Monday, October 25, 2010

Questions for Thursday, October 28

1) In Chapter 9, pg. 159, Ling asserts that "The mobile telephone is the tool of the intimate sphere...perhaps at the expense of the non-intimates." If you are standing alone while waiting in a long line at the grocery store, are you more likely to interact with the strangers around you, or use your mobile phone to interact with non-present intimates? Why do you personally behave that way?
2) Ling reiterates the idea that the mobile phone reinforces already strong-tie relationships, perhaps to the detriment of weak-tie relationships. Do you think that the usage of Facebook is a way to make up for the fact that the mobile phone excludes non-intimates? How can network technologies be used to create a "correct" level of social cohesion? What do you feel is the "correct" level of social cohesion, where there is a balance between strong ties and weak ties?

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