A lot of this week’s readings
talked about social capital. Wikipedia defines social capital as “the expected
collective or economic benefits derived from the preferential treatment and
cooperation between individuals and groups”. The article by Ellison, “Connection
Strategies: Social Capital Implications of Facebook-enabled Communication
Practices”, talks about social capital related to Facebook. They did a survey
of undergraduate students to determine how they use Facebook to meet new
friends, maintain friendships, and learn more about friends they already have.
It was found that Facebook users differentiate from all Facebook friends and
those they are actually friends with off of Facebook, and although they might
not all be actual friends, they are still useful for experiencing diverse
perspectives.
In the Pew article, “Social
Isolation and New Technology”, it was found that Internet use does not limit
participation in local communities, as was previously thought. It also does not
pull people away from public places. Internet use also is just as common for
local contact as it is for contact across and long distance. These results were
found after investigating the question of whether internet and mobile phone use
causes isolation among core social networks.
The fact that Facebook friends still group other users as "real-world" or "cyber" friends was expected to me. As mentioned, these other friends are by no means worthless, and their usefulness comes in their sheer number and ease of access.
ReplyDeleteI did, however, find it interesting that it was suggested that the internet and mobile technology doesn't detract from physical encounters, nor does it reduce the participation in public events or spaces. Among core social networks (as studied) I can see this being true, but I feel technology may have distanced us from other (non-core) people. It seems now the status of a person is more polarized, either getting close friend status or Facebook acquaintance status. I wonder if this is something desirable or not.
I agree with Dagaen that it is interesting that the article found mobile technology doesn't detract from physical encounters and participation in public events. I know plenty of people who when they are texting or on their phone they cannot do anything else.
ReplyDelete