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Portable Communities: The Social Dynamics of Online and Mobile Connectedness
Runner-Up, 2009 Association for Humanist Sociology Book Award
"I blog, text, IM, email, and I don't like to be without my cell phone or have to shut it off—even in a theater. Let's put it this way, my 'connections' are more important than whatever I'm doing that might force me to shut my cell phone off." — A Member of a Portable Community
In contemporary American life, community has become a portable phenomenon—you can "get it to go" wherever and whenever it is desired at the push of a button, mouse, or keyboard. In Portable Communities, sociologist Mary Chayko examines the social dynamics and implications of having access to countless others at any time. Teeming with the observations of people who blog, email, instant message, game, and chat on cell phones, wireless computers, and other portable devices, the book captures the appeal and the excitement, the challenges and the complexities, of online and mobile connectedness. Chayko considers some of the external dynamics that emerge as these communities resonate within the larger society—constant availability, social interaction that is more controlled and controllable, and new opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and even voyeurism. Internal social dynamics involving emotionality, intimacy, play, romance, and networking are also fully explored. Portable Communities provides a unique view of shifts in the social landscape and points the way toward needed social and political change.
"I blog, text, IM, email, and I don't like to be without my cell phone or have to shut it off—even in a theater. Let's put it this way, my 'connections' are more important than whatever I'm doing that might force me to shut my cell phone off." — A Member of a Portable Community
In contemporary American life, community has become a portable phenomenon—you can "get it to go" wherever and whenever it is desired at the push of a button, mouse, or keyboard. In Portable Communities, sociologist Mary Chayko examines the social dynamics and implications of having access to countless others at any time. Teeming with the observations of people who blog, email, instant message, game, and chat on cell phones, wireless computers, and other portable devices, the book captures the appeal and the excitement, the challenges and the complexities, of online and mobile connectedness. Chayko considers some of the external dynamics that emerge as these communities resonate within the larger society—constant availability, social interaction that is more controlled and controllable, and new opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and even voyeurism. Internal social dynamics involving emotionality, intimacy, play, romance, and networking are also fully explored. Portable Communities provides a unique view of shifts in the social landscape and points the way toward needed social and political change.
- GenresNonfiction
318 pages, Paperback
First published October 9, 2008
16 people want to read
About the author
Mary Chayko
4 booksDr. Mary Chayko is a sociologist, Teaching Professor of communication and information, and Director of Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies at the School of Communication and Information (SC&I) at Rutgers University. She is also an affiliate member of the graduate faculty of the Department of Sociology and an affiliate member of the faculty of the Department of Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers. She received her B.A. in Communication and Psychology from Seton Hall University, Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Rutgers University.
Dr. Chayko's research is on the impact of the internet and digital technology on community, society, and self. She is the author of Superconnected: the Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life (2nd edition, 2018, SAGE Publications), and has created podcasts, lecture slides, and discussion questions for the book that are available on the book blog http://superconnectedblog.com.
She is also the author of the award-winning, Portable Communities: The Social Dynamics of Online and Mobile Connectedness (2008) and Connecting: How We Form Social Bonds and Communities in the Internet Age (2002), both with SUNY Press, as well as many published articles.
Dr. Chayko speaks nationally and internationally on the topic of digital technology and its societal impacts. She has been honored by Rutgers University with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching (2019) and as a Rutgers University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Contributor to Undergraduate Education (1994).
In her spare time, she is a singer and flutist in a folky, social justice-oriented band with fellow sociologists Jim Pennell and Corey Dolgon, whose CD Songs of Peace and Justice can be heard on her website http://marychayko.com.Undergraduate Education. Her website contains excerpts from her published works, media appearances, and even some of her music. In her spare time, she is a singer and flutist in a folky, social justice–oriented band with fellow sociologists Jim Pennell and Corey Dolgon, whose CD Songs of Peace and Justice can be heard on the website.
Dr. Chayko's research is on the impact of the internet and digital technology on community, society, and self. She is the author of Superconnected: the Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life (2nd edition, 2018, SAGE Publications), and has created podcasts, lecture slides, and discussion questions for the book that are available on the book blog http://superconnectedblog.com.
She is also the author of the award-winning, Portable Communities: The Social Dynamics of Online and Mobile Connectedness (2008) and Connecting: How We Form Social Bonds and Communities in the Internet Age (2002), both with SUNY Press, as well as many published articles.
Dr. Chayko speaks nationally and internationally on the topic of digital technology and its societal impacts. She has been honored by Rutgers University with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching (2019) and as a Rutgers University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Contributor to Undergraduate Education (1994).
In her spare time, she is a singer and flutist in a folky, social justice-oriented band with fellow sociologists Jim Pennell and Corey Dolgon, whose CD Songs of Peace and Justice can be heard on her website http://marychayko.com.Undergraduate Education. Her website contains excerpts from her published works, media appearances, and even some of her music. In her spare time, she is a singer and flutist in a folky, social justice–oriented band with fellow sociologists Jim Pennell and Corey Dolgon, whose CD Songs of Peace and Justice can be heard on the website.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 8, 2013
The theories presented in this book are very informative and thought-provoking, but I'm not quite so sure of the credibility. Unfortunately I was not able to get through the whole thing, what I did read though seemed a little biased, and there were very small bits of negative effects of engaging in portable communities, which was what I was interested in researching.
Displaying 1 of 1 review