Developments in Digital Communication

Question 1

Digital revolution

Answer 1

• This refers to the rapid advances in technology
• This means all new forms of communication are created by computer technology
• These new forms of digital communication are sometimes known as new media
• These fall into two categories:
1. Development of existing forms of media, e.g., newspapers now online
2. New forms of media. Mobile phones, laptops and tablets used in various new ways.

Question 2

Global village

Answer 2

• Digital communication has led to the world becoming a much smaller place
• This idea is sometimes known as the global village, increasing people’s ability to maintain relationships
• People can make contact with others who share similar interests from across the world, maintaining these interests
• The relationships which people have online may in fact be as significant as relationships offline

Question 3

Boellstorff (virtual communities)

Answer 3

• Second life is an online virtual world where the residents create communities, buy property etc
• Boellstorff conducted two years of fieldwork, living in one of these communities called Ethnographia
• He used participant observation and interviews
• Belgian police now ‘patrol’ the virtual world of Second Life after a user reported being raped within a game
• This raises questions about the moral regulation of online forms of communication

Question 4

Carter (virtual communities)

Answer 4

• Carter studied an online community called Cybercity
• She carried out participant observations, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews
• She suggests that people in Cybercity put effort in maintaining relationships online as they do offline
• Carter found people that meet online continue these online friendships in, by meeting in person