This thesis examines the role of online platforms in relation to anti-progressive counterpublic dynamics. Counterpublicsare understood as alternative discursive arenas that form in response to exclusion from the wider public sphere. The relevance of counterpublics derives both from their ability to influence mainstream political discourse and from how anti-progressive counterpublics have been found to contribute to real-life violence. As the internet becomes an increasingly important venue for political discussion and contestation, the public sphere is extended online. This study explores how platforms can be seen as enabling (or constraining) the dual function of online counterpublics, i.e. as both inward and outward-oriented in relation to opposing publics, by examining the anti-feminist online community known as “Men Going Their Own Way” (MGTOW). The role of platforms is understood in terms of platform affordances, and netnographic methods were used to study these in relation to two online platforms. The results show that the two platforms presented different opportunities for the MGTOW counterpublic to some extent, suggesting that this counterpublic is able to utilise platforms for different purposes. Twitter was found to be particularly suitable for the outward-oriented function, i.e. for interacting with and opposing other publics, while mgtow.com was shown to be fertile ground for the inward-oriented function, and in that sense enabled contact between members in a way that contributed to the development of anti-progressive counterdiscourse.

Many studies on social movements aim to understand a moment on an international level. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the Swedish environmental movement and the collective identity that can be found in these movements. In an effort to do this, the study aimed to answer research questions. The questions aimed at answering if collective identity is observable on social media, and to what degree, and how the collective identity online compares to what can be seen at a protest on the street. To answer these questions, the author took the help of two qualitative methods. The study looks at collective identity inobservable activities. The netnographic method has been used to gain insight into ten different Facebook pages that belong to seven separate Swedish environmental organisations. The ethnographic method of participant observation has been used to gain insight into six protests that took place in Stockholm, Sweden, during the spring semester of 2022. The results suggest that collective identity is visible online, to a high degree, because all aspects of collective identity are observable. Also, comparing the results between Facebook pages and street protests the visible collective identities did not differ, they just manifested in different ways.

How we imagine and the potency of alternative imaginings to socio-political concerns are vital questions for social science, and worldbuilding is a particular and understudied method of doing so. It is the creative making of fictional, imaginative worlds, offering a potential alternative method to imagine otherwise. This paper ethnographically explicates this craft through detailing how creators, known as worldbuilders, make their worlds, demonstrating how it is generative and impactful for them emotionally, intellectually, and politically. It is based of three months of online ethnographic/netnographic fieldwork across the multiple online ‘sites’ worldbuilders are active, particularly a forum and chatroom, as well as digital interviews with sixteen individual worldbuilders. I argue that worldbuilding is a process of toying with ontologies, which I call ontogenous play. I explain this through detailing what is dubbed making the imaginary – the worldbuilding process – going through the particulars of the process and the experiences of interlocutors, demonstrating how one achieves situated transcendence through it, and the generativity of that. In light of these observations, I also argue that worldbuilding is an art, attending to the ramifications of that designation. I draw upon anthropological understandings of making, processes, liminality, and ontologies to advance the argument, as well as the emergent scholarship on worldbuilding from ‘sub-creation studies’, and the erudite hypotheses of my interlocutors.

Author: Hanna-Stina Ivarsson Title: When life gives you loneliness – A netnographic study of loneliness amongst young adults Supervisor: Peter Hultgren Assessor: Torbjörn Forkby  Summary Loneliness is a threat to our health and researchers believe that the loneliness epidemic is the new public disease of our time. In the meantime, single households and individualization in Sweden is increasing, this is happening at the same time as natural meeting places are increasingly disappearing. This is precisely why it is important to learn to manage and break the involuntary loneliness that so many people experience. Loneliness has become an important topic for professionals in social work, but there is a lack of knowledge and strategies to meet and manage involuntary loneliness. There is a perception in society today that it is the elderly who are the loneliest, but new research shows that a change has taken place, and it is young adults who experience loneliness to the greatest extent.  In this study I was interested in investigating how young adults (16-29) themselves depicts the loneliness they live in and what they do to manage and break this loneliness. In order to obtain the results of the study, I have used a qualitative netnographic method. The empirical material has been collected in three popular Swedish discussion forums. I found that the majority of young adults who suffer from loneliness also suffer from some form of mental illness. Furthermore, many feel ashamed about their situation and feel that their life is at a standstill. The strategies used to manage and break loneliness seem to be a complex combination of emotional and problem-focused coping

