Stefana Broadbent, a cognitive scientist, has spent decades observing people as they use technology, at home and in complex workspaces such as air-traffic control towers. (so says her bio)
In this clip she talks about how the use of social media is deepening our human relationships. I found this fascinating. Hope you do too.
She talks about the democratisation of intimacy, how people are breaking the imposed isolation of the institutions they inhabit (mainly the places where they work) by using social media creatively to deepen their existing relationships.
This is a new take on social media and I guess it’s my anthropological background that makes me so interested. Plus I believe we can see social media enabling us to evolve new communities with strong common interests.
And it’s a healthy take on the potential for social media to be truly beneficial. All the more important for government to take an interest in strong content-based policy encouraging families and communities who are geographically distanced to form stronger bonds.
Strong communities = a strong and healthy society. That’s my philosophy.
Clare, my advice is to shut off the laptop and try some old fashioned door knocking. Most people think a cloud is something in the sky blocking the sun.
I agree, I actually got addicted to blogging and it was affecting my health, now prefer 3 dimensional world.
Some interesting stats about the relatively low numbers of people we actually interact with on a frequent basis – whether its via facebook, mobile or IM. Perhaps even powerful technologies cannot overcome well-established patterns of human interaction?
For me, it reinforces that human interaction is evolving, and that technology is both a driver and a tool for that. But the industry should be mindful that it’s people who create communities, and ways of interacting based on the things that matter to them. Shared beliefs and values. Manufactured communities don’t work. Or if they do, not for long.
For those with introverted personalities, FB, IM-ing, or texting is a relatively low-impact, low-stimulus way of interacting with others. Skype is a little higher impact, since there is audio and video, and I suspect that communicating via a video chat is more common for extroverts.
Clare, are you familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI – based on CG Jung)? I first ran across it in a Council for Excellence in Government programme. The very different preferences of individuals and their ways of interacting with and understanding the world are fascinating.
“Strong communities = a strong and healthy society. That’s my philosophy.” Clare, too long for a bumper sticker, sorry. Now, tell us what you actually believe.
It creeps me out that people are leaving such big cyber footprints…