Paradoxes of Individualization by Dick Houtman Stef Aupers Willem de Koster

Author:Dick Houtman, Stef Aupers, Willem de Koster [Dick Houtman, Stef Aupers, Willem de Koster]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9781351912853
Google: aCeoDQAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 17168430
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Members without Offline Stigmatization

Evert, Steve, and Wouter are the respondents who do not experience stigmatization in offline social life. For Wouter and Steve this is the case because their political views are more moderate than those of the forum members who do struggle with stigmatization because of their extremist identity. Wouter conveys he is under the impression that his vision is accepted on the whole: ‘I am not hampered to express my real opinion …, because I am not as extreme as some others.’ Steve has ‘never felt hampered’ in the expression of his opinion either, which he does not consider deviant: ‘Leftists can easily agree with me. … And I can associate well with immigrants; many of them even share my opinion. They are not happy with particular things either.’ For Evert, in contrast, offline stigmatization of his extreme-right identity is no issue at all because he associates, privately as well as professionally, mainly with people who share his political outlook.

Not surprisingly, those three respondents have other reasons for participation in Stormfront than those who do experience stigmatization. They do not seek refuge online and value the forum for instrumental reasons instead. Wouter visits Stormfront primarily for the information that is available on the forum, whereas Steve has a broad interest in politics and therefore uses Stormfront as an instrument to support his diverse political activities and to share his knowledge. Evert participates because he likes the political issues discussed on Stormfront, and because he thinks the medium offers a specific advantage: he indicates he simply is more of a writer than a talker.

Unlike members who struggle with stigmatization in offline life, Evert, Steve, and Wouter are not part of the virtual community that provides refuge, and they do not display attachment to its social and supportive role. Wouter says: ‘No, I do not think it is cozy. … To be honest, I think it is somewhat pathetic to have to look for sociability on the Internet.’ Steve even thinks it is ‘strange’ to ask whether Stormfront could offer something extra over offline life. None of them experiences online solidarity or comradeship. Evert writes his postings ‘mainly for [himself]’, and ‘does not care about’ what other members think of him. Steve conveys that members he does not know personally offline are ‘just numbers’ to him. He considers online social contacts to be of minor importance, and he characterizes Stormfront as ‘a database of knowledge’ rather than as a virtual community. And whereas anonymity is very important for the members who struggle with stigmatization, Evert could not care less: his real identity can very easily be deduced from his username.

Because Evert, Wouter, and Steve do not experience offline stigmatization, they are not part of the virtual community providing refuge. This adds validity to the finding that the value Stormfront’s other members attach to a virtual refuge can be understood as a reaction to stigmatization in offline social life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.