Over the years, social media has become the main source of communication for alot of users. It is undoubtedly the easiest and fastest way to reach people from allover the world and build friendships, interact, share content and experiences. Oneof the main platforms with this exact use is Instagram, which is this study’s empiricaldomain. This paper studies Instagram’s Interactions tab, namely the three ways ofcommunicating through the platform: likes, comments, story replies. This new feature isable to store the data of these three items on the platform itself; data that waspreviously not so easily available. With a netnographic approach of a documentanalysis on five participants and their Interactions, combined with qualitative pre-study interviews, the data is gathered and compared, viewing participant’sperceptions vs the reality of how they use the platform. This data also revealed whatpart of Instagram and its system users interact with the most, both passively andactively. The study revealed that most users claim to be passive and, in fact, are.They are also aware of the possible negative connotations of using Instagrampassively, but see it as a much easier and faster way of interaction, than the activeone.

This study examines whether the social media platform BeReal can change user behavior related to self-representation and expectations of oneself linked to social norms. The research is analyzed based on the theory about presentation of self in everyday life founded by sociologist Erving Goffman. A netnographic method combining six qualitative interviews supplemented by diary-notes regarding the same respondents' BeReal usage during seven coherent days constitute the material. The material provided a multilateral representation of these BeReal users’ reflections regarding the manner in which they represent themselves online. The study shows a somewhat consistent narrative aligned with the applied theory based on users presenting themselves in a specific way due to what they think is expected from the audience. Impression management is exercised regardless of what social media platform is used, although BeReal provides a less stigmatized online environment and mitigates the internalized pressure on users. However, the respondents found loopholes in BeReals concept giving the app users authority to create norms of how to perform on the app and thereby reintroduce some of the said pressure.

Instagram is a phone application that people use to share photos and movies. Instagram is one of the two most popular social medias in the age group 16-25 after Facebook. This essay is a netnographic study that has looked at the affordances offerd on Instagram in images where users are between 16 and 24 years. The study has gathered an archive of material for six days in the spring of 2016. The aim of this paper has been to make this affordances visible by highlighting the sense of what is offerd in health that reveals itselfs, designed and obtained by young people on Instagram. Images were analyzed using image analysis and after that analysed in a text analysis inspired by discourse analysis. The result has been linked to previous research, parts of health theoretical concepts as well as socio-cultural perspective and communities of practice. The conclusion of the study is that health is offered by the young people only as a positive extreme. The affordeces that are given are largely represented individually. The studie has seen that you should exercise, eat right and be happy according to the discourse. There is an unspoken learning process about what is appropriate or not during the hashtag health. With that created collective beliefs are made and an adaptation. / Instagram är en telefonapplikation som människor använder för att dela med sig av fotografier och filmer. Instagram är ett av det två populäraste sociala medierna i åldersgruppen 16 till 25 efter Facebook. Det är en netnografisk studie som tittat på meningserbjudandet på Instagram från bilder där användarna är mellan 16 och 24 år. Studien har samlat på sig ett arkivmaterial under sex dagar våren 2016. Syftet har varit att synliggöra vilka meningserbjudande av hälsa som uppenbarar sig, konstrueras och erhålls av ungdomar på Instagram. Bilderna har analyserats med bildanalys och sedan textanalys inspirerad från diskursanalys. Resultatet har sedan kopplats till tidigare forskning, delar av hälsoteoretiska begrepp samt sociokulturellt perspektiv och praktikgemenskaper. Slutsatsen är att hälsa skildras av ungdomarna endast som en positiv ytterlighet. Det är meningserbjudande som till stor del representeras enskilt. Man ska träna, äta rätt och vara glad enligt diskursen. Det är en outtalad lärprocess om vad som är passande eller inte under hashtaggen hälsa. Med det skapas kollektiva föreställningar och en anpassning.

