Portable communities : the social dynamics of online and mobile connectedness / Mary Chayko.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chayko, Mary, 1960- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mobile communication systems--Social aspects.

Mobile communication systems.

Online social networks.

Interpersonal communication--Technological innovations--Social aspects.

Interpersonal communication.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 306 p. )

Place of Publication:

Albany, New York State : State University of New York Press, [2008]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Runner-Up, 2009 Association for Humanist Sociology Book Award"I blog, text, IM, email, and I don't like to be without my cell phone or have to shut it off—even in a theater. Let's put it this way, my 'connections' are more important than whatever I'm doing that might force me to shut my cell phone off." — A Member of a Portable CommunityIn contemporary American life, community has become a portable phenomenon—you can "get it to go" wherever and whenever it is desired at the push of a button, mouse, or keyboard. In Portable Communities, sociologist Mary Chayko examines the social dynamics and implications of having access to countless others at any time. Teeming with the observations of people who blog, email, instant message, game, and chat on cell phones, wireless computers, and other portable devices, the book captures the appeal and the excitement, the challenges and the complexities, of online and mobile connectedness. Chayko considers some of the external dynamics that emerge as these communities resonate within the larger society—constant availability, social interaction that is more controlled and controllable, and new opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and even voyeurism. Internal social dynamics involving emotionality, intimacy, play, romance, and networking are also fully explored. Portable Communities provides a unique view of shifts in the social landscape and points the way toward needed social and political change.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Introduction

The Portability of Social Connectedness

Internal Dynamics

Thinking in Tandem

Feeling Connected

Playing Around

Social Networking

External Dynamics

Being There

Harnessing Social Interaction

Creating, Expressing, and Extending the Self

Shaping a Social Landscape

Acknowledgments

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-289) and index.

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780791477540

0791477541

9781435694569

1435694562