Interfacing Ourselves

Living in the Digital Age

Cristina Bodinger-deUriarte

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780367235109
• eBook ISBN: 9781000011630
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Interfacing Ourselves consists of new work that examines digital life on three levels: individuals and digital identity; relationships routinely intertwining digital and physical connections; and broader institutional and societal realities that define the context of living in the digital age. A key focus is what it means in varied social arenas when most individuals live as co-present or multi-present—simultaneously engaged in digital and physical space—alone and with others. Topics include how: digital life contributes to well-being; individuals experience digital dependency; a smartphone is more than a smartphone; netiquette reveals social change; some online communities become prosocial salient havens while others reinforce social inequality; Millennials build intimacy; Latinx do familismo; and digital surveillance and big data redefine consumerism, advocacy, and civic engagement. Six chapters incorporate insights from hourly journals of Millennials undergoing a period of digital abstinence. Other chapters draw from surveys, digital auto-ethnography, content analysis, and other methods to explore digital life at the level of individual and interactive experience, and at a broader institutional and societal level. Ultimately, the book presents the need for living a mindful digital life by developing greater awareness as an individual, a social being, and a netizen and citizen.

Part I

DIGITIZING IDENTITY

Preface

These five chapters examine social actors in micro-social context. A common thematic strand is how online (digital presence) and offline (physical presence) combine as co-presence to provide the framework for self-development, self-awareness, and individual choices. This part also considers how the collective consciousness of Millennials—that is, their identification as a cohort with particular shared understandings and expectations—contributes to their sense of social integration, or their sense of belonging in the world. Given the importance of being co-present in physical and digital space, Chapter 1 and 5 explore what we can learn from the reactions of Millennials in a state of digital deprivation. Chapter 1 considers the importance of meaningful co-presence while Chapter 5 looks at what it means when a subset of digitally-deprived Millennials self-identify as digitally dependent or “addicted.” Both chapters draw from the hourly journals of 420 Millennials who remained offline for a period of twelve consecutive waking hours (at a start time and day of their choosing).

Contributing theoretical outlooks are often implicit, rather than specifically articulated. In such instances, the material focus is emphasized. Nonetheless, all chapters have strong foundations in theory. Part I’s chapters primarily draw insights from social psychology. Symbolic interaction concepts and social constructionism are particularly well-reflected. Concepts are explained at a basic level within each chapter, as needed.

Chapter 1 uses both psycho-sociological and classical sociology theory concepts. The former includes social psychology approaches to basic human needs for psychological well-being; perceptions of a meaningful life; and the development of coping strategies during times of psycho-social deprivation (including digital deprivation). The latter includes concepts of collective consciousness and social integration. Consequently, those wishing to explore the ideas in more depth can investigate this variety of concepts beyond the fundamental descriptions provided in the chapter.

Chapter 2 is built upon theoretical underpinnings combining, the role of media in reinforcing mainstream and subcultural values, socialization, social constructionism, social agency, and feminist theory. The narrative is more focused on the material, or concrete phenomena, however. Readers interested in a deeper appreciation of these theoretical foundations may consider how reference groups, and the social agency of the tattoo artists combined across different eras to change public opinion and social norms related to tattoos. Another concept of interest for this chapter is that of moral panic—the mass rejection of a social behavior due to its perceived link to moral decay or deviance. The role of media as an agent of socialization is also key, as are feminist insights about the nature of gender inequality in the online tattoo culture. These combine to illuminate issues such as the internalization of gendered expectations, male-dominated tattoo cultural arenas, the objectification of females, self-objectification, and the resistance to objectification in digital-space tattoo communities.

Chapter 3 stands out in this part as specifically theoretical in its focus. It presents different theoretical approaches from which to consider the relationship between technology and the users of technology. The key issue is the degree to which the individual has social agency—meaningful power over decision-making and behavioral choices—in view of the technological features and expectations related to smartphones. Each theoretical frame is associated with a different level of acknowledged social agency. The four are: technological determinism (TD), social construction of technology (SCOT), actor-network theory, and the social shaping of technology (SST). Although primarily focused on theory, the explanations are quite accessible and are illustrated with commentary from the millennial journals.

