Taught by S. Shyam Sundar, my 400-level Media Effects course this spring was a survey of media effects theory that transitioned into analysis of online implications. The course culminated in a collaborative social sciences research project; our group attempted to measure the effects of race-related imagery on 4chan with a standardized implicit association test.
An excerpt of my contribution to the Results and Limitations portion of our report:
Evidence of the Third Person Effect matched the predictions of the social distance corollary nicely, and the established theories of related semantic cognitive networks were supported with our priming data and the results of the IAT.
Because the findings indicated a difference in race attitudes when exposed to racist content–though barely below the statistic significance threshold–users and hosts of such shock humor should note that even offensive content posted in fun or without serious context can have real-world effects on viewers. Our tests for Third Person Effects show that though one doesn’t think they are affected by racist imagery, they believe others are. Together, these arguments provide evidence that, if one wants to avoid cultivating racist mentalities, humorous racist content is not insignificant.
Conversely, because our results did not reach statistical significance, hosts and providers of shock content may still argue that there is no conclusive evidence that content has confidently measurable effects. Those tempted to jump to the conclusion that such content always has negative net effects should perhaps be more conservative and acknowledge that racist content may indeed be demonstrated as largely harmless.
Read More »
KINETIX
KINETIX is a colorful, fast-paced casual game that uses only a webcam for input. A computer vision algorithm detects motion and alternatively rewards and punishes players for moving. Originally conceptualized as a children’s toy to encourage physical activity, the game’s simplicity allows it to be be played by anyone, either alone, competitively, or collaboratively–with any number of players.
This version was built in Processing, with help from the OpenCV library, Andy Best’s introduction to the same, The Very Best (no relation), and WhoopAss.