In Chapter 7 of How the World Changed Social Media, we read and delve into the idea of "scalable sociality." This term refers to polymedia within social media, and how social media can be created as a way to maintain relationships with different kinds of people. From strangers to close friends or loved ones, social media, through scalable sociality, allows for more control of a social life for people.
The chapter gives a variety of examples of how sociality through social media doesn't create a sharp proliferation between online and offline, rather it creates and extension of interaction into different spaces not occupied before. I agree with this for the most part--on social media, personally, I talk and interact with those who I interact with the most offline as well. Social media heightens my ability to connect with my already intimate relationships initially developed offline, an idea elaborated on in Broadbent's study mentioned in the chapter. The way social media is described in terms of of relationships is relatively positive--for strangers, social media creates an excellent platform to connect with others. For friends, it creates a space to extend social interactions.
I find it interesting that the chapter emphasizes interactions between these two groups as common. It gives a variety of examples from different places where this is common, and I was interested to understand the different uses of social media in these places. However, I am also interested in how interactions are formed and changed with the creation of an online profile. I often feel as though, for those I am friends with online and offline, online profiles do not do a great job of fully depicting those they are supposed to represent. More specifically, there are people who I specifically separate from their online and offline expressions because they are so vastly different. Online representations therefore not only alter my online interactions, but it can alter my offline interactions as well.
I am interested to see cases in which online representations completely alter offline interactions. I think in cases like these, sociality can be severed or hurt. This can in turn scalable sociality into a scenario where people avoid interaction rather than heighten or enrich interaction.
The chapter gives a variety of examples of how sociality through social media doesn't create a sharp proliferation between online and offline, rather it creates and extension of interaction into different spaces not occupied before. I agree with this for the most part--on social media, personally, I talk and interact with those who I interact with the most offline as well. Social media heightens my ability to connect with my already intimate relationships initially developed offline, an idea elaborated on in Broadbent's study mentioned in the chapter. The way social media is described in terms of of relationships is relatively positive--for strangers, social media creates an excellent platform to connect with others. For friends, it creates a space to extend social interactions.
I find it interesting that the chapter emphasizes interactions between these two groups as common. It gives a variety of examples from different places where this is common, and I was interested to understand the different uses of social media in these places. However, I am also interested in how interactions are formed and changed with the creation of an online profile. I often feel as though, for those I am friends with online and offline, online profiles do not do a great job of fully depicting those they are supposed to represent. More specifically, there are people who I specifically separate from their online and offline expressions because they are so vastly different. Online representations therefore not only alter my online interactions, but it can alter my offline interactions as well.
I am interested to see cases in which online representations completely alter offline interactions. I think in cases like these, sociality can be severed or hurt. This can in turn scalable sociality into a scenario where people avoid interaction rather than heighten or enrich interaction.
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