Well, I would like to start out by saying that I don’t devalue social media or think its unimportant. I feel the need to be critical, especially when I think the pros and cons of an issue have not been “weighed” in a throughouly evaluative way. So, with that being said, tonight I am considering Jenkins’ notion of participatory culture. The overall definition Jenkins gives of participatory culture is thus:
“A participatory culture is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby experienced participants pass along knowledge to novices. In a participatory culture, members also believe their contributions matter and feel some degree of social connection with one another.” Henri Jenkins – From Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture, pg. xi.
With this definition in mind, I would like to consider the Jessi Slaughter/Jessica Leonhardt case. For those of you who are not familiar with her, she is an eleven year old whose recent rants on YouTube has gained her some notoriety. Her original YouTube video, which she recorded in response to some online negative postings about her, can be seen below:
Jessi Slaughter, arguably, has grown up digital and could be said to embody this participatory culture. She uses YouTube for self expression and civic engagement, and she wanted her created video shared with others. Some might, at this point, argue that this YouTube video is not a creation of any kind, but merely a rant. However, I personally think that she chose and created a performance that she knew would evoke a strong reaction from her “haters.” Additionally, she has been mentored by the Internet culture to share and participate online and to think of online forums as ideal places for self expression. This was an exercise in social interaction on her part and not a “message in a bottle” thrown into the sea. She knew this medium was a way to socially connect. And if you think she is bad, check out her dad.
My question is, why the hell do I know about Jessi Slaughter? Obviously, her situation as an issue is something I have thought about and considered, but I would rather have not. Although I am a self proclaimed lurker, I question how it is that people are drawn into this participatory culture. I don’t know enough about Jenkins, but I wonder if/where he addresses the invasive character of the participatory culture.