CS 400hA, Citizen
Media and the Public Sphere
Hyperlink Essay
By: David Miller, 090563680
Social Apps and the Re-Construction of
the Public Sphere
In modern
society various trends in technology continue to shape the ways in which
individuals come to interact with one another.
Specifically, the current movement of social
media is presently being praised for its ability to connect individuals at
all times (Ellison, 2007). It is apparent
that the basic premise of social media has been built upon through the
formulation of applications, or “apps,”
that connect everyday citizens in a far more immediate manner than ever before. These user-friendly icons have revolutionized
the ways in which individuals intermingle through their visual landscape. With focus on “WhatsApp” and “GroupMe,”
this paper will prove that social based apps have successfully re-defined the
public sphere through their various technological improvements.
Jürgen
Habermas originally theorized the concept of the “public
sphere” as a social realm where public discussion of matters of general
interest could flourish (Habermas, 1991).
Nathaniel Poor took this ideology a step further as he suggested that
the public sphere
exists on the Internet through the advent of online communities. Furthermore, visual apps, such as WhatsApp
and GroupMe, have begun to re-define these previous conceptualizations of the
public sphere through establishing new kinds of virtual communities. These communities have become far more
accessible in nature than any other sort of public domain, for they exist on
copious amounts of individual’s cell phone at no cost. Additionally, these apps use notifications to
constantly keep individuals updated on newly formed posts and ideas. These technological advances have
revolutionized immediacy by producing a much more time-efficient and effective
public sphere.
WhatsApp,
GroupMe and various other social based applications are extremely efficient in
addressing publics in a self-organized manor.
Specifically, Michael Warner identifies publics as a kind of social totality that
refers to people in general (Warner, 2002).
These aforementioned applications allow the user to select a personalized
public audience through creating their own social groups based on a series of
contacts. The simplicity of these group messages builds upon previous forms of
public spheres by allowing individuals to connect with their peers
instantaneously. On top of such, these
applications allow individuals to be selective in addressing/communicating with
their audiences.
Finally, Sherry
Turkle speaks of “windows” and how they represent the decentered self that exists
in many worlds, which plays many roles at the same time (Turkle, 1996). Essentially, this idea refers to how
individuals can be in many places and perform multiple tasks at the same time. WhatsApp, GroupMe and other social media apps
are congruent with this notion, as they exist as many different icons, or
windows, on the same mediascape. The ability to
participate in the public sphere while simultaneously performing other tasks on
one’s hand held device is thereby understood as a technological advancement
that has re-formulated previously held conceptualizations of how to interact
within the public sphere.
Thus to
conclude, WhatsApp, GroupMe and various other social media based apps have
forced individuals to continuously remain in contact with their peers and
re-defined the public sphere by doing so.
However, as Patrick Phillipe Meier suggests, “when we change the way we
communicate, we change society” (Meier, 2009).
Keeping this notion in mind, as various communication technologies, like
apps, continue to adapt our world and understanding of the public sphere will
once again modify itself to accommodate such trends.
Works Cited
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Habermas, Jurgen, and Thomas
Burger. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry Into
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Poor, Nathaniel.
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