In Better Together authors Robert Putnam and Lewis Feldstein look at Craigslist.org somewhat ambivalent. Both authors believe that, “technology of electronic connection plays, at best, a small supporting role in these cases,” which is good but not great. Kind of like, telling a girl she is “pretty for a fat girl.” However, both authors are just trying to informed the readers of the successes some of the organizations had, in developing an abundant community. Robert Putnam and Lewis Feldstein keep reiterating throughout the book that, “The stories in this book are varied and, in some cases, possibly surprising in what they tell of how people are building relationships- developing social capital-to accomplish a range of purposes.” Which translates
In “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.” by Sherry Turkle a Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been studying the psychology of online connectivity for more than 30 years. For the past five years, she has been focusing on topics: What has happened to face‐ to‐face conversation in a world where so many people say they would rather text than talk, families, friendships and romance. She has also studied schools, universities and workplaces. Among this topics she has talked and provided studies on how we have become distant from “who we are.” She reports that we as a society have lost a lot of virtues as a society such as a lack of empathy for one another, solitude, and communication with one another. As the “digital world” continues to grow we as a society continue to grow with it and apart from one another. Sherry also emphasizes that we
Social network and social connectedness are important to the health of not only individual human beings but also the community and even the entire society. However, the connection among people had been declining for years. As Robert Putnam analyzes in his “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” America’s national election turnout declines, possibly implying the decline in civic engagement and even the democracy. He stresses the importance of the traditional, face-to-face interactions among people as the fundamental means to build up social connectedness. Besides the reasons he gives in his article, I think the decline in social networking also ties to the city constructions (idea inspired by the video “The Social Life of Small
Technology can be our friend or our worst enemy. In Forbes’ The Stepford Wives and in Peele’s film, Get Out, both directors have a central idea of reconstructing our society for it to best suited for us, as individuals. Unless you knew going in that both of these movies were in the genre of Horror, you wouldn’t be expecting it, more in The Stepford Wives than in Get Out. However the interesting part about both of these works is that they both have an oddly similar theory behind them, and it leads the viewer to believe that The Stepford Wives could have been an inspiration for Get Out, unless you already knew that after hearing Peele’s interview stating that it was. Both of the works use technology and science in a way that by the end of both works the viewer is shocked, at least I was.
The relationship between people has been changed because of the widely using of new technology. People can easily communicate with other people by using different kinds of methods. Because of the use of those methods, people have more space with others and frequently hide part of themselves on the Internet in order to show the best of them. In the essay “Small Change: Why he Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, Malcolm Gladwell states that the relationship between people can be categorized by strong ties and weak ties. For example, in the past, people communicated by the method of interpersonal hierarchies, which are considered as strong ties. However, with the development of technology, social network, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Skype, which have become very popular in the world, are regarded as weak ties. Moreover, in the essay “Alone Together”, Sherry Turkle claims that people are distant with others and get lost in the virtual world through the new technology. She points out that now people communicate with others through technology instead of directing talking to real people. Furthermore, some people suppose that sociable robots as substitutes for people. Both Gladwell and Turkle agree with the idea that technology plays an important role on people’s connection. Technology only creates inauthentic relationship because it hides identity of many disorganized people.
Our society has evolved very much over time. The technology, has impacted it greatly. With technology in our lives, we find ourselves ‘glued’ to our electronics. Now, the question is, what does social media provide us? In Wu’s article, he states, “The devices we use change the way we live much faster than any contest among genes.” Meaning, we rely on these devices to make us happy, and resort to them when we are bored. Similarly, in Castells article, he says, “Media often report that intense use of the Internet increases the risk of isolation, alienation, and withdrawal from society.” However, the article also says that social media has actually “increased sociability, civic engagement, and the intensity of family and friendship relationships, in all cultures.” Answering the question, we actually get something out of using social media. We are allowed to communicate with
In the article, “Get Over It”, by Jeff Jarvis, he discusses the importance of social media and being public about certain actions. Some people do not realize the benefits of social media and how it can bring a community together. For example, “We are sharing because it brings benefit. We meet people, make friends and stay connected. We spread ideas. We get attention. We gather information. We gain trust through transparency” (431). Jarvis is attempting to convey a message alerting the public that through the sharing of knowledge and moments in one’s life can evoke relationships among people and build a
The author illustrates in her blog the power and impact Facebook had on the population by convincing to be “a place of human connectivity,” but
Russell’s review, “What Would Happen if You Threw a Revolution and Everyone Showed Up,” sets a discussion of the impact of the internet on our daily lives. One of Russell’s arguments against Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus is that “because of the Internet’s inherent mass organizing ability, by using it we are able to contribute to society (Russell 916).” Russell then argues that people do not contribute any more than they did before the internet. “…has he never heard of church organizations, non-profits, volunteer groups, the Boy and Girl Scouts, neighborhood watch programs, rideshare programs, Little League, food banks, the Lions Club…? The list is virtually endless, Shirky doesn’t contribute things to the public sphere, that doesn’t mean
The world we live in is a very competitive one. To be successful, in this world one needs to have the connections so that one can succeed in life. In “The Limits of Friendship” by Maria Konnikova and “We are a Camera” by Nick Paumgarten, we see that technology can help build these connections. It is through these connections that One way these connections help make people successful is through our close interpersonal connections, modern day technology, and social media. These three outlets are modems of opportunity because they allow people to connect in ways never thought possible. By using technology and utilizing your close support group, people can become successful on their way and in the professional world.
