Sociology Archives - Nicholas G. Porter

Apparently we are doomed and there is nothing that can stop our inevitable decline. It’s all your fault too. You just had to answer your cell phone didn’t you?

It’s completely cliché to hear about how technology touches our lives on a daily basis. It is also equally cliché to hear about how technology lowers our intelligence and is weakening our social fabric. This is still an argument I hear today!

If the latter is in fact true then American’s really are in the midst of downward spiral. That is because according to a recent study conducted by Forrester Research, we are embracing technology faster than ever before. An excerpt:

“According to the study, which surveyed 53,668 households in the United States and Canada by mail, half of all American adults are gamers. Sixty-three percent of American households have a broadband Internet connection. Three-quarters of American households have cellphones and PCs. And nearly 10 million American households, out of nearly 118 million, added an HDTV in the last year, a jump of 27 percent over 2007.”

Sure, landlines and analog televisions are things of the past and the practice of sending letters is steadily going the way of the buffalo…But has that really affected your life? Most likely not, especially when numbers like those above prove that the race to become early technological adopters has indeed gone mainstream. I think what the study really proves is not our societal decline, but that digital immigrants are becoming relics of a very recent past.

In many ways this is nothing new because our society has always focused on progress and the old guard has always tried to fight it. That is because those who do not understand the future usually fear it. But it looks like the old guard is coming around a bit faster these days…and I say cheers to that!

What do you think?

Tech

Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist who is often considered the founding father of the field. He held distinguished views on the topic of social solidarity. Social solidarity seeks to recognize the interactions and shared values that hold relationships together. According to Durkheim, social solidarity falls under two categories: mechanical and organic.

Mechanical solidarity refers mostly to a society that is linked mostly by the similarities that are shared by its members. Members often share the same lifestyle, values and experiences. Rituals and routines are very common and help build their collective conscience. Mechanical solidarity focuses on primary and familial relationships.

Organic solidarity refers to society whose members are highly individualistic but interact in order to achieve a common goal. Members are dependent upon one another and very often do not share the same lifestyle, values and experiences. Organic solidarity puts a large emphasis on secondary relationships.

Below is a chart from the Collins Dictionary of Sociology which defines the two in a bit more detail:

Feature	Mechanical solidarity	Organic solidarity
Morphological (structural) basis	Based on resemblances (predominant in less advanced societies) Segmental type (first clan-based, later territorial) Little interdependence (social bonds relatively weak) Relatively low volume of population Relatively low material and moral density	Based on division of labour (predominately in more advanced societies) Organized type (fusion of markets and growth of cities) Much interdependency (social bonds relatively strong) Relatively high volume of population Relatively high material and moral density
Types of norms (typified by law)	Rules with repressive sanctions Prevalence of penal law	Rules with restitutive sanctions Prevalence of cooperative law (civil, commercial, procedural, administrative and constitutional law)
Formal features of conscience collective	High volume High intensity High determinateness Collective authority absolute	Low volume Low intensity Low determinateness More room for individual initiative and reflection
Content of conscience collective	Highly religious Transcendental (superior to human interests and beyond discussion) Attaching supreme value to society and interests of society as a whole Concrete and specific	Increasingly secular Human-orientated (concerned with human interests and open to discussion) Attaching supreme value to individual dignity, equality of opportunity, work ethic and social justice Abstract and general

This brings me to the social networking movement that has exploded in recent years. Everyone under the sun and probably beyond it has already told you this. No matter what way you spin it, the advent of these new technologies has changed the way we communicate forever.

But Myspace, Facebook and Twitter have also undoubtedly created their own communities.

One might automatically assume that the types of relationships formed through social networking communities fall under the model of organic solidarity but I think that if you take a closer look, you might be surprised.

Either way, I think it is important to remember that Durkheim would also not care “What 80’s Hair Metal Rock Star” you are.

Tag: Sociology

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