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Social Media and Society

Module description

This module explores the impact of social media platforms on contemporary culture, communication, and social dynamics. You will critically examine the role of social media in shaping public opinion, identity, and social movements, while also analysing issues of privacy, ethics, and digital citizenship. The module adopts a historical perspective, tracing the emergence and development of social media platforms. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and case studies, the module encourages you to assess both the positive and negative consequences of social media on individuals and society at large. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take it.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to:

• Introduce you to the field of critical social media studies, equipping you with knowledge of key concepts in this field.
• Situate social media platforms within a broader history.
• Analyse the social, economic, cultural and political factors shaping the design of social media and their diffusion into society.
• Critically evaluate social media's ambiguous nature as both surveillance tools and artefacts for social expression and creativity.
• Enable you to develop a deep your understanding of social media platforms in relation to current and longstanding debates in media and communication studies.
• Help you develop a nuanced understanding of social media's pervasive influence in the modern world.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and critical understanding of the political, historical, social, cultural, and economic dimensions of social media platforms.
• 2. Critically discuss and reflect on recent cases, debates and examples to understand how social media are permeating a range of social institutions and practices.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Apply core, longstanding media and cultural theories to contemporary examples of social media use and evaluate the ongoing relevance of these theories.
• 4. Collate and interpret information from a range of primary and secondary sources.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Manage relevant learning resources, learning strategies and your own time confidently and independently.
• 6. Demonstrate well developed research and bibliographic skills, and an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument.

Syllabus plan

The content will vary from year to year, but it is envisioned that the module will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Identity and Self-Presentation Online
• Social Media and Public Opinion
• Digital Activism and Social Movements
• Social Media and Consumer Culture
• Misinformation and Fake News
• Social Media and Mental Health
• Algorithms and the Politics of Attention

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Burgess, J., Marwick, A., Poell, T., 2018. The SAGE Handbook of Social Media. SAGE Publications Ltd
• Fuchs, C., 2013. Social Media: A Critical Understanding. SAGE.
• Gill, R. (2021) 'Being Watched and Feeling Judged on Social Media'. Feminist Media Studies.
• Nieborg, D.B., Poell, T., and J. van Dijck. (2022) 'Platforms and Platformization'. SAGE Handbook of the Digital Media Economy. SAGE, pp. 29-49.
• Noble, S. U. (2018) Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism.
• Sadowski, J. (2020) 'How to Think About Technology'. Too Smart: How Digital Capitalism is Extracting Data, Controlling our Lives, and Taking over the World. Boston, Massachuesstes: MIT Press.

Key words search

Social Media; Platforms; Algorithms; Filter Bubbles; Fake News; Mental Health; Regulation.