1. Collective identities serve a number of different needs and include a feeling of
inclusion and need for differentiation . Perhaps the most influential Tajfel and
Turner 1979 which says that individuals strive for positive self-concept and that
identification with and comparison across groups serve that purpose.
“Identity is complicated- everybody thinks they’ve got one”- David Gauntlett
“ A focus on Identity requires us to pay closer attention to the ways in which
media and technologies are used in everyday life and their consequences for
social groups” -David Buckingham
The concept of a collective identity refers to a set of individuals' sense of
belonging to the group or collective. For the individual, the identity derived from
the collective shapes a part of his or her personal identity. It is possible, at times,
that this sense of belonging to a particular group will be so strong that it will
trump other aspects of the person's personal identity. To put it another way,
Collective Identity is the idea that through participating in social activities,
individuals can gain a sense of belonging and in essence an "identity" that
transcends the individual. Therein are the rewards and risks of Social
Networking. One can derive great satisfaction and sometimes great risks from
participating. Within a typical collective, agreement is often valued over debate,
though even more often fierce battles may erupt.
The mere act of categorizing individuals into social groups changes the nature of
interpersonal perceptions and behaviours (Tajfel 1978). There is an increased
perception of between-groups differences and within group similarity and
increased in-group favouritism
Erikson’s theory of ego (1963) says that the development of ones identity arises
of an identity crisis that take place during adolescence. To dal with that one must
engage ina period o f exploration of different identities and roles, eventually
committing to specific identities ( Marcia 1988)
The role of the mobile is not just a tool for exchanging information but also has a
social role which grows out of that communication. Rich Ling describes the
mobile as a physical devise but also a medium through which we communicate
and maintain social contact.
One of the uses that the mobile has been put to is of a log, a diary, of activities,
networks , a documentation of experiences, a role that has implications for the
individual and the group (Gitte Stald 2008)
To have your phone on is to be connected, a line to instant friendly support and
emotional presence and can be used of phatic communication eg ‘whats up?’
It documents personal experiences, it proves things, a scrap book of ones life, but
to share, a shared personal identity, a digital diary .

2. Social identity is the individuals self-concept derived from perceived
membership of social groups ( Hogg and Vaughan 2002)
Tajfel and Turner 1979 developed their social identity theory.
An era when spectatorial culture is giving way to participatorial culture (Henry
Jenkins (2009), where a small number of companies controlling the story telling
is being replaced by a system where increasingly people have their own means
to tell their stories.
Made increasingly possible with Web 2.0 this idea that individuals can actively
participate, means that the individual can contribute to the representation of the
groups that they are members of. So the idea of the representations of this
collective identity will be from diverse representations including fiction, non-
fiction and self-representation.
Stereotyping – what is the impact ? does the audience have power to resist?
Mediation – with an increase in media, and its use it follows that there is
increasing mediation, and representation by others and ourselves. Look at the
wide variety of user generated content on YouTube from feeling depressed, not
having any friends, bullying, racist behaviour
In News – reported as moral panics, youths are seen as a deviant threat, as gang
members and protestors.
Same text but different responses, do we simply take the meaning that we want
from texts?
Facebook is a perfect case study for self-representation, how does that build?
1 billion active users, average 130 friends, 58% use daily, each day 300 million
photos uploaded. 3.2 billion likes and comments, 600 million access through
mobile devices, 80% of businesses active on FB, Rihanna over 60 million fans,
Coca-Cola over 52 million fans.
But how people use, 25 comments written a month, a member of 13 groups, 9
likes a month, become a fan of 4 pages per month
The choices you have, profile picture and other ones you put up, the groups that
you join, how many friends, the campaigns you join?
Twitter – same, profile picture
2/3 billion users, 58 million tweets per day, 190 million users a month, 450
million use their phone to tweet, 230 million active users per month, 240 million
just watch, 9100 tweets per second
Analyse the ways in which the media represent one group of people you have
studied

3. *case study of young people
* two or more media for examples: TV drama and film
*news and moral panics (past and present)- Barker/McRobbie
*TV sympathetic portrayal but still ‘constructed’ (present)
*Facebook, Youtube and self representation- Wesch (future?)
*to what purpose are all these images constructed and for what
audiences?
“ the media do not construct collective identity, they merely reflect it” Discuss.
*what does collective identity mean?
*what’s the difference between construction and reflection: mediation
*two or more media: Film TV and online
*case study examples: construction of ‘youth’ from Grange Hill and other
TV through memes (present)- draw upon Wesch
*audience understandings constructing meaning: ‘interpretive
communities’
* use Jenkins’ ideas on active audiences throughout (future?) and
Gauntlett on identity
Sources
Quadrophenia
Grange Hill
Sket
Harry Brown
Ill Manors
Youngers
News on London Riots
Documentary on STI