Filtering by
- All Subjects: Social Media
- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
The aim of this creative project was to explore the ideas of impermanence and transience through the lens of different, largely non-western cultural backgrounds, and to incorporate what I learned into my own work as a painter. As part of this, I focused on the materials, techniques, visual strategies, and philosophies that guided the creation of these works. The project consisted of a discrete research phase, during which time I gathered information and materials related to my topic, and a creation phase, when I focused largely on the production of oil paintings and ink paintings whose technique and/or subject matter pertained to impermanence. Research for the most part was conducted by utilizing online and physical collections of work to analyze the formal elements of the work along with the cultural context in which it was created. Ultimately the creative project resulted in a product of three oil paintings and five ink paintings.
"No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth." These were the words of former Facebook Vice President Chamath Palihapitiya who publicly expressed his regret in a 2017 interview over his role in co-creating Facebook. Palihapitiya shared that social media is ripping apart the social fabric of society and he also sounded the alarm regarding social media’s unavoidable global impact. He is only one of social media’s countless critics. The more disturbing issue resides in the empirical evidence supporting such notions. At least 95% of adolescents own a smartphone and spend an average time of two to four hours a day on social media. Moreover, 91% of 16-24-year-olds use social media, yet youth rate Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as the worst social media platforms. However, the social, clinical, and neurodevelopment ramifications of using social media regularly are only beginning to emerge in research. Early research findings show that social media platforms trigger anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and other negative mental health effects. These negative mental health symptoms are commonly reported by individuals from of 18-25-years old, a unique period of human development known as emerging adulthood. Although emerging adulthood is characterized by identity exploration, unbounded optimism, and freedom from most responsibilities, it also serves as a high-risk period for the onset of most psychological disorders. Despite social media’s adverse impacts, it retains its utility as it facilitates identity exploration and virtual socialization for emerging adults. Investigating the “user-centered” design and neuroscience underlying social media platforms can help reveal, and potentially mitigate, the onset of negative mental health consequences among emerging adults. Effectively deconstructing the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (i.e., hereafter referred to as “The Big Three”) will require an extensive analysis into common features across platforms. A few examples of these design features include: like and reaction counters, perpetual news feeds, and omnipresent banners and notifications surrounding the user’s viewport. Such social media features are inherently designed to stimulate specific neurotransmitters and hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol. Identifying such predacious social media features that unknowingly manipulate and highjack emerging adults’ brain chemistry will serve as a first step in mitigating the negative mental health effects of today’s social media platforms. A second concrete step will involve altering or eliminating said features by creating a social media platform that supports and even enhances mental well-being.
Americans today face an age of information overload. With the evolution of Media 3.0, the internet, and the rise of Media 3.5—i.e., social media—relatively new communication technologies present pressing challenges for the First Amendment in American society. Twentieth century law defined freedom of expression, but in an information-limited world. By contrast, the twenty-first century is seeing the emergence of a world that is overloaded with information, largely shaped by an “unintentional press”—social media. Americans today rely on just a small concentration of private technology powerhouses exercising both economic and social influence over American society. This raises questions about censorship, access, and misinformation. While the First Amendment protects speech from government censorship only, First Amendment ideology is largely ingrained across American culture, including on social media. Technological advances arguably have made entry into the marketplace of ideas—a fundamental First Amendment doctrine—more accessible, but also more problematic for the average American, increasing his/her potential exposure to misinformation. <br/><br/>This thesis uses political and judicial frameworks to evaluate modern misinformation trends, social media platforms and current misinformation efforts, against the background of two misinformation accelerants in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. presidential election. Throughout history, times of hardship and intense fear have contributed to the shaping of First Amendment jurisprudence. Thus, this thesis looks at how fear can intensify the spread of misinformation and influence free speech values. Extensive research was conducted to provide the historical context behind relevant modern literature. This thesis then concludes with three solutions to misinformation that are supported by critical American free speech theory.
This research covers the landscape of influencer marketing and combines it with the knowledge of 11 content creators and one social media specialist, ultimately producing an actionable handbook. Participants were asked questions that were intended to discover key strategies, level of difficulty, and overall insight into the content creator world. Best practices and key findings are identified in the research paper, and outlined into four parts in the handbook. The handbook serves as a compilation framework derived from my primary and secondary sources designed to provide anyone interested in becoming a content creator or social media influencer on steps they may take given what their predecessors have done to successfully launch their careers in the space.
