Discussion #4: Platform Literacy
For our second activity, we will be considering our own media and platform literacy as a barrier to, or gateway into, better and more ethical research. You already spent time in this module thinking about platform affordances. Understanding platform affordances is an important part of using digital platforms to conduct humanistic research and in asking humanistic questions of platform use.
For this activity, I want you to consider the platform or digital tool that is most central to your work. If you are studying Twitter, TikTok, or some other social media app, this may be obvious. If you are using a digital tool for data analysis or visualization, this activity is still applicable. You are going to create a Venn diagram that shows the relationships between the use, utility, and functionality of that platform or tool for three different constituencies.
We will consider the creators of the tool/platform, the target users of the platform, and researchers of the platform. As you will soon find out, it may be necessary to create separate circles for different communities of users and various communities of researchers.
For example, if I study Facebook, it is important for me to understand what the owners gain from its use and how this is vastly different than users. It is also important for me to understand that the use of the platform varies greatly based on country, age, and a variety of other demographic and cultural considerations. Why does this matter? If I plan to cull data from a group on Facebook it is necessary that I consider whether members of that group have an expectation of privacy in that space regardless of whether the site owners actually establish privacy as an affordance of that space.
After creating lists, look for places of overlap and for where desires and uses are in sharp contrast. Take time in this activity to seek out research about your platform and how different populations make use of their affordances. Don’t simply rely on your own use and experience. Once your Venn diagram is complete, post it in our discussion forum, as well as an explanation of how you hope to utilize a platform to conduct research and how learning about its intended uses as well as differentiated population use may change your approach or strengthen the ethical principles you use to conduct research. Make sure to respond to at least two (2) of your peers’ posts.
