Networked Life:The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Barry Wellman

NetLabiSchool, University of Toronto

http://groups.chass.utoronto.ca/netlab/wellman@chass.utoronto.ca

In a NutshellThe Bad:

Fixed belief that we are becoming more disconnected as our silos break down

The GoodRealization that the triple revolution is creating new,

less-silo’ed opportunities for connectivityThe Ugly

Doing the hard work of collecting systematic evidence to evaluate networked life

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Traditional Small Groups: Door-to-Door “Silos”

• Old workgroups (& communities) based on - proximity, bureaucratic hierarchy, kinship •All observe and interact with all• Deal with only one group• Knowledge comes only from within the group – and stays within the group

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The Bad: Recurrent Claims That Things Are Always Falling Apart

From urbanization, bureaucratization, industrialization, capitalism/socialism & technological change – to the internet and mobile

Thomas Jefferson: great constitutionalist, but loved silos"The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure

government, as sores do to the strength of the human body” (1784) Ferdinand Tönnies (Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, 1887)

thru Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone, 2000)to Sherry Turkle (Alone Together, 2010)

The Good

The Turn From Groups

To Social Networks

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The Triple RevolutionThree Phenomena Intertwined1. Social Network: Reach Beyond Tight Groups:

More Multiplicity, Partial Attention, Less Boundaries2. Internet: Personalization, Weakened Distance3. Mobile-ization of Info & Communication

Hyper-Personal Body Appendages: Third SkinAccessible To YouAvailable To Others

Networked Individualism7

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18 Month Old Boys with their Favorite Toys: Mom’s Laptop & Dad’s iPhone

Source: Gina Neff + Phil Howard

Person To Person: Networked Individualism

Mobile Phones, Portable ComputingIndividual, not work group or householdPersonalized networkingTailored media interactionsHyperconnectivityPrivate concerns replace publicOnline interactions linked with offlineGlocalization

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People Function as Networked IndividualsWith Partial Membership in Multiple Networks

.. and less as group or category membersSocial ties & events organized around the individual rather than a

social unit such as a family, neighborhood, school, or organizationThe person has become the individual unit of

social connectivity; and not the place, be it workplace, school, or household

Agency: Each person operates own networkMobile phones and internet allow person-to-person contact to

supplement place-to-place communicationThe social network revolution has provided the opportunities –

and stresses – for people to reach beyond the world of tight groups

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Networked Individualism:Person-to-Person

Structural ChangesLinked as IndividualsLess GroupinessMore AgencyLess Place BoundMore Achieved, Less Ascribed

The New Media is The New Neighbourhood

Lines between info, communication have blurredGeographic location is real, but less importantIn addition to neighbours, workmates:

Most info-sharing transcends spatial & social boundariesNetworked individuals can exchange & create media

Projecting their voices to more extended audiences that become part of their social worlds

MIT Press 358 pp $14 (Kindle $9)

The Ugly: Actually Doing the ResearchFourth study of residents of East York, Toronto since 1968In-depth interviews with 101 residents. Transcribed, anonymizedResearch Issues

Nature of life in multiple teamsHow does digital fit into ordinary life

And what does mobile add?Home-work connectivityPrivacy concernsVariations by age, gender, SES, family situations

Preliminary FindingsPeople value privacy – from each other, not institutions

(NSA, Google)Everyday use of digital media integrated with rest of life

– use whatever is handy and appropriateMultiple connectivityLots more this year as we analyze

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Networked Individual -- Nelu Handa @ Internet Café, Toronto