This thesis paper examines the challenges and opportunities that are present for nonprofit organizations seeking to engage in social media marketing. By analyzing the rise of social media as a prevalent tool for business-consumer outreach the paper proposes a dialogic approach to social media for nonprofits to effectively engage with their audiences, develop relationships with them, and mobilize them towards a common mission.
As social media and technology continue to impact the way students communicate and receive information, it is encouraged that university student-run organizations utilize social media platforms as a tool to further the development of their organizations. Social media platforms allow student organizations to network, promote awareness of their organizations, current campus events, and provide the opportunity to develop strong associations and interactions among students. Overall, student-run organizations currently utilize a wide variety of social media; however, frequently it is used without a clear understanding of its role and best practices, which could lead to a loss of effectiveness in their communication with students. Therefore, these factors suggest the need for university student-run organizations to recognize and understand the opportunities that effective social media strategies can bring as a communication tool to enhance student engagement.
The Student Art Project is art patronage for the 21st century—a curated online gallery featuring exceptional student artists. The Student Art Project is a highly curated experience for buyers. Only five artists are featured each month. Buyers are not bombarded with thousands of different products and separate artists “shops”. They can read artists bios and find art they connect with.
Student artists apply through an online form. Once accepted to the program, artists receive a $200 materials stipend to create an exclusive collection of 5-10 pieces. Original artwork and limited edition prints are sold through our website. These collections can potentially fund an entire year of college tuition, a life-changing amount for many students.
Brick-and-mortar galleries typically take 40-60% of the retail price of artwork. The Student Art Project will only take 30%, which we will use to reinvest in future artists. Other art websites, like Etsy, require the artists to ship, invoice, and communicate with customers. For students, this means less time spent in the classroom and less time developing their craft. The Student Art Project handles all business functions for our artists, allowing them to concentrate on what really matters, their education.
Anthropocentric society faces a multiplicity of environmental challenges, catalyzed and perpetuated by urban-industrial culture. Many of today’s perspectives and sustainable strategies cannot accommodate the challenges’ inherent complexity. Because urban-industrial society is only projected to grow, both in enormity and influence, the only viable option is to elucidate the complexity and employ it.
A potential setting in which to frame this exploration is the intersection of urbanism, landscape, and ecology –an overlap first introduced by the theories of Landscape Urbanism and Ecological Urbanism. Here, urbanization is not just discussed as an isolated phenomenon but one that is embedded within and responding to a variety of systems and scales. The methodologies of Landscape Urbanism and Ecological Urbanism also acknowledge artists and the visual arts as invaluable tools for realizing, communicating, and inspiring the new perspectives and modes of intervention needed to address the aforementioned urban complexity. Such artists who operate within this realm include Sissel Tolaas, Maya Lin, Katrin Sigurdardottir, David Maisel, Olafur Eliason, Mierle Ukeles, Suzanne Lacy, Steve Rowell, Mel Chin, and the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Case study analyses reveal many of these artists begin their investigations with provocative, searching questions situated within the realms of urbanism, landscape, and ecology. This is proceeded by relative scientific research and/or community involvement or outreach. Furthermore, the artists work within and extrapolate from a variety of other disciplines —increasing the scope and applicability of their work. The information they collect via this multidisciplinary approach is then metaphorically translated to the visual arts, where the public can not only physically or sensorially experience it, but understand and deduce its meaning and significance: public awareness being one of the more essential aspects of a sustainable society and at the root of our current struggle.
As a designer and architect, I will engage the artist’s mindset to explore the current and complex issue of resource extraction within Superior, Arizona: a topic at the core of urbanism, landscape, and ecology. While the town is not considered "urban" by standard definition, it and its surrounding landscapes are indirectly sculpted by the needs of urban society —rendering it the setting for this application. Within a group, we will begin with a searching question. We will conduct relative scientific research, engage the community of Superior, and call upon a variety of other disciplines to aid and inform our work. Through metaphor, the research and resulting discoveries will be artistically represented and composed within a designed exhibition of hopeful “things” (See Bruno Latour, “From Realpolitik to Dingpolitik”). This exhibition will theoretically take place on Superior’s currently dilapidated Main Street, amid a more accessible sphere. The eventual goal of the project is to illuminate and understand the complexities of resource extraction, specifically within Superior, while also enabling public awareness and empowerment through lucidity and comprehension.