Stories of bored suburban teens, getting in trouble by hanging out at the corner store or loitering in public spaces, have always been a part of the suburban ethos (see one of my favorite movies Clerks (1994)). The Boston Globe has a great story about how suburban teenagers are hanging out less at the corner store and increasingly using cell phones to organize much more spontaneous (and the parents argue more damaging) house parties. They quote a suburban police officer reminiscing for the past when he could approach teens hanging out at the local McDonald’s to find the night’s parties – now things are organized more ad hoc and outside of public spaces. A great example of both networked individualism and the ongoing narrative of life in the suburbs for teenagers.
For the past few years I have been working to reinvigorate the American Sociological Association (ASA) section on Communication and Information Technologies (CIT). CITASA’ns have the opportunity to present their work at the annual ASA meeting, there is a new newsletter, a new email list, a new website coming soon, discounts on journals (Information, Communication & Society, New Media & Society, and The Information Society) and each new member gets a section “Sociology Bytes!†t-shirt. Membership growth is important to raise the profile of the sociological study of new technologies and it increases the number of sessions at the annual meeting. It is annual membership renewal time at the ASA, if you are an ASA member (or want to be) please help by joining the CIT section.
I am increasingly interested in the privatization of public space. Mobile phones have facilitated the rise of “network individualismâ€; community forming around the individual without the dependancy of place. This allows for greater choice in social networks and arguably greater bonding social capital (contact amongst strong ties). Has it also lead to a decline of serendipity? Reduction in the diversity of social ties? Privatization of public space? I increasingly believe that it has, but have some hope that public uses of WiFi and cell phones encourage some spontaneity of interaction. All questions that I hope to address in my ongoing Network Awareness project. Interesting article on this subject in Metropolis Magazine – Disconnected Urbanism.