A decade ago, in June 2008, Information, Communication & Society published the first special issue of CITASA: the Communication and Information Technology section of the American Sociological Association (ASA). Then, as now, it consisted of articles based on papers presented at the previous year's annual meeting of the ASA. The basic principle was to obtain (sometimes revised) papers soon after the ASA meeting, referee them rigorously, and get the issue out relatively quickly before the next ASA annual meeting. Two or three rotating members of CITASA have served as editors of each special issue. The first, 2008, issue was edited by Keith Hampton and Barry Wellman. Coming full circle, Wellman co-edits this new 2018 issue, alongside Jenny Davis and Jason Smith. One big change is that CITASA has become CITAMS, with media sociologists joining the expanded Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology section of the ASA.
This 2018 special issue features diverse theoretical orientations, methodologies, and empirical areas of interest. From a corpus of impressive submissions, we selected 10 solid manuscripts. Eight manuscripts follow traditional formatting styles, and two are shorter articles written in the style of an academic comment. This is the first time we have published shorter articles, and we are excited about the prospect of incorporating this accessible style of scholarship into future special issues.
The authors of the selected manuscripts come from communication studies, sociology, and interdisciplinary departments, highlighting the multidisciplinary makeup of the CITAMS section. Substantively, the articles demonstrate the integration of digital media studies with traditional media scholarship, as reflected by the newly converged section title: Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology. Geographically, while the articles were first presented in an American conference, the authors and editors include scholars from Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Israel, Thailand, Uruguay, as well as the US.
CITAMS is becoming a transfield, following the wonderful opening article by Wenhong Chen, ‘Abandoned Not: Media Sociology as a Networked Transfield.’ Through a rigorously researched history, Chen traces the intersections of media sociology and communication studies. The analysis tells a fascinating story that begins by addressing the widely assumed premise that sociologists have moved away from research concerns relevant to communication studies. Chen shows that this is a faulty assumption, born out of US-centrism and the positivist understandings of media sociology. The article suggests that by expanding the definition of media sociology and recognizing international scholars, media sociology can be re-conceptualized as a networked transfield that embraces interdisciplinarity. Thurs, Chen's work sets the stage for the remaining articles that artfully transcend disciplinary bounds.
Two articles analyze media use and social networks during different stages of the life course. Laura Robinson's ‘The Identity Curation Game: Digital Inequality, Identity Work, and Emotion Management’ uses interviews with youth in rural California to parse out the rules of identity curation on social media. Presenting one's (often-multiple) identities on social media is a high-stakes game. This work both illustrates a clear structure underlying everyday curatorial practices and demonstrates how identity formation and maintenance are tied to issues of digital inequality. Robinson's paper shows that decreased access to digital resources can have detrimental consequences for sense of self.
Bookending the life course, Hua Wang, Renwen Zhang, and Barry Wellman examine social connectivity and networked individualism among older adults. In ‘Are Older Adults Networked Individuals? Insights from East Yorkers’ Network Structure, Relational Autonomy, and Digital Media Use,’ the authors build upon Wellman's concept of ‘networked individualism’: the societal shift represented by sparse, multiple, permeable, and dynamic communication networks. Using evidence from the fourth study in the East York section of Toronto, the paper demonstrates that digital connectivity is widespread among older adults. Most are online, and few are social isolates. Yet, social connectivity does not necessarily make for networked individualism: many older adults use digital media – especially email – to stay in contact with small groups of family and friends and not the multiple networks that networked individualism implies. Wang, et al.'s paper not only counters stereotypes about older adults being left behind in the digital age, it is also a clear statement of networked individualism.
Three articles deal with risk and safety. Continuing to resist stereotypes, Shelley Boulianne, Joanne Minaker, and Timothy Haney counter claims of lazy slacktivism online through a mixed methods analysis of social media responses to the devastating wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta. In ‘Does Compassion Go Viral? Social Media, Caring, and the Fort McMurray Wildfire,’ Boulianne et al. show that social media were integral to achieving the largest charitable response in Canadian Red Cross history. The authors’ work, blending direct social media analysis with survey data, demonstrates the significance of social media as a crucial tool for disaster response and civic engagement.
Examining preventative safety measures, Matias Dodel and Gustavo Mesch's ‘Inequality in Digital Skills and the Adoption of Online Safety Behaviors’ uses survey data to uncover predictors of antivirus adoption in Israel. They find the main factors that affect online safety behaviors are: age, gender, education, quality of access, and the frequency of conducting financial activities online. The paper concludes that existing digital disparities are reproduced through safety behaviors (or the lack thereof), thus amplifying vulnerabilities among already disadvantaged persons. Not only do high-status people use the internet more adeptly, they are more tech-savvy in protecting themselves – and their computers – when they use it.
