Are Social Media Design Practices Marginalising Other Cultures?

Adamu, Muhammad and Orji, Rita and Sakpere, Aderonke (2020) Are Social Media Design Practices Marginalising Other Cultures? In: 2020 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2020, 2020-04-25 - 2020-04-30.

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Abstract

We argue that the current practice of social media design might have inadvertently ‘othered’ African cultures in place of stereotypical traditions and values that inform the practice of innovation globally. It is our understanding that sustainable and sensitive approaches that integrate with the aspirations and lived conditions of diverse marginalised communities ought to form the basis for the approaches used in understanding and designing social media platforms. We also emphasise the need to critically and sensibility analyse the sociocultural implication of using mobile technologies and social platforms to the process of harnessing the social practices of the communities that they get adopted and used. It is our position that examining the multitude of Nigerian cultures and values might bring about a better understanding of the societal implications of ‘Instagramming in Nigeria’ and the use of mobile technologies in intimate spaces among married couples and adults in relationships.