Roderick Graham

The Stylization of Internet Life?: Predictors of Internet Leisure Patterns Using Digital Inequality and Status Group Perspectives

This research addresses the question: What are the predictors of internet leisure patterns? With the barriers to internet access receding the question can be asked: Whether or not social groups are beginning to distinguish themselves through different types of internet activities? This research will focus on the domain of internet leisure and entertainment within the United States population. Internet leisure is measured in this study by playing games, doing hobbies, reading, watching videos and listening to music. Predictors are drawn from a digital inequality and a Weberian status group perspective. Binary logistic regression models are run on a nationally representative survey from the Pew Research Centers Internet and American Life Project (N = 2013). This research suggests that: (1) both digital inequality and status group perspectives tend to work together to explain all internet activities, but a status group perspective provides more explanation for leisure patterns, (2) internet leisure is best conceptualised as a form of popular culture with minorities and people of low socioeconomic status consuming leisure at higher rates.

Group differences in attitudes towards technology among Americans

What are the key indicators determining groups’ attitudes towards the use of ICT in the United States? Nationally representative data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (N = 4100) were used to address this question. This research found that (1) the most salient divider in the American population with respect to attitudes towards ICT is education; (2) the two social groups reporting the highest levels of social improvement were respondents under the age of 30, and older African-Americans with low educational levels; (3) higher income but lower educated respondents who are over 30 and are not African-Americans report relatively low levels of social improvement. In effect, the population surveyed was stratified based upon their attitudes about ICT use in their everyday life. This stratification system is clearly of a different nature than our past understanding of haves and have-nots based upon ICT access.

Inter-ideological mingling: White extremist ideology entering the mainstream on Twitter

ABSTRACT This case study explores the convergence of white extremist political ideology with mainstream political ideology on the micro-blogging platform Twitter – a phenomenon termed “inter-ideological mingling”. Exploring the spread of white extremism in the digital environment can provide insight into the growth of hate groups in the physical environment. A sample of 4800 tweets was examined through hierarchical cluster analysis and textual analysis. Several pieces of evidence were found supporting inter-ideological mingling. Cluster analysis shows that extremist terms are not isolated from terms found in mainstream political discourse. Textual analysis of individual tweets provides evidence for five strategies of inter-ideological mingling: joining, blending, piggybacking, backstaging, and narrating.

The Content of Our #Characters Black Twitter as Counterpublic

Much media attention has been placed on “Black Twitter,” a collective composed primarily of African Americans who have managed to effect change through the microblogging platform Twitter. Organized around the hashtag #BlackTwitter, this collection of users has been credited with injecting uniquely black concerns and perspectives into the national discourse. However, Black Twitter as an entity has not been theoretically contextualized and grounded in empirical research. In this research, the authors situate Black Twitter within the public sphere–counterpublic literature and ask the question: can Black Twitter be understood as a counterpublic? The authors compare Black Twitter, as indicated by the #BlackTwitter hashtag, with hashtags indicating the public sphere—#TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter) for conservatives and #UniteBlue for progressives—and with a hashtag indicating another potential counterpublic—#BCOT (Black Conservatives on Twitter). Using a corpus of 16,000 tweets collected during a 10-day period, comparisons were made in interaction patterns (tweets, favorites, and replies) and thematic content. The findings suggest that compared with other hashtags and the publics they represent, #BlackTwitter possesses more of the characteristics of a counterpublic.

DIVIDING LINES: An empirical examination of technology use and Internet activity among African-Americans

Using 2007 data from the Pew Research Centers Internet and American Life Project, this study poses the question: ‘What are distinct groups within the African-American population with respect to technology ownership and Internet activity?’ Several findings are reported. Factor analysis reveals a structure of technology preferences for African-Americans. For the consumption of technology, two broad preferences present themselves: mainly consuming portable, ‘mobile technologies’ or mainly consuming ‘home technologies’. For Internet activity, the authors identify three preferences: a preference for youth-oriented Internet activity, information-oriented activity, or a preference for adult-oriented activity. Using classification and regression tree analysis, six distinct groups within the population present themselves, with education being the most important variable in creating these groups. The six groups vary widely on their technology and Internet preferences, suggesting that future research focusing on differences within the African-American population is needed.

