2.0 Digital Society Concepts
According to the IB Digital Society Guide, “Concepts are powerful, pervasive and debatable perspectives that provide insight for inquiry.”
In another words, Concepts are big ideas that help us explore and understand the world from different angles, and they encourage questioning and discussion. Concepts help us think about a topic, see it from different viewpoints, and ask meaningful questions.
The IB Digital Society Guide lists the seven digital society concepts:
2.1 Change
2.2 Expression
2.3 Identity
2.4 Power
2.5 Space
2.6 Systems
2.7 Values and ethics
Digital Society concepts are not topics that are used or learned in isolation. They must always be integrated with Digital Society content and contexts in order to be properly understood.
Normally, in analyzing a real-world example only a few of the seven concepts are most relevant. However, for the purpose of demonstrating all of the concepts, seven simple examples are provided below that connect aspects of social media with the seven Digital Society concepts. The relationship between each concept and social media is explained in straightforward terms.
Social media and change – The idea of making friends in the physical world is very different from making friends on social media platforms. While forming friendships in the physical world usually requires a significant investment of time, making friends in a social media platform often only requires sending a request or invitation and having it accepted. Frequently, “social media friends” do not even know each other in person. This represents a significant change in what it means to be a “friend”.
Social media and expression – Social media users often express their feelings in messages through emoticons. Also, if they want to emphasize strong emotions such as shouting, they may write in UPPERCASE letters.
Social media and identity – Many people present a different identity online compared to their offline lives when interacting or posting on social media platforms. For instance, people tend to share pictures of trips and celebrations, but they rarely post images of themselves at work. As a result, the identity portrayed on social media is often that of a happy and carefree person.
Social media and power – Users do not always see everything they might expect to see when browsing social media platforms. Images and advertisements may suddenly appear on-screen. Without their awareness, users are shown content selected by algorithms based on their preferences and previous interactions. This means that social media platforms hold significant power in determining what users see.
Social media and space – Social media users frequently interact through video conferences. A key characteristic of these interactions is that participants are often in different physical locations, sometimes even in different countries. However, during the interaction, they share the same digital space.
Social media and systems – Interaction on social media platforms is only possible when users access them through digital systems such as smartphones, tablets, or computers.
Social media and values and ethics – Social media influencers are often role models for some users. For example, young people may feel pressured to change their appearance to match influencers, while others may be influenced to purchase advertised products. However, what influencers present is often shaped by commercial interests rather than reality. These promotions raise ethical concerns about authenticity and transparency on social media platforms.