Facework on Facebook

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as a New Literacy Practice?

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Conceptual Framework

• Language and Literacy – The new literacy studies; (Barton and Hamilton, 1998); Street, 2003;

• Social Network Theory;

• Facework, Presentation of Self in Everyday Life –Goffman;

• Narrative and Discourse Analysis

New Literacy Studies

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• Shift from the psychological to a social model;

• Move beyond encoding & decoding skills;

• Literacy as always context specific;

• Literacy as a social practice;

• Literacy as plural;

New Literacy Studies

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• VERNACULAR - Literacy in everyday life

• Not schooled literacy but ‘literacy under the desk’

• Text making that is not assessed but that is still important in DOING life

• Literacy as something people DO

From a socio-cultural perspective it is impossible to separate out from text-mediated social practices the bits concerned with reading or writing (or any other sense of literacy) and to treat them independently of all the non-print bits, like values and gestures, context and meaning, action and objects, talk and interaction, tools and spaces. They are all non-subtractable parts of integrated wholes. “Literacy bits” do not exist apart from the social practices in which they are embedded and in which they are acquired.

(Lankshear and Knobel, 2006:13)

New Literacies

• Digital technology

• Mobile technologies

• Multimodality

• Speed of publication

• Wide dissemination

But does this bring about anything new in terms of practice? Is this just about the tools?

• More polished performances of old practices

(Davies and Merchant, 2009)

A Call for New Research

• Are we, in our fascination with new media seeing the concomittent changes to literate practice (or cognitive processes and social practices) as more radical than they really are?

(Moje, 2009: 350)

Social network sites

• … individuals to (1) construct a public or semi public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others in the system

(boyd and Ellison 2008: 211)

Social network theorists

• Public displays of connection (Donath and boyd, 2004)

• Online spaces defined by social networks –your friends are the ‘walls’, the perimeters; (Boyd 2006)

• Sunden (2003) Writing oneself into being

• .. For teenagers, the online realm may be adopted enthusiastically because it represents their space, visible to the peer group more than to adult surveillance, an exciting yet relatively safe opportunity to conduct the psychological task of adolescence – to construct, experiment with and present a reflexive project of the self in a social context

(Livingstone, 2008:396)

The Ongoing story of the self

• Giddens 1991: our stories help us make sense of the world and our place within it;

• Hymes (1996): ‘life as a source of narrative’ … ‘slight incidents, have the potentiality of an interest that is worth re-telling’

• Langellier and Peterson (2004): people make sens of their experiences through story telling – and involve themselves in ‘cultural conversations’

Goffman

• The rituals of the everyday

• Presentation of self across domains

• Coherence of performance – taking a line

• A line is verbal and non-verbal

• Actors form part of their own audience

Goffman: On Facework

To maintain „face‟ is to acquire and

keep a positive value for the that

someone is taking

Facework describes everything

someone does in order to keep „face‟

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while concern for face focuses attention of the person on the current activity, he (sic) must, to maintain face in this activity, take into consideration his place in the social world beyond it

Research Questions

Can Literacy practices on Facebook be

considered new literacy practices?

Does Facebook provide new ways for

teenahgers to present themselves?

Does Facebook offer new ways for friendship

management?

Do Literacy practices in Facebook affect

presentations of self in other contexts (and

vice versa)?

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The Data

25 x 16 and 17 year olds

Friendship groups

One comprehensive school - A Level students

One private girls’ school – A level students

One post 16 college – ‘basic skills class’

Post 16 college – GCSE English Class

Interviews and ‘walk throughs’

Screenshots

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I joined it cos my friends were on it. They didn’t nag me to go on but people were always talking about it at school.

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I was like, you know when I read my emails, people would invite me to Facebook cos I weren’t on it. It were like when will you get on it? I was sick of emails saying like do you wanna join Facebook and that? And I was like “No”. And I just like deleted hundreds of FB invites. And finally I just said like “fair enough I’ll join”.

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You have to go on (Facebook) otherwise its like you don‟t exist.

If you are not on there, then where are you?21

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I joined about 2 years ago. I was on another network site called Bebo. And a lot of my friends had moved up. A lot of my friends were like … well it was just that Facebook seemed like a more mature person’s social

networking site. I think Bebo was aimed at a younger generation of er .. I think that Bebo was a bit more ridiculous really. And I thought that I was ready to move on really. It was nice to just start doing something a bit newer too. A bit intriguing. Also a lot of older people, like my cousins and older friends, just older people I knew of were all on Facebook and they kind of smirked

at the idea of Bebo.

