Here are few themes and questions to get you thinking about your seminar questions, responses, and follow-up comments/questions for one another. Remember to please maintain standard academic writing rules and tone in all of your comments and support your responses (and perhaps follow-up comments/questions) with textual evidence from the article and/or your peers' comments.
-- Identity creation and self-definition --> Connection with ambient awareness.
-- Effects of technology on human interactions
-- Concerns over privacy and the obligations of institutions/employers to address online material
-- The adaptability to or excessive reliance upon technology and new communications media.
Those are just a few major themes and issues that struck me while reading. Your questions and responses can certainly touch on one of those topics or address some other concept within the article.
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24 comments:
Apparently I found my initial post so interesting that I felt compelled to respond to myself. In any event, I just read this article on the NYT website that is tangentially related to the article. This piece traces demographic trends and behavioral habits among users of social networking sites. Perhaps this article will provide some thought-provoking connections for your seminar questions.
http://blow.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/a-profile-of-online-profiles/
Why does reading people’s twitter messages seem to allow other people to know what that person is like?
When people read what someone is thinking or doing, they can start to sense what is happening to that person or what they are doing. If someone is feeling down you could tell by what messages they posted, and the same can be said if they are feeling well. Ben Haley found that he could tell when his “friends were heading into hellish days at work or when they’d scored a big success” just by reading their random posts of the day (3). When people write about what’s happening to them you see a certain part of them. Once you read enough of their messages you can tell what the person is like, and what type of mood their in, and maybe even tell where they are when they post the message. It’s the same when you talk to someone for a long time and get to know that person. You can tell everything about them simply by hearing what they say to you. With messages you can get the same sense of that person because you are hearing what they are thinking through their messages.
Why does blogging allow you to know yourself better?
Most people tend to say things about themselves that may not be totally true because it may be somehting they want to believe is true, or if they just want to fit in. When you write down what is happening to you then you are forced to "look at it objectively" (9). By slowing down and looking at your life you are forced to judge yourself and what you say. Looking at yourself this way everyday can force you into reality. You sometimes realize that you are a different person than who you say you are. If something at school was bothering you, and you wrote a blog about it, you might realize it wasn't really that annoying. you might tell people that you are really into sports, but when you see that you've written it then you might realize that you really don't like sports all that much. writing forces us to slow down and think about what we're doing. This can reveal some things about yourself that even you didn't know about.
How has this ambient awareness affected our privacy and our work life?
In a world where everyone constantly knows what everyone else is doing,
you obviously lose some privacy. You cannot hide anything that you do
not want to get out. "It brings back the dynamics of small-town life."
Anything you do in public can be known to everyone. The article uses the
example of people taking pictures of things you do not want to get out.
I know that this online chatting has caused serious problems with some
people getting jobs. When someone applies for a job, the employer will
look at their facebook and in several cases they have not hired the
applicant because of their facebook. This might make things more honest,
but it is unfortunate for people who do not make sure there is nothing
they don't want on their's or someone else's facebook.
How has this ambient awareness affected relationships between people?
The affect this concept has had on interpersonal relationships is both good and bad. People stay connected much more even if it's only on a shallow level. "I know more about more people than ever before."
One problem is that this can decrease people feeling the need to see their friends or family in person, because they feel they already know what is going on with them. However, if you are really close to the person, I have a hard time believing you would not make time to see them. Facebook and other similar mediums for communication, strengthen already strong relationships and save ones that would otherwise fall out of touch.
My quotes were from pages five and seven, respectively
1. How has technology allowed people to go back to so-called social norms after the boom of social isolation when many moved to big cities where it was harder to stay connected?
Before people moved to larger cities, where because of obvious geographic circumstances it was harder to stay in touch, they lived in smaller towns where it was easier to connect with someone face-to-face on a regular basis. Everyone would know everyone’s business because of this regular socializing, and that kind of dynamic became socially normal. Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook, believes that his popular online blog is “getting people to be comfortable with things they aren’t yet comfortable with”, like having one’s thoughts and personal opinions updated every day (2). Technology has allowed people to have this kind of insight into other’s lives and Zuckerberg argues “[a] lot of this is just social norms catching up with what technology is capable of” (2). In a way, internet blogging has allowed people to become more connected and more insightful of others because people probably post more intimate and personal information about themselves on their blogs or accounts than they would talk about with a daily acquaintance.
