Module 1: Introduction - Studying the Internet

Week 01 of NET102

In this topic we look at:

• The connections between our individual experiences/perspectives of the Internet with universal, broader statements made about the role the Internet plays in society + people's lives;
• Exploring how our own experiences and "everyday Internet" may be different from other people's + the implications of this for studying the Internet; and
• The questions of the relationship/s between the Internet and everyday life.

Study Guide

Introduction: Ubiquity, or, The Internet is Everywhere

• Technology is interwoven into different aspects of life - work, shops, games, phones
• Internet has penetrated our work, schools, homes, commuting, banks, government agencies, shops
• Ubiquitous nature of the Internet is the result of the incorporation of the 'online' world with the 'offline' --> distinctions become superfluous

The Internet and Everyday Life

• Everyday Life: the daily, mundane, commonplace experiences, objects,, habits and routines
• Everyday Life: the daily lives of "ordinary people" - people from working/middle classes
• When something becomes so commonplace that people do not normally think about it very much, that is when it is most powerful, because the power that operates through it is invisible and unexamined

The reasons for studying the Internet and everyday life:

• To understand ourselves and our society better
• We can discern the patterns and undercurrents that structure our lives + rules that people don't question or talk about
• To identify and understand effective progressive/conservational tactics
• In understanding the nuts and bolts of how power and control operates in our society, we can recognise ways of improving it
• Also, the study of the everyday includes examining ways in which people may subvert the limitations of their world
• To recognise and understand change
• It is possible to see the role the Internet may play in people's sense of identity, how groups are formed/sustained + how power is distributed in society

Multiple Perspectives

• One person's everyday is not the other person's everyday
• Draw from your own experiences, but also take into account that one's experience does not necessarily mirror that of everyone in wider society
• The everyday is historically specific and located. The everyday shifts.
• The everyday we each have is specific to a certain time, place and social context
• Perspective matters
• Be aware of the different contexts of the writing and thinking, the different interests and motivations, and what each perspective has to offer

Berger: "Sociological Theory and Cultural Criticism

p. 163

There are three points to be made about how sociologists of everyday life work:

1. "...they study social interactions by 'observing them in natural situations...'"
2. "...they focus on observing people interacting in face-to-face concrete situations..."
3. "...they focus on the meanings that people find in their lives..."

The difference between 'everyday' and 'anyday' experiences: the latter refers to things that can happen to a person on any day, contrasted to things that happen to them every day.

p. 164

Everyday life is shaped by advertising; phenomena such as fads, fashions, styles, and commonly used expressions, as well as our routine viewing of television, listening to radio, and reading of newspapers and magazines.

Bakardjieva

p. 61

Approaches to the Internet in Everyday Life:

• Statistical: Who is online? What do they do online? How much time is spent online?
• Interpretative: Why do people go online? What does it mean to them?
• Critical: Is Internet use empowering or oppressing people? Does it alienate and exploit people?

CONCLUSION

I avoided SGY110 and find that I end up doing another Sociology unit anyway.

I agree with the sentiment that the Internet is ubiquitous and that the online realm has leached into the offline one - they are not separate entities in our society any more. As we become more reliant on technology that uses the Internet, the more that distinction becomes blurred. This is not necessarily a critique, just a statement of the inevitable. The fact that it is part of everyday life just shows how normal it has become - it is synonymous with brushing our teeth and eating dinner at a table at a certain time of day. I know that one of the first things I do in the morning is check my Facebook and e-mails - it has become a daily ritual.