Este estudo foi desenvolvido junto ao Programa Rede São Paulo de Formação Docente - Redefor, no segmento específico de execução e gestão a cargo da Universidade de São Paulo (Redefor-USP) e visa compreender, a partir de uma abordagem netnográfica, como se desenvolvem e se estabelecem, no contexto educacional virtual e nos seus desdobramentos nos ambientes cotidianos pessoal, familiar e escolar, as autopercepções dos cursistas regularmente matriculados em relação às suas literacias digitais, por nós entendidas como componentes de um conjunto integrado, articulado e holístico de capacidades, habilidades e competências - em contínuo processo de aquisição e de desenvolvimento - que permitem ao indivíduo não apenas navegar e se comunicar na Internet, mas nela adquirir, produzir e distribuir informações, conhecimentos, sentidos, narrativas e representações de si e do mundo que habita. Neste contexto, visamos compreender os modos como as novas formas de ensino e aprendizado mediadas pelas tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) alteram as realidades desses sujeitos e suas relações sociais, e como, a partir da aquisição de maiores níveis de familiaridade e de domínio sobre essas possibilidades tecnológicas, se instauram e se manifestam novos usos e apropriações das ferramentas digitais pelos docentes em processo de aprendizagem em serviço. / This study was developed from the Programa Rede São Paulo de Formação Docente - Redefor, regarding the specific section of execution and management under the resposability of the University of São Paulo (Redefor - USP). From the netnography approach, it seeks to understand how the self-perceptions of the enrolled participants are developed and established in the virtual educational context and its consequences in personal, family and school everyday environments. The aim is to observe their digital literacies, understood as components of an integrated, cohesive and holistic set of skills and expertise - in continuous process of acquisition and development - that allow the individual not only navigate and communicate in the Internet, but it also obtain, produce and distribute information, knowledge, meanings, narratives and representations of themselves and the world they live. In this context, we aim to understand in which ways new forms of teaching and learning mediated by information and communication technologies (ICT) alter the realities of these individuals and their social relationships, also how higher levels of familiarity and domain regarding these technological possibilities are established and manifest new uses and appropriations of digital tools by teachers in service learning process.

