The Drama! Teen Conflict, Gossip, and Bullying in Networked Publics - 1 views

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  #1 Bonnie Sutton on 14 Dec 11

   

  Alice E. Marwick
  Microsoft Corporation - Microsoft Research New England; Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society
  
  danah boyd
  Microsoft Research; New York University (NYU) - Department of Media, Culture, and Communication; University of New South Wales (UNSW); Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society
  
  
  
  A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society, September 2011
  
  Abstract:
  While teenage conflict is nothing new, today's gossip, jokes, and arguments often play out through social media like Formspring, Twitter, and Facebook. Although adults often refer to these practices with the language of "bullying," teens are more likely to refer to the resultant skirmishes and their digital traces as "drama." Drama is a performative set of actions distinct from bullying, gossip, and relational aggression, incorporating elements of them but also operating quite distinctly. While drama is not particularly new, networked dynamics reconfigure how drama plays out and what it means to teens in new ways. In this paper, we examine how American teens conceptualize drama, its key components, participant motivations for engaging in it, and its relationship to networked technologies. Drawing on six years of ethnographic fieldwork, we examine what drama means to teenagers and its relationship to visibility and privacy. We argue that the emic use of "drama" allows teens to distance themselves from practices which adults may conceptualize as bullying. As such, they can retain agency - and save face - rather than positioning themselves in a victim narrative. Drama is a gendered process that perpetrates conventional gender norms. It also reflects discourses of celebrity, particularly the mundane interpersonal conflict found on soap operas and reality television. For teens, sites like Facebook allow for similar performances in front of engaged audiences. Understanding how "drama" operates is necessary to recognize teens' own defenses against the realities of aggression, gossip, and bullying in networked publics.
  Number of Pages in PDF File: 25
  Keywords: drama, bullying, gender, internet, aggression, teens, youth
  Accepted Paper Series
  Date posted: September 13, 2011
  Suggested Citation
  Marwick, Alice E. and boyd, danah, The Drama! Teen Conflict, Gossip, and Bullying in Networked Publics (September 12, 2011). A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society, September 2011. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1926349
  
  
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  Contact Information
  Alice E. Marwick
  Microsoft Corporation - Microsoft Research New England ( email )
  One Memorial Drive, 12th Floor
  Cambridge, MA 02142
  United States
  Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society ( email )
  Harvard Law School, Baker House
  1587 Massachusetts Avenue
  Cambridge, MA 02138
  United States
  Danah Boyd (Contact Author)
  Microsoft Research ( email )
  One Memorial Drive, 12th Floor
  Cambridge, MA 02142
  United States
  HOME PAGE: http://research.microsoft.com/
  New York University (NYU) - Department of Media, Culture, and Communication ( email )
  239 Greene St., 7th Floor
  New York, NY 10003-1836
  United States
  University of New South Wales (UNSW)
  Sydney , NSW 2052
  Australia
  Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society
  Harvard Law School, Baker House
  1587 Massachusetts Avenue
  Cambridge, MA 02138
  United States

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Alice E. Marwick <br /> Microsoft Corporation - Microsoft Research New England; Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society <br /> <br /> danah boyd <br /> Microsoft Research; New York University (NYU) - Department of Media, Culture, and Communication; University of New South Wales (UNSW); Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society, September 2011 <br /> <br /> Abstract: <br /> While teenage conflict is nothing new, today's gossip, jokes, and arguments often play out through social media like Formspring, Twitter, and Facebook. Although adults often refer to these practices with the language of "bullying," teens are more likely to refer to the resultant skirmishes and their digital traces as "drama." Drama is a performative set of actions distinct from bullying, gossip, and relational aggression, incorporating elements of them but also operating quite distinctly. While drama is not particularly new, networked dynamics reconfigure how drama plays out and what it means to teens in new ways. In this paper, we examine how American teens conceptualize drama, its key components, participant motivations for engaging in it, and its relationship to networked technologies. Drawing on six years of ethnographic fieldwork, we examine what drama means to teenagers and its relationship to visibility and privacy. We argue that the emic use of "drama" allows teens to distance themselves from practices which adults may conceptualize as bullying. As such, they can retain agency - and save face - rather than positioning themselves in a victim narrative. Drama is a gendered process that perpetrates conventional gender norms. It also reflects discourses of celebrity, particularly the mundane interpersonal conflict found on soap operas and reality television. For teens, sites like Facebook allow for similar performances in front of engaged audiences. Understanding how "drama" operates is necessary to recognize teens' own defenses against the realities of aggression, gossip, and bullying in networked publics. <br /> Number of Pages in PDF File: 25 <br /> Keywords: drama, bullying, gender, internet, aggression, teens, youth <br /> Accepted Paper Series <br /> Date posted: September 13, 2011 <br /> Suggested Citation <br /> Marwick, Alice E. and boyd, danah, The Drama! Teen Conflict, Gossip, and Bullying in Networked Publics (September 12, 2011). A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society, September 2011. Available at SSRN: <a href="http://ssrn.com/abstract=1926349" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://ssrn.com/abstract=1926349</a> <br /> <br /> <br /> Export to: Export Citation What's this? <br /> Contact Information <br /> Alice E. Marwick <br /> Microsoft Corporation - Microsoft Research New England ( email ) <br /> One Memorial Drive, 12th Floor <br /> Cambridge, MA 02142 <br /> United States <br /> Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society ( email ) <br /> Harvard Law School, Baker House <br /> 1587 Massachusetts Avenue <br /> Cambridge, MA 02138 <br /> United States <br /> Danah Boyd (Contact Author) <br /> Microsoft Research ( email ) <br /> One Memorial Drive, 12th Floor <br /> Cambridge, MA 02142 <br /> United States <br /> HOME PAGE: <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://research.microsoft.com/</a> <br /> New York University (NYU) - Department of Media, Culture, and Communication ( email ) <br /> 239 Greene St., 7th Floor <br /> New York, NY 10003-1836 <br /> United States <br /> University of New South Wales (UNSW) <br /> Sydney , NSW 2052 <br /> Australia <br /> Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society <br /> Harvard Law School, Baker House <br /> 1587 Massachusetts Avenue <br /> Cambridge, MA 02138 <br /> United States</div>

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