Chapter 4 has a strong mental health focus in a queer theory context. Broader consideration of queer theory involves understanding notions of heteronormativity as embedded with power and control that applies pressure to both straight and LGBTQ+ individuals. The social psychology theoretical foundation draws strongly on Goffman and on the sociology of emotions. Those wishing to explore the sociology of emotions concepts informing this chapter might look at literature on emotion management, coping mechanisms, and intimacy-building through self-disclosure. The author approaches these concepts in view of normative pressure in physical space (as Goffman’s front stage), and social expectations in specialized digital-space communities for LGBTQ+ individuals (as Goffman’s backstage). This involves the concept of virtual community, and the social psychological concepts of reference group, self-presentation, image management, and masking and unmasking—all of which are clarified in the context of the chapter.

Chapter 5 has a more phenomenological approach; that is, it has more of a focus on life as experienced by the participants. Those interested in this more socio-philosophical approach would need to consider how individual consciousness, expressed in the first-person point of view, indicates self-awareness in relationship to digital life. There is significant overlap with the social construction of meaning, as seen in symbolic interactionism. In this case, the key issue is how digital technology users self-define as addicted to the Internet. The author draws on established behavioral indicators in the psychology of addiction to compare these phenomenological, constructivist self-definitions with mental health perceptions on behaviors that reflect addiction.

1

OFFLINE AS MISALIGNED

Millennials Coping with the Loss of Digital Presence

Cristina Bodinger-deUriarte

Relative Deprivation and Internet Intensity

A recent survey reports that a significant proportion of post-Millennials (teens) believe they could give up their phones for at least one full day (eMarketer 2017). Current study results cast doubt on this claim. All 420 millennial college student participants (primarily in their twenties) said that they could give up their phones and all Internet access for twelve consecutive waking hours, yet over half (60%) wrote about intensely craving their phones and about one-quarter (24%) reported giving in and checking their phones one or more times. Participants had very strong reactions to being unplugged for a half-day period (despite being able to choose the start time and, within limits, the date). This chapter draws on their 5,040 hourly journal entries to discuss why they were so deeply affected by the experience. To truly understand their responses to digital deprivation requires one to recognize that being online means more than simply engaging in a set of activities. One must also consider more complex explanations than the popular narrative of wholesale addiction or generational narcissism. Before discussing the meaning of digital involvement for this population, however, it is important to consider the intensity of Millennials’ digital presence.

Internet Intensity

For US Millennials, the highest intensity of Internet usage involves social media. Smith and Anderson (2018) identified the eight most popular digital platforms: YouTube (94%), Facebook (80%), Snapchat (78%), Instagram (71%), Twitter (41%), Pinterest (34%), LinkedIn (29%), and WhatsApp (27%). The ninth and tenth would be Google+ (26%) and Tumblr (21%) in data from Statista (2018). Further, Smith and Anderson (2018) found that Millennials under thirty use four of these platforms regularly—generally multiple times a day—as is true for 71 percent of Snapchat users and 55 percent of Instagram users. Almost all Millennials (92%) own a smartphone (Jiang 2018) and three-quarters of them check their phones between 50 and 100 times daily (Globe Newswire 2017). Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents in their late teens and twenties report being online “almost constantly” (Perrin and Jiang 2018). One-quarter of US Millennials spend about one-third of their waking hours on the phone (Globe Newswire 2017). This intensity helps explain why 85 percent of smartphone owners always keep their smartphone in direct reach, and most take it to bed with them.

Co-Presence as More Than an Either/Or Proposition

Digital activity frequently takes place while being physically present with friends and family. Americans across age groups are increasingly engaged in this kind of co-presence; the majority (85%) report using the phone while also talking with family and friends who were physically present (Richter 2018).

Millennials are often portrayed as shifting distractedly from online entertainments and contacts to offline interactions, dividing their attention between competing interests in a “virtual world” of simulated and mediated interactions, and a “real world” of authentic relationships. The strength of their ties to digital space platforms and interactions has often been depicted as existing at the cost of their presence in directly inhabited, physical space environments. The author argues, however, that the social-psychological issues are complex, and that important insights are available with a different approach than this “either/or” treatment of digital presence versus physical presence. A more holistic approach supports the observations of a number of digital research scholars (Miller 2011; Turkle 2011); however, the co-presence/multi-presence approach taken here is still underrepresented in sociological research.

