The ubiquitous nature of digital technologies is becoming increasingly prevalent in everyday life. We’ve gone from a generation in which even the mere concept of digital technology had no real meaning in society, to a generation that has been encompassed by it. We’re now operating within a new social system of “networked individualism” (Rainie and Wellman, 2012), in which social groups and arrangements revolve around the concept of interconnectivity and the communicative uses of digital technology. The integration of such technologies into contemporary social life, as well as their impacts, can be seen through what Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman have described as “The Triple Revolution”. The first of the three revolutions concerns the social network, of which the progress has offered opportunities for individuals to extend beyond their geographical limits, connecting previously isolated worlds and relationships. Secondly, there is the internet revolution which has allowed people to have expansive power in communications and information access. As well as this, individuals can now become content creators, varying from both global and local scales, instead of simply receiving content and information from a limited group of organisations. Finally, there is the mobile revolution. In particular, this revolution has allowed technologies to become an extension of our physical composition, which give individuals access to networks at virtually any time in any place. Both alone and combined, these three revolutions have changed traditional means of social life. Where geographical borders and limits to information capacity once existed, there’s now new social spheres with limitless opportunities. This essay will explore the impact digital technologies have had on contemporary social life, with particular reference to relationships and the presentation of the self.
Relationships themselves are based on having a connection, whether it’s actively sought out (i.e. friends) or has always existed (i.e. family). There appears to be two conflicting perspectives concerning the impact of digital technologies on existing relationships. The first would be that they ensure the continuation of relationships, even when physical and geographical conditions begin to present themselves as obstacles. With the expanding development of transport connections and more wide-spread job/lifestyle opportunities, it’s not uncommon for families to have members in places well beyond local borders. While in the past, communication would have been limited to letters and carefully planned visits, digital technologies have provided individuals with the means to stay connected regardless of distance. Online message services, video calls, and emails offer families reassurance that their connections won’t be lost, and instead they’ll simply take place digitally. To go even further, these technologies, in some cases, have removed the necessity for individuals to even physically travel to a place of work. The opposing perspective is that relying on digital technologies for interaction, entertainment, and fulfilment actually weakens existing relationships. Whenever we enter a new era that brings new concepts, products, developments etc., there is a prevailing sense of anxiety as we fear the changes coming to us. Humans are naturally “creatures of habit” (Ouellette and Wood 1998), and so scepticism among new entities such as the internet and digital technologies can be expected due to the fact they threaten to change the routines that have become engrained in our daily lives. The argument follows the reasoning that relationships and communities are rupturing because the internet and the technologies it can be accessed on have led individuals to remove themselves from physical contact relationships (Rainie and Wellman, 2012). They’ve become submerged in online interactions, making those that take place offline less of a priority. Tensions increased in 1998 when Robert Kraut, a social psychologist, and his associates had their work published in major newspapers. Their findings largely claimed that new users of technology had reduced their social involvement and their psychological well-being had worsened. Although they withdrew their conclusions in 2002 after further research, this was granted much less attention and so there was no sense of relief from these alarmist statements.
Not only do digital technologies wield influence over existing relationships, they also have the ability to create new ones. Whilst the internet was initially deemed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as an “information service” that didn’t need much regulation rather than a “telecommunications” service in which the need for regulation would be greatly increased, it’s now clear that information access in only one of a plethora of social resources offered by digital technologies (Rainie and Wellman, 2012). As naturally social creatures, we go beyond using the technology to acquire information and begin to look for opportunities for companionship (Wellman and Gulia, 1998). This can be seen in the case of “SeniorNet”, a site where the elderly can access internet and computer education. Most of the users claimed to have joined to simply obtain the information, but nearly half of users also joined for the social aspect. This resulted in the heavy use of emails, bulletin boards, forums etc. and talking to others became the most common activity on the site, with one member remarking that “if I am unable to sleep at night, all I have to do is go to my computer and there’s always someone to talk to, laugh with, exchange ideas” (Furlong, 1989:149). “SeniorNet” is just one example of how strangers can experience intimacy because of bond that has arisen from this shared cultural group (Hinton and Hjorth, 2013). The ability of digital technologies to connect these previously isolated groups of people highlights that communities and relationships can now be of meaning and choice, and not simply exist because of geographical boundaries and convenience.
Another area in which digital technologies have impacted contemporary social life is the way in which individuals present themselves. The concept of the presentation of the self is best attributed to Erving Goffman, who uses a dramaturgical approach to express how people guide and control others’ impression of them. This metaphor makes use of the theatre to put forward the idea that individuals put on performances. Goffman (1959:22) defines these performances as “activity of an individual which occurs during a period marked by his continuous presence before a particular set of observers which has some influence on the observers.” This approach is heavily based on the assumption that the activity takes place in specific, constrained settings. As well as this, there are the notions of the “front stage”, where we present the ideal version of ourselves in response to what the specific role requires of us, and the “back stage”, where behaviour is more natural and more like the real self. When it comes to digital technology, the question arises of whether the self is embodied or performed. In cases of digital performance, the presentation of the self is undoubtedly more fluid and malleable. The highly visual nature of the online environment would appear to initially pose itself as a threat to identity, but regardless of this we have proven to constantly create identities that can have no relation to who we truly are. It’s increasingly easy to construct a profile that only shows the qualities we want others to see, editing out what is deemed unappealing or uninteresting. Similarly, interactions that take place online remove the presence of spontaneity, consequently allowing us to present ourselves as more composed than we truly are. Face-to-face exchanges are comprised of stutters, false starts, awkward pauses, imperfect sentences etc., all of which are visible to those you’re communicating with. Digital technologies eliminate these social and physical cues that come natural to most. Responses can be made without the thought process being observable by audiences, increasing the expectation of flawless interactions.
The initial introduction of networked individualism appeared to be a means of social liberation, but it’s evident that it can equally be socially taxing. It becomes exhausting to keep up with the identities we create as the boundaries between our public spaces and private spaces are constantly being eroded. Individuals may try to manage their identities by only accepting friend requests or followings from people that fit with the impression they want to give, “whether this is because all those friended can be assumed to keep everything on the frontstage, or because all those friended are those which can be comfortably invited backstage” (Wittkower, 2014). Instances of this can be seen in teenagers and young adults who reserve certain types of media platforms, such as Instagram, for friends and others of their age, and use other platforms, such as Facebook, for relatives. This sort of behaviour arises from the fear that relatives, the people to which genuine identity is regularly revealed, will create faults in performance. Managing this, however, is becoming increasingly difficult as networks and sites are expanded, bringing more and more individuals online that were previously off-line with no sense of division between them. danah boyd (2007) refers to this phenomenon as “context collapse”. Slightly different performances and presentations of the self take place as context differs, but as audiences grow and merge these presentations become decontextualised and are no longer seen to be associated with the particular situation they occurred in, but with the individual as a whole. In this way, digital technologies propose a paradox in their capabilities. Whilst enabling individuals to create and explore identities, they also make it exhausting to manage them if they aren’t genuine.
The effects of digital technologies on sociality are becoming deeply entrenched in our everyday lives, reaching far beyond the examples explored in this essay. Given the pervasive and intrusive nature of modern technology, it’s clear to see that it’s finding its way into our most private spaces. Traditional family lifestyles and values are dissolving as we become fully enveloped in a digital age, regardless of whether we’re mindful of it or not. Likewise, when we create and present our identities, we must now acknowledge our digital selves as even absence on digital technologies constitutes part of our identity. Whilst the integration of such developments seemed unimaginable in years gone by, it’s undoubtable that in years to come we will be faced with technology that increases future possibilities beyond the stretched limits we see today.