1. Why has the Internet increased people’s fascination with each other’s lives?
Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have expanded our ability to quickly form social relationships through the Internet. Being able to get constant coverage about the lives of strangers and acquaintances is satisfying because it is an interesting way to pass the time. The reason that individuals are so fascinated by others’ lives is that they get to, “Follow [Facebook or Twitter] for a day, though, and it begins to feel like a short story; follow it for a month, and it’s a novel” (4). These websites can be addictive because of the degree to which the information is constantly updated. This keeps you in a state of anticipation about what’s next, just like watching a soap opera every day. The constant updates keep people in touch with different social circles and makes them feel like they are part of something.
2. How have the privacy features of Facebook, Twitter, and similar websites affected members since they are now open to the public instead of strictly students?
The fact that these sites are no longer restricted to college and high school students is a concern for users that don’t want adults looking on their profiles. When the age was restricted, it felt safer because you knew that only other students were among you. Since Mark Zuckerberg made Facebook public, anyone can join, including child molesters, teachers, and even parents. After the privacy issue with Facebook, “… Zuckerberg opened the site to the general public (previously, only students could join)…today, it has 100 million users” (2). With the expansion of Facebook, anyone who wants to can join and start learning about other people’s lives. This brings up some very serious issues about safety and feeling secure when communicating with other members.
Follow up question:
I agree with tyler moore's first blog post that by reading people's twitter messages, we get a since of what that person is like and what they do in their daily lives. With constant updates of twitter, it is easier to get to know the person even if you haven't met them in person. By getting to know the person through their status or messages, one can learn more about them.
How is this sort of reliance on technology hindering people’s face-to-face contact with others?
Facebook, Twitter, and other similar websites have enabled people to stay connected and learn more about each other, but it sometimes causes people to only interact through the internet. Caterina Fake, a founder of Flickr, another popular blog, admits that communicating through blog updates and online accounts “has made her occasionally lazy about actually taking the time to visit [friends] in person” (7). This technology keeps people from interacting face-to-face because they find it so much easier to just go online and check people’s updates instead. What may eventually happen is that people become so used to contacting each other through the internet and even cell phones that they begin to interact face-to-face less and less, which can even diminish their social skills making them awkward and socially unaware.
I think Gregory and I have pretty similar views about the internet's effects on people's relationships with one another. I do agree with him that people with intimate relationship are probably less susceptible to only interacting through the internet. The article says that "weak ties" are relationships "maintained via technology", but people in your intimate circle of friends will probably be on the list of people you interact with everyday.
How do small pieces of information about friends’ daily statuses create an overall more personal feeling between users of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking services?
Knowing the daily change, or lack there of, of people’s emotions and activities can create a “surprisingly sophisticated portrait” or their lives (page 3). Although the idea of such a personal tracking system of sorts initially evokes an uncomfortable reaction, I have learned from personal experience that people become accustomed to such updates and begin intentionally checking up on people that they would normally not think about. Through repeated reading of people’s statues, people begin to “feel oddly as though they’ve never actually been apart” (page 4). A new level of personal relationship emerges from such a vast number of online friends. This relationship is a mixture between a more personal one and a less personal one. One feels personally connected to a person enough to comment on their Facebook wall or message them with certain concerns such as, “I’m sorry you’re sick. I hope you feel better!” The impersonal portion of this relationship presents itself in more convenient times when a Facebook or Twitter user does not have the time or energy to intentionally ask how one of their more distant friends is doing. So, a network of friends on the Internet allows users to remain relatively close to people they rarely see with a safe distance from becoming too emotionally involved in his or her personal life.
How does the youth population’s use of online social networks allow for some users to focus more on their Internet life rather than their real life?
