I wanted to link this week's post to the ideas presented by Nakamura, Panagakos and Hurst, with the readings on community and belonging. There seems to be a continuous debate on whether or not the Internet can create/be a medium for community. As I've mentioned before, I think it is possible to use the Internet as a way of maintaining connections with others but maybe the more "correct" term for online relations is network and not community. I've used these terms interchangeably before, but perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the two words and their connotations.
We have discussed Facebook quite a bit in class over the semester and always speak about it as a social network, but we have never really defined it as an online community. I think it might be because the term "community" seems to represent reality or being in close proximity (space) with others, whereas the term "network" involves maintaining connections at a distance/with a mediating medium. Like all terms, "community" and "network" are socially constructed. Panagakos and Horst mention scholars should be studying cyberculture by examining how the social construction of reality is modified and negotiated as new technologies are introduced and integrated into daily life (p.109). Therefore, where Barney talks about the vanishing table possibly as a result of these new technologies, it is important to recognize the importance of the Internet and its ability to help people connect, and then to dissect how people use it to create/maintain those connections.
There is no question with the Internet and the pervasiveness of new technologies that we are now living in a networked society. However, now it is interesting to see how we go about justifying our connections because though we cling to nostalgic ideas of face-to-face communication (space-based community) as privileged, more and more of our connections are being kept/maintained in an online environment. So although some argue living in this wired society takes away from our ability to go out into the world and form "real" relationships, I would counter that it is nearly impossible to keep in contact with those in our various, expansive networks without the Internet.
So, I haven't advanced the debate between whether or not an online community can exist - in fact, I just added more things to think (argue) about. However, I think cyberculture, networks and community are things we need to continue discussing as new technologies surface and the way we connect with others in our globalized world transforms.
Erin, I really like how you make the distinction between a social network and an online community. I had not thought of this in terms of Facebook,and I feel it's important unpack the two terms to better understand what it means to make an online connection.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of what Panagakos and Horst say when they are discussing the impact of the mobile phone on one's mobility, and how the technology changes the pace of life and the ways in which one goes about organizing their daily routine, and of course how they communicate with others.
With respect to online social networks such as Facebook, it's impossible to keep in daily/weekly/monthly/yearly contact with the friends on your list (assuming one has more than say, 70 friends on your list, and assuming one has a life outside of cyberspace). Facebook comes to justify how we might stay in contact with these people, however WITHOUT Facebook, our social network would be those who surround us. Facebook affects how we think about friends, how we think about what he means to keep in touch (creeping!), and how we think of ourselves within a social system. If Facebook, the Internet, the telephone, the mail system did not exist, chances are that people wouldn't travel as much, they wouldn't move away, they wouldn't change plans at the last minute (especially if texting didn't exist). These communications technologies allow for us to stay in contact with one another but they simultaneously encourage us to travel, to move, to be unable to engage in face to face contact
I think Taryn brings up a very good point. It is impossible to keep in touch with all those people, but Facebook does change the way we interact in general. I think the question of social networking vs. social community regarding Facebook is an interesting one. It is true that Facebook is always refered to as a social network, rather than community. However I don't think this means that within the social network of Facebook their cannot be communities. I think unique communities can come about within this social network. But I feel the reason it is referred to as a social network rather than community has a lot to do with what Taryn mentioned, that Facebook is an extension of our lives within a broader social system that exists in real life.
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