In the first part of his career Georg Simmel wrote a short text about selection theory, which never reached popularity of his better known sociological publications. In it he employed evolutionary ...theory and pragmatism, which he later abandoned in favor of formal sociology. Based on that paper Simmel could be considered as one of the founders of selection theory, i. e. evolutionary epistemology. In this paper it is argued that selection theory does not need to imply relativism, as Simmel thought, and that hypothetical realism is a consequence of evolutionary processes. Also, it is shown that selection theory must take into account social processes if it wants to be relevant.
Given the popularity of new media platforms such as social network sites and video games and their increasingly central role in the social life of teens and young adults, we seek to examine their ...impact of social capital, particularly regarding the establishment of new types of social ties. This study examines whether the use of Facebook and playing of video games promote bridging and bonding social capital among Singaporean youths. The aim is to go beyond simple measures of intensity and frequency of use and examine more specific uses of these platforms and their contribution to online social capital. The results largely support the findings from previous studies, showing a positive relationship between intensity of Facebook use and online social capital. The findings also suggest that while general frequency of gaming was not related to online social capital, civic gaming experiences, associated with playing of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), were related to online bridging while MMO playing was directly associated with online bonding social capital.
U radu je predstavljen koncept poverenja kao preduslov adaptiranja individua na kompleksno društveno okruženje, kao i koncept ontološke sigurnosti u kontekstu detradicionalizacije i rizika u ...savremenom društvu. Takođe, u tekstu se demonstrira kako su varijable poverenja i ontološke sigurnosti od posebne važnosti kada je reč o marginalizovanim i diskriminisanim populacijama. U tom smislu, ukazuje se na izuzetan teorijski i praktični značaj fenomena kao što su poverenje u druge, opšti osećaj sigurnosti, obraćanje drugima u teškim situacijama i tome slično.
Given the increasingly dominant role of video games in the mainstream entertainment industry, it is no surprise that the scholarly debate about their impact has been lively and well attended. ...Although >100 studies have been conducted to examine the impact of violent video games on aggression, no clear consensus has been reached, particularly in terms of their long-term impact on violent behavior and aggressive cognitions. This study employs a first-ever longitudinal laboratory-based experiment to examine longer-term effects of playing a violent video game. One hundred thirty-five participants were assigned either to the treatment condition where they played a violent video game in a controlled laboratory setting for a total of 12 hours or to the control group where they did not play a game. Participants in the treatment group played Grand Theft Auto IV over a period of 3 weeks and were compared with a control group on the posttest measures of trait aggression, attitudes toward violence, and empathy. The findings do not support the assertion that playing a violent video game for a period of 3 weeks increases aggression or reduces empathy, but they suggest a small increase in proviolence attitudes. The implications of the findings are discussed.
This study examines citizen's use of social media during the political crisis triggered by the Catalan Referendum. More specifically, we seek to shed more light on Catalan citizens' (dis)engagement ...on social media, examining what citizens did and did not do on social media, who they avoided and/or unfriended, and the implications of such behaviours for democratic citizenship in Spain. Our findings, based on 50 interviews with Catalan citizens, show that despite strong political partisanship, Catalans show little inclination to discuss political issues online and consequently develop what we term a teflonic social media behaviour (TSMB). By implementing these avoidance tactics, they refrain from commenting and sharing political information about the Catalan conflict on social media. Furthermore, when they happen, political discussions are mainly triggered by blatant lies or fabricated content that citizens from both sides of the political spectrum want to confront based on their own real-world experiences. We find that despite the fact that the independence movement has undeniably fuelled social and political conflict, the unfriend button on social media was only used when specific norms of uncivility were breached rather than as a reaction to the mere exposure to dissonant views and opinions.
This study examines the phenomenon of politically motivated selective avoidance on Facebook in the context of the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement protests in 2014. We conceptualize selective avoidance as ...individual choices that users make to shield themselves from undesirable dissonant views by removing unwanted information and breaking social ties that transmit such information. Given the political turmoil and high level of polarization during the protests, we argue that selective avoidance was related to the socio-psychological factor of perceived out-group threat. We present an analysis of a survey of 769 students from Hong Kong conducted at the height of the street protests. We find that 15.6% of the respondents removed content and/or unfriended a Facebook friend during the protests. The use of Facebook for protest-related information and expression was associated with higher likelihood of selective avoidance, which in turn predicted actual participation in the street protests. The level of perceived out-group threat strengthened the positive relationship between Facebook use and selective avoidance. We thus argue that group conflict in a time of political turmoil may catalyze selective avoidance, transforming a heterogeneous socio-informational environment into a more insulated gated community. Such acts may promote protest participation but also lead to a more fragmented and polarized citizenry.
Third-party reproduction refers to the use of gametes, embryos or gestation that have been provided by a third party to enable an infertile individual or couple to become parent(s). The social, ...legal, and ethical acceptability of third-party reproduction varies around the world. In Serbia, there is a noticeable lack of data on attitudes towards infertility treatments involving the use of donated gametes, as well as surrogacy arrangements, due to the fact that this practice is banned in this country. The aim of this paper is to examine the attitudes of infertile women in Serbia towards third-party reproduction, i.e. gamete donation and surrogate motherhood as potential parts of their own infertility treatments. The sample included 50 infertile women involved in the program of in vitro fertilization, which amounts to at least 10% of the total number of women who go through the program of state-funded in vitro fertilization in Novi Sad each year. The questionnaire, constructed for the purpose of the study, was administered. The participants expressed negative attitudes towards using third-party gamete donation and surrogacy in their own infertility treatments. The negative attitudes were most prevalent among participants with low- and medium-level education. The potential reasons for such attitudes are discussed.
The eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government (JeDEM) is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal (ISSN: 2075-9517) published twice a year. It addresses theory and practice in the areas of eDemocracy ...and Open Government as well as eGovernment, eParticipation, and eSociety. JeDEM publishes ongoing and completed research, case studies and project descriptions that are selected after a rigorous blind review by experts in the field.
This study examines whether disconnective practices on social media such as unfriending could constitute a form of selective avoidance and investigates its boundary conditions. To do so, we study ...whether, to what extent, and under which conditions exposure to disagreement on social media predicts politically motivated unfriending. Specifically, we examine how the relationship varies in different relational contexts and whether it is conditioned by opinion minority status. Using survey data collected shortly before the 2017 Chief Executive Election in Hong Kong, we find cross-cutting exposure to be a significant predictor of politically motivated unfriending. This suggests that the disconnective practices represent a form of selective avoidance, but only among a relatively small number of social media users. We also show that only disagreements arising from political discussion with distant others predict unfriending. Furthermore, opinion minorities are more inclined to cut ties in the face of political disagreement than the majorities. Based on these findings, we discuss the weakness of weak ties on social media and characterize selective avoidance as a means to build digital "safe spaces".
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