The Book

Personal Connections in the Digital Age is a book written by Nancy Baym about the role of digital media in personal relationships. Although there is no specific answer as to what digital media does to our personal relationships, Nancy explores the many possible outcomes that arise from using digital media, showing both the utopian and dystopian theories of digital media. Baym focuses on the mobile phone and the internet throughout the book when she refers to digital media and the roles they have in personal relationships. Baym doesn't pick a side and argue for that side, but rather shows a variety of perspectives, all of which are relevant, of ways in which digital media affect our personal relationships by using examples, theories, and studies. Although the book is only 155 pages, it is very dense and filled with tons of interesting information about digital media and the roles they play in our lives.

 

Nancy Baym is a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas. She teaches a variety of courses about social media, research methods, and interpersonal communication. Nancy has written three books and had contributions to 28 articles since 1993. She received her B.A. in journalism and strategic communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986. She went on to achieving her A.M. in speech communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988. In 1994 she received her Ph.D in speech communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Below is a link to her wikipedia page as well as her website, where you can access her own blog, prior research, and even her twitter account.

Website: http://people.ku.edu/~nbaym/        Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Baym

New forms of personal connection

In the first chapter, Baym briefly discusses how communication used to be, then moves on to how communication is used today, as well as some effects from digital media usage. Communication used to require communicators to be in the same physical space in order to communicate. In order for people to exchange messages they had to be physically co-present. Communication remained this way until the invention of the telegraph in the 1800's. The telegraph allowed real-time communication across long distances for the first time, collapsing time and space. The allowance of communication without having to be physically present has paved the way for technologies such as the internet (although the internet wasn't created for interactivity) and the mobile phone. There have never been more ways to communicate with one another than there are now. Along with new possibilities of communication comes effects, whether positive or negative, that arise from these new technologies. 

Digital media is either synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous communication is rapid communication that occurs in real time such as: face to face conversations, instant messages, and phone calls. Asynchronous communication is communication that has time delays between messages such as: email and voicemail. Communication that occurs by the separation of presence, whether asynchronous or synchronous, offers us more control in our social worlds, but at the same time allows us to be controlled. New media offers us "volume control," allowing us to regulate who we interact with, avoid interactions, and manipulate our interactions. However, not only does this allow us to manipulate our social interactions, but it can also allow others to manage us more strategically as well. Another issue that Baym points out when discussing the effects that new media offers, is the expectation that we can be reached for communication at anytime, or anywhere. Some people may see this as a good thing, while others may view this as an intrusion of privacy. Baym goes on to discussing how synchronous and asynchronous media can become intertwined, and the effects that can arise. "The challenge of absent presence" is an effect of synchronous communication such as text messaging. Although we may be physically present in one space, we may also be mentally engaged elsewhere. In S. Craig Watkins article, The Very Well Connected: Friending, Bonding, and Community in the Digital Age, he uses the phrase "absence in presence" to refer to being somewhere physically, but not mentally due to the usage of technology. He says that even if you are completely tuned out and seem to be antisocial, you are also expanding your sense of space and being social if you are in fact communicating with others through the technology. For instance, if you are texting someone while at a family dinner, you are physically present with your family but you are engaged with the person you are texting. Although you are being anti-social by not conversing with your family, one could argue that you are being social by communicating with others via text message. 

This chapter is very informative and paves the way for the rest of the book. Concepts are introduced that are continuously used throughout the book by various example and citations from other authors. Baym cites many different terms coined by other authors in order to more effectively get her point across to the reader. 

Making new media make sense

There are different ways to make sense of new technologies being released. People react to new technologies based on the possible risks it brings, what the technology is good for, and what benefits it may bring. Baym discusses three perspectives in which scholars, users, and non-users view new technologies. The three perspectives are technological determinism, social construction of technology, and social shaping. Technological determinism is the idea that machines change us. Baym describes that technological determinists focus on the authenticity of identity and the well-being of "real" relationships. Due to the lack of visual and auditory social cues on the internet, it is hard to entirely trust internet users, creating a problem of anonymity.  

 

The social construction of technology perspective is the idea that people have the power to change both technology, and society. Users shape the development of the technology and the way it is used in society. Baym says, "Rather than viewing social change as a consequence of new media, it views new technologies and their uses as consequences of social factors." Lastly, the social shaping perspective emphasizes a middle ground between technological determinism and the social construction of technology. The consequences of technologies arise from the social qualities new technologies offer, as well as the way in which people use the technology and the elements offered by the technology. Baym says, however, that eventually people stop questioning new technologies as they become domesticated into society. Eventually new technologies become mundane and part of everyday life and are no longer seen as causes of change. 