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Pete reads aloud:

There‟s nothing like a bit of Mumford & Sons (a band) in the morning.

Cos this is a band I like listening to at the moment of a morning. So I have got

comments from people like my friends basically, my friend‟s girlfriend and stuff.

I have lots of comments on that really and they are making an in-joke out of it I

think.

There‟s nothing like two pairs of espadrilles for 20 pooonds

After about five seconds the topic of my conversation and status loses its

meaning cos people add stuff to it. Added an in joke, a private joke to take it on.

And you forget how it started. It‟s like a game.

This is my 363 friends and that‟s like me and this girl, we are married. as you

can see I have said I am married to this girl. We are friends but we are not

going out. It‟s just a joke.

That‟s how many friends I‟ve got. 762. I think its stupid if you add people you don‟t know. I know all these people. Well not know them KNOW them. I know who they all are. Facebook friends is not the same as normal friends. I have two best friends. And they are normal friends who I mostly talk to on chat.

I have put my friends in lists so I can sort out who sees what. .I have 4 lists That‟s what‟s quite good. You can let some people see a few things; more people see a few more things and then there‟s totally public. Well public to who you‟ve friended.

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FRIENDS

K: You know the chat thing? You can put them in groups now so that you can appear online to some and offline to others.

S: Oh do you use that?

L: I do. I have a friends list. I have a yeah list and a meah list! Theyeah list, these are the people who I’ll like - I’ll talk to, like my close friends, and meah, I don’t really like to talk to, they are on my friends list but they are annoying to talk to and they WILL talk to you if they see you are online. And you just don’t want to be doing with it. I usually have my other friends list and then my yeah and my meah. Sometimes I might move people about the different lists! I will still talk to the meah people on my wall and at school, but I don’t like talk to them on the chat bit as they’s mess it up. You know with their constant little interactions and things they say going on all the time.

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FRIENDS

• S: Also there are reasons why in the future you might want to talk to them and so you should have them as Facebook friends just in case. Like if you met someone who was from somewhere random like Rotherham, and then you found out you had to go to Rotherham, then you might contact them. So if you did not have them as your Facebook friend then you would not have that option. So it‟s a bit like keeping them in your address book even if you don‟t talk to them all the time. Only it is better than that as in fact you are sort of rubbing along and they can see stuff about you and you can see stuff about them. So if you did meet face to face, then it is easier to talk.

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FRIENDS

• I never have a photo that just has me in them cos I just feel kind of like that I will look to big headed or self centred if it is just me. So I prefer to have one of me with other people and so I just change it. If a better or nicer one comes up I change it.

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PHOTOS

• S: And yeah so if I am looking at a girl‟s photo to decide … if you fancy a girl you look on her profile and you think do I fancy her and so you have a look at all her pictures to get more of an idea if you do or not

• L: Yeah lots of people do that.

• K: Yeah

• L: And also if you want someone to fancy you you need to have a good selection of nice photos of yourself looking really good showing cos they can see your profile pictures even if you have not friended them yet.

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PHOTOS

• S: Yeah Facebook stalking. It‟s a good pastime.

• L: You have to also have a lot of friends otherwise it looks like you are sad.

• K: And pictures of yourself having a good time! You have to have those. You have to show you have friends and that you go to lots of places.

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PHOTOS

Also every picture that goes into your album for profile pictures, so like if there’s another one that you want to be laid down in history there … It’s kind of like a record of your best erm. Its kind of like the ones you are choosing what you want where its what you want to portray yourself. It is not just the ones that have been tagged. Its like the ones that you have elevated to the position of profile pictures.

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PHOTOS

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Look this is when I brought my camera to school. My profile

was looking boring and so I needed pictures to brighten it

up. So we decided to have a bit of a mad day and even the

teachers joined in. Look at this one. That was a great day in

the end, so we could put all this lot on Facebook.

PHOTOS

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... so on Friday night at the

gig, we‟re arriving as a couple

yeah? .... its gonna be well

wicked ..... just can‟t wait to

see everybody‟s Facebook on

Saturday morning.

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Name Words Likes Time

Kate

Dent

Happy Birthday Sam! 1 Saturday 10.05

Poppy

Stilgoe

Happy Birthday Sami! 1 Saturday 11.05

Sinead

Fox

Happy Birthday Sami! 1 Saturday 11.20

Beth

Little

Happy Birthday Sam 1 Saturday 11.37

Becky

Sands

Happy Birthday from me too 1 Saturday 11.54

Anita

Vashi

Happy Birthday from your favourite aunty!! Have a

good day.

