record

Thesis Info

LABS ID
00681
Thesis Title
Media Manipulation And New Generations
Author
haijing zhang
2nd Author
3rd Author
Degree
MFA
Year
2018
Number of Pages
46
University
Parsons The New School of Design
Thesis Supervisor
Elliott P Montgomery
Supervisor e-mail
montgome AT newschool.edu
Other Supervisor(s)
Jilly Traganou: traganog@newschool.edu
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Transdisciplinary Design
Languages Familiar to Author
Chinese
URL where full thesis can be found
docs.google.com/document/d/1XwOgIJENUYna1aXzW--UPOCOy7p3ZksbTFbPyjrP720/edit?usp=sharing
Keywords
media manipulation, speculative design, new generations, persuasive UX
Abstract: 200-500 words
In the contexts of attention economy and by taking advantage of the vulnerability of the social media ecosystem, business sectors, politicians, extreme groups, and individuals are using social media platforms to deliver their persuasive messages. These social media platforms are creating the dopamine-driven feedback loops that we are soaked in and losing the capability of being fully aware. The issues of data privacy, data harvest, and the crisis of legitimacy were highlighted again during the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg two-day testimony to Congress in April 2018. My thesis focuses on online attention, monetized social media and data control surrounding parenting and the next generations. I utilized my design to reveal the invisible layers and phenomena of social media. I positioned my design as inquiry and less about providing solutions. Through the interviews and co-design sessions with parents, I offered ways for them and me to reflect how media manipulation in online social media has already affected and would affect our new generations -- those emotionally vulnerable groups, while we are in the world where we don’t have ethical guidelines for online social media. Besides, as persuasive design and dark patterns are the two topics mainly that initiated my concerns about online social media, I discussed the urgency of taking action in regards to them and proposed some suggestions.