Global? Netville?
Marshall McLuhan coined the term “global village” a catchy term which immediately changed from McLuhan’s intent to be used in a friendly “It’s a small world afterall” sense.
Hampton and Wellman are aware of the McLuhan meaning (at least Wellman should be), but choose to use the now more popular “we are all neighbors” sense.
Did the results of the study of Netville enhance your understanding of your own net usage?
Did you expect more interaction and bonding with those other than weak ties?
Has having network access expanded your local network of friends (or does school do more of that)? (page 367)
Were you surprised that “Being connected to the local network has the same effect on boosting social contact as four more years of education or nearly 13 years of increased age.”? (page 368)
How have you used the net for support and over what distance? Has your network become denser?
Would you say agree that Chapel Hill or your hometown is like suburban Netville in that “the institutions that promote local interactions are in decline and often are rare.” (page 368)
One thing I kept thinking while reading the Netville story was - how many of their contacts outside Netville were as connected as they were? No matter how connected you are, it’s difficult to email people who are not as connected (My parents immediately come to mind). So, I wonder how that might have effected the results. Did the Netvillians email/videophone their neighbors more because they knew they all had these hi-tech toys?
Comment by robin — October 25, 2005 @ 12:57 pm
As I read this, I wished that Southern Village had been connected like this when we lived there last year. I think it might have helped make that neighborhood more cohesive, instead of the distant, yet close, neighborhood it is. People are living right on top of each other, yet don’t even know each other’s names.
Comment by karen — October 25, 2005 @ 1:08 pm
Ramble alert …
The apartments aren’t much better for sociability. Although apartments are probably traditionally less conducive to sociability because of their transient nature. I just met the next door neighbors and I’ve been here a year. I think they just moved in, though. They’re pretty friendly. I just remember when my sister visited last year and she asked who lives next to me. I just shrugged my shoulders. I thought I’d get to know my neighbors.
I think this is a general trend, though. My parents live on a street with 8 houses and when I was growing up, we had block parties all the time. Now it seems like no one has time. New neighbors moved in and no one met them for months. I gave my mom a hard time for not bringing over a pie
Seriously, though, I don’t think it’s just the computer that’s keeping people indoors. Sorry for the long-winded comment.
Comment by robin — October 26, 2005 @ 3:29 am