Case Studies
The commenting section of new media, including social media and general Internet sites, has gathered a negative reputation. Through both an observational and research based perspective, researchers have investigated the presence and effects of online comments. The case studies will examine an existing research study entitled “Effects of Online Comments on Smokers’ Perception of Antismoking Public Service Announcements” and my own analysis of “Humans of New York” to showcase the effect of commenting and human connection that can be fostered in online commentary.
YouTube
A 2012 BuzzFeed article Who Has The Worst Commenters On The Internet? An Investigation attempted to determine what type of online website had the worst comment on the Internet. This is not the type of competition that one would be fighting to win, and among the many contenders was the notorious YouTube, who ultimately took the title for worst comments on the Internet. The explanation justifies this decision:
“Why? YouTube is a comment disaster on an unprecedented scale. All of the worst things that could be said have been said here…YouTube comments read like gibberish and don’t really seem connected to one another. Content ranges from typed grunts to racist sentence fragments to nonsensical homophobic outbursts. Nothing is off-limits. The only way these comments could be worse is if Google’s spam filters stopped working completely...
Sliver of hope: I mean, you can’t see comments on embedded YouTube videos, so that’s nice. But really there isn’t one (Herrman, 2012).”
In an attempt to examine the commentary presented on YouTube, a 2014 study by Rui Shi, Paul Messaris, and Joseph N. Cappella examined whether comments influenced the assessment by succeeding viewers on antismoking PSAs. The article classifies commentary as a form of online recommendation, as comments have the ability to convey how and why they feel the way that they do regarding a certain topic or content (2014). The result of recommendation systems such as comments is “creating the sense that a social consensus exists and in the process of presenting that consensus increasing pressures for conformity” (2014). Knowing this, it is logical that the comments of other users have the ability to sway and affect the way that others will comment.
An important aspect of this research was the use of incivility, which refers to inclusion of profane language. This concept can also be referred to as “flaming” (2014). According to this research, the presence of uncivil language is more prevalent and obvious in computer-mediated communication as oppose to in person interactions. The researchers claim, “A survey of YouTube users finds flaming to be common among commenters who used offensive language because they perceive flaming as normative (2014).” It is interesting to consider what is considered “normative” on computer-mediated communication as opposed to in person, and also can serve as an explanation for why BuzzFeed rated YouTube as worst comments on the Internet.
While this study is focused on YouTube, negative and cruel comments linger on every aspect of the Internet. However, with so much time and energy put into examining the negative, very few people stop to comment on the positives. The following analysis attempts to shed light onto this glimmer of hope and can also be demonstrated in the “Samples” tab which exemplifies this first hand.
Humans of New York and PostSecret
Quite the opposite of YouTube’s comments are the comments found on the sensationalized Humans of New York (HONY) photographs. In fact, BuzzFeed recently released an article entitled “This Humans of New York Photo Has The Best Comment Section On Internet (2015).” Humans of New York was created in 2010 by Brandon Stanton, who did not begin his career in photography, but actually as a bond trader. He began traveling and exploring different cities across the US and photographed the world that he saw. Ultimately, he settled back in New York and began what is known today as HONY. Stanton “discovered the power of social media” (Stanton, 2013) and used it to elevate the popularity of the phenomenon. The HONY photos are now available on all forms of social media, including Facebok, Instagram, and Tumblr. Once starting a Humans of New York Facebook page, he was able to achieve half a million followers in just one year.
As time progressed, Stanton did not just take photos of his subjects, but also interviewed them, which was included within the photos as the caption. Based off of the caption, it is unclear to the reader what Stanton asked them in order to provoke those results. In other words, how long did they have the conversation for? What did he ask them in order to evoke such profound responses? Not all of the photos and interviews are deeply personal, as some are simple and humorous. As a follower of HONY I began to notice something unique—the majority of the comments on these photos were filled with positivity, kindness, and empathy.
