I am going to add just a little bit to the plan about my research on mountains and Social Media. As I mentioned in my previous blogpost, I will be mainly interested in the perception of the mountains that the users of the Internet might have, how it can be changed and which consequences in real life it might cause. I will define it through the Media Ecology theory, which Neil Postman describes as following: “Media ecology looks into the matter of how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling, and value; and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival.” Logan points out that “Every medium/technology independent of its content has its own unique effects,” which brings me to another question I would like to answer. How does the description of the mountains differ in every media we can approach nowadays? How is the mountaineering described through Social Media versus through the “classic” ones – such as television and radio? 

I’ll intend to define the way the mountains are perceived through the screens and what feelings it can give to the Internet user. Moreover, as Bayer, Triệu and Ellison point out in their study – one of the key elements for success on social media is authenticity. But is there a media that can capture the mountains authentically? And if not, which one is the most complex? 

There is a lot to cover, I am curious where is this going to bring me and how many of these questions I will be able to answer. 

adja.

Bayer, Joseph B., Penny Triệu, and Nicole B. Ellison. “Social Media Elements, Ecologies, and Effects.” Annual Review of Psychology 71, no. 1 (2020): 478.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050944.

Eurich, Alvin C., and Neil Postman. “The Reformed English Curriculum.” Essay. In High School 1980; the Shape of the Future in American Secondary Education. New York: Pitman Pub. Corp, 1970.

Logan, Robert. “McLuhan’s Philosophy of Media Ecology: An Introduction.” Philosophies 1, no. 2 (2016): 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies1020133.