Baym uses examples in each of the perspectives to show both utopian and dystopian views that arise from new technologies based on the perspective. For example, Baym cites an excerpt from an essay by Nick Carr in which he says that technology is changing the way in which he thinks. This provides a dystopian view of the technological determinist perspective by saying that technology may alter the way in which we think. This chapter was very informative and provided an array of possibilities to think about new technology and the way it changes us or we change it, for either the better or the worse. 

Communication in digital spaces

Nancy focuses on the question of what happens to communication itself when it's digitally mediated? In 2002 Nancy conducted a survey asking which form of communication, with choices being face to face, on the phone, or the internet, people prefer. The results showed that majority of people preferred face to face communication, followed by phone calls and then the internet. This was the case because most participants said that they feel the most intimate and personal during face to face conversations over phone calls and using the internet. This is the case because social cues are being reduced by both phone calls and the internet, making them less intimate. Although some view mediated communication as a diminished form of face to face communication, other factors come into play such as people's familiarity with each other and the technology, how well they know one another, and if they plan on meeting or seeing one another again. Whatever the circumstance may be face to face communication is still more personal than mediated communication due to social cues and gestures available to interpret meaning behind messages that is not available through mediated communication. However, Baym brings up the point that emoticons are becoming used more frequently in mediated communication today, allowing new ways for users to represent and interpret social cues that were previously never available. 

Baym discusses the vital role social cues play when interpreting messages whether done in person or through a medium. Throughout the book Baym never takes a side, rather she offers perspectives from all angles allowing the reader to grasp all of the factors that come into play. Baym offers the utopian view that media with fewer social cues often trigger hopes that people will become more equal and more valued for their intellect and their minds more so than their social identities. However, she also offers a dystopian counter argument saying that media with fewer social cues may lead to shallow interactions and relationships. Baym backs up different arguments from her personal research, as well as research done by others. 

Communities and Networks

This chapter focuses on group contexts in which online interaction often happens, including communities and social networks. Baym shy's away from debating which definition of community is correct, and introduces five qualities found in both online groups and in many definitions of community creating online contexts. The five qualities are space, shared practice, shared resources and support, shared identities, and interpersonal relationships. Baym says that different definitions of community reside in these five qualities, forming different online contexts in which online interaction happens. Online communities may be good ways for members to share a common interest and space, obtain resources from other members whether or not the user previously knows them, gain support and self esteem, and form interpersonal relationships. Baym segways into the ways in which online interaction happens in social networks. Baym argues that in modern times we have shifted from tightly bounded communities towards increasing "network individualism." Network individualism, described by Baym, is the idea in which each person sits at the center of his or her own personal community. Social networks are a prime example of this as the sites are designed for users to have their own personalized communities. The idea of network individualism is supported by Nicholas Gane and David Beer in their article "Network." In the article they cite Manuel Castells reflection on network individualism when he says: "it is not the Internet that creates a pattern of networked individualism, but the development of the Internet provides an appropriate material support for the diffusion of networked individualism as the dominant form of sociability." Internally on social network sites, groups are allowed to be formed within the system, making messages available for many people to read it depending on where it is posted. These groups within social networks network through the internet, creating a shared but distributed group identity.

Baym introduces new concepts in this chapter, however still continues to tie in previous concepts, and foreshadow coming chapters. This chapter is very informative as Baym describes the five qualities found in both online groups and many definitions of community. She uses examples to help the reader grasp the concept and get a better understanding of the message she in trying to convey. For example, when Baym talks about online groups and communities having shared resources and support, she gives examples of online groups giving informational support, esteem support, and emotional support. Baym uses the example of a mother blogging about her baby since she was 29 weeks old, until the baby died unexpectedly at 17 months. People who read the mothers blog immediately shared emotional support and donated more than $20,000 to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization helping to prevent birth defects. Baym effectively uses real life examples to further inform the reader of the types of qualities found in online groups and in communities. 

New relationships, new selves? and Digital media in relational development and maintenance 

The last two chapters explore dyadic relationships and how people present themselves to others online, as well as how people use new media to build and maintain their relationships. The internet is commonly accused of having people that lie about themselves online, due to the amount of anonymity available through the internet. Although there are plenty of people who lie about their entire identity, or bits and pieces of their identity, people still do the same when communication is face to face. Baym discusses different theories as to how the internet is more trustworthy than people think, and may even be more trustworthy than certain aspects of face to face communication.