Introdução: O impacto inicial do nascimento de uma criança com malformação por vezes é tão grande que os familiares despendem grande quantidade de tempo e energia para atender às primeiras demandas de tratamento e reabilitação da criança, o que faz com que coloquem em segundo plano investigações mais aprofundadas relacionadas à malformação. Justificativa: Conhecer opiniões de familiares de crianças nascidas com fissuras labiopalatinas acerca do tratamento pode contribuir para que se desenvolvam políticas públicas mais inclusivas para os portadores de FLP e aperfeiçoar protocolos de tratamento e de investigação, incluindo o aconselhamento genético e ações voltadas ao incremento do banco genético. A experiência dos cuidadores no desenvolvimento das políticas permite a prevenção de doenças e transtornos associados à ocorrência de fissuras labiopalatinas. Objetivos: Analisar as experiências de familiares de crianças nascidas com fissuras labiopalatinas acerca do tratamento e de orientações recebidas sobre o cuidado de crianças nascidas com essa malformação. Método: Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo desenhado para análise sob a técnica da Análise do Discurso a partir dos testemunhos de 11 (onze) mães de crianças com FLP e que compartilham site orientado a familiares e cuidadores de crianças com malformação do tipo FLP. Optou-se pela análise temática categorial como eixo estruturante dos achados. Resultados: Cinco modalidades de testemunhos das (e para) as mães foram identificadas: (1) mensagens de encorajamento e superação; (2) mensagens informativas; (3) relatos pessoais de ambos os indivíduos nascidos com fissura labiopalatina e parentes destes; (4) mensagens com fotografias, incluindo antes e depois de cirurgias reparadoras; e (5) mensagens de interação dos membros nos comentários, relacionadas a outras questões que surgem no decorrer da publicação dos comentários. Conclusões: O relato de abalos emocionais é frequente nas narrativas, com menção a angústia e desespero mas está presente o sentimento de resiliência e de esperança como componente intrínseco do sentimento de maternidade. A descoberta do diagnóstico durante a gravidez ou mesmo a suspeita de que a criança possa vir a ter fissura labiopalatina em função de outros casos na família parecem minimizar o impacto da notícia. Transparecem nas mensagens sinais de conflito entre as participantes da pesquisa e profissionais de saúde, pais das crianças, tanto em função de condutas profissionais quanto de tratamento. A investigação genética em si é cercada de contradições, incertezas e desinformações. A investigação genética aparece, nas narrativas, como procedimento invasivo, sendo inclusive nomeada dessa maneira por profissional de saúde que acompanhou a gravidez de uma das mães. É apontada, ainda, como desnecessária, frente ao grande número de exames, consultas, procedimentos e cirurgias aos quais crianças nascidas com fissuras labiopalatinas são submetidas desde o momento de seu nascimento. / Introduction: The initial impact of the birth of a child with malformation is sometimes so great that family members spend a great deal of time and energy to meet the child\'s first demands for treatment and rehabilitation, which makes them investigate further related to malformation. Rationale: Knowing the opinions of family members of children born with cleft lip and palate about treatment can contribute to the development of more inclusive public policies for FLP patients and to improve treatment and research protocols, including genetic counseling and actions to increase the bank genetic. The caregivers\' experience in policy development allows the prevention of diseases and disorders associated with the occurrence of cleft lip and palate. Objectives: To analyze the experiences of family members of children born with cleft lip and palate about the treatment and guidelines received about the care of children born with this malformation. Method: This is a qualitative study designed for analysis under the Discourse Analysis technique from the testimonies of 11 (eleven) mothers of children with FLP and who share a site oriented to family members and caregivers of children with FLP malformation. The categorical thematic analysis was chosen as the structuring axis of the findings. Results: Five types of (and for) mothers\' reports were identified: (1) messages of encouragement and overcoming; (2) information messages; (3) personal reports of both individuals born with cleft lip and palate and relatives of these; (4) messages with photographs, including before and after restorative surgeries; and (5) member interaction messages in the comments, related to other issues that arise in the course of the publication of the comments. Conclusions: The report of emotional upheavals is frequent in the narratives, with mention of anguish and despair, but the feeling of resilience and hope is present as an intrinsic component of the feeling of motherhood. The discovery of the diagnosis during pregnancy or even the suspicion that the child may have cleft lip and palate in function of other cases in the family seem to minimize the impact of the news. Messages of conflict between the research participants and health professionals, the parents of the children, are shown in the messages, both in terms of professional conduct and treatment. Genetic research itself is surrounded by contradictions, uncertainties and disinformation. Genetic research appears in the narratives as an invasive procedure, being even named in this way by a health professional who followed the pregnancy of one of the mothers. It is also pointed out as unnecessary, given the large number of exams, consultations, procedures and surgeries to which children born with cleft lip and palate are submitted from the moment of their birth.

