Superconnected: The Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life (SAGE Sociological Essentials Series) by Mary Chayko

Author:Mary Chayko [Chayko, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2016-02-22T23:00:00+00:00

7 Friending, Dating, and Relating

Interactivity

Humans have a strong need for social connectedness and interaction. It is one of our deepest and strongest desires. Most individuals in high-tech societies are part of social networks that contain, collectively, hundreds of social ties that represent a variety of strengths (from weak to strong) and purposes (from instrumental to expressive—see Chayko, 2002).

A prime use of the internet and digital media is socializing—making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, and spending time with family both physically near and far away. As with physical places, individuals like to invite family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances to join them in digital spaces. Because it is so easy to feel the presence of others online, it is common to spend time in social interaction with them there.

The internet and digital media thus facilitate and encourage social connectedness. Some social networking sites explicitly help individuals find and associate with one another, and many specialize and excel at this. Like email, texting, and speaking on the phone, these sites create a space for people to get to know one another and to potentially become involved in one another’s lives. They also allow friends who know one another offline to stay in touch and maintain their friendships.

People exhibit extraordinary creativity in finding ways to interact and connect online. They develop and join groups of all kinds, from Facebook and Google groups to internet forums and bulletin boards. They invent ways to identify one another and form groups online, such as the hashtag, and invent platforms and apps that constantly reimagine the ways that people can interact.

With mobility, this kind of connectivity can take place almost constantly. Cell phones, tablets, and other mobile/portable media make it easy to reach out to others anytime, anywhere. As we shall see in Chapter 9, this inspires in some a compulsion to do just this. With a phone at one’s side—always there, always on—social interaction can be nearly always enabled. It can be difficult to resist the temptation to check for messages, updates, and news.

Some worry that media-enabled communication and relationships will somehow replace or substitute for face-to-face relationships. But research has indicated precisely the opposite. In general, use of the internet tends to prompt—not substitute for—face-to-face interaction. It is very common to use the internet, cell phones, and mobile media to make dates to get together with others. Mobile phones even allow people to make plans on the go and are often used to do so. And, along with social media, they are used to support and maintain relationships with faraway others—to keep bonds strong in between physical meetings and make those meetings far more likely (Chayko, 2014). Social interaction is well supported by the internet and digital media.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.