On Wednesday 2nd October, we were joined by Andrea Lathrop and Yunchang Yang, two final-year PhD Researchers from UCL's Anthropology Department to discuss our panel on Using Social Media in Research.
Our Speakers: Andrea Lathrop is a UCL Anthropology PhD Researcher and her research looks at "Media Temporality and the persistence of Polaroid in the Digital Age". Her research looks at the Polaroid "revival" phenomenon how the Polaroid photography practice is conducted in local (physical) communities and online communities. Her methodology involved a multi-sited ethnography in London and Vienna as well as analysis of Polaroid practice on Ebay and Facebook. Her research provides a new perspective of looking at media as not only the transmitter of content but also the enabler of sociality. Yunchang Yang is a UCL Anthropology PhD Researcher whose recently submitted his thesis entitled “Photography and social life: An ethnography of Chinese amateur photography online”. Looking at the production, circulation, consumption and different aesthetic strategies of photography, Yunchang's project aims to provide insights on themes such as self-identification, conspicuous consumption, the elite imagination cosmopolitanism and the social stratification in China. Here are some of our highlights from the panel... As anthropologists, why is it important to research social media? Both Andrea and Yunchang considered social media as a fundamental part for all fields of research nowadays as the internet is more or less becoming an extension of people’s everyday lives. It is impossible to separate social media out of the equation when studying human behaviour and culture. How has social media changed photography? Has it democratised photography? Andrea believed the growing popularity of the internet has made photography more accessible to a wider range of people. It is not necessarily about photography being democratised. Through observing the digital platforms, including Facebook and eBay, she believed the circulation of knowledge was largely facilitated and, therefore, the Polaroid practice was promoted. It was through social media that Andrea was able to locate communities that conducted Polaroid photography and follow the practice from London to Vienna. Meanwhile, Yunchang expressed that in some ways photography has become more democratised by social media because it has allowed for different social groups to practice photography and circulate their images. It can create a sense of social integration. Reflecting on his ethnographic study of the British Rain Group, a photography community, that posted on TuCheng — one of the prestigious Chinese photo-sharing websites -- Yunchang believed the internet was a great platform for people to find others that had similar interests. Yunchang made an interesting analogy where “every individual is like an independent island floating on the sea of images”. These “islands” are integrated through social media when they detect similarities of factor such as image quality and aesthetic strategies. However, it also resulted in confrontations and conflicts between people as they found difference while viewing the images. It even created a “disdain chain” among different classes of consumers as the quality of their equipment and their photography practices vary. In this way, photographic practices on social media have also contributed to social disintegration. Why the PhD and advice for future researchers... Both Andrea and Yunchang expressed a PhD provided a great chance for them to freely explore their interest areas. Andrea's research has enabled her to more closely look at one particular area that she found interesting during her Master's and fully immerse herself into the work for three or even more years. Meanwhile, she also encouraged everyone to find their interests by involving themselves in interdisciplinary studies. If you're interested in our panellists' area of research, Andrea suggested coming to UCL Anthropology's Seminar Series running weekly. Open to all.
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March 2021
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