technoculture203-09

While at work I began talking to my boss about Facebook. Recently we had a increase of absentees and my boss began to joke about checking their Facebook pages. This got me thinking about whether or not he should be allowed or had the right to check it out. I questioned him and he said why not, its public and since he has access, he has the ability to look into what they put on their pages. I then began to wonder whether he’s been checking my page out whenever I called in sick, I have to admit I have pulled "sickies" in the past and began wondering whether he’s looked me up in Facebook to see whether or not I was legitimately absent due to medical reasons.

I agree with Boyd and that the cost of social convergence is our privacy, we lose the control over information, for instance the newsfeeds on Facebook, although all the information was public for anyone to see, it wasn’t as exposed and in your face as it is now, it’s all somewhat advertised so whenever you make a change to your page, add a group or leave a comment on someone’s page it’s like “HEY, LOOK I JUST DID!” I guess I have to agree that whatever information we choose to upload online it should be accessible and to anyone, but maybe only those who I choose to.

I know that the internet is a public place and if I choose to upload something then I should be prepared for others to see it. Or if you still don’t have the balls then use a fake name lol. It’s like wearing a hideous knitted jumper I got for Christmas from my grandmother, when I wear it out while shopping I can’t really stop people from staring because I chose to wear it out where everyone can see me, so if you choose to put info up online then be prepared for people to read. One thing is sure, I’m going to be a lot more cautious the next time I call in sick.

The boss might be watching!

Gaming culture is largely masculine oriented, and has changed very little despite the increase in female players. Interestingly, we can also see gender stereotyping in the games which are designed specifically for women, “girl games” may be based around the same stereotypes of women which are considered undesirable in mainstream games.

With more casual online games (associated with escapism), such as WoW, Second Life etc, there are gender issues, such as the hypersexualization of avatars or role playing. In other games where the competitive aspect of game playing is prioritized (where competitiveness is certainly not only a male trait!), we can observe a different dynamic, which is created through the use of voice chat software. This is an interesting element of gaming which works against masculine gaming culture, where “no girls on the internet” does not apply in confrontation with a real voice. The artificiality of the game environment is highlighted, and hypersexualized avatars are not so relevant, with a switch in focus to the social relation of the team. We may as well complain of phallic chess pieces, when this is not of concern to this type of gamer.

It is not useful to highlight “gender differences”, as the number of women playing video games is increasing, and the game industry may well adapt and focus on creating games that avoid sexist stereotypes. Gaming culture and industry must change, as we can still see advertising that presupposes a male buyer. However, for what ideas of progression we might have, the problem still exists where the current games offered may not encourage female players, and subsequently there will be less female game designers, and the cycle of a masculine gaming culture will continue.