What does it mean to sidestep the idea that digital space and physical space are experienced separately, like the rapid shifts of attention in multi-tasking? First, it is clear that digital devices extensively redefine and mediate experience in directly inhabited, physical environments. The following are just a few examples: apps that advance-order and pay for take-out coffees to avoid lines and interactions with baristas and other strangers; “Find My Friends” apps to meet up easily; apps to browse other “singles” in a shared physical location (like a bar) making approaching someone easier; apps to have the phone ring to “fake” getting a call in order to claim “something came up” so as to leave an undesirable interaction; and so much more.

Second, digital space environments are similarly created, shaped, and “managed,” by incorporating narratives and comments, and by posting visual representations of events experienced in physical space. These narrative and visual posts, in turn, become the basis for further digital and physical interactivity (likes, comments, re-postings, related link sharing, meetings, etc.). Rather than balancing two dimensions of experience, Millennials exist multi-dimensionally. In fact, this research shows that online digital presence and offline physical presence interpenetrate to the degree that a simultaneous digital/physical co-presence or multi-presence is more than a lifestyle choice for most Millennials. This multi-presence has become an internalized aspect of selfhood and collective consciousness among Millennials.

The participants in this research kept journals about what digital activities they gave up (if any) each hour, what they did instead, and how they felt during each hour. After completing twelve hours of abstinence, some also appended reflections about the experience overall (see Chapter 14). The emotional and behavioral reactions, face-to-face interactions, and responses to their directly inhabited, physical environments, were impacted to an unanticipated degree. An analysis of reported moods and attempts to cope with digital deprivation reveals that suppressing digital presence is akin to suppressing key aspects of identity. It also creates a disconnect from collective consciousness and social integration. The end result is deprivation that seems to harm, at a basic level, this population’s sense of well-being and of living a meaningful life.

Well-Being at Three Levels

Social psychology recognizes three particularly important social factors among the primary contributors to a feeling of well-being: (1) a general feeling of affiliation; (2) emotional intimacy; and (3) a sense of belonging (Erber and Erber 2001). Millennials use social media to support all three.

The Need for Affiliation

Affiliation is casual day-to-day interaction. This generally involves superficial relationships with acquaintances. In fact, many of one’s social media friends fall into the category of affiliates, as opposed to close or intimate friends. Affiliation interactions focus on everyday activities, work, specific interests, or on simply moving through a typical day. Social media posts generally include this sort of material and journal entries included numerous examples.

I was actually thinking of taking a picture of a drink which has no importance to me in this world.

I wanted to text a colleague to gossip about something that was said at the meeting and knew that I would forget to do this later when I was allowed access to my phone.

I am what most people would call a social media girl. I love social networking with other people, and I love updating my Facebook status or putting up new pictures of what I am doing at any time of the day.

Likes and comments received from social media friends or followers provide the casual sort of interaction associated with affiliation. However, simply posting the materials helps fulfill the need for affiliation because the person posting items imagines the reactions of others. This suits the normally superficial nature of affiliation. Researchers have found that college students who posted more status updates than they normally did felt less lonely over the course of a week, even if no one “Liked” or commented on their posts (Gannon 2013). This supports the idea that even without a response, affiliation activities contribute to one’s sense of well-being and connection with the world.

The importance of digital space activity in satisfying this need is demonstrated when affiliating through social media is temporarily unavailable. Participants frequently mentioned their sense of “missing out” (31%), and being “isolated” (23%) even when others were sharing their physical space. Such feelings of displacement seem to indicate lost affiliation satisfaction:

All I could think about was all the things I was missing online or if anybody had posted on my wall or texted me.

By this time, I would have sent about three Snapchats that I can count (via my cell phone.) And possibly received a few, too. Instead I proceeded to cook breakfast without stopping to take a pointless picture of my scrambled eggs or my dog.

I realized I had not been in such a bad mood in a long time. I can’t remember the last time I felt so crappy, and isolated from the world. I thought staying away from technology was going ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• Editor’s Note on the Contributors
• Introduction: This is an Invitation
• PART I: Digitizing Identity
• PART II: Mediated Relationships
• PART III: Virtual Agency and Digital Dystopia
• Index