“What’s good fam?”: African digital sociality and notions of community and family in the UCKAR Facebook group
- Authors: Dube, Hope Mutipeni
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Digital society , Facebook (Firm) , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , Education, Higher Social aspects , Sociology Africa , College students Social life and customs , College students Social networks
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465887 , vital:76665
- Description: This study explores the digital sociality of the UCKAR Facebook group. This student Facebook group was formed during the 2015 #RhodesMustFall period. The acronym UCKAR stands for the “University Currently Known As Rhodes” and signifies hope for the transformation of the university. Qualitative interviews were conducted to investigate how UCKAR Facebook group understood and interpreted their sociality, i.e. what do they mean when they say “we” or “us”; how such understandings emerged from group membership descriptions and interpersonal obligations as well as the actual social interactions and participation in the group through digital practices, that is, posting and commenting. A qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken through grouping together representations of various notions of the nature and purpose of their Facebook group as a social space, or its sociality. The findings revealed how various digital socialities co-exist in the same digital space. They reflect different ways in which group members can relate to each other meaningfully: either as fellow students, activists, student entrepreneurs and customers, caring community members or fellow revellers. I refer to these socialities as “Rhodent sociality”, “comrade sociality”, “hustle sociality”, “ubuntu sociality” and “groovist sociality”. These socialities are evidentially not mutually exclusive, and members can and do engage in multiple socialities within the group or shift amongst them depending on the situation. In this analysis, these socialities are linked to the existing scholarship on digital socialities. The findings suggest that the resilience to survive in an alien cultural space does not only demand a digital space that supports rational political resistance and practical tips to navigate the space as seen in the “comrade sociality” and “Rhodent sociality”. It also requires a digital space which can incorporate elements of communal care, economic survival and at times a Bakhtinian carnivalesque outlet to momentarily invert an unjust society . I call this kind of digital sociality a survivalist digital community, which is a form of digital sociality created by persons who need to survive a space that was not designed for people like them, and is underpinned by survivalist knowledge. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
- Authors: Dube, Hope Mutipeni
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Digital society , Facebook (Firm) , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , Education, Higher Social aspects , Sociology Africa , College students Social life and customs , College students Social networks
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465887 , vital:76665
- Description: This study explores the digital sociality of the UCKAR Facebook group. This student Facebook group was formed during the 2015 #RhodesMustFall period. The acronym UCKAR stands for the “University Currently Known As Rhodes” and signifies hope for the transformation of the university. Qualitative interviews were conducted to investigate how UCKAR Facebook group understood and interpreted their sociality, i.e. what do they mean when they say “we” or “us”; how such understandings emerged from group membership descriptions and interpersonal obligations as well as the actual social interactions and participation in the group through digital practices, that is, posting and commenting. A qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken through grouping together representations of various notions of the nature and purpose of their Facebook group as a social space, or its sociality. The findings revealed how various digital socialities co-exist in the same digital space. They reflect different ways in which group members can relate to each other meaningfully: either as fellow students, activists, student entrepreneurs and customers, caring community members or fellow revellers. I refer to these socialities as “Rhodent sociality”, “comrade sociality”, “hustle sociality”, “ubuntu sociality” and “groovist sociality”. These socialities are evidentially not mutually exclusive, and members can and do engage in multiple socialities within the group or shift amongst them depending on the situation. In this analysis, these socialities are linked to the existing scholarship on digital socialities. The findings suggest that the resilience to survive in an alien cultural space does not only demand a digital space that supports rational political resistance and practical tips to navigate the space as seen in the “comrade sociality” and “Rhodent sociality”. It also requires a digital space which can incorporate elements of communal care, economic survival and at times a Bakhtinian carnivalesque outlet to momentarily invert an unjust society . I call this kind of digital sociality a survivalist digital community, which is a form of digital sociality created by persons who need to survive a space that was not designed for people like them, and is underpinned by survivalist knowledge. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
The mental health effects of social media on young adult South Africans in the COVID-19 pandemic: a thematic analysis of social media posts by Rhodes University students
- Authors: Jubase, Hlumelo
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , College students Mental health South Africa Makhanda , Social media Influence , Action theory
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425122 , vital:72212
- Description: The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa has been mainly discussed in terms of its socioeconomic effects and loss of life. While these are important, its mental health effects are given attention in this dissertation. In particular, this is explored through social media platforms, which saw increased usage as a result of regulations on movement to slow the Virus’ spread. This is explored during the hard lockdown (or ‘Alert Level 5’) and further, focuses on young adults, key users of social media platforms. Max Weber’s ‘social action theory’ and Michel de Certeau’s ‘theory of everyday life’ are drawn on, which help to analyse social relations from an individual level; and are used to explore the kinds of expressions made on a social media platform, and what can be said in mental health terms. These theoretical frameworks are applied to a university “Confessions” page, used mostly by young adults, where submissions were made anonymously. Findings indicate a great deal of trauma associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also evidence of the emergence of collective responsibility. They show the immense sacrifices made by participants for the opportunity of an education, and provide a window into the kinds of subjectivities experienced by South African young adults. Further, they show the importance of having more substantive mental health discussions in South Africa, a country familiar with traumatic experiences. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
- Authors: Jubase, Hlumelo
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , College students Mental health South Africa Makhanda , Social media Influence , Action theory
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425122 , vital:72212