Baym argues that people are likely to be more honest online than off due to the lack of social cues. Although this sounds contradictory, the fact that reduced cues make it easier to lie also create separation between interactants, which in turn removes social pressures that could make people lie offline. Especially when we are interacting with someone that doesn't know the same people that we do, we are more likely to be honest about ourselves because word won't get around to others if we happen to tell the truth. Baym says that the sense of anonymity online may help with honest self-expression that may be difficult to do offline. Baym cites Ellison, Heino, and Gibbs who interviewed people who used a large online dating site. The results showed that people were generally truthful, but many exaggerated socially appealing qualities. It really comes down to the individual and the circumstance because some people feel free to lie, while some people are more honest online than they are in person. Baym says that most people seem to fall on the side of truthfulness, especially when they are linked to other people through their self-representations. Baym then goes on to briefly discuss the ways in which people use media to build and maintain relationships. When first interacting Baym says that it a lack of social cues may be good when first meeting someone. This is the case because we often size people up and judge them before we even get to know them based on how they look. Baym introduces the term "matching hypothesis" which she describes as people being most motivated to pursue connections with those whose level of physical attraction matches their own, especially in romantic relationships. This is not the case on the internet however due to the lack of social cues. Baym then says that as relationships online develop, we increasingly add new media that allow us to use a wider range of social cues. Baym also offers the idea that online relationships may seem less developed because they are newer.

Baym uses statistics and good examples to illustrate her ideas in the last two chapters. She cites an analysis of 4,540 Facebook profiles of students at Carnegie Mellon University, showing that roughly 89% of user names seemed to be real. Only 8% turned out to be completely false while 3% were partially false. This was good supporting evidence to back up the idea of anonymity on the internet. She also uses a study by Rutter and Smith to back up anonymity on the internet. She says that the idea that anonymity on the internet makes people lie has not been well supported by research. Rutter and Smith studied over 17,000 messages in an online newsgroup and found that fantasy selves were rare. Baym supports the idea that people may be more honest online than offline when she cites another study proving that Americans reported being more honest to loved ones over email than face to face. Although Baym doesn't take a side in any of the chapters, she effectively supports different perspectives on the way media changes our personal relationships by using good supporting evidence. 

Where to find the book?

The book is available on Amazon as either a hardcover or a paperback in both used condition and new.

http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Connections-Digital-Age-DMS/dp/0745643329

You may also rent the book from the website book renter.

http://www.bookrenter.com/Personal%20Connections%20In%20The%20Digital%20Age%20Baym/search?utm2_source=google&utm2_medium=cpc&utm2_name=A1:103&utm2_content=A1:103:7905:9780745643328&utm2_term=%2Bpersonal%20%2Bconnections%20%2Bin%20%2Bthe%20%2Bdigital%20%2Bage&gclid=CMqPkZOErLQCFYs7MgodOnwA0Q

Book Reviews

"Combining in-depth knowledge of the topic based on decades of Baym's own and others' research with a clear, concise and straightforward writing style that makes it a joy to read, this is the kind of accessible book that many academics would love to have written."
Times Higher Education

"Lively and thought-provoking throughout, this book challenges the myth that ‘cyberspace' dramatically transforms personal connections by revealing, instead, the complex and subtle ways in which people manage social interaction online and offline in response to the affordances of the various modes of communication available."
Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics and author of Children and the Internet

"Something is happening. Do you know what it is? Nancy Baym does, with a book bristling with ideas and authority. Filled with clear, lively writing, she both surveys and advances the field. I learned so much."
Barry Wellman, University of Toronto

"Baym provides us a clear, concise, and thought-provoking discussion of the role of new digital media our interpersonal and societal relationships. She creates a welcome blend of her own and others' research, the affordances and capabilities of new media, historical and technical contexts of the telegraph through the Internet, stable as well as changing societal norms, and her own Internet experiences."
Ronald E. Rice, University of California, Santa Barbara

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=413643

http://www.emandp.com/post/single/review_personal_connections_in_the_digital_age

http://techknowtools.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/personal-connections-in-the-digital-age-a-book-review/

http://books.google.com/books/about/Personal_Connections_in_the_Digital_Age.html?id=N4jk7DZbR1oC