Creating too many weak ties can weaken real relationships and can “spread your emotional energy too thin” (page 6). A social network user can observe rather than know his or her Internet friends (page 6). People can become overly enamored of the consistent confidence boost of various comments wishing them a better day or describing to them how sexy they look in a picture. Some may feel as though they must create a profile of a fun, popular person who attends events every weekend that are so important that they deserve their own online photo album. Now at public events, the phrase “Let’s take pics for Facebook!” is commonly heard while young men and women crowd together and fake spontaneous moments that seem fun and desirable to others so that they can show off their social lives via Facebook. This phenomenon may cloud the intentions of even real friends who go out on a weekend night. Even a trip to Starbucks can turn into a photo story book on Facebook as people upload pictures of someone laughing in ten different positions, and pictures of spilled coffee on the floor with interesting hyperbolic captions that embellish the night’s events. Such an obsession with a Facebook reputation can shift the purpose of hanging out with friends from the simple enjoyment of each other to the potential photo album that everyone at school will want to talk about.
I agree with Margaret:
"This keeps you in a state of anticipation about what’s next, just like watching a soap opera every day."
How could you balance this statement with the negative side of such anticipation?
How does relying so heavily the internet effect the strength of the friendships made?
Relying on the internet for all social connections can either be helpful or harmful depending on the type of relationship one is trying to create. By having constant contact with people through online sites like Facebook and Twitter "those ties [have been made] immeasurably richer" (Thompson 5). Even though people become close friends in person, they can only become closer by having constant notifications about what is going on in their lives. At the same time, by having so many facebook or twitter friends, one can "spread [one's] emotional energy too thin, leaving less for true intimate relationships" (Thompson). With availability to look into almost everyone's lives, one must be careful in becoming too emotionally involved with those "weak ties" friends and have them only for problem solving. In the long run, Facebook and Twitter are not major threats to weakening relationships.
I agree with annalee's comment. Social gatherings with friends can now sometimes turn into focusing on how you can portray your time to other people on facebook. You might not really enjoy your friends because you're just thinking about if you've produced a good enough picture to set as your new default.
Why do people become addicted to following people's lives on the internet social pages like facebook and twitter?
Social pages like facebook and twitter allow people to become somewhat addicted to following people's life because they make it so easy to do so. When facebook newsfeed was created, which "delivered a long list to up-to-the-minute gossip about their friends...all in one place" (Thompson 1), people were at first skeptical because of a lack of privacy, but that all soon changed. News feed became so addicting that it was checked many times, some how knowing what is occuring every second of a friends life can be more interesting than any tv show and even one's own life. With twitter, it can become addicting to see what little things are happening in other people's life through their own random postings. Reading about other's lives is comparable to watching a tv show or reading a good book thus leading to checking these sites in an obssessive manner. With such easy accesability into other people's personal lives, it is no wonder how people become so enamored with checking for updates consistantly.
I agree with Marg and Annalee. Checking facebook is like watching a soap opera and ties into what I was saying about it becoming addicting just as soap operas do. And with Annalee, people definately do focus way too much on how things are going to appear on facebook more than actually having a fun, social gathering at the time being.
How does ambient awareness give users a false sense of familiarity with people?
- Although the constant news update has allowed people to stay updated with their friends, it takes away the initimate level of these relationships. Rather than interacting face to face and nuturing the relationship, people feel like "[the websites] satisfy that getting-to-know-you satisfaction" and therefore end up losing that personal contact.(7) You can know everything about a person, but you can not form true relationships with out direct contact. By only staying updated through the internet, the users "can observe you, but it's not the same as knowing you" (7). Another reason these websites create a false idea of a relationship is because people can alter and plan to say anything they want whether its true or not. One user can be keeping up with a co-worker and know only the altered persona that her co-worker allows to be seen.
Why does the continued use of websites such as Twitter and Facebook weaken your ability to grow in your relationships?
-By constantly checking up on such a large group of people, you end up wasting your time getting updates on aquantinces instead of making time to hang out with your real friends. It can "spread your emotional engergy too thin, leaving less for true intimate relationships"(6). People spend so much time forming new relationships online and forget to stay connected with their real relationships. Also, if people are checking up on their friends online, they lose the motivation to also go check up on them in person, sacrificing the ability to interconnect and bond.
