Location, safety and (non) strangers in gay men’s narratives on ‘hook-up’ apps

Hook-up websites and apps are said to be transforming the sexual lives of gay men and have been linked with the apparent erosion of gay publics as the basis for identity politics and social action. This article examines these dynamics in the interview and focus-group talk of gay men living on the economic and geographical margins of metropolitan gay culture. It offers perspectives on the importance of location – class, generation and space – for the experience of digital media, the negotiation of safety, and the new codifications and elaborations on sex with the (non) stranger; a figure who is not alien, yet not familiar, in sexual sociality. Reflecting on these situated perspectives in connection with debates on the erosion of gay publics, this article argues against monolithic framings of gay men’s sexual lives after digital media

SMS Text-Messaging and the Nigerian Christian Context: Constructing Values and Sentiments

The Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM) in Nigeria brought with it a variety of English that is situationally distinct and context sensitive. Thus SMS text-messages are viewed as discourses that presuppose speech events among interlocutors that share a common social behaviour and cultural values. This study shows the extent to which test-messaging constructs Christian values, belief systems and sentiments in Nigeria. Fifty-three (53) text samples collected in Lagos and Ota areas of Southwest Nigeria between 2005 and 2007 are analysed within the framework of computer-mediated discourse analysis (Herring 2001). Result shows that with its peculiar orthographic convention and style, text-messaging has become popular among Christian adherents not just because it is short, cheap and fast but that it is individualistic and fits well into a context where respect for individuals is emphasized. Analysis also shows that SMS text-messaging is used to disseminate messages associated with faith-based pronouncements, prayer and well-wishing, admonition and assurance, appreciation and praise, seasons greetings and general information/announcements. These functions tend to promote love and cooperation among church members. Key words: SMS-text messages, Christian, Discourse Introduction Th

Theorizing Digital Journalism: The Limits of Linearity and the Rise of Relationships

For more than 50 years, our understanding of journalism drew on theories that emerged in an environment in which the components of a mediated message could be isolated well enough to measure and track. Yet today we live in a media world that is simultaneously immersive and interconnected, instantaneous and iterative, and individualized to an extent unimaginable a generation ago. In this environment, theories positing ‘media effects’ are considerably less practical or meaningful than they once were, a topic explored in the first half of this chapter. Some of the ways that contemporary journalism scholars are actively recontextualizing the field are then outlined, followed by consideration of the proposition that our best hope for understanding the “effects” of digital journalism may be to focus on the diversity of relationships it engenders. Looking at connections and interactions can profitably guide our study of this fluid, holistic media world

Assessing the Nigerianness of SMS Text-Messages in English

In the history of the English language certain developments have left significant linguistic marks on the language. As new developments and cultural forms occur, new words and styles of expression evolve with them and spread. This is true of the new linguistic style that is associated with the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) revolution in Nigeria since 2001. GSM has brought with it a variety of English that is situationally distinctive and context sensitive (Awonusi, 2004:45)

Questioning the Generational Divide: Technological Exoticism and Adult Constructions of Online Youth Identity

Part of the Volume on Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. This chapter reflects on the effects and implications of the discrepancy between adult perspectives on digital media and youth experiences. Through an analysis of public discourse by marketers, journalists, and new media researchers compared with statements by young technology users, it is proposed that the current so-called "Internet generation" is in fact a transitional generation, in which young Internet users are characterized to varying degrees by a dual consciousness of both their own and adult perspectives, the latter of which tend to exoticize youth. An analogy with the first television generation is developed to suggest that the birth of a true Internet generation, some years in the future, will pave the way for more normalized, difficult-to-question changes in media attitudes and consumption, and thus that the present transitional moment should be taken advantage of to encourage conversation between adults and youth about technology and social change