Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings
A problem of the growing popularity of cross-cultural social media studies is the lack of discrimination between the effects of user characteristics and those of the architecture of a virtual platform interface. This makes the detected cultural differences unreliable. A way to solve this problem is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
2018-10-01
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| Series: | Слово.ру: балтийский акцент |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4096/12296/ |
| _version_ | 1811276679874609152 |
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| author | Shchekoturov A. V. |
| author_facet | Shchekoturov A. V. |
| author_sort | Shchekoturov A. V. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A problem of the growing popularity of cross-cultural social media studies is the lack of discrimination between the effects of user characteristics and those of the architecture of a virtual platform interface. This makes the detected cultural differences unreliable. A way to solve this problem is a comparative study of social media interfaces only, seeking to identify the culturally constituted meanings embedded in the design of virtual platforms. These meanings are employed in the users’ virtual self-presentation. I analysed Facebook and VKontakte – two large social media platforms originating from the countries with different cultural values and social expectations. My focus was on the principal categories of identification and virtual self-presentation. These are gender, sexuality, marital status, attitudes, and personal preferences. The comparative analysis of interfaces was carried out from the perspective of a change in the linguistic projection (which happens when the user switches from Russian to English and vice versa). I detected significant differences in all the categories analysed. I conclude that the Vkontakte platform reflects traditional patriarchal values and the Facebook platform those of pluralism and subject-centricity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:02:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-141acb23fe2a47f2afc7d3e36b98d9a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2225-5346 2686-8989 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:02:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018-10-01 |
| publisher | Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Слово.ру: балтийский акцент |
| spelling | doaj.art-141acb23fe2a47f2afc7d3e36b98d9a52022-12-22T03:11:19ZengImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal UniversityСлово.ру: балтийский акцент2225-53462686-89892018-10-0194435310.5922/2225-5346-2018-4-4Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meaningsShchekoturov A. V. 0 Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal UniversityA problem of the growing popularity of cross-cultural social media studies is the lack of discrimination between the effects of user characteristics and those of the architecture of a virtual platform interface. This makes the detected cultural differences unreliable. A way to solve this problem is a comparative study of social media interfaces only, seeking to identify the culturally constituted meanings embedded in the design of virtual platforms. These meanings are employed in the users’ virtual self-presentation. I analysed Facebook and VKontakte – two large social media platforms originating from the countries with different cultural values and social expectations. My focus was on the principal categories of identification and virtual self-presentation. These are gender, sexuality, marital status, attitudes, and personal preferences. The comparative analysis of interfaces was carried out from the perspective of a change in the linguistic projection (which happens when the user switches from Russian to English and vice versa). I detected significant differences in all the categories analysed. I conclude that the Vkontakte platform reflects traditional patriarchal values and the Facebook platform those of pluralism and subject-centricity.https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4096/12296/social mediavkontaktefacebookmeaningself-presentationidentifica-tioninterfacerepresentation of culture |
| spellingShingle | Shchekoturov A. V. Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings Слово.ру: балтийский акцент social media vkontakte meaning self-presentation identifica-tion interface representation of culture |
| title | Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings |
| title_full | Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings |
| title_fullStr | Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings |
| title_short | Social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings |
| title_sort | social media interfaces as a representation of cultural meanings |
| topic | social media vkontakte meaning self-presentation identifica-tion interface representation of culture |
| url | https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4096/12296/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shchekoturovav socialmediainterfacesasarepresentationofculturalmeanings |