Moral Panics - Condom Challenge

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/25/condom-challenge-teens-internet

Recently a new trend has been going viral across the web. The condom challenge has only been around for a short period of time but already newspapers are condemning the trend. I believe that currently, there isn't a moral panic surrounding the challenge as there are very few articles on the subject. Also, although the articles shows the trend in a negative light, they aren't causing hysteria by publishing articles that are completely out of proportion. However, i think that if someone gets injured or hospitalised from this, the newspapers will jump on it and then create a moral panic.

How are teenagers depicted in this article?

Immediately in the title, The Guardian highlights the fact that its teens that are doing these stupid things.  They also keep repeating the fact that teens are the culprit behind the challenge .
"Even better, it’s not even the first “condom challenge” to hit the internet. In 2013, teens were doing a different condom challenge..."

To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated? - Notes

New Media:

Youtube Stars:
Youtube stars have increasingly become more popular than stars from the traditional media forms such as Music and Film. The quote below describes one of the reasons why this could be.

'Connection is one word that's used over and over again when teens describe their relationships with digital stars. According to the study, teens and young adults describe YouTubers as someone who is "just like me, understands me, someone I trust, has the best advice, doesn't try to be perfect ... and likes the same things I do."

Those interviewed also suggest that YouTubers are more likely than actors or celebrities to reach out to fans on social networks like Twitter. 73% of teens and young adults report feeling close to YouTubers as opposed to 45% who say they feel close to TV and movie stars. '

KSI

KSI is a huge star on youtube, from making videos in his bedroom in his parents house to featuring in movies and creating music, he has gained a huge following of people that find him entertaining and people that relate with him.

Does that mean he considers young people's reliance on technology damaging, a restriction on our ability to socialise and act acceptably? 

'"I don't think it's damaging at all," Olatunji tells me over email. "We now just have different ways of talking to each other. Technology in my opinion has advanced dramatically in the past few years, allowing us to connect to each other in ways which were not possible before. It's bringing us closer as well as allowing us to be more free' 

People are using new ways of connecting with other people that share the same interests.

David Buckingham - Identity in the Digital Age

1) What or who does Buckingham say identity "implies a relationship with".

"...Identity also implies a relationship between a broader collective or social group of some kind..."


2) According to Buckingham Identity is also "about identification with others whom we assume are..."

"...Identity is about identification with others whom we assume are similar to us, (if not exactly the same), at least in some significant ways." 

3) Why is Identity becoming more prominent (more important and visible) according to the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman?
4) Also according to Bauman, "Identity is almost infinitely..." what?

"Bauman emphasises the fluidity of identity, seeing it as almost infinitely negotiable, and in the process perhaps underestimates the continuing importance of routine and stability. Nevertheless, his general point is well taken: “identity” only becomes an issue when it is threatened or contested in some way and needs to be explicitly asserted." 

Identity Formation: The Psychology of Adolescence
5) How does G. Stanley Hall define the period of Adolescence as?

As a period of "storm and stress."
 1903

6) How does Erikson see Adolescence?

"Adolescence, the conflict is between identity and “role confusion.” "

7) Also according to Erikson, what needs to happen for a young person "to arrive at an integrated, coherent sense of their identity"

"Erikson therefore sees adolescence as a critical period of identity formation, in which individuals overcome uncertainty, become more self-aware of their strengths and weak- nesses, and become more confident in their own unique qualities."

8) How does Susannah Stern (from the same book) suggest that the internet and online activities can help this process media?





Youth Culture and the Sociology of Youth
9) According to Buckingham when was the category of the Teenager invented?


10) What other categories does he state that "crucially blur the distinctions between children, youth and adults" ?

Mediation and Collective identity

1. Can you personally relate to the idea of creating identity using the media? Are there any characters or media personalities who you feel represent you?

Personally I don't feel like i am part of any specific sub-culture or can relate to a collective identity. I believe that being part of a certain collective identity isn't as important to my generation as it was to previous ones. There are so many different categories to put yourself in now that the significance of it has dramatically reduced since the 60s. Where it was largely 2 large rival groups, the Mods and the Rockers.

  
    2.    Can you think of any examples of Collective Identities being heavily influenced and define themselves by the media? Particularly youth sub-cultures that are often defined by the type of media they consume:

Street culture can be largely influenced by the media and can reflect what the media portrays them (and vice-versa). For the example during the London Riots, Social Media was used to orchestrate looting. Also the portrayal of the protestors in the mass media could of angered them even more leading to more people attending the riots. Also sub-cultures such as Emo's that are defined by the music that they listen to.

   3.      Are there identities that are often constructed then perpetuated by the media?

'Lad Culture' is something that has been heavily featured on online social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Im not sure if it was created by these media sources but it is a culture that has been reinforced by sites such as the Lad Bible.

   4.    How can these media identities influence others?

The media can publicise things that we aren't aware of that people decide to latch on to.  For example, the 

   5.   In an Internet ‘We Media’ world how can we use the media to create identities?

Sites such as Youtube allow users to create content for everybody to view. As the popularity of the site is so huge and content creators have so much influence and power over the viewers it allows for role-models to be formed. People such as Zoella have such a huge loyal fan base that aspire to be like her that the fans become categorised and recognise themselves as Zoella fans. People with similar interests are able to communicate with each other through the comment section and also other social media sites, thus allowing for groups to be formed. 

Theorists - 'To What Extent Is Human Identity Increasingly Mediated?'

Stuart Hall

• Preferred Reading
• Negotiated Reading 
• Oppositional Reading 

Thomas De Zengotita (2005) - Preferred

• 'Everything we experience is via the media'
• Therefore the media must shape us

Poletta and Jasper - Negotiated

A collective identity may have been first constructed by outsiders who may still enforce it, but it depends on some acceptance by those whom it is applied.

Jacques Locan - Negotiated

• Mirror Stage
• '... That mirrors helped children to develop a sense of self identity...'
• The assertion is that we gain an idea of self-identity through reflection

Althusser: Interpellation (1971) - Preferred

• The audience's identity is made up of outside influences such as the media 
• The mass media can 'control' the audience as what they say is assumed to be real.