Social Media and Everyday Politics

by Tim Highfield

From selfies and memes to hashtags and parodies, social media are used for mundane and personal expressions of political commentary, engagement, and participation. The coverage of politics reflects the social mediation of everyday life, where individual experiences and thoughts are documented and shared online.

In Social Media and Everyday Politics , Tim Highfield examines political talk as everyday occurrences on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Tumblr, Instagram, and more. He considers the personal and the political, the serious and the silly, and the everyday within the extraordinary, as politics arises from seemingly banal and irreverent topics. The analysis features international examples and evolving practices, from French blogs to Vines from Australia, via the Arab Spring, Occupy, #jesuischarlie, Eurovision, #blacklivesmatter, Everyday Sexism, and #illridewithyou.

This timely book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars in media and communications, internet studies, and political science, as well as general readers keen to understand our contemporary media and political contexts

Genres: Nonfiction

220 pages, Paperback

Published April 25, 2016

Reviews

[Dirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Highfield provides an excellent overview over the 'political' use of social media. By describing social media activities as 'political' Highfield includes not only the activities of politicians and political parties but also everyday activities that are produced to express or perform political interests.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Social Media and Everyday Politics by Tim Highfield talks about how social media is an important part of political engagement and how it can affect everyday life. The author explains how social media apps like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can be used as a place where people can talk about their political views and opinions. People can use memes, stories, and hashtags to express their political views. He argues that social media has changed the way people use political participation by bringing it together with their personality by sharing what is truly on their mind.
Highfield’s argument is the concept of “everyday politics,” which is how political issues play into everyday social media activities. Unlike formal political participation, like voting or going to rallies, everyday politics and social media uses examples such as posts and hashtags. These actions can get rid of the boundaries between someone’s private life and the public. This allows people to express how they feel in a playful and fun way.
Highfield goes into detail about the power of social media and how it can bring out important conversations and topics. Social media apps provide people with resources to speak out towards higher power, strengthen communities, and raise awareness about social justice issues. Hashtags like #BLM and #MeToo are good examples about how using social media can turn into significant political movements. However, Highfield also acknowledges the risks of using social media such as fake news, echo chambers, filter bubbles, and cyber bullying.
The book also studies the views of political engagement on social media. People usually use humor and visual media, such as memes and GIFs, to talk about their own political messages. This type of expression not only makes political content more engaging, it also allows people to talk about important and sensitive topics while having a sense of humor or make the conversation a little easier. Highfield emphasizes that these practices are not wrong, he claims that they reflect how people express themselves comfortably on social media.
Overall, Highfield argues that social media has changed political participation. People now have access to an infinite amount of information and conversations with people they may never meet in person. By looking at the similarities between everyday practices and political life, the book deeply talks about how social media has greatly impacted everyday politics and the way people can use it to talk about big issues in our society. Highfield’s book talks about how social media continues to reshape the way we understand and participate in political life.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Social Media and Everyday Politics, by Tim Highfield, details the affairs that go on between individuals, including those in political positions and young individuals in accordance to trends on the internet. Topics range from individual experiences, major political events, and the views of social media corporations. If one desires to be more informed in journalism, political sciences, or perhaps get a better idea of different perspectives on the internet, this book may serve as a good source.
The author begins by describing how politics often becomes intertwined with people's daily lives through social media in the first chapter, and then leads into how occurrences in the news affect political culture on the internet, such as hashtags like #blacklivesmatter. Afterwards, he explains how innovations like blogs have revolutionized social media and gathers emphasis on how power has been spread as a result, stating “The impact of the internet on established ideas of power, within the realms of media and politics, has been the subject of much theorization and empirical research”. In other words, one's political mindset may develop through the internet, and therefore, “states and governments, mass media, who determine access, control and information” may exercise power over social media. This idea would be beneficial to any individual who wishes to further their understanding of political discussion online as it provides the notion that a flow of information has authoritative figures behind it. The author proceeds to speak on how such people may get behind such information and begin movements such as the Me Too Movement, or Occupy, and then how political parties may use it to further their agendas. Just as he explains by concluding, politics in social media will aid those who are interested in research within that area, and therefore, this book would be a valuable recommendation.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, mostly descriptive overview of the practice of everyday politics with/through/on social media. It lacks theoretical depth and doesn't offer any particularly illuminating insights. Would be good for an undergrad course on media and politics.