Participatory Social Media Culture

Participatory culture theory is essentially the idea that we as individuals don’t act as only consumers on social media, but also producers. So, on social media we take in content but we also have the unique ability to produce content. In addition to this, we also have the autonomy to decide on how much we want to produce. Those who are ore private may choose not post or to post only a little. On the contrary, those who are more open, will choose to share more of their life.

Right now, in my own experience I have been able to participate in social media alongside civic engagement. I have a fellowship with a non-profit organization, and during the campaign season of September and October we participated in civic engagement primarily on social media. The entire fellowship was online, but to execute our campaigns and projects, it had to be posted on social media. For example, my group project was demonstrating Generational Unity. My group made a plethora of videos, art pieces, and media to promote on the non-profit social media accounts as well as ours to show our followers the power of generational unity in voting.

Additionally, I see myself classified as both and affiliate user and circulator. Jenkins describes and affiliate user as someone engaged in forms of memberships. I am in many Facebook groups that I had to ask to join or be a part of. For example, my sorority has a private Facebook group, or the UMN Class of 2022 has a group as well. Jenkins describes a circulator as someone who contributes to the circulation of social media. In my experience sharing social media posts like IG stories or reposting someone’s Facebook post is a way I have contributed by being a circulator.

In the start of quarantine, I was physically seeing less and less of my loved ones so I posted more and engaged more on social media. But now, after almost 10 months of socially distancing myself I have grown tired of social media. I recently decided that I will probably be deleting all my social media in a personal sense, so I won’t be sharing as much. I want to live a more private life, and I don’t want too much of my information online. But one day, I can see myself returning just for that instant validation aspect.