HONY allows users to connect with a person’s story. It is not often that people are able to open up and be vulnerable, especially to the mass audience on the Internet. The success of the original HONY encouraged other photographers in other cities such as Chicago and Detroit and even London to follow in Stanton’s footprints. The HONY concept has spread to most major cities, although none have reached the incredible success as the original account. This represents that the idea of sharing one’s stories is a universally accepted concept. HONY embodies what Nicholas Christakis discussed in his TED talk, “the world needs now is more connections.”
Fortunately, this is not unique to HONY but can be seen through other initiatives. PostSecret was created by Frank Warren in 2004 with the goal of allowing people to open up about secrets that they never had the opportunity to express. When he started, Frank made 3,000 postcards and invited “people to share a secret with me: something that was true, something they had never told anyone” (Warren, 2005). Today, PostSecret still remains existent and people continue to anonymously mail their secrets on a postcard. While this did not begin in a digital setting, PostSecret is now seen on SNS such as Facebook and Instagram. The commentary on these intimate photos can resemble the same empathy seen in the HONY commentary and can been seen within the samples section.
*Photo taken from PostSecret
Conclusion
Social media is, and always will be, a part of our lives. Instead of focusing on the negative effects, I suggest that research and users continue to investigate the power of social networks. While social media, specifically the comment section, does present potential problems and concerns, it is important to realize that the human connection can still be conveyed and fostered through a computer screen. If we continue to think of social media and the Internet as a dark tunnel, then we will never take the time to appreciate the acts of kindness that are embedded within the comments. I recommend that websites continue to experiment with monitoring comments, yet caution the restriction of comments in their entirety. Without comments, social media would just be media. The social component is created through the ability to interact—for the better and for the worse.
Examining social media and the comments within it remind us that everyone has a story to tell. They help us to consider what is the power of telling a story? More importantly, what is the benefit of listening? A comment conveys that the user is in fact listening. They understand, they feel, and they responded. Initiatives like PostSecret and Humans of New York, among other social media sites, allow users to be vulnerable. They show us the power of human connection and remind us that we all have a story—all you have to do is ask.
Project References
Brossard, Dominique, and Dietram A. Scheufele. This Story Stinks. The New York Times. 02 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/opinion/sunday/this-story-stinks.html?_r=0
Cherubini, F., Waldhorn, A. (2013). Online comment moderation: emerging best practices. Germany: Darmstadt, The World Association of Newspapers WAN-IFRA. Http://www wan-ifra. org/reports/2013/10/04/online-comment-moderation-emerging-best-practices (17.9. 2014).
Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230.
Herrman, J. Who Has The Worst Commenters On The Internet? An Investigation. BuzzFeed. 2 May 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/who-has-the-worst-commenters-on-the-internet-an-i#.vtVLlJloa
Mack, D. This Humans Of New York Photo Has The Best Comment Section On The Internet. BuzzFeed. 5 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/never-never-read-the-comments?utm_term=.nc8eExLdO#.gedvjMP5W7
North, A. What Your Online Comments Say About You. New York Times. 14 Feb. 2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2015.
Seargeant, P., Tagg, C. (2014). The Language of Social Media: Identity and Community on the Internet. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Shi, R., Messaris, P., & Cappella, J. N. (2014). Effects of online comments on smokers' perception of antismoking public service announcements. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 19(4), 975-990.
Stanton, B. (2013). Humans of New York. St. Martin's Press.
Stroud, N. J., Scacco, J. M., Muddiman, A., & Curry, A. L. (2014). Changing deliberative norms on news organizations' Facebook sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. doi: 10.1111/jcc4.12104.
Walther, J. B., & Jang, J. W. (2012). Communication processes in participatory websites. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 18(1), 2-15.
Warren, F. (2005). PostSecret: Extraordinary confessions from ordinary lives. Harper Collins.
Wellman, B., Salaff, J., Dimitrova, D., Garton, L., Gulia, M., & Haythornthwaite, C. (1996). Computer networks as social networks: Collaborative work, telework, and virtual community. Annual review of sociology, 213-238.
