The Internet and Social Life - Questions and Comments from OISE2009

OISE2009 what am I to expect from this commentary and why all the questions - this approach is a little different than I expected.

My objective in creating this blog is to initate some introductory level of dialog specific to a publication that I have recently had the opportunity to review - "The Internet and Social Life" by John Bargh and Katelyn McKenna. My initial impression is that the author’s objectives in researching, organizing and publishing this article is to assist the reader in better understanding some of the social implications that are evolving given the rapid (global) uptake of Internet technologies. In particular, the Bargh and McKenna are looking to assist us in appreciating why this particular innovation (the Internet) has represented such a powerful transformative social element for many of its subscribers. My personal feeling is that the author’s have made a reasonable effort to assist us in understanding how this new avenue of social interaction has facilitated like minded groups and individuals to establish new and increasingly meaningful social relationships -and the format (i.e. the questions)well they arose from some of my initial discussions with my peers at work. They came from a variety of sources and should set the stage for a follow up agenda.

So OISE2009, is there more? I suspect you have something more to say.

I believe however, the real story here is not just about the nature of the transformation but also about the rate of at which this transformation has and continues to occur. It is about the absolute (almost unimaginable) speed with which this change has occurred. In fairness to the authors, some refernce has been made to the “rate of technology uptake”, however I feel we need to examine what has occurred a little more closely if we are to truly appreciate the (historic) scale and scope of what has come about.

OISE2009, can you be a little more specific? Maybe something that I can (personally) relate to?

For the purposes of this section of my commentary I would like to refer the reader to some publically available statistics pertaining to the the social utility “Facebook”. Consider the following statistics and claims. By the way, you may reference this information directly from the Facebook website (link is provided).

Think about this - Facebook was launched in February 2004. As of February 2009 Facebook boasts over 150 million active users, who collectively are investing over 3 billion minutes each day browsing, communicating and contributing to Facebook sites. Users are constantly expanding their commitment to Facebook as they upload over 850 million photos and 5 million videos each month. Facebook is rapidly expanding its value to an increasingly diverse global audience with 35 translations available as of February 2009 and with an additional 60 in development.

OISE2009, I get the point. These are amazing statistics but given the limited time I can spend at this site would it be possible for you to provide me with a couple more take-aways from this commentary?

I would suggest that author’s Bargh and McKenna have provided an excellent introduction to the positive impact the Internet has represented to specific social groups (i.e. similar interests, similar values). Representatives from special interest groups can rapidly seek and establish relationships with like-minded individuals in geographically diverse settings with relative anonymity. The author’s have assisted us in understanding how social interaction within the framework of a limited bandwidth medium (face to face or voice to voice interactions are not required) allows participants to express thoughts and concerns with limited risk of public reprimand. The arguments positioned by Bargh and McKenna can assist us greatly in understanding and appreciating not just the popularity of the Internet but also the speed with which its adoption has occurred.

OISE2009, if I want to learn more about Facebook statistics what link to I use?

http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

OK OISE 2009 I am getting closer to better understanding your position. Would it be possible for you to help me understand a little more about researcher John Bargh and his area of interest? Maybe as a start you could just point me to his web site and suggest were I could go to learn more about John's area of interest.

John Bargh's lines of research focus on unconscious influences in judgments and social behavior, including unconscious motivations and goal pursuits (as per Bargh's website). My understanding is that Bargh has most focused on the automatic link between social perception and social behavior, which creates (this is apparently one of Bargh's primary arguments) tendencies for people to behave similarly to those around them, without realizing they are doing so - seems quite interesting and is probably worth a look when time permits.

http://mba.yale.edu/faculty/profiles/bargh.shtml

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http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141922