Social Media Freaks

<p>Social media has been transforming American and global cultural life for over a decade. It has flattened the divide between producer and audience found in other forms of culture while also enriching some massive corporations. At the core of <em>Social Media Freaks</em> is the question: Does social media reproduce inequalities or is it a tool for subverting them?</p><p><em>Social Media Freaks</em> presents a virtual ethnography of social media, focusing on issues of identity and inequality along five dimensions-race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability. It presents original and secondary findings, while also utilizing social theory to explain the dynamics of social media. It teaches readers how to engage social media as a tool for social activism while also examining the limits of social media's value in the quest for social change.</p> <p><strong>Section 1: The Story behind Social Media</strong>; Chapter 1: Social Media and the Network Society; Chapter 2: The Social Structure of Social Media; <strong>Section 2: Case Studies of Identity and Inequality in Social Media; </strong>Chapter 3: Black Lives Matter: Racial Perspectives on Social Media; Chapter 4: Disabling a Meme: Disability Perspectives on Social Media; Chapter 5: Occupy Wall Street: Class Perspectives on Social Media; Chapter 6: GamerGate: Gender Perspectives on Social Media; Chapter 7: Leave Britney Alone: Sexuality Perspectives on Social Media; Chapter 8: Call Me Cait: Trans Perspectives on Social Media; <strong>Section 3: The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Social Media; </strong>Chapter 9: Social Media Toolbox; Chapter 10: Conclusion: A Social Media Revolution?</p>