The Challenge of Anonymous and Ephemeral Social Media

170 Pages·2017·10.04 MB·English

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Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Sara Elyse West
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
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West, S. E. (2018). The Challenge of Anonymous and Ephemeral Social Media: Reflective Research
Methodologies & Student-User Composing Practices. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2676
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The Challenge of Anonymous and Ephemeral Social Media:
Reflective Research Methodologies & Student-User Composing Practices

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in English

by

Sara West
Lincoln Memorial University
Bachelor of Arts in English, 2011
East Tennessee State University
Master of Arts in Literature and Language, 2013

May 2018
University of Arkansas

This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council.

Adam Pope, Ph.D.
Dissertation Director

David Jolliffe, Ph.D. Patrick Slattery, Ph.D.
Committee Member Committee Member
Abstract

This project seeks to provide a framework for navigating anonymous and ephemeral
research spaces to theorize student-user composing practices on these social media platforms.
This project reflects on and builds from the difficulties that arose during a previous project for
which I collected data from a space that was both ephemeral and anonymous. That experience
led me to the questions of use and research methods that I consider in this project, wherein I rely
on critical reflective research practices to provide an effective methodology for examining the
type of data in question. In this work, I consider how past and current conversations in
composition studies, technical and professional communication, and popular media have shaped
perceptions of anonymous and ephemeral spaces. Then, using the specific examples of Snapchat,
Yik Yak, and Whisper, I discuss an IRB-approved, mixed methods study designed for this
project. Through a large-scale survey and a small batch of qualitative interviews, I examine the
ways that students are using these applications and the extent to which the characteristics of
anonymity and ephemerality influence how they navigate these spaces. Finally, I offer
implications of this project for instructions of composition and technical and professional
communication, content creators and communication designers, and online researchers.
©2018 by Sara West
All Rights Reserved
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to everyone who made this project possible: Dr. Elías Domínguez-Barajas
for helping to notify instructors about my research and to distribute my survey, the instructors
from the Program in Rhetoric and Composition who agreed to proctor the survey, every student
who participated in the survey, and the four students who gave their time and knowledge for the
interview portion of this project. Special thanks to Dr. Adam Pope, who has guided me not just
for this project but for my entire time in the program, and to Paige Hermansen, who first
introduced me to Yik Yak and got this whole thing started. And to all who have stood by me
throughout this process, you know who you are, and I appreciate you.
Dedication
To my parents, Gary and DiAnne.
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
Defining Anonymous and Ephemeral Applications ................................................................. 3
Situating the Researcher .......................................................................................................... 9
Situating the Project .............................................................................................................. 11
Chapter Breakdown............................................................................................................... 12
Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 15
Informal Composing Spaces and the “Self-Sponsored” Writer .............................................. 17
Origins: MOOs, MUDs, and Online Discussion Boards ........................................................ 18
New Media, Social Media, and Composition Studies ............................................................ 25
Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) and Social Media Studies ....................... 29
Existing Research in Anonymous and Ephemeral Platforms .................................................. 32
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 36
Chapter 3: Methods ................................................................................................................... 39
Theoretical Perspectives: Critical-Reflective Methodologies ................................................. 40
Background: Reflecting on Previous Research ...................................................................... 41
Current Research Methods .................................................................................................... 48
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 71
Chapter 4: Data and Analysis .................................................................................................... 73
Survey Results ...................................................................................................................... 74
Participant Interviews.......................................................................................................... 101
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 123
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications ................................................................................ 125
Implications for Instructors of Composition and Technical and Professional Communication
(TPC) .................................................................................................................................. 126
Implications for Content Creators and Communication Designers ....................................... 130
Implications for Online Researchers .................................................................................... 133
Conclusion and Call for Further Research ........................................................................... 136
References .............................................................................................................................. 138
Appendix A: Research Compliance Protocol Letters ............................................................... 148
Appendix B: Survey Questions ............................................................................................... 151
Appendix C: Interview Questions ........................................................................................... 157
List of Figures
Figure 1. Example of received message on Snapchat. .................................................................. 5
Figure 2. Example of Yik Yak post list when user handles were optional. ................................... 7
Figure 3. Example of a post on Whisper. ..................................................................................... 9
Figure 4. Most popular platforms with anonymous/ephemeral components, as per survey results.
.......................................................................................................................................... 75
Figure 5. Reasons for Using Snapchat, as per survey results. ..................................................... 78
Figure 6. Users' characterization of their use of local/campus stories, as per survey results........ 80
Figure 7. Recipients of Users' Snaps, as per survey results. ....................................................... 82
Figure 8. Frequency of Snapchat's use for sending/receiving suggestive material, as per survey
results................................................................................................................................ 83
Figure 9. Frequency that participants would send content on Snapchat that they would not share
on other platforms. . .......................................................................................................... 85
Figure 10. Frequency of Snapchat Use, as per survey results. .................................................... 86
Figure 11. Participants' reasons for using Yik Yak, as per survey results. .................................. 88
Figure 12. Frequency of participants' use of Yik Yak, as per survey results. .............................. 90
Figure 13. Reasons for discontinuing use of Yik Yak, as per survey results. .............................. 91
Figure 14. Use of Yik Yak with required profiles/handles, as per survey results. ....................... 92
Figure 15. Use of Yik Yak when profiles/handles became optional again, as per survey results. 92
Figure 16. Responses as to whether participants have ever felt attacked on Yik Yak, as per
survey results. ................................................................................................................... 94
Figure 17. Frequency of sharing content on Yik Yak that would not be shared on other platforms
(when using handles), as per survey results. ...................................................................... 95
Figure 18. Frequency of Sharing Content on Yik Yak that Would Not Be Shared on Other
Platforms (when anonymous), as per survey results. . ........................................................ 96
Figure 19. Reasons for using Whisper, as per survey results. ..................................................... 98
Figure 20. Frequency of Whisper use, per survey results. .......................................................... 99
Figure 21. Frequency of sharing content on Whisper that would not be shared on other
platforms. ........................................................................................................................ 101
Figure 22. Illustration of the process from content creation to reaching audience. ................... 132