Comment on Annalee:
I completly agree about pictures and how they can be sort of set up to create a false sense of "fun" or really anything. It almost even distracts people from actually bonding and having a good time together and makes them constantly think of ways to publish or announce themselves via facebook.
1. What does the widespread and increased use of networking websites like Facebook imply about this generations values and concerns?
This generation has grown up always connected whether it is through talking on the phone, texting, emailing, AIMing, or now Facebooking. There has always been the need to remain in touch or connected with yours friends. The appreciation for a quiet moment here and there has essentially disappeared; if one is not constantly in touch by some mode of communication then they feel almost lost without the buzz of a phone of ping of a newly received email. We, as a people, have come to demand immediate satisfaction and our communications are just one area in which that is true. Laura Fritton is a prime example of this demanding attitude, she “wrote a tiny explaining her problem, and within ten minutes” she had all the answers she could want (Pg. 6). Over 5,300 people follow her daily life and most of them don’t know even her! This obsession with an otherwise unknown person is just one indication into the changing times and peoples need for constant human interaction regardless of how close the relationship is. This obsession in unhealthy and can have farther reaching effects than just the waste of one’s time but can effect one’s emotional health as well by “spread[ing] [one’s] emotional energy too thin” (Pg. 6). This is a very real problem that seems to only be expanding rather than shrinking.
2. Why do people, especially young adults, feel compelled to broadcast their personal information across the internet without concern for who may see it and the consequences it may provoke?
The majority of young adults strive for a situation in which they are accepted. This motivates otherwise conservative or “normal” people to act differently while and ultimately create an entirely different persona while in cyberspace, this false sense of belonging could potentially improve one’s self-esteem, but at what expense? By acting differently and changing oneself while on the internet, one has only created an illusion of belonging and the acceptance of a phantom, for this person does not exist it is just the contorted manipulated version of oneself. This bar-none attitude toward broadcasting has become the popular thing to do. The most recent party or relationship has become the fodder of these blog sites (Pg. 8). Andrea Ahan described this phenomenon most accurately, “everybody has got to get a life and stop obsessing over everyone’s trivia and gossiping”. People have sacrificed meaningful, interesting conversation for the latest hook-ups and break-ups and have chosen these dull topics over important issues like world history, modern problems, and solving world hunger…
I agree with Alcon the Falcon. The ease of communication on the internet and text messages has taken away from the value of meaningful conversations on the telephone, which has taken away the beauty and value of writing a simple letter, which has taken away people’s respect for actual face-to-face interaction. Clearly there is an underlying issue here that our world is failing to address and fix. I think Alcon is onto something serious here… And on a more serious note, succumbing to the easy interactions of the internet has allowed people to become more relationship lazy. In that I mean that the excitement of actually meeting and interacting with people is getting lost in the system of instantaneous communication. Simply sending an email or a test message in replace for meaningful conversation is an ever growing trait where time is money and people are unwilling to take a moment and appreciate each others company for what it is. The actual relationship is becoming a rarer and rarer thing while shells of what could have been a relationship are exponentially increasing, especially through the growing popularity of these internet blog sites.
1.) How have these “co-presence” relationships altered physical and personal safety, befriending so many you don’t know over the internet?
On these new websites (twitter, facebook, etc.) you can easily give out as much information about yourself as you want. Avid users of these sites have up to 1,000 friends looking at their profile, learning about their lives. How do you know who to befriend and who not to befriend? When using these sites, there are dangers that come along with developing these internet-bonds with people. When newsfeed was first created, anybody had the capability to see all the information you put forward. It was beginning to be seen as the “Big Brother of the internet, recording every single move” (Thompson). You couldn’t control who saw what, and maybe there are people out there you don’t want getting a hold of your information. People hear all the time about pedophiles living 2 doors down from them or about a woman who was being tracked and murdered after befriending a stranger on MySpace. People can loose all their privacy, where eventually people feel that “everybody has got to get a life and stop obsessing over everybody’s trivia” (Thompson). Although these sites help develop what people view as close relationships, many need to be aware of the dangers that can follow using these sites; not knowing who you are creating “close ties” with.