Introdução: O impacto inicial do nascimento de uma criança com malformação por vezes é tão grande que os familiares despendem grande quantidade de tempo e energia para atender às primeiras demandas de tratamento e reabilitação da criança, o que faz com que coloquem em segundo plano investigações mais aprofundadas relacionadas à malformação. Justificativa: Conhecer opiniões de familiares de crianças nascidas com fissuras labiopalatinas acerca do tratamento pode contribuir para que se desenvolvam políticas públicas mais inclusivas para os portadores de FLP e aperfeiçoar protocolos de tratamento e de investigação, incluindo o aconselhamento genético e ações voltadas ao incremento do banco genético. A experiência dos cuidadores no desenvolvimento das políticas permite a prevenção de doenças e transtornos associados à ocorrência de fissuras labiopalatinas. Objetivos: Analisar as experiências de familiares de crianças nascidas com fissuras labiopalatinas acerca do tratamento e de orientações recebidas sobre o cuidado de crianças nascidas com essa malformação. Método: Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo desenhado para análise sob a técnica da Análise do Discurso a partir dos testemunhos de 11 (onze) mães de crianças com FLP e que compartilham site orientado a familiares e cuidadores de crianças com malformação do tipo FLP. Optou-se pela análise temática categorial como eixo estruturante dos achados. Resultados: Cinco modalidades de testemunhos das (e para) as mães foram identificadas: (1) mensagens de encorajamento e superação; (2) mensagens informativas; (3) relatos pessoais de ambos os indivíduos nascidos com fissura labiopalatina e parentes destes; (4) mensagens com fotografias, incluindo antes e depois de cirurgias reparadoras; e (5) mensagens de interação dos membros nos comentários, relacionadas a outras questões que surgem no decorrer da publicação dos comentários. Conclusões: O relato de abalos emocionais é frequente nas narrativas, com menção a angústia e desespero mas está presente o sentimento de resiliência e de esperança como componente intrínseco do sentimento de maternidade. A descoberta do diagnóstico durante a gravidez ou mesmo a suspeita de que a criança possa vir a ter fissura labiopalatina em função de outros casos na família parecem minimizar o impacto da notícia. Transparecem nas mensagens sinais de conflito entre as participantes da pesquisa e profissionais de saúde, pais das crianças, tanto em função de condutas profissionais quanto de tratamento. A investigação genética em si é cercada de contradições, incertezas e desinformações. A investigação genética aparece, nas narrativas, como procedimento invasivo, sendo inclusive nomeada dessa maneira por profissional de saúde que acompanhou a gravidez de uma das mães. É apontada, ainda, como desnecessária, frente ao grande número de exames, consultas, procedimentos e cirurgias aos quais crianças nascidas com fissuras labiopalatinas são submetidas desde o momento de seu nascimento. / Introduction: The initial impact of the birth of a child with malformation is sometimes so great that family members spend a great deal of time and energy to meet the child\'s first demands for treatment and rehabilitation, which makes them investigate further related to malformation. Rationale: Knowing the opinions of family members of children born with cleft lip and palate about treatment can contribute to the development of more inclusive public policies for FLP patients and to improve treatment and research protocols, including genetic counseling and actions to increase the bank genetic. The caregivers\' experience in policy development allows the prevention of diseases and disorders associated with the occurrence of cleft lip and palate. Objectives: To analyze the experiences of family members of children born with cleft lip and palate about the treatment and guidelines received about the care of children born with this malformation. Method: This is a qualitative study designed for analysis under the Discourse Analysis technique from the testimonies of 11 (eleven) mothers of children with FLP and who share a site oriented to family members and caregivers of children with FLP malformation. The categorical thematic analysis was chosen as the structuring axis of the findings. Results: Five types of (and for) mothers\' reports were identified: (1) messages of encouragement and overcoming; (2) information messages; (3) personal reports of both individuals born with cleft lip and palate and relatives of these; (4) messages with photographs, including before and after restorative surgeries; and (5) member interaction messages in the comments, related to other issues that arise in the course of the publication of the comments. Conclusions: The report of emotional upheavals is frequent in the narratives, with mention of anguish and despair, but the feeling of resilience and hope is present as an intrinsic component of the feeling of motherhood. The discovery of the diagnosis during pregnancy or even the suspicion that the child may have cleft lip and palate in function of other cases in the family seem to minimize the impact of the news. Messages of conflict between the research participants and health professionals, the parents of the children, are shown in the messages, both in terms of professional conduct and treatment. Genetic research itself is surrounded by contradictions, uncertainties and disinformation. Genetic research appears in the narratives as an invasive procedure, being even named in this way by a health professional who followed the pregnancy of one of the mothers. It is also pointed out as unnecessary, given the large number of exams, consultations, procedures and surgeries to which children born with cleft lip and palate are submitted from the moment of their birth.