Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for evaluating and understanding the roles of digital media, in particular the mobile phone and the internet, in our interpersonal and societal relationships. Though this paper is essentially grounded in research, drawing from the work of psychologists, cyber anthropologists, philosophers, and professors of communication studies as well as years of personal observations, it should be understood as more of a theoretical rather than research-based primer on the effects of digital media in our everyday lives. While this paper includes various ways digital connections can improve our relationships, it primarily discusses how such communication can threaten the authenticity and meaningfulness of personal connections. It concludes with a few considerations about how people can shape their personal connections to accommodate for ever-advancing technologies and, with digital media, build stronger relationships and more diverse connections.
Author: Johnny Liang
Institution: Syracuse University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W167455269