1. Virtual communities, networks and virtual subjectivity
Paola Sartoretto
Media, Technology and Culture
Karlstad University, Spring term 2010

2. Societies have always had the ned to communicate, exchange information, build up shared meanings and a shared culture. We have been doing this in many different ways.
Oral history – pulperias in south america. Face-to-face communication

3. With the advent of newspapers and broadcasted media we changed the ways we comunicated with each other and some socialization processes.
Researchers are undecided whether media changes society or society changes media.

4. Media determinism – the features of a particular media determine what we do with and how we use it and it is not people who decide what to do with a certain medium. Ex. you will not use TV to read a book-

5. With the advent of the internet, new ways of communication became possible and people discovered new ways of socializing. The research about internet has not kept at pace with its developments.
Analytical tools
Empirical data

6. Community Collections of people with a particular social structure
Sense of belonging or community spirit
Geographical location
Penguin Dictionary of Sociology
In order to understand how people used the interent and what is its role in social relations we need to take a closer look into some concepts.
What is a community, what are its characteristics?
Can we belong to different communities
What is the role of geographical location?

7. Conteporary notion of community
Sense of identity and belonging
Common interests
Mental constructs, formed by imagined boundaries between groups
Penguin Dictionary of Sociolgy
Contemporary notion of community is more based on individual choices and groups formed around common interests and affinities. Community does not exist before the individual.

8. Virtual communities
What has contributed to the development of the concept of community?
Can we say that internet has made possible for communities to exist despite space and geographical borders?

9. Network Complex, interconnected group or system
Centre-periphery relation has a lesser importance
Isolation or a larger social network?
Role playing, fantasies, faceless

10. Subjectivity Self-conscious awareness
Socially constructed – not innate or part of the human nature (Marxism, structuralism)
Overlaps with identity
How we see ourselves, our knowledge of ourselves in relation to the world that surrounds us.
The idea that we develop this consciousness through our lived experience has developed. We then construct our subjectivity throughout our lives.

11. Social uses of technology
How do we use it?
Media content – changes, adaptations
Impacts on societies and communities
Castells considers communication technology, media, tv and the internet as the most important part of our life, they build our imaginary and our subjectivity.
How have developments on the technology impacted on the content of the media? Examples?
Technological development can have impact on societies
Examples? Work practices, edcucation, citizenship.

12. Internet and Socialization
Isolation vs. New paterns of socialization (Castells)
Diluted geographic borders and territoriality
Fake identities
Role playing
Escapism
Culture dominated by virtual reality
Debate in the academia whether internet fosters socialization or isolation

13. Limited debate Preceded the diffusion of the internet
Absence of a substantial body of research on the uses of the internet
Simplistic and misleading questions
Imagined community of the past vs. Alienated netizen

14. Social reality of the internet
Instrumental use, closely connected with work, family and everyday life
Role-playing and identity building are a very smal proportion of internet-based sociability.
Internet is an extension of life as it is.

15. Social reality of the internet
Social interaction on the internet does not seem to have an effect on the patterning of everyday life.
Adding on-line interaction to existent social relationships
Research found positive association between internet use and frequency of telephone calls and greater level of social interaction.
Internet usage doesnt have an impact on time spent with friends and familiy.
Use of enhances social life with family and friends, extends social contacts.
Internet seems to have a positive effect on social interaction.

16. Netville –
Positive effect between on-line and off-line sociability.
Internet usage enhanced and maintained social ties and social involvement for most users.

17. Conflicting reports
Nie and Erdring 2000 – declining person-to-person interaction, loss of social environment among heavy users
Kraut et al Greater use of the internet associated with decline in communication with family members, decline in the size of the social circle, increase in depression and loneliness

18. Interpretations of the studies
Why the discrepancy in the results?
First-time users: frustration in dealing with the medium, effort.
Loss of sociability – only most frequent uses of internet.
Threshold of internet use
Body of evidence does not support that internet use leads to lower social interaction and greater social isolation, under certain circumstances internet may be a substitute to other social activities.
The study of sociability in/on/ with the internet has to be situated within the context of the transformation of paterns of sociability in our society.

19. Transformation of sociability
Spatially bound community vs. Internet enabled communities of choice
Community life – urbanization
Networks isntead of places as supports of sociability.

20. Comunities - Networks
Communities – based on sharing of values and social organization
Networks – choices and strategies
Individual has a more active role in a network
Networks substitute spacial communities.
How many neighbour do we know?

21. Individualism
Emergence of a new system of relationships centered on the individual
Primary relationships (families and comunities) secondary relationships (associations)
tertiary relationships (”personalized communities)
Me centered networks
Privatization of the sociability
Crisis of political legitimacy – withdrawal of the public sphere.

22. Networked individualism
Social patern
Role of on-line social interaction in the social organization
Stabilized on-line networks
Development of communication hybrid
We build our networks online and offline on the basis of affinity, interest, values and projects
Stabilized on line networks my build communities, virtual communities

23. Winners and loosers
Castells considers the individual as the winner in the networked individuallsm
What are the costs for the society? How does networked individualism impact on social and political structures?