Participatory culture is where the production and consumption of creations both on and offline, is encouraged and accepted inclusively. Gee and Hayes (2010) state how participatory cultures are formulated through an affinity, communal interests or passion people share. It’s a culture where people can be cooperative with society, engage with communities and make a difference in the world (Jenkins, 2010). Participatory cultures not only applies to the use of technology, but also many other social forms of interaction or engagement. Whether it be by actively collaborating in a Ukele practice group or even in a public library, one can evidently observe that individuals of all differing backgrounds and age groups participate and engage in participatory networks. I suppose that technology especially allowed participatory culture to evolve not only expansively but also universally.
I believe participatory cultures can create a positive and optimistic atmosphere and environment, whereby communities can provide individuals with a sense of belonging (Gee and Hayes, 2010), through a variety of contributing factors such as constructive feedback. These participatory cultures can provide individuals with a sense of belonging, by strongly supporting their creations or ideas expressed, allowing one to believe their contributions matter and obtain meaning. On the other hand however, I believe participatory cultures can be seen as a negative atmosphere or environment where peoples criticism can be hurtful or deconstructive. ‘Flaming’ is a form of negative communication which is highly discouraged within most participatory cultures, however is commonly seen. In their article, Gee and Hayes, (2010) further more expand this idea of individuals competing fiercely for status and rather than creating a sense of belonging, an “us” against “them” can also exist.
References:
Gee, J.P. & Hayes, E. (2010). Passionate affinity groups: A new form of community that works to make people smarter. In Women and gaming: The Sims and 21st century learning (pp. 105-124). New York: Palgrave.
Delwiche, A. A., & Henderson, J. J. (2012). What is participatory culture? (A. A. Delwiche & J. J. Henderson, Trans.). In A. A. Delwiche & J. J. Henderson (Eds.), The participatory cultures handbook (pp. 1 online resource (xvi, 289 p.) : ill.). New York :: Routledge. Access http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au:80/record=b4309637~S1
TEDx (Producer). (2010). TEDxNYED – Henry Jenkins Retrieved from http://youtu.be/AFCLKa0XRlw?list=PLvhlPeLAwGCaFACwMIZ_NIlLkxVLNityR
Youth and Digital Culture 