New Tech, New Ties - How Mobile Communication Is Reshaping Social Cohesion

摘要

This book places the study of mobile technology use within a series of broader debates about the character of contemporary society. It is a common view that society has become more individualist and less cohesive, with Ling citing Putnam and others who have studied this trend. The book addresses the question of whether mediated communication, and in particular mobile telephony, is contributing to reducing social cohesion or to strengthening it. Ling's thesis is that mobile telephony can contribute to the production of social cohesion through ritual interaction, but does so mainly for the closest circle of family and good friends.