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| Facebook - conformity and groupthink |
Policies for this group cover who can post (must be members who are individuals/hobbyists/small business owners), and what they can post about (garage sales, community notices, goods for sale/swap/giveaway, professional services). Users must also post under their own identity and not profiteer off items bought from other users. Certain acronyms/textualised language have developed with this group including the use of the word ‘bump’ to highlight a post and have it reappear in the feed, pm for ‘private message,’ and ‘WTB’ for ‘want to buy.’ The first user to comment is considered the buyer, but if another user is also interested they can write ‘next in line’ beneath.
To understand the way form and style influence the structure of users’ posts and their interactions with each other, we need to do more than just observe the details of the text, we must connect them to one another (Di Yanni, 2005, p 28). Users may censor their comments for fear of having their membership suspended and will quite often mimic posts of more active users in an attempt to gain credibility in this environment. Not all rules are stipulated; some are simply implied. Shostack (2009) writes: “conformity through secret rules whose violation results in suspension … acts as a censor on our social interaction and our willingness to explore and excel.”
We can also see that in this new genre, elements of a familiar genre, ‘the noticeboard post,’ have been twigged for the new online environment. McNeill (2011, p322) explains: “when faced with a new or uncertain situation, rhetors will turn to familiar forms and, when possible, adapt them to the new novel environment.” It is clear from this that the Facebook post is not so new a genre at all, but rather just an update on an old form, and there’s still someone taking down the notices if you don’t post by the rules.
Reference List
Di Yanni, R. (2005). Introduction: Reading and writing essays, in Twenty-five great essays (pp 1 – 30). New-York, NY: Penguin Academics.
McNeill, L. (2011). Diary 2.0?: A genre moves from pate to screen, in Rowe, C. & Wyss, E.L. (Eds.), Language and new media: Linguistic, cultural, and technological evolutions (pp 313-155). New York, NY: W. W. Norton
Shostack, A. (2009, February 27). Facebook: Conform or else. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://emergentchaos.com/archives/2009/02/facebook-conform-or-else.html
Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 6:Genre. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au
Image Credits
Steptoe, L. (2013). Facebook – conformity and groupthink. Retrieved from http://www.traveldivastories.com/2013/01/facebook-conformity-groupthink.html
It's amazing what some will do to fit in. Obviously in the Buy Swap Sell world there is not much scope for expression, people are there to trade, but you are very correct generally I think, in regard to conformity. We are expected to conform.
ReplyDeleteThis is acceptable I would suggest, when it pertains to criminal behaviour, however it is also expected in peer groups, families and religion. "One of us" is the mantra, and that is very hard to break from. As you say Hawa, ridicule, suspension or expulsion are very real consequences.
The other side of the coin of compliance is security. Safety in numbers. Familiarity. This is very reassuring to most. As you've mentioned in a previous post (Murat, 2013), there may be a specific ethnicity encouraged to participate in the Buy Swap Sell group, not directly stated, but perceived by displaying this nation's flag. Potent symbolism. If, indeed, you are correct, and it is an enclave of a particular ethnic group, perhaps they feel safer together, in an uncertain and ever changing world. It's a common theme.
Reference List
Murat, H. (2013) Buy, Swap and Sell your Online Power. Retrieved from http://ba1002externalgroup2.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/week-3-buy-swap-and-sell-you-power.html