Publication date: 7 October 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781910634745
Number of pages: 224
Number of illustrations: 42
Social Media in Southeast Italy
Crafting Ideals
Razvan Nicolescu (Author)
Series: Why We Post
Why is social media in southeast Italy so predictable when it is used by such a range of different people?
This book describes the impact of social media on the population of a town in the southern region of Puglia, Italy. Razvan Nicolescu spent 15 months living among the town’s residents, exploring what it means to be an individual on social media. Why do people from this region conform on platforms that are designed for personal expression?
Nicolescu argues that social media use in this region of the world is related to how people want to portray themselves. He pays special attention to the ability of users to craft their appearance in relation to collective ideals, values and social positions, and how this feature of social media has, for the residents of the town, become a moral obligation: they are expected to be willing to adapt their appearance to suit their different audiences at the same time, which is crucial in a town where religion and family are at the heart of daily life.
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Social Media in Southeast Italy
Crafting Ideals
Series: Why We Post
Publication date: October 7, 2016
Open Access PDF ISBN: 9781910634745
Paperback ISBN: 9781910634738
Hardback ISBN: 9781910634721
Trim size (hardback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm
Trim size (paperback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm
Page count (hardback): 224
Why is social media in southeast Italy so predictable when it is used by such a range of different people?
This book describes the impact of social media on the population of a town in the southern region of Puglia, Italy. Razvan Nicolescu spent 15 months living among the town’s residents, exploring what it means to be an individual on social media. Why do people from this region conform on platforms that are designed for personal expression?
Nicolescu argues that social media use in this region of the world is related to how people want to portray themselves. He pays special attention to the ability of users to craft their appearance in relation to collective ideals, values and social positions, and how this feature of social media has, for the residents of the town, become a moral obligation: they are expected to be willing to adapt their appearance to suit their different audiences at the same time, which is crucial in a town where religion and family are at the heart of daily life.
‘Social Media in Southeast Italy is an interesting read, especially valuable for scholars of contemporary Italian society, and for researchers interested in ethnography in a digital age. I applaud Nicolescu and the rest of the Why we Post team for humanizing social media use amid a growing gravitation toward “big data” research.’
New Media & Society
