Unit 6: Media and Social Shaping - Practice Quiz

SOC371 — Sociology Of Media 50 Questions
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1 Which sociologist is most closely associated with the concept of 'networked publics' regarding how youth navigate social media?

A. danah boyd
B. Henry Jenkins
C. Marshall McLuhan
D. Sherry Turkle

2 According to Marc Prensky, individuals who were born during or after the general introduction of digital technologies and through interacting with digital technology from an early age are known as:

A. Digital Immigrants
B. App Generation
C. Networked Individuals
D. Digital Natives

3 In the context of growing up online, 'context collapse' refers to:

A. The decline of traditional social values due to online anonymity.
B. The flattening of multiple distinct audiences into a single context.
C. The loss of internet connection during critical social interactions.
D. The psychological breakdown caused by cyberbullying.

4 Sonia Livingstone’s research on children and the internet emphasizes that increased opportunity often comes with increased:

A. Surveillance
B. Isolation
C. Risk
D. Intelligence

5 Which term describes the phenomenon where people act out more intensely or aggressively online than they would in person?

A. The Cultivation Effect
B. The Third-Person Effect
C. The Spiral of Silence
D. The Online Disinhibition Effect

6 Sherry Turkle's book 'Alone Together' argues that mobile technology leads to:

A. A complete abandonment of digital communication.
B. Enhanced community building in local neighborhoods.
C. The expectation of more from technology and less from each other.
D. Greater intimacy in physical relationships.

7 The concept of 'absent presence' in the sociology of mobile phones refers to:

A. The ghosting phenomenon in dating apps.
B. Being physically present but mentally disengaged due to interaction with a mobile device.
C. The feeling of missing a phone when it is left at home.
D. Tracking the location of friends via GPS.

8 According to Rich Ling, 'micro-coordination' refers to:

A. The government surveillance of small groups.
B. The nuanced management of social interactions and logistics in real-time via mobile phones.
C. The use of mobile phones to organize large-scale political protests.
D. The detailed design of mobile circuitry.

9 What is 'phubbing'?

A. Hacking into private phones.
B. Using a phone to track physical fitness.
C. Publishing fake news via mobile apps.
D. Snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention.

10 In the context of the 'App Generation' (Gardner and Davis), what does it mean to be 'App-dependent'?

A. Looking to apps for answers to all questions and avoiding risk or ambiguity.
B. Developing one's own applications for profit.
C. Refusing to use technology for daily tasks.
D. Using apps to enhance creativity and explore new identities.

11 Conversely, Gardner and Davis define 'App-enabled' as:

A. Using apps as a starting point for creativity and self-expression.
B. Having parental controls disabled on a device.
C. Being addicted to social media scrolling.
D. The technical ability to code software.

12 A key criticism of the 'App Generation's' identity formation is:

A. They have no interest in how others perceive them.
B. They view identity as a 'packaged' brand to be curated and polished.
C. They have too many secret identities.
D. They prefer anonymity over recognition.

13 Which theorist is most associated with the distinction between 'stickiness' and 'spreadability' in media?

A. Jean Baudrillard
B. Henry Jenkins
C. Pierre Bourdieu
D. Erving Goffman

14 According to Limor Shifman, an internet meme is defined as:

A. A group of digital items sharing common characteristics strictly created by corporations.
B. A group of digital items sharing common characteristics, created with awareness of each other, and circulated/imitated by many users.
C. Any picture with text overlay.
D. A single viral video that gets millions of views.

15 The concept of 'FOMO' (Fear Of Missing Out) is best described sociologically as:

A. A form of social anxiety characterized by a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing.
B. The fear of losing internet connectivity during a storm.
C. A clinical anxiety disorder unrelated to technology.
D. A marketing strategy used by television broadcasters.

16 Which term describes the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment?

A. Activism
B. Micro-coordination
C. Slacktivism
D. Hacktivism

17 In gamer culture, the 'Magic Circle' (Huizinga) refers to:

A. The circular controller used in early consoles.
B. The elite group of professional gamers.
C. The coding loop that runs the game engine.
D. The boundary separating the game world, where special rules apply, from the real world.

18 What is 'Ludology' the study of?

A. The narrative structure of games.
B. The economic impact of e-sports.
C. The psychological effects of violence.
D. Games as systems of rules and mechanics.

19 The controversy known as 'Gamergate' highlighted which negative aspect of gamer culture?

A. The high cost of consoles.
B. The addiction levels of MMORPGs.
C. The rigging of e-sports tournaments.
D. Harassment, sexism, and exclusionary attitudes toward women and minorities.

20 In the context of mobile technology, 'tethering' refers to:

A. Connecting a phone to a laptop for internet.
B. The psychological feeling of being constantly tied to one's social network and parents via the mobile device.
C. Restricting internet access for children.
D. The use of wires to charge devices.

21 Which term describes the integration of game mechanics (points, leaderboards) into non-game contexts to motivate participation?

A. Gamification
B. Virtualization
C. Simulation
D. Ludification

22 What is an 'Avatar' in the context of digital sociology?

A. A type of computer virus.
B. A social media moderator.
C. A digital representation of a user within a virtual environment.
D. A high-grossing film.

23 The 'quantified self' movement is closely linked to which technological trend?

A. Wearable technology and health apps.
B. Console gaming.
C. Viral marketing.
D. MMORPGs

24 In the context of viral media, 'participatory culture' implies that:

A. Media consumption is passive.
B. Participation requires a subscription fee.
C. Audiences are not just consumers but also contributors and producers of content.
D. Only professionals create content.

