Online Othering: An Introduction

Harmer, Emily; Lumsden, Karen

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the rapidly changing social and political context which is driving a contested social media landscape and explores examples of othering and discrimination propagated and encountered by individuals online and in social media contexts and cultures. After providing an overview of literature on ‘othering’, we outline our concept of ‘online othering’ which problematises and analyses the dichotomy presented between real and virtual space(s) by exploring the motivations behind othering behaviours and the impact this has on the targets of online abuse. It also explores the extent to which ICTs facilitate and exacerbate traditional offline offences (such as domestic abuse and stalking). Finally, we consider various responses to ‘online othering’ which recognise its oppositional nature and the agency of the othered.

• Online Publication Date: Apr 24, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019
• Deposit Date: Aug 29, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 25, 2021
• Journal: Online Othering
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Pages: 1-33
• Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity
• Book Title: Online Othering: Exploring Digital Violence and Discrimination on the Web
• ISBN: 9783030126322
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12633-9_1
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2516133
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-12633-9_1