Top of the Girl Geek agenda this Monday morning is the subject of good taste and social network decorum. The week has commenced with a noisy foray of commentary about ‘the shank’ on Facebook. This refers to the not-so-super superpoke, where users can choose to ‘stab’ at oneother as a symbolic poke. The story is typical of the summertime lazy journo media as the word on the press street that includes, The Telegraph, Sky and Channel 4 is that ‘Facebook is responsible for knife crime’. But sloppy journalism aside, this topic raises some interesting pause-for-thought considerations.
The implied question is whether we should hold SNSs responsible for other social consequences? This has more to do with the overarching social responsibilities of the individual in terms of their own value judgements. In this particular instance, the potential causality of actions such as ‘shanking’ each other on a SNS has become conflated with the social effects, opinions and assessments of what is good taste.
I am aware that by being a ‘Girl Geek’ this is as much an attitude of mind, as well as the flagging up of my own geek ‘credentials’ and sensibility. On SNSs users believe their profile to represent them ‘accurately’. As a natural follow-on, the actions that we portray on our profile must also be indicative of the ‘who we are’. On Facebook, this doesn’t mean that the superpoke shank is responsible for knife crime. But it does fly in the face of all that is good taste and appropriate behaviour.
Another version of this post ‘Taking a stab at Facebook‘ appeared @ Maz Hardey’s Web 2.0 MediaTalk blogspot.
thats an old story – despite the hype no proven link between violence on the media and on the street. Once theaters like book were censored – thou sex was main issue. Don’t think violence was any less then or come to that sexism
So no thanks to censorship for grown ups…
Oh does that mean we should have it it men?
`Facebook is responsible for knife crime’
Seriously? I really doubt it!
There are so many spectators giving their opinion of why it’s happen but is there actually anyone trying to find out from the people doing it/affected by it.
You can’t do youthwork without some young people.
@iphonupphone
first of all the name (jealous? moi?)!
And yes agree after that certain little racing and racey related scandle you would think that people would mind what they say, do and put on profiles. Not to mention how they poke.
which begs the question can you poke via your iphone?
Great post – love the book cover
Yes silly season over at the press – I’m not inpressed !
There is something about play here. Many of SNS applications are ‘fun’. trouble different people have different ideas of ‘fun’ (as one fan of motor racing made it clear in the papers last week
). Trouble is ‘taste’ is also rather tricky to pin down. Agree what we want as in RL is to engage the brain in gear – oh and that include you builder of apps – you know you are out there…