Blog 11: EOTO 'GateKeeping'

 

After listening to my classmates' EOTO presentations, I will be discussing Madeline’s presentation on gatekeeping. I was interested by this presentation, because I feel that my generation has been exposed through this concept due to the use of our mainstream media.Gatekeepers ultimately craft and conduct what is being published to the masses, therefore they determine what is to become the public’s social reality, and their view of the world. Basically the idea of this term is to hide what is being shared to the public and limit the amount of access the people can have on certain information being discussed in the outside world. Throughout this presentation, it was highlighted how gatekeeping was used to protect the news from being leaked to the public, however, over the past few years, I have been more exposed to the term “gatekeeping,” specifically, on social media. 

I never understood what the purpose was to hide information from the people, however, it can be used as a form of privacy and protection. As being an active follower on social media, I have been exposed to the term gatekeeping through celebrities and online influencers. For example, well-known people typically use the act of this term, because they don’t want certain information to be released to the public, especially news outlets creating false narratives. Today, the majority of the information online can be false and fake news, so these celebrities/influencers are being cautious on what is being exposed to the outside world. Also, I follow influencers on social media such as TikTok and Instagram and they share fashion and beauty products on a daily basis. However, they “gatekeep” their favorite products so it is hard for their followers to see what they use and what they should buy. For example, I follow someone for skin care tips, but she won’t share certain products because she doesn’t want them to sell out fast. 

On the other note, major news outlets constantly take part in gatekeeping. When a tragedy is going on throughout the world, they will only release the highlights rather than the scary and unfortunate news that the people should know. For example, at the beginning of COVID-19, our country was not as informed about how severe the coronavirus was. I remember being in high school, sitting in class, and my teacher saying it won’t affect us and we will still have in person classes. I feel that the news outlets didn’t want to share false information, but also didn’t want to scare the people due to how intense the virus was affecting people around the world. Gatekeeping is a common act used through mainstream media and has many pros and cons to the word. 

Blog 9: EOTO Online Influencers

 

Throughout the past few years, online influencers have taken over the internet with the use of social media platforms. These platforms include Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, etc… which allow people to express themselves through their creativity, image, and brand. They have the ability to create a brand for themselves by promoting their passion of interest. Whether these influencers have a small or large number of followers, they are able to use the marketing techniques of advertising, selling, and recommending new products to other people. However, they can connect with their followers on a deeper level whether it is mental health related, their personal experiences, or educating the people on updated news that they feel is important to discuss. Although online influencers have been evolving for decades, I feel that online influencers skyrocketed at the start of COVID-19 in the beginning of 2020, because everyone was quarantined. Blake Chandlee, TikTok’s VP of global business solutions and head of ad sales, discusses how the service and its many tools kept more than 100 million users engaged in lockdown conditions.  The people started downloading the app as a source of entertainment and to create content for themselves and others to enjoy during a difficult time period. 

Online influencers carry a major role through social media and along with their role comes benefits. First, they are able to make money from being a brand ambassador, posting sponsored content, or promoting products. Someone who is just getting started might earn $100 here and there. While some of the influencers with the largest followings can earn millions of dollars. Although your income depends on the amount of followers and the contracts you have signed, it also depends on the type of content you are posting and the brand you are working for. Along with these brand promotions and advertisements, these influencers are increasing sales for these companies whether it is for a big or small business. 

Although there are many benefits from being an online influencer, there are definitely negative components that come along with it. These people are putting themselves online for the world to see their every move. Their life is on display for everyone to judge and leave negative comments on anything they do. Social media has become a toxic environment for these influencers, because it can destroy one’s mental health. Dixie D’Amelio who is known to be an online influencer and took off in her career at the start of 2020 shares, “tea pages and negative comments and checking who's talking about me every day has a big part of my anxiety."  This example shows that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, but even the most successful influencers can be affected by mental health. Not only does mental health have an impact, but body image has impacted young adults and children when it comes to comparing themselves to one another. Scrolling through social media and seeing all these influencers posting their “perfect” pictures can feel degrading. Facetune is an app where you can edit your insecurities and make photoshop your face or body. From my personal experience, I have learned to not compare myself to influencers, because nothing on social media is real. 

