Colin Abbatessa
UMass Senior
Anthropology major
by Colin Abbatessa
UMass Public Anthropology Course | Anthro 397D
Spring 2014
In our UMass Amherst Public Anthropology course we have been urged to use social networking (either twitter or facebook) as a platform for discussion on the readings and lectures we have had during class time. This method has proven to be an incredibly engaging practice and has furthered to establish connectivity between Professor Sonya Atalay, my fellow students, our guest speakers, and members of the public who choose to access the page. While on the ever present topic of engaging public activity in anthropological research, we have touched upon how social networking and media can be an instrumental tool in informing and urging public awareness in general. The idea of using social networking as an engagement tool for anthropological work is both promising and exciting, however I could not stop myself from wondering about the implications of how connected our society has become. I, myself, have never been all that thrilled about constantly “updating” the occurrences in my life to the world, and in my discontent I have stumbled upon a book by Andrew Keen (2012) titled “Digital Vertigo: how today’s online social revolution is dividing, diminishing, and disorienting us”. Keen’s work sheds light on aspects of social networking that are not always on the surface, and he questions where the current path of this trend may lead us in the near future.
While social media can be used as an informative free media source, it is often clouded by masses of individually posted banters and rants encompassing the respective person’s day to day life. In a sense, there is no real order or organization in social networking, and in this way “we” as the individuals become almost inconsequential and transparent. While being enveloped into the gigantic array of individuals using social networking and media, a person can lose their “voice”. That is to say, if this tool is used in an attempt to convey an important issue, we would have no control over whether this issue is heard by the desired range of the public or not. As individual people we are succumbing to and being absorbed into the “permanent self-exhibition zone” (Keen 2012:11). In the social world of the internet, the individual is completely vulnerable, and any remaining areas of privacy are slowly being ebbed away with the tide. Social networking has become incredibly commonplace in recent years, and I personally do not like the idea of showcasing myself to the entire world. As we speak, social networking and digital technology are being transformed from “tools of second life into an increasingly central part of real life” (Keen 2012:39).
One has to admit that the speed in which social networking is currently growing is becoming in the least, mildly unsettling. Keen states that: “Everything – from communications, commerce and culture to gaming, government and gambling – is going social” (2012:42). It is difficult to not wonder things like; how much will social networking encompass? Where will this pattern take us? And will we eventually lose our individuality? From an observational standpoint, I can’t help but feel the trend of social networking is growing even more rapidly each day, and I fear that we may be facing a future where individuals, cultures, and distinct social patterns may all lose their sense of “self” and what makes them unique. Keen claims that “network society has become a transparent love-in, an orgy of over sharing, an endless digital Summer of Love” (2012:42). When described in this way, it is easy to realize how quickly everything is becoming “social” and connected on the internet, a looming presence of change to come; a change that might be evolving faster than we can handle.
Despite my personal disposition to social networking, I do not fail to see the light in this marvel of technology. When taking a step back, it can be quite amazing to see how connected we as human being are becoming. I do believe in all honesty that social networking has great potential, as it can connect, inform, and assist people around the world in a positive manner. Just in the example of our anthropology class alone, social networking has proven to be a valuable asset and tool with regards to learning and engaging with course material. It has been used by our guest speakers to get an idea of some of our discussion topics; used by students to voice their opinions; and used by our Professor to encourage out of class thinking. Through networking we have voiced our ideas, shared them with each other, and made them available to the public.
With the social sciences (anthropology in particular) facing a possible paradigm shift, social networking may yet have a pivotal role to play. We have only scratched the surface of moving anthropology toward become more public-focussed and less ‘scholarship for other scholars’. In our class discussions and readings we have seen that anthropological research has had limited benefit for some of the communities being studied. That is, research material is being gathered and brought back to universities, where for the most part, it stays. Social networking can play a critical part in connecting anthropologists with communities, and helping scholars discover what those outside the academy want to learn, and the research they would like done. With is vast power and potential to reach out, we as anthropologists could use social networking to “change our field” and become more involved with the people we would like to do our work and research not on, but with.
However, while social networking may hold great excitement and capabilities, we need to be wary of how it is used. As scholars attempting to reach out to the public, it may be difficult to gain the attention of our target audiences. As Keen has implied many times in “Digital Vertigo”, there is little to no control in social networking and media. We as anthropologists should heed this notion, and realize it may be more difficult than we perceive to utilize the tools of social networking. While facebook in particular has proven a great tool both in and outside of our classroom, it is important to realize that our posts are most likely only viewed by the students of the classroom and faculty members of the UMass Amherst anthropology department. As our times are ever changing and we seek to impact these changes positively, we should seek to utilize social media as a benefit for all, but at the same time we need to tread carefully.
Works Cited
Keen, Andrew. “Digital Vertigo; how today’s online social revolution is dividing, diminishing, and disorienting us”. Constable & Robinson. New York. 2012.