Bleeding Ink

The downward spiral of print journalism continues.

Conde Nast publisher to cut 5% from popular mags (Vogue, Wired, Glamour)

Christian Science Monitor goes online only.

Omnipotent Technology in Relationships

In Clive Thompson’s article, “Brave New World of Digital Intimacy”, he muses upon the fact that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are both expanding our social networks while shrinking them at the same time.  This is true on both accounts because we can stay ever connected with a greater range of people than we normally could without the usage of such an engrossing technology, but when we get to know these people, the world becomes much smaller as they are keyed into our very lives day by day.  One of the most interesting aspects of this article talks about the capacity of the human brain and then number of social links it can support.  The “dumbar number”,   states that humans can only support 150 healthy social links.  The key word here being healthy.  Yet, when we see people with Facebook friends in the hundreds, do they really feel connected with one another?  Some people are just keen to add anyone to add to their number, as it is almost seen as a popularity contest.  Yet, can these people claim that they really have a connection with the person that they just “friended”.  Now, this connection I speak of isn’t just the fact that they go to school or work with one another.  I believe to be friends, that people should have some sort of commonality.   You could say that being in the same classes is commonality enough, but there should be something that goes deeper than that, shared personality traits, or maybe even like-minded thinking.

Now this shouldn’t read as being judgmental against those with high friend counts, only maybe a call to action to become better acquainted with those people that you add.  I’m under the belief that relationships can grow just from online interaction.  It serves as an easier way for people to communicate.  Just by reading someone’s status message may give you a little insight to what someone is thinking, but they’re often just cursory glances at the surface of someone.  Thompson alludes to this when he states that people would ask one another, why they dislike a certain actor after seeing it on someone’s status.  This is what I am encouraging.  Social networking can be so much more than just keeping tabs on people you barely know.  It can be used to make new friends and develop more rewarding relationships.  Even Thompson himself seemed to strike up a relationship with the Twitter page that he occasionally glanced at.

In a way it is a brave new world when it comes to social relationships.  With technology advancing at an exponential rate, it is much easier to connect with people through social networking sites, web forums, chat rooms, and even instant messaging.  However, I believe that we are just touching the surface.  It only seems to exist now as a casual, complimentary way to keep in touch with someone.  I only half heartedly believe in dunbar’s number.  While it may be true that there is a limited capacity to maintain healthy relationships with people, then things such as Facebook should be able to expand our minds and our numbers.  It makes it easier to keep in touch, but it has to go beyond the simple courtesy that exists now.  Make the effort to get to know someone that you offhandedly friended, it will be rewarding.