Assignment 1C: Blog

 Crowdsourcing in times of crisis 

We live in a digital world where we are provided with advanced technologies to assist us and allow for easier communication. In times of crisis, these technologies are needed more than ever in order to ensure the safety of all individuals. Crowdsourcing is suggested to be effective in times of crisis as it “allows us to find additional information and scale different solutions to respond faster and more accurately to disasters” (Tavra, M et al. 2021). 

Harrison et al. state “During disasters, there is a need for timely and accurate information to enable a quick and effective response” (2019, pp. 502). Crowdsourcing during the 2015 Sampson Flat bushfire in Adelaide was successful. Volunteers helped source damaged buildings by matching a pre-fire map with the most recent satellite images to therefore determine which buildings had been destroyed. The crowd-sourced data was then added to schools and infrastructure locations. This information enabled the findings of 12 buildings being destroyed. The greatest benefit was that the location of destroyed houses was detected prior to assessors being allowed around the fire grounds. (Williamson 2015). 

During the crisis of Queensland’s most recent floods, crowdsourcing enabled a flood-mapping initiative. People were asked to send any information regarding the floods to the mapping initiative via online services such as email, text messages, and Twitter. Twitter had its own hashtag surrounding the issue which was named ‘#qldfloodsmap’, this was significantly beneficial as being a popular app, it meant that people would engage with the hashtag and thus continue to learn from and share important information (Ross et al. 2011). 

The aforementioned examples quantify the positive impact crowdsourcing can have during times of natural disasters. Not only does the sourcing of donations provide economic relief, it also harnesses an array of other forms of support. Whether it be volunteering, supplying resources, or information and technology. Beneath the obvious benefits, crowdsourcing also raises awareness for important issues, and provides a platform for educating communities. 

Reference:

Tavra, M, Racetin, I & Peros, J, 2021, ‘The role of crowdsourcing and social media in crisis mapping: a case study of a wildfire reaching Croatian City of Split’, Geoenviron Disasters, vol. 8, no. 10. 

Harrison, S & Johnson, P, 2019, ‘Challenges in the adoption of crisis crowdsourcing and social media in Canadian emergency management', Department of Geography & Environmental Management, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 501-509. 

Williamson, B 2015, Crowd sourcing and satellites help identify Adelaide bushfire destruction, ABC news, viewed June 6, 2022 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-21/crowd-sourcing-helps-to-find-fire-destroyed-adelaide-hills-homes/6028208> 

Ross, N & Potts, M 2011, ABC's crowdsourced flood-mapping initiative, ABC, viewed June 6, 2022 <https://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2011/01/13/3112261.htm> 

Public Health Campaigns and Communities 

The digital community can have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of its online users. People being connected through networks and online communities can enable “information sharing, along with positive personal implications of online health participation” (Paul & Lee 2016, p. 32). With accessible knowledge provided to Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, and Facebook users, they are able to learn and be granted the support needed to achieve good mental health. Seeing others share their personal stories acts as a comfort factor and also motivation to everyone, especially individuals who may be struggling with their mental health. Lofton shares an interesting story of teenage girl and Ph.D. student, Susanna Harris, who suffered from depression. Due to discovering how common depression is amongst Ph.D. students, she began sharing her story via Twitter and created the hashtag ‘#PhDbalance.’ The hashtag has developed significantly, in that people now share their own experiences of mental health issues and it has even allowed for friendships to be formed through relating to one another (Lofton 2019). 

Contrastingly, whilst social media can certainly be portrayed in a positive light, like with most things, it has its downsides. Social media platforms become alarming when people scroll through their feeds and begin to compare their bodies with the so-called ‘perfect body’. Additionally, they begin comparing their lives because the people they follow always seem to be smiling and having fun. This is unfortunate, as the people they are comparing themselves to are quite possibly promoting a fake representation of themselves. We all know that everyone has a bad day from time to time, but you wouldn’t post that on your social media. Society has been manipulated into sharing only the good of oneself. This has contributed to individuals photoshopping images prior to posting them in order to make their followers believe they have a ‘better’ body. It has contributed to people going out of their way to capture the perfect photo to make it seem as though they are enjoying themselves, even when they may not be. This is certainly not to say that every post you see on Instagram is fake, however, the point is that it's saddening to see people getting so caught up in the online world and feeling pressured into posting only ‘perfect’ content.

Reference:

Paul, M & Lee, H 2016, Digital media : transformations in human communication, Peter Lang, Ebook Central (ProQuest). 

Lofton, T 2019, Coming Out About Mental Health On Social Media, KHN, viewed June 5, 2022 <https://khn.org/news/coming-out-about-mental-health-on-social-media/> 

Social Gaming - Playing the Crowd

Social Gaming encompasses multiplayer games played across social platforms that involve awareness and interaction. The nature of social gaming is to connect with others through the digital community in a competitive or cooperative manner (Spotless 2022). Conflict can arise through online players being bullied. From verbal name-calling through the headset to written nasty comments or even threats, bullying is, unfortunately, quite a frequent practice when it comes to social gaming. When trolls show a consistent form of aggression towards their components it demonstrates cyberbullying, which can make a player feel self-conscious and become trapped in a negative mental state. There are however benefits to social gaming, and evidence shows that it can positively influence a “player’s cognitive, emotional, and social skills” (Stopbullying 2022). 

Moreover, Hartery suggests that the future is social, statistics show that by 2024, the mobile gaming industry will reach a $98 billion revenue (Hartery 2021). Individual games also sometimes referred to as single-player games receive considerable profit. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is an individual player game that earned $200 million during its first year on the market (Bergstorm, 2021, p. 63). Social mobile gaming aims to generate similar revenue and that is why developers are seeking ideas in order to make communal mobile games more interactive and engaging.

In addition to cyberbullying, gaming addiction is another risk associated with online social gaming. It can result in less time being devoted to other important activities, and most notably, players become less physically active. Social Networking Games (SNG) are games played on a mobile phone or internet browser via social network sites such as Facebook. The games are said to afford a more casual approach, meaning rather than dedicating an extensive amount of time to play on a console, players can casually engage with the game on their phone without having to put in a huge effort. Bergstorm disagrees with the notion of SNGs being time-efficient as she highlights how they can still result in gaming addiction. She argues that whilst these mobile games are seen as “casual”, there is “nothing casual about playing Farmville on Facebook for hours on end” (Bergstorm, 2021, pp 62). Whilst people tend to believe that addiction to gaming is only accumulated by those playing four hours on end on a console or computer, this is not always the case, and what seems like a harmless 30 minutes on Facebook can quickly turn into hours.

Reference:

Spotless © 2004-2022, Social gaming – A usability perspective, Spotless, viewed June 6, 2022 <https://www.spotless.co.uk/insights/social-gaming-usability/> 

Stopbullying 2022, Cyberbullying and Online Gaming, stopbullying.gov, viewed June 6, 2022, <https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/cyberbullying-online-gaming> 

Bergstorm, K, ‘Anti-social social gaming: community conflict in a Facebook game’, Critical Studies in Media Communication, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 61 - 34.