Seeking self-determinism through social media: A critical analysis of representation issues for Zimbabwean youths

Mutsvairo, Bruce and Kleeven, Lisa (2011) Seeking self-determinism through social media: A critical analysis of representation issues for Zimbabwean youths. In: International conference on Youth and Media, 12-13 March 2011, University of Westminster, London.

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Abstract

The emergence of social media is unveiling a new wave of self representation previously unheard of for the African youths. This paper seeks to explore traditional concepts of representations and stereotypes, investigating the role they currently play in the wake of the advancement of new media technologies particularly, social media. Facebook and Twitter offer a critical chance to redefine the portrayal, characterisations and depiction of long patronising and stereotyped images of Africans in the mainstream Western media. Several scholars have argued that the Western political discourse often lack a contextualised understanding of the continent, largely focusing on negative images including Africa's supposed democratic deficit. Pictures depicting a Africa badly affected by the demise of poverty, dictatorships and diseases often dominate the Western press. While social media does not completely deconstruct a Western image of the continent, its presence, we will through content analysis and interviews, argue, is offering young African youths an unprecedented chance to focus on issues they consider important.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects: P900 Others in Mass Communications and Documentation
T500 African studies
Department: Faculties > Arts, Design and Social Sciences > Design
Depositing User: Ay Okpokam
Date Deposited: 14 Jul 2014 11:51
Last Modified: 12 Oct 2019 19:41
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/17157

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