undesirable consequences of globalisation and Arlaccki states that it seems that this is not currently considered a priority by any country

OPTIMISTIC:

•Collins (2005) said to understand society, we must understand chains of interaction between people

•He says by looking at social network sites using a ‘micro’ sociological approach helps us learn how people see the world around them

•He said we must also consider the differences in people’s on/offline lives

•For example, the TV series ‘Catfish’ shows how relationships are formed online with people who are completely different offline

OPTIMISTIC:

•Bjorklund (1998) explains that individuals have used autobiographies to describe their lives for a long time

•However, she said in a postmodern world digital communication allows people to manipulate and update their ongoing autobiography continually

PESSIMISTIC:

•Case (2007) says this can be a challenge to adolescents as they have two lives growing up (one online and one offline)

•She states that a new social media makes it hard to remove mistakes as everything is visible – once you post something it’s hard to get rid of it

•She says people do not realise of what they say is stored online and people may find their private information has been disclosed

OPTIMISTIC:

•Hart (2011) stated that people are writing and rewriting their autobiographies on a daily basis which reflect their own values of society

•Identities are therefore created both online and offline

•People find like-minded friends on social networks

•Hart (2011) says Facebook posts are insignificant and superficial, but we can use events on Facebook to understand people’s feelings and actions in a social context

PESSIMISTIC:

•Foucalts (1977) idea of someone how is being watched is less likely to omit crime as their chances of being caught are much greater

•So therefore, people have information collected on them, and this can control their behaviour, habits, preferences, and tastes

•For example, supermarkets will collect information on their customs through loyalty cards and online shopping