Although I never get tired of hearing it repeated, it is really not rocket science anymore to proclaim that media have played a significant role when it comes to the breaking down of social limits and borders. In the 80’s, Meyrowitz was already talking about how electronic media contributed to the restructuring of social situations in the same way as if we were pulling down walls and opened doors. And this development has of course only been taking up pace ever since the internet was paved into our everyday lives in the mid 90’s. (Yes! I repeat it and repeat it. But I am actually experiencing a moment in time where we are still wondering and obsessing about the newness of the network society and the changes that have been taking place so rapidly within the last 20 years. So please, future generations, just bear with my obsession and thrill. Of course you will not appreciate it in the same way as me). Okay. Back to my point, which is really not my point, but rather a whole tradition of brilliant academics’ point. Although, physical and social borders between inside and outside, private and public and so on have been somehow brought down by the technological development of digital media, it is not complete chaos yet. Most girls will still be girls online, lads will be lads, Danes will be Danes and so on and so forth. There are still very explicit social and cultural principles of organization (I think this was Lash and Urry who used this term) that govern our daily digital lives – the way we interact and where we interact.
SO HERE’S A TEST: Do you feel at home, understand, appreciate, know how to respond to the following (look at the comments to the videos):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAh_4tXUh_0
http://www.youtube.com/user/julieg713
http://www.youtube.com/user/FizzicsEd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO1qcwnd0ok
(this is Danish, so if you are not Danish, you won’t get the point here , sorry):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITak3arfak0
IF YOU DON’`T GET IT OR ARE LAUGHING RIGHT NOW: Don’t worry, you just don’t belong to the social and cultural community of the people who does understand and know how to behave within these communities.
Is this not order in chaos or what?