The essay Stephen Marche wrote “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely” is talking about with the technology what the society looks like now, and social media like Facebook and twitter have made us more densely network than ever.
Three major online communication websites are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. People can share millions of photos and interact with each other at a constant pace. But does these communication tools connect the people at all or disconnect them from public interaction. For instant, the Women March is one of the largest march this year that have also almost a million-people engaged in civic: “Organizers said Saturday they expect as many as a half million participants — potentially dwarfing Friday’s inaugural crowd” (The Washington Post). Half a million is quite large for a crowd in a small space like Washington D.C. to March. And most these people also signed up and being introduce through the Internet. But through online interaction can cause a disconnection among people because they didn’t develop a related relationship with each other and might lead to chaos. Another example is a man who tore off an anti-abortion poster that are offer to him by anti-abortion activist: “Daryle Jenkins, who came from Philadelphia to march today, was offered an ‘Abortion Betrays Women’ poster by a group of anti-abortion activists. So, he took it and tore it up in front of them” (The Washington Post). Did this man take it too far to show his belief? In my perspective, he did take it too far by tore it up in front of the people with difference view and this would make a good reason that American
Putnam defined social capital as the features of social organizations such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate the coordination as well as cooperation for mutual benefit. He emphasizes the many dimensions of the concept of social capital, and the importance of “horizontal” ties, which are networks of individual citizens and groups that enhance community productivity and cohesion bringing about positive social capital, rather than vertical ones of self-serving groups and hierarchical systems.(Putnam 9) However, Putnam has found that over time the social capital is declining in the United States, making America far less ‘connected’, which he presents in “Bowling Alone”, in that people spend drastically less time meeting with others and socializing with
As mentioned in the module 13, “social media make personal relationships more visible and quantifiable”. One of the fascinating things about the social media is that the people who are generating these enormous reams of content every day; who are spending enormous amounts of time organizing, linking, commenting on the substance of the Internet, are doing so primarily for free. They are not getting paid for it in any way other than in the attention and the reputational capital that they gain from doing a good job to some extent. This is somewhat remarkable because for economists, people do things are for a concrete reward, primarily financial. But instead, what we are finding on the internet is that people have found a way to work together without any money involved at all. People have come up with a different method for organizing
Communities are all about groups of individuals who share something in common. This makes going on the internet seem like an odd way to find more communities, form new ones, or strengthen pre-existing ones. The internet however is full of communities. Communities can be based upon religion, location, ethnicity, an interest, or a personal matter. The internet itself is “a global distributed data communications network” (Kirmayer, Raikhel, & Rahimi, 2013, p. 166). This is what makes the internet so full of communities because communication is the key to putting multiple individuals with commonalities into communication, which is the basis of any community. Online communities differ from communities that exists off the web in a couple of
What effect does spending time on these websites have on real-world relationships? According to survey data reported by Rainie, Purcell and Smith (2011), “33% of…internet-using active group members say the internet has had a major impact on their ability to find groups that match their interests” (para. 4) When people can easily connect with other individuals who hold similar interests, increased participation in group activities is a natural result. Gone are the days in which hobbyists with obscure interests were relegated to pursuing their passion in solitude, trolling local hobby shops, or paying for newspaper listings. With groups reflecting nearly every possible interest imaginable, social media sites allow users to find an online niche where they can swap stories, techniques, and even coordinate social events with nothing more than internet access and a computer.