Lectue 10 book simplified Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is the central thesis of To Know Is to Compare?
To truly understand social media, we need to compare how it works across different countries, media types, and platforms.
What are three major limits in current social media research?
Most studies only focus on one country (usually Western), one type of media (like just social media), and one platform (like only Twitter or Facebook).
Why is studying just one country a problem in social media research?
Because social media is global. Studying only one country misses how people connect and interact across borders.
What does ‘platform affordance’ mean in political communication?
It’s how a platform’s design affects what users can do or say—like what kinds of posts are easy to share or who sees them.
How do older media affect how we use social media?
Social media take ideas from old media (like TV or diaries), so how people use platforms today is shaped by past habits and designs.
What are ‘media repertoires’?
They’re the mix of media (like news sites, apps, and platforms) a person uses regularly and how they use them together.
What is a ‘media ecosystem’?
It’s the mix of all the platforms people use, which influence each other and how people communicate.
What does ‘methodological nationalism’ mean?
It’s a research mistake where people study media as if each country is separate, even though media works across borders.
Why should we compare different platforms in research?
Because each platform works differently and changes how people behave and communicate. Comparing them shows us the bigger picture.
What are the key ideas behind doing comparative research on social media?
We should compare countries, media types, and platforms to understand how people use media in different ways around the world.
How do platform features shape political talk online?
Some platforms are better for quick posts (like Twitter), others for visuals (like TikTok). This changes how politicians talk and who they reach.
How do political actors use different platforms?
They change how they speak to match each platform—for example, using videos on TikTok or short quotes on Twitter.
How does misinformation change across platforms?
It spreads differently depending on the platform’s rules, algorithms, and how easy it is to go viral.
Why should researchers avoid only studying Western countries?
Because media use is different around the world. Including more countries helps us understand global differences and avoid bias.