2.) How have parasocial relationships formed on the internet harmed or helped the development of kids growing up in this booming age of technology?
Young adults and kids today have essentially grown up with the internet. They really don’t know life without cell phones, computers etc. and they would probably feel pretty lost with out them. Since this new generation of technology-users are mostly facebook or twitter bloggers, they’ve essentially matured making these informal bonds with each other; therefore they might see it as the norm. People today have already developed, “An attitude toward their privacy that is simultaneously vigilant and laissez-faire.” (Thompson). These kids have grown up in a society where they know everyone might be watching and it has become pretty standard for them. Creating these relaxed relationships has become comfortable to this new generation. The growth of these “weak ties” according to sociologists, “greatly expand your ability to solve problems” (Thompson). Apparently these casual relationships are useful because they haven’t made any formal ties with their new found friends but still feel obligated to help one another out. However, others say forming these “weak ties” can “spread your emotional energy too thin, leaving less time for intimate relationships” (Thompson). Having these informal relationships can use up some of the emotional space used to create real friendships. These “weak ties” have their pros and cons but teenagers and young adults don’t see the use of facebook and other sites in a positive or negative view because they have grown up in an age where all of this is completely ordinary to them.
Follow Up: I disagree with Tyler Moore when he says, "In the long run, Facebook and Twitter are not major threats to weakening relationships."
Since it has been shown to be so addicting to stay tuned to every body's business via facebook, twitter, etc., some say that peoples' emotional energy is being spread too thin, leaving less time for true relationships. Since more and more people are becoming avid users of sites like facebook, how can we not worry that eventually most people will loose their ability to create a real friendship and the definition of a true relationship will be redefined?
1.) How have these “co-presence” relationships altered physical and personal safety, befriending so many you don’t know over the internet?
On these new websites (twitter, facebook, etc.) you can easily give out as much information about yourself as you want. Avid users of these sites have up to 1,000 friends looking at their profile, learning about their lives. How do you know who to befriend and who not to befriend? When using these sites, there are dangers that come along with developing these internet-bonds with people. When newsfeed was first created, anybody had the capability to see all the information you put forward. It was beginning to be seen as the “Big Brother of the internet, recording every single move” (Thompson). You couldn’t control who saw what, and maybe there are people out there you don’t want getting a hold of your information. People hear all the time about pedophiles living 2 doors down from them or about a woman who was being tracked and murdered after befriending a stranger on MySpace. People can loose all their privacy, where eventually people feel that “everybody has got to get a life and stop obsessing over everybody’s trivia” (Thompson). Although these sites help develop what people view as close relationships, many need to be aware of the dangers that can follow using these sites; not knowing who you are creating “close ties” with.
2.) How have parasocial relationships formed on the internet harmed or helped the development of kids growing up in this booming age of technology?
Young adults and kids today have essentially grown up with the internet. They really don’t know life without cell phones, computers etc. and they would probably feel pretty lost with out them. Since this new generation of technology-users are mostly facebook or twitter bloggers, they’ve essentially matured making these informal bonds with each other; therefore they might see it as the norm. People today have already developed, “An attitude toward their privacy that is simultaneously vigilant and laissez-faire.” (Thompson). These kids have grown up in a society where they know everyone might be watching and it has become pretty standard for them. Creating these relaxed relationships has become comfortable to this new generation. The growth of these “weak ties” according to sociologists, “greatly expand your ability to solve problems” (Thompson). Apparently these casual relationships are useful because they haven’t made any formal ties with their new found friends but still feel obligated to help one another out. However, others say forming these “weak ties” can “spread your emotional energy too thin, leaving less time for intimate relationships” (Thompson). Having these informal relationships can use up some of the emotional space used to create real friendships. These “weak ties” have their pros and cons but teenagers and young adults don’t see the use of facebook and other sites in a positive or negative view because they have grown up in an age where all of this is completely ordinary to them.