25 Which of the following is a characteristic of 'Networked Individualism'?

A. All social interactions are anonymous.
B. Individuals no longer rely on social support.
C. People interact mostly within tightly knit, geographically bound groups.
D. The person, rather than the household or group, is the primary unit of connectivity.

26 The 'Privacy Paradox' refers to the finding that:

A. Users claim to care about privacy but often freely disclose personal information online.
B. Privacy settings are impossible to understand.
C. Governments protect privacy better than corporations.
D. Users do not care about privacy.

27 What is 'Modding' in gamer culture?

A. Buying modern equipment.
B. Moderating a chat room.
C. The act of players altering the game's code or assets to create new content.
D. Playing in 'moderate' mode.

28 The 'algorithm' in social media shaping refers to:

A. The rhythm of typing on a keyboard.
B. A set of rules used by platforms to prioritize and filter content presented to users.
C. The physical server storing data.
D. The legal terms of service.

29 According to T.L. Taylor, e-sports challenge the traditional definition of sport by:

A. Replacing physical exertion with cognitive and fine-motor skill mastery.
B. Eliminating spectators.
C. Allowing cheating.
D. Removing the element of competition.

30 Which term describes the blurred boundary between work and leisure caused by mobile technology?

A. The Always-On Culture
B. Professionalization
C. Gamification
D. The Digital Divide

31 The 'bedroom culture' of the late 20th century has evolved in the digital age into:

A. Communal living rooms.
B. Strictly study environments.
C. Media-rich personal spaces where youth socialize with the outside world from within their room.
D. Outdoor play.

32 What is the 'Filter Bubble'?

A. A state of intellectual isolation resulting from algorithms serving users only content they agree with.
B. A protective screen for mobile phones.
C. A photography filter used on Instagram.
D. A method of censoring inappropriate content.

33 In the context of the App Generation, 'transactional relationships' implies:

A. Banking online.
B. Paying for dating apps.
C. Business networking only.
D. Viewing social interactions as exchanges to be managed efficiently rather than deep connections.

34 Which of the following is an example of 'technical determinism' regarding mobile phones?

A. Society shapes how phones are designed.
B. Phones have no impact on society.
C. The belief that mobile phones cause social isolation inevitably.
D. People use phones to reinforce existing social patterns.

35 The concept of 'Gold Farming' in MMORPGs relates to:

A. Winning a championship trophy.
B. Planting crops in FarmVille.
C. Finding hidden levels in games.
D. Players (often in developing nations) playing to acquire in-game currency to sell for real money.

36 Who authored the influential book 'The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life', which is often applied to social media profile curation?

A. Mark Zuckerberg
B. Erving Goffman
C. Sherry Turkle
D. Karl Marx

37 In viral media, 'remix culture' refers to:

A. A society that allows and encourages derivative works by combining or editing existing materials.
B. Illegal piracy of software.
C. Listening to music while browsing.
D. The decline of original thought.

38 What is 'Doomscrolling'?

A. scrolling to the bottom of a webpage.
B. Playing the game Doom.
C. Deleting old apps.
D. The tendency to continue surfing or scrolling through bad news, even though that news is saddening or depressing.

39 The term 'Second Life' refers to:

A. A famous virtual world where users navigate via avatars.
B. Reincarnation beliefs online.
C. Having a secret Instagram account.
D. Backing up your hard drive.

40 Which factor most contributes to the 'virality' of content according to Jonah Berger?

A. High physiological arousal (awe, anger, excitement).
B. Length of the text.
C. Standard formatting.
D. Posting at midnight.

41 In the context of the App Generation, the 'algocratic' governance means:

A. No rules at all.
B. Government by the people.
C. Governance by algorithms/code rather than human laws or discretion.
D. Rule by the wealthy.

42 The distinction between 'public' and 'private' spaces is ____ by mobile technology.

A. Eliminated
B. Blurred
C. Reversed
D. Reinforced

43 What is 'Doxxing' in online culture?

A. Sending documents via email.
B. Blocking a user.
C. Creating a digital avatar.
D. The malicious practice of publishing private or identifying information about a particular individual on the internet.

44 Which generation is typically characterized as having never known a world without the internet?

A. Gen Z / iGen
B. The Silent Generation
C. Gen X
D. Boomers

45 The 'Echo Chamber' effect is best described as:

A. Improved audio quality in video chats.
B. A situation where beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a closed system.
C. Open debate between opposing sides.
D. The noise made by notifications.

46 In gaming, 'immersion' refers to:

A. The cost of the game.
B. The state of being deeply engaged or absorbed in the game world.
C. Water-based levels.
D. The installation process.

47 Which of these is considered a 'Third Place' in the context of digital sociology (Oldenburg)?

A. Home
B. MMORPGs / Online Communities
C. Work
D. The Commute

48 The 'democratization of content creation' generally refers to:

A. Government voting apps.
B. The ability for ordinary users to create and distribute media without traditional gatekeepers.
C. Free internet for everyone.
D. Only politicians being allowed to tweet.

49 Why do sociologists study 'memes'?

A. They are easy to archive.
B. They are funny.
C. They generate ad revenue.
D. They serve as complex cultural artifacts that reflect shared values, anxieties, and political discourse.

50 The 'Google Effect' (or Digital Amnesia) refers to:

A. The dominance of Google in search.
B. The increase in IQ due to search engines.
C. Visual impairment from screens.
D. The tendency to forget information that can be found readily online.