Mobile Communication, the Internet and the Net of Social

Relations

Friedrich Krotz

University of Erfurt, Germany

Changing the Perspective:

Analyzing the Mobile Phone vs.

Analyzing the Everyday life of the people

Overview

1. Mediatization: becoming mediated by media

2. Changing Social Relations by Mobile Phone and the Internet

3. But different changes by Mobile Phone and the Internet, refering to relations

4. Conclusions: Mediatization

1 Mediatization: becoming mediated by the media

Changing communication in society, culture and by individuals

Mediatization• Means a long term process of changing

conditions of communication• as new media come up and old media

are used in new ways and so the media environments of the people are changing

• new forms of communication today (mainly: Mobile Net, Internet, Interactive Communication and the Mix of all)

Mediatization

• As a construct (like Globalization and Individualization) to describe the development of the digital media becoming a part of culture and society

• As a micro concept: to describe the changing everyday life of men and women by more and more using digital media

• As a macro concept to describe the changing of economy, culture, society

Everyday Life in the industrial society

SCHOOL/WORK

REPRODUCTION: SLEEPING, EATING....

FAMILY

FRIENDS

HOBBIES

THE OLD MEDIA

Telephon letters

Everyday life in the media society

WORK/SCHOOL

FAMILY

REPRODUCTION

HOBBIES

FRIENDS

The Media

Consequences

• All areas of life are concerned: leisure and work,

• new “realities” and situations came up

• new orientations by reference and membership groups

• new experiences, roles, social relations

• New forms of identity and of forms of living together

2 Changing social relations by Mobile Phone and Internet

In the industrial Society

Most people mainly lived in an net of personal, social and parasocial relations

• Personal Relations maintained by Face-to-face-communication,

• With media of interpersonal communication being helpful from time to time

• Maintained by mass media (parasocial relations)• (all media help to maintain social relations

between social groups)

The Net of (para-)social/personal Relations

Person

Aunt

Working Colleague

Mother

PartnerAquaintance

Neighbour

Ally McBeal

Friend

Social Net by Membership- and Reference Groups

Person

Fans of the sameSoccer clubTeam at the job

/Peergroup

Religion

Family

Hobbygroup

Fans liking thesame Music style, soap ...

Social groups/classes …

The digitally mediated everyday life

Person

Aunt

Working Colleague

Mother

PartnerAquaintance

Neighbour

Ally McBeal

Friend

Person

Fans of the sameSoccer club

Team at the job /Peergroup

Religion

Family

Hobbygroup

Fans liking theSame Music style

In the upcoming Media Society

• The net of everyday life interaction and communication

• is intertwined and intermingled by a net of digitally mediated forms of communication

• especially by mobile phone and Internetrelated PC (more and more refering to interactive communication)

• but how and with which effects?

Thesis: changing situations of Communication

For both the Internet and the mobile phone:• The use changes the situation a person is in

as it separates from the present persons• The use in addition produces a simultaneous

second situation as it connects with another person

• Even the presence of a media influences the situation: It is a latent possibility. It serves to present myself in a specific way and to manage impression. It serves to control the situation.

Mobile phone and a given prior situation

Person B

Person C

Person A

Common face-to-face-Situation

Person D

Adresses a specific person

Control of situation

Computer/Internet and a given prior situation

Household mebers or office colleagues

Person A

Home/Office

Enter an open „virtual“ space

You must not adress a person, thus open for new relations

Politics of the family/the office

Conclusion

• Mediatization: We more and more are in such simultaeous situations

• Both media• Separate from the actual situation - but what

type of situation?• Connects with other persons - but what type

of persons?• Helps to control the situation - but what type

of situation?

3 Differences between Internet/PC and Mobile Phone refering to relations

• Thesis

• Mobile phone and Internet/PC affect situation in a different way: Each changes another type of situations and each connect to another type of additional situation

Thus

• Each of them is important for different situations – which it changes and – which it creates

• by technical features

• by Culture

The Internet

Internet/PC

• Traditionally and by culture, the computer is seen as a stand allone computer, which may have a connection to the Internet, in addition („Internet inside of PC“)

• Technically, Internet/PC is mostly used at home or in office, as they are not so easy to transport

• Thus, Internet/PC • Is important for the politics of the family

and organizes difference, e.g. between man and woman

• separates from relations to colleagues, household and family (specific place or room)

• Using the internet is organized as entering a virtual space, there you can maintain existing relations, but you also can start new relations

Mobile Phone

The mobile phone

• Is culturally understood as a phone (although it is a little computer). Therefor, it seen to be used mainly to speak with a selected other person (or send him or her a SMS), the adress of which you know

• Technically it may be used (nearly) everywhere, as the connecting nets are everywhere and it is easy to transport

Thus, the mobile phone

• Mostly plays a role to control situations and manage impressions outside of home

• Mostly separates from unknown people in unknown situations/does not disturb relations

• Using the mobile phone means you must adress a specific person with his/her phone number – it connects mainly with known persons

• You can only maintain existing relations

Personal Relations byInternet/PC Mobile phone

• Separates from relations to family/colleagues

• Is important for the politics of family

• Using the Internet is organized to enter a specific „virtual“ space

• There one can maintain personal relations, but you one can also start new relations

• Separates from often unknown persons/ no relations

• Helps to Controll the situation /manage impressions

• Signalizes a life style

• Connects with known persons an identifier of which you must know

• Helps to maintain relations in mobile times

4 Conclusions: Mediatization

• Every individual lives in a space of possible contacts

• and in a net of personal, social and parasocial relations, based on all types of communication contacts:– Interpersonal face to face– Interpersonal mediated– Parasocial– interactive/artificial

Starting from the everyday life of people we know:

1. There is a space of possible communication contacts

2. a net of social, personal and parasocial relations based on realized communication contacts, more and more by different media

Social, Parasocial, Personal Relations

3. are important for social integration, the roles of a person, his or her experiences, reflection, inner dialog and thus for his or her social character and his identy

4. „A person is a society in miniature, as she or he consists of the roles and experiences made in roles“ (Lindesmith and Strauss, following Tamotsu Shibutani)

• This space of possible contacts and also the net of relations is probably changed by the digital media

• But these changes depend on which media is used and which cultural and technical conditions are given

• Not only relations change, but in a similar way the orientation given by reference groups and membership groups

As a result about Mediatization:1. The communicational and relational net of

everyday live is overlapped by the net of digitalized communication

2. An intertwining and intermingling net of everyday life including digital media comes into existence, which gets more and more importance/different influences:

3. The mobile phone separates from more unknown situations and helps to maintain existing relations

4. The Internet/PC separates from given more stable structures and offers also new relations

If In/PC and Mobile phone are of future importance

• we can conclude that different types of new persons will come into existence, depending on their media use

• How stable are they? How different? It depends on what?

• This needs long term empirical research• as a result of Mediatization/Element of

Medium Theory

We are living in a huge experiment

Who Controls?

(Thanks for your attention)Friedrich.Krotz@uni-erfurt.de