Online influencers play a major role in our society, because of how much we depend on social media. It’s interesting to look at the generational differences between my generation and the generation of my parents and grandparents. Especially having my generation growing up with social media, my generation idolizes many influencers such as those that are on instagram, tiktok, youtube, etc… However, my parents and grandparents are not as familiar with any influencers on those social media platforms. Therefore, content that influencers on these platforms may post influence those that are in my generation, however, may have no effect on the older generations. Younger generations are more likely to buy products based on influencer recommendations, as well as consider them reliable. In addition, there are many influencers that have come from nothing. I think this inspires many people who may not be as privileged and grew up in a poor environment that they are capable of succeeding. It takes motivation, creativity, and passion to develop a successful platform. Therefore, I believe that influencers can have a positive impact on those that may not be as fortunate. 

Blog 8: Privacy

 

Privacy is not only an important priority for myself, but also for my family, friends, and every other person in this world. We are constantly socializing and surrounding ourselves with people on a daily basis, so having those private moments is what makes someone feel safe and comfortable. However, our lives are always feeling invaded due to the technology of tracking devices. 

After watching the TED talk videos and learning more in depth knowledge on how our government invades our space, I feel uncomfortable. There is not a day that goes by where I am not surrounded by people and doing my day to day routine. However, my daily routines are not only including what I thought was just myself, but the government. For example, Catherine Crump has educated me on mass location tracking. This is a system where police are able to catch wrong-doing actions of people but also track each and every car that passes them at any given moment. They are able to take note of every license plate and track where you are traveling to. In addition, from tracking your daily life, this information is sent to the federal government to track each US citizen. 

Another video that caught my attention was from Christopher Soghoian discussing the tracking through our devices. I use my phone everyday as a form of communication whether it's texting, facetime, calling, or social media. What I found out from this TED talk was how our government can hear and see each conversation we have with a friend, family, or loved one. I feel even more scared, because someone could hack into the surveillance systems such as a hacker, criminal, or stalker and this could lead to dangerous situations. These people could find out any information and run with it. 

These issues affect not only myself, but my friends and family, because the world we live in could be dangerous and having our information out there for anyone to see is an invasion of our privacy. The government should not be allowed to capture our information unless they know for a fact they have evidence of criminal acts. To limit these issues, we should change our passwords often, keep our social contact limited, change our social media accounts to private only, and limit the information we put on the internet. Overall, everyone should respect one another’s privacy, so we can all feel safe and comfortable in our own lives. 

Blog 7: Diffusion of Innovations

 

Online grocery delivery services, which became increasingly popular during the pandemic, was an innovation that actually began in the 1990’s. HomeGrocer.com was one of the first online supermarket players. It started in 1997 in Washington state and quickly obtained investment to allow it to create the infrastructure needed to support the business, including a huge warehouse and a fleet of vans. Since then, services like Instacart, Peapod, Shipt, Whole Foods/Amazon Prime, Fresh Direct, and independent stores have successfully entered the realm of grocery delivery.  

My grandparents have told me that when they were children in the 1940’s and 1950’s, milk and dairy products were delivered by the local “milkman,” groceries could be delivered from the neighborhood market, fruits and vegetables were picked from a truck driven down the street by a nearby farmer, and they even could summon alcoholic beverages by phone. This was at a time when most women did not work or drive or did not have access to a car during the day and were expected to have dinner on the table when their husbands came home from work.

Today, as the schedules of two-parent and single-parent middle class families became busier, grocery delivery services became a reliable and convenient timesaver. In addition, individuals who are handicapped or homebound do not have to rely on the assistance of family members or friends to bring them groceries. The upside is that consumers can shop online at their favorite stores and have them delivered by services such as Instacart, Shipt, or Peapod, whom the grocery stores contract to shop and deliver their goods. Delivery from Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, is available to Prime members. Fresh Direct has its own warehouse, from which consumers can shop and have items delivered. Even though there are negatives, such as not being able to contact your shopper, poor substitutions for out-of-stock items, and late delivery, people continue to utilize these services because it makes their lives easier. 

These services, out of consumer necessity and the need to quarantine, caught on and grew significantly from the onset of the pandemic. Grocery delivery companies such as Instacart experienced heightened demand during the pandemic. Our data shows that between the first and second quarters of 2020, Instacart's sales grew 157 percent and have remained elevated. Despite this, there are still many people who prefer not to order groceries online due to security concerns, cleanliness, preference when selecting groceries, fees, and higher cost of items. In the end, however, if you weigh the cost of time, savings on gas, elimination of stress, and the ability to have more quality time with family and friends, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

For me, as a college student with a busy academic and social schedule, I, as well as many of my friends, frequently use Instacart to purchase food and toiletry items. Although some of the demand for these services has slowed, many people who did not use them prior to the pandemic, have realized their value and continue to rely on these services.