1 Saturday 12.30

Ali Lord Have a great day. See you later. 1 Saturday 12.35

Samitra

Balu

Thanks everyone!! Hope to see some of you later @

Happy Wik! Message me for where we‟re going after.

Saturday 12.40

Lindsay

Barr

And Hapy Birthday from me too, Will CU laters.

Hopefully there‟ll be some good pix @ „Happy Wik‟.

1 Saturday 14.03

Samitra

Balu

I mean Happy Wok! Saturday 14.05

Person Words Likes Times

Amy Beal Lying on the sofa watching Enders 1 Friday @ 20.10

Ali Lord Me too and eating chips. Nom Nom

Nom.

1 Friday @ 20.11

Amy Beal Is that your tea? Are you calling for

me tomorrow?

Friday @ 20.11

Ali Lord No & yep . *Burp*. 6 Friday @ 20.15

Amy Beal I pay you to work not to like me. Lol Friday @ 20.20

Ali Lord Zainab Friday @ 20.22

Amy Beal Yep. I totally hate her. Such a troll. Friday @ 20.23

Ali Lord Wouldn‟t it be totally mint to live in

Albert Square

2 Friday @ 20.23

Amy Beal ROTFL. Nightmare more like. Friday @ 20.27

Ali Lord Have you done your statement thing

yet? I‟m thinking of putting something

about being an expert on Enders.

Friday @ 20.30

Amy Beal And Facebook. Lol ))))))) Friday @ 20.31

Ali Lord Popular Culture Consultant. Friday @ 20.31

Amy Beal OMG!!! PCC. Let‟s go on chat. I need

to ask you something. Have you got

time?

Friday @ 20.33

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Name Words Likes Time

Manjinder

Singh

Some people think they are so great Saturday

21.03

Leni Khan Some of us ARE 3 Saturday

21.15

Manjinder

Singh

Too true. *Looks in mirror* Lol Saturday

21.16

Leni Khan I just think that by the time you are in year 12 you

should act a bit more mature. It‟s like they think

there about 14. Well they think they act 20. But

actually its about 14. Or 12. (you know who you

are, you perthetic (sp??)immature people yeah)

Saturday

21.20

Manjinder

Singh

I know who you mean. I‟m not going to Biol on

Monday anyhow.

Saturday

21.22

Manjinder

Singh

I‟ve run out of credit. Can you text our Sanj for

me? I want to ask her to bring me a Chinese on

her way home.

Saturday

21.25

Leni Khan K but you have to message me her number

though.

Saturday

21.25

Manjinder

Singh

K. Sent it! Saturday

21.27

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Time Likes

LynnePound

Friday18.31

4 So I’ve just made some spicy potato wedges

Tom Friday18.32

Yum

LynnePound

Friday18.32

And now I’m eating them

Tom Friday18.34

Let me taste

LynnePound

Friday18.35

There you go

Tom Friday18.38

Delicious. I’ll wash up my dear

LynnePound

Friday18.39

Not in your best suit my sweet

SooLin

Saturday 9.46

6 Are you two mad?

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Time Likes

Richard Tweed Sunday17.10

Down in the dumps

Kelvin James 17.45 Been dumped?

Richard Tweed 17.50 In my status

Kelvin James 17.52 No no No! *sings*

Richard Tweed 17.54 You don‟t love me and I know now! LOL

Kelvin James 19.05 Are you gonna do some culling?

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Matthew Longden Tuesday15.11

12 So Look here.

Tom Smith Tuesday15.12

5 Mentalist

Simon Madison Tuesday15.35

No mate you cant get me Im not looking

Matthew Longden 16.36 Sorry. I was just too quick. And you’re to sl-o-o-o-o-o-ow.

Tom Smith Madison is slow. A slow worm .

• Display of friendships as performance to self and others;

• Management of the future and of the past;

• Public/Private domains merging and being re-defined on a moment by moment basis;

• Visibility and invisibility possible – for reading as well as performing;

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• Preservation of traditional rituals, conventions and practices; (Birthdays etc);

• New conventions and rituals emerging to enact traditional practices & self presentation (e.g. poking; liking);

• Blending of old and new rituals and ways of performing the self

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Routinised presentation of self in everyday lifeContextualised construction of credentialsNew Social Literacy Practices

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j.a.davies@sheffield.ac.uk

http://www.digital-literacies.com/

Photo credits … thanks to all

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/58847482@N03/5766026059/in/set-72157626036836006/

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsey-nicole/5834992756/in/pool-394185@N23/

• http://www.educationinnovating.org/2010/12/is-technology-distraction

• http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/412918/enlarge