This document discusses a study analyzing the use of new media tools by peripheral youth in virtual communities. The study examined the Malayali Pondicherry University Facebook group from November 20th to 30th, 2011, categorizing posts based on format, language, content, engagement, and date. It found that the community is male-dominated, with active participants setting the agenda to promote certain viewpoints. Peripheral members engaged in diverse discussions and shared varied content, encouraging participation in online and real-world campaigns. The virtual debates empowered youth to move from the margins to the core of the community.

1. Virtual Communities: The
Experiences of the Peripheral
Youth in using New Media tools
for Creative Participation and
Representation
Juby John Eipe, Titto Varghese
Dr. Arulselvan S. & Dr Nivedhitha D.

2. Introductory Remarks

3. • Social networking via internet
• instrumental in building online communities
– “Pondicherry University”
– “Student’s Voice for Democracy in Pondicherry
University”
– “Malayali Pondicherry University” (MPU)
• platform for cultural exchanges in the form of
text, pictures, videos and their combinations

4. Theoretical framework

5. Peripheral Youth

6. The global commons and the
disappearing margins

7. Participatory culture online and
Empowerment

8. Methodology

9. Methodology
• Content Analysis of the posts in the MPU
Facebook community
– from November 20 to 30, 2011
• Posts categorised based on
– the format of the posting
– the language
– the content
– the number of comments and likes received
– the day of posting
• members of the community interviewed

11. • Agenda set by the active participants in favour
of a particular view point
• sharp criticisms and endorsements of different
ideas and ideologies
• post multimodal content with hyperlinks to
other websites, discussion forums and
Facebook pages with an objective to promote
certain causes

12. Where are the Women?
4
Male
Female
87

13. Peripheral Gender
1
27
Male Female

14. • Evolving agenda
• sharing content and initiating discussions on
diverse issues
• urge the members to promote the cause by
taking up various campaigns in the virtual
world
– like putting up a common ‘profile picture’
projecting the cause and in the real world by
participating in “protests” and educating “others”
about the cause.

15. • Range of Content
• not unanimous in their opinions always
• discuss, debate, argue and even fight virtually
without crossing the boundaries of propriety

17. empower and encourage the
participants to move towards the
core, away from the margins

18. Cultural exchanges in the form of
debates, discussions

19. Silence of
women

20. Thank You