Social Media & Participatory Culture

Social media unlike any other form of media is inherently participatory. Meaning, in order to use social media, you undoubtedly have to “participate”. This idea was highlighted in chapter four of “Understanding Social Media” by Sam Hinton and Larissa Hjorth. “Unlike mass media before it, social media is fundamentally a participatory medium,” (Hinton & Hjorth, 2013). This can take many forms such as liking, commenting, or even creating posts yourself. Though using social media requires a level of participation, how is this form of media related to participatory culture?

According to a report titled, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century,” participatory culture takes many forms. This includes affiliations, expressions, collaborative problem-solving, and circulations (Jenkins, et al., 2009). People may use all of these forms of participatory culture, or just a few, when on social media. To use the popular app Instagram as an example, users may affiliate themselves with a certain circle of information, commonly through following different accounts. Furthermore, by creating posts users are participating in expressing themselves through social media.

Personally, I use my social media probably the same way most young adults do. I share posts to connect with others on a specific platform. Though this is so common in today’s day and age, what we post and how we post it can come back to haunt us in the future. Employers often look through our social media accounts to screen potential employees. According to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder, 54% of employers decided to not hire a potential employee based on their social media (Curtin, 2020). Striking, isn’t it?

But if participating in social media is so common, why is it used against us?

Well, that is exactly the point. Participating in social media IS so common. More often than not, potential employees are active on social media in one way or another, especially in our media-centric environment. Additionally, users often post content intending for it to be shared only amongst their followers and friends, but with the power of the internet, that post could be available anywhere. So next time you decide to participate on social media, either by liking, commenting, posting, or following, maybe think twice about how you choose to represent yourself.