Follow Up: I disagree with Tyler Moore when he says, "In the long run, Facebook and Twitter are not major threats to weakening relationships."
Since it has been shown to be so addicting to stay tuned to every body's business via facebook, twitter, etc., some say that peoples' emotional energy is being spread too thin, leaving less time for true relationships. Since more and more people are becoming avid users of sites like facebook, how can we not worry that eventually most people will loose their ability to create a real friendship and the definition of a true relationship will be redefined?
How does ambient awareness strenghten friendships and relationships?
Through social networks like facebook and twitter, where users post status updates for every event of their day, friends can get know each other in ways they never have before. These frequent updates provide insight into other users' minds that might not otherways be possible. By seeing all of the updates throughout a day or a week, a user begins to get a feel for their friends feelings and personality that would be harder to get outside of these networks. One of these updates by itself is meaningless, but by looking at all of them over lengths of time one begins to "sense the rythms of his friends' lives in a way he never had before." People feel more comfortable opening up online than in awkward social settings, looking at all these posts over a period of time gives a "surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends' and family members' lives." Through ambient awareness, users are able to get a feel for their friends personalities like never before
Why do users at first reject settings like newsfeed and then embrace them?
Users of social networking sites are at first repelled by features like newsfeed and iPhones that give out users' locations, but change their minds later. These settings at first seem invasive but after one gets accustomed to them, they provide a greater sense of intimacy with friends. Users feel more connected with their friends through these features because they know more about them than ever before. Also the welcoming of these features is a result of "social isolation" and "American disconnectedness". For people who work at home, on the road, or not at all, these settings make them feel closer to their friends. They feel "less alone".
Comment on Alcon:
I agree that these networks are taking away actual intimacy and replacing it with ambient intimacy. Users have friends online whom they feel extremely close yet have never met i nperson. And by today's standards that doesn't even seem wierd. Instead of sensing a friend's mood through tone, mannerisms, and facial expressions, we are now supposed to do it through the internet.
1)How can the amount of people on social networking websites affect a person’s emotional state?
Social networking sites have become increasingly popular over the last few years. Many young adults and adults alike have turned to sites such as Facebook or Twitter to catch up with old friends or acquaintances and make new ones, and also as a means of reinventing themselves. In having a great “number of online connections”, people become excited because they have so many friends and therefore, “feel less alone” (4). However, it’s unlikely that a person talks to everyone on their friends list all the time or has even met all of them in a face-to-face conversation so can they really be considered a friend. When one looks at another person’s profile that has a lot of friends, it can hurt one’s ego. Also, since there are millions of people on these websites, an individual cannot recreate him or herself which can cause anguish. According to sociologist Zeynep Tufekci, people using these social networks cannot “play with [their] identity” when people that know they are “always checking up on” them and can say that’s not what you’re into (6). When this happens, people get upset because they cannot free themselves of their identity, which in its own way can be agitating. While social networking has many positive effects, there can also be a few negative effects.
2)How can “weak ties” and the stronger relationships be maintained with the social networking? Can the focus on “weak ties” potentially cause some of the stronger ties to become weak?
Through social networking people can connect with their closest friends or family and people that are just acquaintances. Despite the fact that the “maximum number of social connections” is about 150, people nowadays are trying to push the limits with not just a few hundred but a few thousand (5). The majority of these people though are not well known by the people they are friends with. However, when one spends all their time talking to or following the numerous amounts of “weak ties”, it is possible to forget that to call up those close friends and see how they are. While the mere acquaintances can be useful because they are “farther afield” and can help find something that the strong ties could not because they are “too similar to you” and your surroundings, its always best to ask the close friends first because they will be the ones there for you when something bad happens (6). Broadening one’s social network, however helpful, can be stressful depending on the amount of people one is trying to please.
I agree with Tyler that by checking up on everyone's social life, one is entertaining him or herself as one would by watching a television show. It constantly changes and is fater than waiting a week to see what happens on even the person's favorite show. Also, seeing what people do and how differently they portray themselves on the internet than in person can be interesting.
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