technoculture314-09

Judith Donath asks the question "will (Social Networking Sites) shift people's social world from one focused on a few important relationships to one consisting of an immense number of weak relationships?" (p.238) I think that SNS's both affect the ways in which we construct relationships in modern society, and reflect the changing dynamics of it. SNS's have changed the ways in which we define our relationships to others. Where once the terms 'acquaintance', 'old friend', 'best friend', 'my friends friend' were used to describe our relationships with other people, each of these now fall into the single and restricted definition of "friend" under most social networking sites. Many of us invite and accept friend invitations from people we would once not have referred to as our "friends". Many of us also spend time going through the pages and the lives of those we have only met a few times. In this way, I would certainly agree with Donath, that SNS's have encouraged many people to focus on an immense number of weak relationships, and emphasize the bond we share with anyone and everyone that we can. However, we cannot simply state that the changing nature of relationships in today's society can be pinpointed on SNS's. Donath goes on to argue that, under the new market economy, we no longer depend on our relationships with others for the sake of survival (p. 245). Where once we required the help of a community of friends and relatives to hunt for food and build shelter, such necessities can now be gained through money. While humans once spent their time building relationships in order to survive, we now spend our time under the market, earning a wage for the same things that we always required. The difference? Arguably, we now have less time to develop strong relationships with people as we did before. I think that SNS's are a reflection of this changing dynamic.

In regards to the topic "Types of Relationships", Donath seems to suggest that social networking sites can give us insight into the types of relationships we form with others, but fails to look at the ways in which SNS's strenthen or weaken these relationships. For example, which of us haven’t added someone we like onto Facebook, only to look through their photos and realise that they act like a total looser when they're drunk? This might cause one to reconsider the 'identity' that their friend has chosen to display for us in person. Maybe the identity that they construct on an SNS gives us a more accurate insight into their identity, or their relationships with others. Or perhaps we didn't think highly of a person until we saw their favourite music on Facebook, which might make us reconsider how interesting a person is (thus, strengthening the relationship).