The function of music education in the growth of cultural openness in the USA

This study asks the question: What is the relationship between cultural omnivorousness and music education in the USA? Cultural omnivorousness is a general disposition towards the consumption of culture in which the person possessing such an attitude is open to consuming a broad range of cultural products. Survey data used for this analysis comes from the Cultural Policy and the Arts National Data Archives Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002. A total of 17,135 completed surveys were collected from a sample of US households. The sample was selected using a stratified, multistage, clustered design and drawn from Census Bureau population counts. Several conclusions are derived from the findings. First, although causality cannot be determined, people who have taken music education classes are more omnivorous than people who do not take music education classes. Second, music education can potentially mitigate symbolic boundaries between racial groups through an increase in omnivorousness for minorities. Third, music education increases omnivorousness in a discriminating fashion. Music education increases the liking of some genres while having no effect or decreasing the liking of other genres, especially country music. This third conclusion mirrors past findings suggesting that while society is favouring racial and ethnic inclusion, cultural openness does not extend to social groups with low levels of educational attainment.

Capable Guardians in the Digital Environment: The Role of Digital Literacy in Reducing Phishing Victimization

ABSTRACT In this study, we use Routine Activities Theory to explore the role of digital literacy, a measure of guardianship, in the receipt of and response to phishing. Data for the study come from a nationally representative survey conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons. The analysis results in two conclusions. First, respondents with higher levels of digital literacy report receiving phishing e-mails more often, but report responding to them less. Second, the social position of a respondent matters, but largely for the receipt of phishing. These findings indicate that digital literacy significantly effects the receipt of and response to phishing.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Inequality in the Digital Environment

The purpose of this special issue is to explore social inequalities in the digital environment. The motivation for this issue is derived from the disproportionate focus on technological and economic aspects of the Information Society to the detriment of sociological and cultural aspects. The research presented here falls along three dimensions of inequality. Two papers explore the ways that race orders interaction online. A second pair of papers explores the experiences of technology users with physical and mental disabilities. A final paper looks at gender, and the higher rates of intimate partner violence experienced by women online. Taken as a whole, these five papers highlight some of the ways that the digital environment can reproduce or mitigate inequalities that have been molded and routinized in the physical environment. [...]

African American Digital Practices: Mobile E-Health and Residential Segregation

ABSTRACT We ask two questions about the relationship between race, using mobile phones for e-health, and living in segregated neighborhoods: Are racial differences associated with using mobile phones for e-health, especially as they relate to African Americans? Is living in segregated neighborhoods associated with changes in mobile phone usage? We merge the National Trends Survey (HINTS) conducted by the National Cancer Institute, for information on e-health, and the US 2010 project, for the necessary measures of residential segregation. Multilevel models (Level 1 N = 2,023, Level 2 N = 183) produced two major conclusions. First, African Americans exhibit unique “digital practices” vis-à-vis e-health, such that they use e-health to share personal diagnostic information less than whites but use e-health for more practical, logistical uses than do whites. Second, residential segregation is associated with digital practices; however, considering racial differences in where people live does not reduce racial differences in e-health patterns.

Associations between cyberbullying victimization and deviant health risk behaviors

Abstract The primary aim of this study is to establish associations between cyberbullying victimization and health risk behaviors that have been traditionally linked to juvenile delinquency. These “deviant health risk behaviors” include drug use, alcohol use, and sex with multiple partners. A secondary aim is to compare the effects of cyberbullying on these deviant health risk behaviors to the effects of physical bullying. Models are estimated using the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n = 15,624). The findings showed that cyberbullying victimization is positively associated with each deviant health risk behavior predicted. The magnitude of this association increased when respondents reported being both cyberbullied and physically bullied. When comparing the effects of cyberbullying to physical bullying, the findings showed that respondents who were cyberbullied reported higher rates of each deviant health risk behavior. Establishing these associations is important for scholars and education professionals as they point to another pathway through which a young person can adopt delinquent or problematic behavior.