Penn Pantumsinchai in ‘Armchair Detectives and the Social Construction of Falsehoods: An Actor Network Approach’ uses two case studies – the 2013 Boston bombing, and the 2015 Bangkok bombing – to trace the ways that rumor and mistruth spread online. With an Actor Network Theory approach, the article describes two types of interrelated networks of relevance in both cases: blackboxed networks and feedback loop networks. Pantumsinchai's analysis is significant and timely for addressing pressing issues about ‘fake news’ and misinformation online.
Two articles address journalism and media. Elizabeth Dubois and Grant Blank's ‘The Echo Chamber is Overstated: The Moderating Effect of Political Interest and Diverse Media’ uses a nationally representative survey from the UK to map news consumption in a high-choice media environment. They show that those with an interest in politics and who consume a diverse media diet are likely to avoid echo chambers and instead find themselves exposed to multiple viewpoints. The article demonstrates that echo chambers, though a real concern, have been overstated in studies that have an overly narrow measurement design and a singular media focus. Dubois and Blank contend that researchers can best understand media consumption patterns through study designs that account for realistic, dynamic, media environments.
While Dubois and Blank focus on media consumption, Ryan Larson and Andrew Lindner train their attention on media production. In ‘Professionalization through Attrition? An Event History Analysis of Mortalities in Citizen Journalism,’ Larson and Lindner address the supposed attrition of citizen journalism (CJ). Drawing on the largest sample to date of US-based English-language CJ sites, they examine the conditions under which CJ sites are likely to persist. Using event history analysis, they find that established sites and those with a for-profit or a community model have the lowest rates of mortality. Their findings indicate that legitimate journalistic conventions may act as a buffer against CJ attrition.
Two shorter papers conclude this special issue, each addressing emerging social issues of keen public interest. In Elizabeth Wissinger's ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Navigating Creepy versus Cool in Wearable Biotech,’ we gain insights about privacy and responsibility from the perspective of key actors in the wearable technology industry. Based on ethnographic accounts and interview data, Wissinger paints a picture in which industry actors place the burden of responsibility on users, who can always, ostensibly, opt-out. The article argues that while opting out of surveillance wear (our term) may be a viable option now, it will become less so as wearable technology integrates more fully into the activities of daily life.
PJ Patella-Rey's short article theorizes the issue of non-consensual pornography. In ‘Beyond Privacy: Bodily Integrity as an Alternative Framework for Understanding Non-Consensual Pornography,’ Patella-Rey challenges predominant frameworks that position non-consensual pornography under the singular lens of privacy. He argues that when nude and sexual images are shared without the subject's permission, it represents a violation of bodily integrity: the experience of losing control over one's own body and sense of self. A bodily integrity framework resonates closely with victims’ reported experiences, while dealing more effectively with issues of gender than a pure privacy frame.
In all, the papers in this issue show a dynamic and diverse ‘transfield,’ to use Wenhong Chen's apt terminology. Though each draw on a particular theoretical framework, methodological approach, and empirical evidence, they are threaded together by a shared concern about daily life in a quickly changing media and technology landscape. Addressing pressing issues such as teen life, old age, digital inequality, (mis)information, natural disasters, and bodily boundaries, the articles in the 2018 CITAMS special issue provide sound insight into the current state of affairs and clear pathways for future research and action.
Notes on contributors
Jenny L. Davis is a Lecturer in the School of Sociology at The Australian National University and co-editor of the Cyborgology blog. Her research spans social psychology and technology studies with a particular focus on status, stigma, and digital infrastructures. Her current work investigates the politics of design through the lens of technological affordances. Jenny is on twitter (@Jenny_L_Davis).
Jason A. Smith is a doctoral candidate in Public Sociology at George Mason University whose research centers on the areas of race and media. His dissertation examines the Federal Communications Commission and policy decisions regarding diversity for communities of color and women in the media landscape. Along with Bhoomi K. Thakore, he is a co-editor of the volume Race and Contention in Twenty-first Century US Media (Routledge, 2016). Previous research has appeared in the Journal of Black Studies, the International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, Sociation Today, and Ethnic & Racial Studies. He is on twitter occasionally (@jasonsm55).
Barry Wellman is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the emeritus Chair of CITASA, and the emeritus North American Editor of ICS. He currently directs the NetLab Network and is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Ryerson University. Wellman has published more than 300 articles, often coauthored with current and former students. His most recent book (with Lee Rainie) is Networked: The New Social Operating System.