- Description: The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa has been mainly discussed in terms of its socioeconomic effects and loss of life. While these are important, its mental health effects are given attention in this dissertation. In particular, this is explored through social media platforms, which saw increased usage as a result of regulations on movement to slow the Virus’ spread. This is explored during the hard lockdown (or ‘Alert Level 5’) and further, focuses on young adults, key users of social media platforms. Max Weber’s ‘social action theory’ and Michel de Certeau’s ‘theory of everyday life’ are drawn on, which help to analyse social relations from an individual level; and are used to explore the kinds of expressions made on a social media platform, and what can be said in mental health terms. These theoretical frameworks are applied to a university “Confessions” page, used mostly by young adults, where submissions were made anonymously. Findings indicate a great deal of trauma associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also evidence of the emergence of collective responsibility. They show the immense sacrifices made by participants for the opportunity of an education, and provide a window into the kinds of subjectivities experienced by South African young adults. Further, they show the importance of having more substantive mental health discussions in South Africa, a country familiar with traumatic experiences. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
The role of Facebook in a survivor’s post-assault life: rape on campuses, women activists, and mental health
- Authors: Witi, Sinethemba Juliet
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Online social networks , Rape in universities and colleges South Africa Makhanda , Student movements South Africa Makhanda , College students Mental health South Africa Makhanda , Sex crimes South Africa Makhanda , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , Intersectionality (Sociology) , Womanism
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405952 , vital:70222
- Description: The rise of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) has raised concerns about the negative impact social media platforms, and in particular Facebook, has on their users. Research has linked the excessive use of Facebook with mental health challenges such as loneliness, depression, and stress. This research examined how Yolanda Dyantyi, a gender rights activist registered as a student from 2015 to 2017 at Rhodes University, used Facebook as an outlet following the #RUreferencelist protests and her subsequent permanent exclusion from the institution for her role in the protests. The study explored Dyanti’s use of Facebook, examining in particular her ongoing activism, her mental health challenges, and her struggles to re-establish herself in a community after the exclusion from Rhodes. The study employed an intersectional feminist theoretical framework and drew on a qualitative content analysis, a semi-structured interview, and the scroll back method to review the Facebook posts she had made. A thematic analysis of the data showed that Dyantyi is a multifaceted, and evolving Facebook user and contrary to existing research her prolific use of Facebook has had positive effects on her mental health and has enabled her to build social capital. The study suggests that activism is an important component to research alongside studies of mental health on such media platforms. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Witi, Sinethemba Juliet
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Online social networks , Rape in universities and colleges South Africa Makhanda , Student movements South Africa Makhanda , College students Mental health South Africa Makhanda , Sex crimes South Africa Makhanda , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , Intersectionality (Sociology) , Womanism
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405952 , vital:70222
- Description: The rise of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) has raised concerns about the negative impact social media platforms, and in particular Facebook, has on their users. Research has linked the excessive use of Facebook with mental health challenges such as loneliness, depression, and stress. This research examined how Yolanda Dyantyi, a gender rights activist registered as a student from 2015 to 2017 at Rhodes University, used Facebook as an outlet following the #RUreferencelist protests and her subsequent permanent exclusion from the institution for her role in the protests. The study explored Dyanti’s use of Facebook, examining in particular her ongoing activism, her mental health challenges, and her struggles to re-establish herself in a community after the exclusion from Rhodes. The study employed an intersectional feminist theoretical framework and drew on a qualitative content analysis, a semi-structured interview, and the scroll back method to review the Facebook posts she had made. A thematic analysis of the data showed that Dyantyi is a multifaceted, and evolving Facebook user and contrary to existing research her prolific use of Facebook has had positive effects on her mental health and has enabled her to build social capital. The study suggests that activism is an important component to research alongside studies of mental health on such media platforms. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Who are you? Online practices of self-representation of black gay men at Rhodes University on the geosocial networking application Grindr
- Authors: Olivier, Jason Eben
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Grindr (Computer program) , Gay men, Black South Africa Makhanda , Gay men Identity , Internet and gay men South Africa Makhanda , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , Masculinity South Africa Makhanda , Racism in the sexual minority community South Africa Makhanda , Sexism South Africa Makhanda , Rhodes University
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294851 , vital:57262
- Description: The study investigates how young black gay men at Rhodes University use technology to explore their sexual identity and focuses specifically on their self-representation choices. Incorporating qualitative semi-structured interviews and a walkthrough of Grindr, the research asked participants to share their experiences of using Grindr, a geo-social networking application, and how their self-representation practices on the site contributed to their conception of what it means to be a young black gay man online. Using a thematic analysis of the data collected from five self-identified black gay Rhodes University students, findings indicate that self-representation choices of black gay men on Grindr become a complex experience influenced by overt sexist and racist micro-aggressions in an environment where masculinities operate in a hierarchy of desire, preference, and attractiveness with race operating as an important signifier of these even in a post-Apartheid South Africa that is celebrated for its world-class Constitution. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Olivier, Jason Eben
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Grindr (Computer program) , Gay men, Black South Africa Makhanda , Gay men Identity , Internet and gay men South Africa Makhanda , Social media and college students South Africa Makhanda , Masculinity South Africa Makhanda , Racism in the sexual minority community South Africa Makhanda , Sexism South Africa Makhanda , Rhodes University
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294851 , vital:57262
- Description: The study investigates how young black gay men at Rhodes University use technology to explore their sexual identity and focuses specifically on their self-representation choices. Incorporating qualitative semi-structured interviews and a walkthrough of Grindr, the research asked participants to share their experiences of using Grindr, a geo-social networking application, and how their self-representation practices on the site contributed to their conception of what it means to be a young black gay man online. Using a thematic analysis of the data collected from five self-identified black gay Rhodes University students, findings indicate that self-representation choices of black gay men on Grindr become a complex experience influenced by overt sexist and racist micro-aggressions in an environment where masculinities operate in a hierarchy of desire, preference, and attractiveness with race operating as an important signifier of these even in a post-Apartheid South Africa that is celebrated for its world-class Constitution. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
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