Friendship and trust in the social surveillance network

Abstract

This article draws on findings from semi-structured interviews to investigate an important, and previously unexplored aspect of the social networking site Twitter, which is the ways that users can employ lateral surveillance to initiate friendships. Social penetration theory (Altman and Taylor 1973) is used to investigate the ways that Twitter provides a platform to technologically augment friendship evolution. Three consecutive phases of online surveillance are proposed, which are: unidirectional ‘studied’ following; ‘reciprocal’ following, when interaction between the user and the Tweeter only occurs online; and fully fledged friendship, when online relations are supplemented by offline meetings. The visibility of users via their Tweets creates information that others can use to evaluate character in what might be considered a phase of pre-friendship screening, and that this also generates trust and solidarity prior to an offline meeting. Perceived similarity between the user and the Tweeter was contributory to an assessment of their worth as a potential friend. Geographic proximity and ‘transferable trust’ were also factors that helped offline friendship to develop. Ultimately, Twitter was an important tool for sociality, and provided a wider source of potential friends than was available offline.

Liquid love? Dating apps, sex, relationships and the digital transformation of intimacy

“…Tinder, as a form of social media, allows for a significantly expanded social network to form. While networks facilitated by social media can be global, they tend to coalesce around geographical proximity (Westcott and Owen, 2013). This is especially the case with dating apps, where the goal of most users is to move from mediated communication to 'real-world' dating and intimacy.…”

“…As was noted above, 66% of respondents agreed with the statement 'mobile dating apps allow me to control my romantic and/or sexual encounters'. Tinder, like other social media platforms, affords mutual visibility and can thus be conceptualised as an architecture of social surveillance (Westcott and Owen, 2013). A period of conversation facilitated through the use of Tinder allows some users to engage in a process of building trust prior to meeting in person.…”

The Polarizing Impact of Political Disinformation and Hate Speech: A Cross-country Configural Narrative

“…Under the guise of national security, governments have been accused of censoring the internet, and such actions are viewed as a danger to civil society in the digital age (Chang & Lin, 2020 ) through interference in citizens’ online freedom and access to information (Busch et al, 2018 ). On similar lines, online surveillance is viewed as an advanced form of coercion and social control that hinders the exercise of basic civil liberties (Richards, 2013 ) by limiting participation and impeding the flow of knowledge in society (Marwick, 2012 ; Staples, 2014 ; Trottier, 2016 ; Westcott & Owen, 2013 ). The looming threat of social media surveillance in societies may deter citizens from engaging in political debates and diminish the mobilizing power of online news content (Chan et al, 2022 ).…”

ICT4D: development or destabilization? A cross-country study on the polarizing effect of political disinformation through social media

“…Surveillance has a tendency to limit participation and impede the ow of knowledge in society (Marwick, 2012;Staples, 2014;Trottier, 2016;Westcott & Owen, 2013). As with internet ltering, when individuals are aware that their social media activity is being tracked, they tend to recalibrate their behavior (Lyon, 2007).…”