Yi-Fu Tuan said “Place is security, space is freedom…” (Tuan, 1979, p.3) but to what extent is this statement true when we consider social networking?
Regarding the social network Tumblr, place and space are two distinctly separate concepts. Initially, the idea that place is security is extremely vague as there are many ‘places’ within the Tumblr space. The many places within this space create a community unlike any other. This vast community obscures the idea of security.
See, Tumblr makes quite the claim to be a politically and socially just community however this crusader-type attitude has fostered a bandwagon mentality within the network. Whilst this can be a powerfully positive force as was mentioned in the week two lecture by Kuttainen (2015) it can also be unwelcoming. On many occasions the ‘Tumblr army’ has crucified a user for making a comment which they deemed inappropriate or offensive. This immense place ensures security for those who fit within the ‘Tumblr’ aesthetic and mind-frame, but is clearly less welcoming to those who are not ‘on-board’.
On the other hand, the concept of space is unmistakeably more welcoming on Tumblr. The network allows one to create their own personalised space, to express their ideas, “…to share joy…” as CulturedVultures’s Marie Coyle puts it (2015). Tumblr gives its users the freedom of space in the form of a personal blog to express what they want to and be who they want to without ever needing to reveal who they actually are. Their space is a representation of their individualised freedom which is ever-changing and easily manipulated by whatever post catches their eye or fits in with their blog ‘aesthetic’. Through the individualism of their blogs, Tumblr users are given arguably one of the most vital forms of power, a self-empowerment rooted in the satisfaction of self-definition.
Overall, welcoming spaces and places within the Tumblr community are concepts dependant on the mentality of the community and the intentional design of an individualised space.
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| Is there space enough to actually Tumble? |
References
Coyle, M. (2015, August 8th) Does Tumblr Breed a Culture of Negativity? Retrieved from http://culturedvultures.com/tumblr-breed-culture-negativity/
Hoequist, I. (2011) Retrieved from http://blogs.oberlin.edu/community/student_organizations/i_crave_mats_an.shtml
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, week 2 notes[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Tuan, Y. (1979) Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. USA: Edward Arnold Ltd.
I definitely agree, based on my past experiences with Tumblr, that the community has the tendency to bandwagon and group up to rally, and this could end positively (stopping a hate blog for example) but there is a good number of times it’s goes beyond reason and a user under this flame will have no choice but to delete their online presence, in fear of this crowd of unquenchable anger, because they had a different opinion. So Tumblr becomes this space of discussions, reasoning and hugs, but only if you’re on their side.
ReplyDeleteSo those with the more connections, the more backers are the ones with power, the power that can *ba-doom* delete blogs. Much like what is addressed in our Week 3 lecture slides “Power comes out of connections, out of relationships”.
On what you said about Tumblr being a space of welcoment, I also agree, you really can be whoever you want in your own spaces and you’re sure to find others who will share the same interests, views and thoughts.
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References
Van Luyn, A. (2015). BA1002 Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place. Townsville. Retrived from
https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1980982-dt-content-rid-2670854_1/xid-2670854_1