https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/sebastian-junger/tribe/9781455566389/
Junger's book looks at earlier societies, especially native Americans, and dissects elements of those societies that benefitted greatly from close-knit communities that had minimal social isolation. Humans being the pack animals that we are, benefit greatly from institutions, belief system, and cultural traditions that create a sense of belonging and togetherness that leads to people feeling like they are contributing rather than competing.
In this contemporary time of social isolation and distancing, one of our only real outlets for meaningful and safe socialization has come from the electronic devices. Junger's book predates this crisis, and he is very critical of electronic socialization, and is a huge advocate of in person contact and togetherness as opposed to the electronic surrogates that we have become accustomed to in our time.
Junger's focus on the importance of in person socialization and community got me to thinking about whether or not we can adequately socialize through the use of electronics. I'm somewhat skeptical that we can fulfill all the social needs of our species from behind a screen, and potentially hundreds or thousands of miles away from those who we are digitally communing with.
If our society is forced to come up with a new kind of normal with incredibly limited physical proximity and contact between individuals and the community, will people be able to build the familial and community bonds necessary to bind people together in a positive way? I am unsure as to whether the electronics we will be relying on for the foreseeable future can serve as an effective catalyst for prosocial behavior and attitudes.
Questions for the Class:
Do you think that electronic communication can effectively build relationships that can sustain communities and their group identity?
Will excessive isolation time that results from social distancing measures negatively affect people's propensity for pro social behavior?
Can people's mental health needs be met primarily through electronic means? Do you agree or disagree with Jugner's notion that in person brotherhood and socialization are necessary to create a sense of belonging and community within a society? Why or why not?
If society does end up having to enact social distancing measures
for an extremely prolonged period of time, what other alternatives to
electronic socialization might be equally as safe but more effective during a situation like the current pandemic?
Good questions. Necessity being the mother of invention (and rationalization), I note more positive things being said about social media lately. Twitter in particular has been castigated in the past as a toxic den of misanthropy, but recently is getting more favorable reviews. (Personally I've not seen the toxic side I hear about, perhaps because MY twitter feed is mostly philosophers and poets and humanists. I don't know how all of this is going to shake out, but I do know that civility breeds civility, kindness breeds kindness... A pandemic is one way to smoke out the sociopaths.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/style/twitter-coronavirus.html?searchResultPosition=1
I think online community can be a great thing, and it can give you a little boost of dopamine when you get a like or a good comment. I don't think it does the trick for our physical needs though. I think we need some proximity to other warm bodies; we need to see people's eyes and smiles and get hugs. Not everyone needs as much of these things, but we all do to some extent. Much of what makes us human is our relation to other humans. I hope the distancing is not permanent...I'm not sure if people could even handle that, psychologically. We can train ourselves to survive on very little, but it's not optimal.
ReplyDeleteI think online communities can be a great source of social interaction. But as for the relationships that are being built I believe that they are deceptive. It is very easy to act differently online than how you would in real like. With a screen between you and the person you are talking to you are given the opportunity to present yourself as whatever you like because you are acting in a controlled environment. I believe people present differently online than they do in real life; two different people so the relationships you build have a good chance of being false representations.
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