Chayko Mary. - Superconnected: The Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life

The Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life

For Paula Van Riper, activist, educator, warrior, friend

Superconnected

The Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life

• Mary Chayko
• Rutgers University

FOR INFORMATION:

SAGE Publications, Inc.

2455 Teller Road

Thousand Oaks, California 91320

E-mail: order@sagepub.com

SAGE Publications Ltd.

1 Olivers Yard

55 City Road

London EC1Y 1SP

United Kingdom

SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd.

B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area

Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044

India

SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd.

3 Church Street

#10-04 Samsung Hub

Singapore 049483

Copyright 2017 by SAGE Publications, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Chayko, Mary, 1960- author.

Title: Superconnected: the Internet, digital media, and techno-social life / Mary Chayko.

Description: Los Angeles: SAGE, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015038733 | ISBN 978-1-4522-6879-8 (pbk.: alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Information technologySocial aspects. | InternetSocial aspects. | Digital media. | Information society.

Classification: LCC HM851 .C4335 2017 | DDC 303.48/33dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038733

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Acquisitions Editor: Jeff Lasser

Development Editor: Nathan Davidson

Editorial Assistant: Alex Croell

Production Editor: Veronica Stapleton Hooper

Copy Editor: Shannon Kelly

Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd.

Proofreader: Jennifer Grubba

Indexer: Jean Casalegno

Cover Designer: Scott Van Atta

Marketing Manager: Johanna Swenson

The first thing you should know about this book is that the title is partly a misnomer. Yes, our societies are superconnected, and so are wenever in human history have so many been connected to so many others, in so many ways, with such wide-ranging social implications. But sometimes it is assumed that the whole world is wired, living in a state of electronic connectivity, and thats just not the case. There are places in the world, such as much of southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, in which internet access, computers, and even electricity are seriously scarce. About a quarter of the worlds population does not have regular access to electricity, and although cell phones have penetrated the developing world to a much greater extent than computers have, they are used in much more limited ways than they are in more technologically developed areas, and owners are often hindered by inconsistent internet access, unreliable service, and the inability to regularly charge their phones (Gronewold, 2009; International Telecommunications Union [ITU], 2014; McKinsey and Company, 2014; Pew Research Centers Global Attitudes Project, 2012).

So when we talk about technological connectedness via the internet, digital and social media, and mobile phone use, as we will throughout this book, we must keep in mind that these things are not equally available to or experienced by everyone. There are social divisions and differences which influence whether and how people go online and make connections, even in highly developed countries like the United States and Canada. Most people who do not have regular internet access live in rural areas where poor infrastructure, health care, education, and employment opportunities impede internet adoption and use. About one-fourth of the offline population is illiterate. Others are offline by choice (Dutta, Geiger, & Lanvin, 2015; Ferdman, 2014; McKinsey and Company, 2014).

Internet connectedness is a reflection of the ways in which social factors like socioeconomic status, educational background, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, and so on play out in the physical world. This is because the online, digital world is not a separate entity from the offline, physical world. It is part of it. Online activity can make more visible and amplify concerns, problems, and divisions that are part of social life in physical space, and it can raise concern about new issues, too. But the digital world is in every way real and is deeply integrated with everyday lived experiences and with the future of our societiesand ourselveswhich makes it critically important to examine and understand.

Though obstacles remain to worldwide digital access and to the full realization of the potential of these technologies for all, the internet and digital media still afford tremendous opportunities for social connectedness and social change. They have become embedded in nearly every facet of modern life, including cities, cars, home appliances, lighting and heating products, and health and lifestyle monitoring. In all kinds of spaces, from the global to the local and everything in between, individuals and their communities and societies have become interconnected, their lives dramatically affected, their environments increasingly saturated with technology. So in the end, the title of this book still seems appropriate... because to an extent previously unimagined, and with the almost unlimited potential for further integration, the world has indeed become technologically and socially