Surviving in the Digital Society
To me, living in a digital world has revolved greatly around the theme of “The Individual”. The internet has been constantly developing itself for our own, personal, benefits be it to search for information online, connect with other people, share our views etc. The possibilities to the internet’s role in the digital society is endless, and I must admit that as much as there is opportunity for good to be done through it, it can result in a multitude of risks and dangers toward an individual of the public.
In the course, I was intrigued by firstly, the engagement that the digital society has brought about. This seems particularly prominent in the new era of marketing and online shopping which we discussed online on Medium. Digital marketing and online shopping have become such a large part of our lives, and we engage it in both consciously and subconsciously. As a recreational activity, we often like to subscribe to newsletters of online shops and when they send a “SUMMER SALE: UP to 80% OFF!” email, we all know how difficult it is to resist opening up the mail and browsing the online shop for the next 20–30mins. Subtly and less organically generated marketing has also weaved into our lives, with digital programmatic marketing tracking our wants and needs through our search history, and popping up advertisements on our social media that are relevant. It’s spooky, really! One moment I’m searching up “Morocco flight times” and the next, Instagram shows me a sponsored advertisement of Airbnb homes in Morocco. According to the latest Expenditure Report from the Advertising Association and Warc, programmatic advertising spending continues to rise by 15% in 2018, representing 80% of UK’s digital advertising spending. It is needless to say, the digital society will only continue to expand and we will have to learn how to adapt and use it to our advantage.
What’s amazing though, is the effectiveness of digital marketing and how well we respond to it especially in certain industries. I can’t remember the last time I had to pick up the phone to buy a movie ticket, make a reservation at a restaurant, or book a flight/hotel room (in fact, you can do both on one site now). Food delivery services have become such a hit that all I have to do is order through my phone and I don’t have to step out of the house at all to get fed. Online shopping is made easy with pictures, measurements and discounts which saves us money and helps the brands earn more at a lesser cost.
Even in stores, digital technology has advanced to enable us to purchase more by lessening pre-purchase doubt and increasing the need for a product. For example, most makeup junkies worry about how a certain foundation or eyeshadow will show up on their skin — testers simply aren’t enough to show the full picture! Now, there is advanced technology that allows you to “see” how you look in real-time, in the store. If that can’t convince me to buy Rihanna’s new Fenty foundation, then nothing can.
However, online shopping does not necessarily replace in-store shopping. While it opens up an easily accessible platform that encourages our shopping behaviour, some things the digital society cannot replace (for now at least). The fit of clothes, the smell and texture of a fabric, can’t be replicated well over a digital medium.
Another way we, the “individual”, behave differently is when interacting online with our friends and others. If you engaged with me solely on an online platform, I’d expect you to have a very different impression of what I’m like! We can feel less responsible for our response, if we even do choose to respond at all — refer to my 73 unread chats in Whatsapp alone. Because we do not have to face the person in real life, certain people can even choose to say things that are mean, or harmful to another person’s mental wellbeing because they don’t see, physically, the pain they have caused the other party. In this case, the implication of the progressive digital society is that there are little or no consequence to our actions online.
On the other hand, the web catches everything. Clearing your web browser history or deleting that post on Facebook does not mean it is erased forever. Because of this, we need to be even MORE careful about what we say on social media platforms. One wrong post, one wrong tweet can send your reputation online flying straight into the trash faster than you can say “oops”. And because of the anonymity the internet offers, cyberbullying as in the point mentioned proves more attractive than ever. According to a report from Ditch the Label, 7 out of 10 young people reported being bullied online and 1 in 4 British girls get hit by depression at 14, attributed to cyberbullying & academic pressure.
We may think that our words don’t mean much, but we never really know our true impact and role of being a participant in the digital society. And we, the participants, make up the very essence of the digital society. So if I had anything to say, I’d say please, please, PLEASE be careful about how we behave online, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Amen!
Through these themes, I have learnt not only about the digital society, but how to operate within it effectively. Both assignments, digisoc 1 and 2, required me to put what we’ve learnt to work, and heavily revolved around a certain company, brand or individual. A challenge to these assignments was the in depth research required to fulfil both assignments. Although I have basic research skills using the internet, having to source out information on different platforms especially on social media was new and interesting. I also had to be discerning in choosing which information to believe as the existence of fake news is very prominent nowadays. Another challenge is one familiar to most of us — referencing! Referencing was a challenge as I had not previously bothered to correctly reference my ideas and images but I have now learnt it, though it may be tedious to some of us.
Because of these challenges, I have gained new skills! Learning to research and reference correctly is great because it ensures that my future posts online have accurate content and will not be falling outside of any copyright laws. I thoroughly enjoyed both assignments as well due to my choice of topic, which I purposely chose to be aligned with my interests, which are beauty and fashion! With these assignments, I may better understand the digital marketing landscape and gain experience on coming up with various strategies to improve brand image and sales.
As mentioned in the last session, using the C-A-R framework the course has really enabled me to step outside of my comfort zone and try new things in order to achieve even greater results. Previously, I was only looking to learn more about digital marketing and social media in general. However, I found joy and fun in blogging for digisoc1 and that encouraged me to think of a potential in my future jobs in the editorial department. Outside of digisoc1, I had even tried to write more, in a casual manner, fashion/beauty blogposts and articles. I am grateful for the exposure as expanding my skill set beyond digital and social media marketing will be a valuable asset in the future where companies are looking for more well-rounded employees.
In the upcoming summer, I will be taking on an internship with a media company under the marketing department. I believe that taking this course has equipped me with skills that will come in handy during the internship, be in coming up with digital marketing campaigns or even copywriting work. In the long-term future, I believe I have been able to use this course to set me on a good foundation for my career choice of digital marketing in fashion/beauty!
