For all of the buzzwords and technological jargon being thrown around about the brave new world of "2.0," the way I see it is simple:
2.0, both in regard to the Web and to libraries, is reintroducing us to our respective communities. Perhaps it is even reintroducing some to the very fact that we still do have a community!
People used to work together in civic groups and gather in social clubs. This seems to have largely disappeared from our culture. Families of double earners race toward the future in a frenzied blur of scheduled "kid" activities and exhaustion. Even the most ubiquitous of social organizations - the local PTA seems to have suffered. Paid membership statistics may not reflect this, but the number of members in attendance at monthly meetings indeed seems to indicate such a trend.
"2.0" seems to have arrived at the moment when our society may have reached its zenith in terms of self-preoccupation, social isolation, and degradation of community ties. In a culture bereft of public works, civic duty, and any real sense of "neighborhood," it seems that a virtual tree grew in a virtual Brooklyn in the form of Wikipedia. Wikipedia, to me, is the epitome of a public work. It is free, the work is shared, and the benefit is for all. To me, this seems like a throwback to a time when we cared more about serving our communities whether through our clubs, our churches, or volunteer work.
In the absence of ladies chatting on the stoops while children played in the street, or while hanging the wash to dry; or in the absence of men going to the lodge or to their regular bowling night, Facebook came upon the scene and reintroduced us to the value of social relationships, or friends (although possibly in a more superficial sense of the word). As the social landscape grayed over with "friends" not of our choosing, but of our kid's chosen friends' parents; Facebook offered us greener pastures. All of a sudden we could reconnect with friends we actually chose once upon a time, but had somehow lost touch with. Invitations to events were sent around via messaging and wall-posts. People stopped navel-gazing in favor of reaching out and taking an interest in others' lives. People seemed to be doing a lot of LOLing and :)'ing again.
Another dead or dying institution at the time was that of the library. Now, however, the social software craze may have led or may be leading people back to this important bastion of free information and education. LibraryThing is a popular social tool which can remind people that in these hard economic times, they can always read a good book. The Facebook craze may prompt users to try out the other new social sites, and where would they learn how to use them? Perhaps in that forgotten old musty place - the library. Many offer classes and instruction of this kind. And for those on the other side of the digital divide that refuse to be left out of the FB culture, where else can they access it but at the public library? This kind of need may force a largely "disposable" society to notice that there are some things that are worth keeping indeed. Libraries can boost their own visibility and relevance by increasing their presence on the web, and making use of social bookmarking software.
In this way, 2.0 makes everything old new again.
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I’m not really sold on the idea that 2.0 social networks will replace traditional communities, but I can certainly feel their influence. The social implications of Facebook and texting are probably similar to other technological advances we have seen in the pasts, like the development of the telephone, the TV, or even the family car. Each transforms, redirects or re-programs the human psyche a bit, and alters our ways of life. Will social networks really replace traditional communities, or will they simply change the way these communities organize, function and grow? While I am a big fan of Web 2.0 tools, I am not that fond (in fact very wary) of Facebook. The ease with which social networks can be manipulated makes me wonder whether profit is actually the driving force. And I work for a cell phone company. All these people glued to their phones are paying my salary, but still, I find it a little sad. Is this the dumbing down of society? But I’m sure that’s what they said (and still do say) about TV.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! So exciting!
ReplyDeleteI hear you - Change is never as big as we anticipate; but sometimes, when we don't anticipate it, it is bigger than we ever could have imagined. I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly did not see the Facebook phenomenon coming when it hit me - and it is still unfolding. When I joined up I hated it. I only signed up bc an old friend wanted me to see something on his page so I acquiesced. At first I hid behind my full first name (which nobody used) and my former married name (which nobody knew) and complained about how annoying it was. Then it became a very useful forum for venting during the presidential election. Then a place where I could indulge in my Adam Lambert obsession freely - without anyone telling me "alright already" bc they could just "hide" me if they wanted. When my marriage started to go bad I added my maiden name in there and edited "Elizabeth" to "Beth." I had no idea how many friends I had forgotten about and how many people I was so thrilled to hear from. And real life friends that I was in touch with but had neglected to call bc of a busy, stressful, and hectic life were suddenly subtly encouraging me and coaxing me through my hardest times through tiny messages and postings. And to get really cheesy, they were like these little gentle whispers in my ear that I needed to hear and didn't even know it. It was such a boon to my confidence, determination, and self-esteem. My world got so much bigger and happier. I definitely went from a community of one (or 2 including my daughter) to a "society of friends," if u will (sorry Quakers).
And I am just one person. And none of us is unique in our experience. So, if social media could effect such a tidal wave of change in my life, there has to be a teeny ripple effect. And if anyone else shared a similar experience, then there's that ripple too. And with what - 8 million people in our vicinity - there has to be some pretty big waves out there - I would think.
I'm probably going to get a tad ramble-ly, which I'd like to apologize for in advance-ha!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post & Scott's comment/your reply to it, I have to say I understand the inital apprehension towards Facebook (I experienced it also), but don't really understand why it would be targeted so specifically towards Facebook but not any other Web 2.0 app (Scott says, "While I am a big fan of Web 2.0 tools, I am not that fond... of Facebook."
Why single Facebook out?
My guess is that it's possibly due to the sheer power in the number of users that Facebook has accumulated? That would be the only reason for me. Everyone & their mother uses Facebook, so there's much more to censor since more can see posted information (arguably though, this can simply be fixed by tweaking your privacy settings).
Facebook wasn't one of the first social-media web applications I've used, so maybe I was a bit more acclimated to the concept and thus less wary. When Facebook first hit my undergrad campus as a freshman (2004), I had a few years of familiarity w/ social media, with blogging in my teen years (specifically, Xanga and Livejournal- I still have an active LJ account to this day, which is about 7 years old).
I've also been exposed to various IM-ing apps (MSN, Yahoo, AIM, etc).
Prior to that, I also (embarrassingly often) frequented fan forums for a very popular pop band- that shall remain unnamed!- back in middle school around the late 90s. This equals about a decade of internet navigation prior to the height of the Facebook craze.
And, of course, there was MySpace-- which, in a way, can be seen as an outdated version of Facebook, so Facebook didn't seem like a wholly new concept to me. Regardless, I was still wary because for some reason, Facebook picked up steam in a way that Myspace or Friendster never did.
I romanticize the past to a certain extent as well, and also think dreamily of days when people may have communicated with each other on a more personal (and less digital) manner. However, I can also imagine how people may have romanticized how things were before other similar society-changing inventions, like televisions, as mentioned by Scott ('remember back when families used to get together and actually TALK to each other around the dinner table rather than staring at the tv? Or when children used to go out and play with each other and ride bikes rather than park themselves in front of the tv?'), so the backlash against modernity is inevitable, and probably always has been and will be.
I don't necessarily think of facebook and other social media/the internet/texting as 'dumbing down' society nor "sad," but wonder if people thought the same way when the telephone became widely used (remember back when we used to go next door and talk with our neighbors face to face? How sad that we don't now- darn telephone!). I do think that increased internet use has enabled more good than bad (though I don't have anything to cite this claim with).
Regardless, I love the outlook/tone of your post though, Beth! It seems very optimistic, and the whole revitalizing of dying institutions (libraries, communications, etc) is very refreshing, rejuvenating, and uplifting!