Social Media as a New Tool for Human Communication & Connection
Everyone has an opinion on the morality of social media use, and about what it means to use social media - you have an opinion on these matters yourself! But do you really know the complexity of this thing you are forming an opinion about? In a time when the terms 'social media' and 'new media' are too often used incorrectly, I hope to help you understand not only what these terms mean, but also to understand that this new tool, by definition, is hard to understand completely. Especially since we are in the midst of constantly experiencing new media every day!
I decided to talk to people about their social media experiences: their perceptions, the impact it's had on their lives, their best and worst moments, and what they thought made social media experiences different from those is real life. In these interviews, I discovered that just as in society, everyone chooses to use social tools to interact with each other at varying frequencies and venues, and that we all have preconceptions about what the new tool of social media means for human interaction.
Perceptions & Preconceptions
Social media, is in fact, a type of new media, but these terms are not interchangeable.
New media is by definition, relative. A media can only have meaning in relation to the past, and 'old media'. The terms involved in attempting to describe any new media are not stable, and will be qualitative and changeable as long as the media remains 'new.'
Simply put, new media are manners of expression (or new tools for human connection) that we cannot yet fully contextualize or understand, because it consumes our present, and is interrelated with the moments we live in. Whereas old media are media that we can contextualize in terms of time passed and advancements made beyond it.
What then, is the new human tool of social media? Even people who use it everyday aren't entirely sure where other forms of new media end and social media begins.
Impact
Since everyone can use this tool differently, it can impact people in infinite ways. Some might need to use this tool more often to fit their lifestyles, while others only need it for the occasional tweak.
Major Fails and Recovery
As we sometimes fail in life, we can fail or have a negative experience on social media.
Yet, like all failures, we deal with the fallout, eventually recover, and maybe even learn something along the way.
Major Wins and Reflection
Sometimes even, great things can happen on social media. They might be little things, or they might be life-changing events.
These successes can mean just as much to us as their counterparts in real life.
How Do These Compare to the Real Thing?
We are used to living life and interacting with each other through older media, so when a new media comes along, it's difficult to compare to the communication experiences that we're used to.
Everyone I interviewed pointed out that using social media to connect with people doesn't hold a candle to the power of in-person experiences with those you care about. It would appear that the less well we know people, the more powerful social media can be to connect them, whereas if people become very close and want to spend more time actually in each other's presence, social media's power and presence is diminished in that relationship because its job is already done. Nonetheless, it seems as though social media is beginning to become more and more ingrained in many of our relationships and connections.
Social Media as the Shiny New Tool for Human Connection
We are beginning to turn to social media for all kinds of human connection fixes. Whether we want to actually talk to someone else, or simply check in on what other people in the world are up to, or even enjoying and sharing funny videos that others have created. Social media is becoming the commonplace augmentation of our social interactions, whether we like that fact or not.
All images used in these videos are either Creative Commons images with open-share licences or pictures of my own.
I decided to talk to people about their social media experiences: their perceptions, the impact it's had on their lives, their best and worst moments, and what they thought made social media experiences different from those is real life. In these interviews, I discovered that just as in society, everyone chooses to use social tools to interact with each other at varying frequencies and venues, and that we all have preconceptions about what the new tool of social media means for human interaction.
Perceptions & Preconceptions
Social media, is in fact, a type of new media, but these terms are not interchangeable.
New media is by definition, relative. A media can only have meaning in relation to the past, and 'old media'. The terms involved in attempting to describe any new media are not stable, and will be qualitative and changeable as long as the media remains 'new.'
Simply put, new media are manners of expression (or new tools for human connection) that we cannot yet fully contextualize or understand, because it consumes our present, and is interrelated with the moments we live in. Whereas old media are media that we can contextualize in terms of time passed and advancements made beyond it.
What then, is the new human tool of social media? Even people who use it everyday aren't entirely sure where other forms of new media end and social media begins.
Impact
Since everyone can use this tool differently, it can impact people in infinite ways. Some might need to use this tool more often to fit their lifestyles, while others only need it for the occasional tweak.
It is clear that people use social media as a kind of Swiss army knife of communications and connections. It's the do-it-all gadget that everyone uses differently (and that some occasionally accidentally stab themselves with).
Major Fails and Recovery
As we sometimes fail in life, we can fail or have a negative experience on social media.
Yet, like all failures, we deal with the fallout, eventually recover, and maybe even learn something along the way.
Major Wins and Reflection
Sometimes even, great things can happen on social media. They might be little things, or they might be life-changing events.
These successes can mean just as much to us as their counterparts in real life.
How Do These Compare to the Real Thing?
We are used to living life and interacting with each other through older media, so when a new media comes along, it's difficult to compare to the communication experiences that we're used to.
Social Media as the Shiny New Tool for Human Connection
We are beginning to turn to social media for all kinds of human connection fixes. Whether we want to actually talk to someone else, or simply check in on what other people in the world are up to, or even enjoying and sharing funny videos that others have created. Social media is becoming the commonplace augmentation of our social interactions, whether we like that fact or not.
All images used in these videos are either Creative Commons images with open-share licences or pictures of my own.
Comments
Post a Comment