Den (o)värdige bidragstagaren - Diskussioner om socialbidrag på ett internetforum
(2013) SOAM01 20122School of Social Work
- Abstract
- The aim of this essay was to study how posters on the internet forum Flashback discuss
social assistance and social assistance recipients. Research show that there is a tendency
in today’s society to interpret the reasons for receiving social assistance as having
individualistic causes. This is in spite of the fact that studies show that the individuals’
ability to provide for oneself often have structural foundations. Representations of
social assistance recipients as being lazy and able to get work if they really wanted exist
among the Swedish public. It was therefore interesting for us to see how posters present
themselves and the social assistance recipients in the discussion that took place on the
forum. The study is a... (More) - The aim of this essay was to study how posters on the internet forum Flashback discuss
social assistance and social assistance recipients. Research show that there is a tendency
in today’s society to interpret the reasons for receiving social assistance as having
individualistic causes. This is in spite of the fact that studies show that the individuals’
ability to provide for oneself often have structural foundations. Representations of
social assistance recipients as being lazy and able to get work if they really wanted exist
among the Swedish public. It was therefore interesting for us to see how posters present
themselves and the social assistance recipients in the discussion that took place on the
forum. The study is a discourse analysis carried out using discursive social psychology
as an approach, in which theory and method is seen as intertwined. The study consisted
of an analysis of 200 posts from a thread at the internet forum Flashback. Crucial
theoretical concepts for our analysis were interpretative repertoires, subject positions
and narrative resistance. In the study we inquire into which interpretative repertoires
that can be distinguished in the discussion and how these are the basis on which
representations of social assistance recipients are built. The results of our analysis have
indicated that two interpretative repertoires are crucial to the way in which the posters
phrase themselves concerning social assistance. These repertoires are the interpretative
repertoire of effortfulness and the interpretative repertoire of structural causes.
Important in the representations of the identity of the posters is the categorization of a
group of hard working individuals and the social assistance recipients as lacking in their
efforts. The posters express how they take their own responsibility with the aim of
revealing how the social assistance recipients are inadequate when it comes to taking
their responsibility. The representation of the social assistance recipients is characterized
by a division of worthy and unworthy individuals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3411346
- author
- Rülf, Helena LU and Nilsson Svegard, Thea LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOAM01 20122
- year
- 2013
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- discursive social psychology, social assistance, internet forum, interpretative repertoires, subject positions, narrative resistance
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 3411346
- date added to LUP
- 2013-02-07 14:30:44
- date last changed
- 2013-02-07 14:30:44
@misc{3411346,
abstract = {{The aim of this essay was to study how posters on the internet forum Flashback discuss
social assistance and social assistance recipients. Research show that there is a tendency
in today’s society to interpret the reasons for receiving social assistance as having
individualistic causes. This is in spite of the fact that studies show that the individuals’
ability to provide for oneself often have structural foundations. Representations of
social assistance recipients as being lazy and able to get work if they really wanted exist
among the Swedish public. It was therefore interesting for us to see how posters present
themselves and the social assistance recipients in the discussion that took place on the
forum. The study is a discourse analysis carried out using discursive social psychology
as an approach, in which theory and method is seen as intertwined. The study consisted
of an analysis of 200 posts from a thread at the internet forum Flashback. Crucial
theoretical concepts for our analysis were interpretative repertoires, subject positions
and narrative resistance. In the study we inquire into which interpretative repertoires
that can be distinguished in the discussion and how these are the basis on which
representations of social assistance recipients are built. The results of our analysis have
indicated that two interpretative repertoires are crucial to the way in which the posters
phrase themselves concerning social assistance. These repertoires are the interpretative
repertoire of effortfulness and the interpretative repertoire of structural causes.
Important in the representations of the identity of the posters is the categorization of a
group of hard working individuals and the social assistance recipients as lacking in their
efforts. The posters express how they take their own responsibility with the aim of
revealing how the social assistance recipients are inadequate when it comes to taking
their responsibility. The representation of the social assistance recipients is characterized
by a division of worthy and unworthy individuals.}},
author = {{Rülf, Helena and Nilsson Svegard, Thea}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Den (o)värdige bidragstagaren - Diskussioner om socialbidrag på ett internetforum}},
year = {{2013}},
}