Conceptual boundaries of sharing

Abstract

Sharing has been subjected to continuous re-imagination and positioning throughout networked culture's history. Recently, there has been specific emphasis on user-generated content and social media platforms. Particular social actors, such as social media platforms, attempt to cultivate an imaginary of sharing in networked culture. They do this by appropriating positive social values associated with common understandings of sharing, such as community, generosity, shared values of cooperation, and participation. While there has been a recent surge of interest in sharing, conceptual gaps remain. Though sharing is a central concept of networked culture, in this paper I show how its boundaries with other social theories of exchange have not been sufficiently established nor has the concept itself been adequately critiqued. Most significantly, this paper problematizes how sharing is implicated and positioned in studies of networked culture. I argue that a framework for a theory of sharing is needed and identify three distinct perspectives in the literature: sharing as an economy driven by social capital; sharing as a mode of scaled distribution; and sharing as a site of social intensification. It is shown how the use of the term sharing in the description of practices in networked culture is fraught with ambiguity. The paper concludes by elucidating how a focus on sharing practices can advance the field.

Keywords:

• sharing
• reciprocity
• gift-giving
• sharing economy
• practice theory

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, and Esther Milne who also provided useful feedback on an earlier draft of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jenny Kennedy is a research fellow at The University of Melbourne. She recently completed a Ph.D. on sharing practices in networked culture. Her research interests include media theories of everyday life, social discourses around technology use, and material culture.