Connectivity: The Good, the Bad, and the Super-Thin

To me, the most important social and cultural effect of the Internet has been connectivity. People use the Internet for a multitude of reasons, but they all boil down to being connected to other human beings through news, email, the sharing of knowledge, etc. In Identity in the Age of the Internet, the author states "We may find ourselves alone as we navigate virtual oceans, unravel virtual mysteries, and engineer virtual skyscrapers. But increasingly, when we step through the looking glass, other people are there as well."

The articles that focused on the phenomenon of social networking sites key into to desire for connectivity that already exists in our society, and is only really just now being explored by people like Zuckerberg with Facebook. The fact that Facebook seems to be opening up to new demographics and seems to have found great interest in social networking in groups outside of the traditional college demographic seems to be testament to the desire people have to feel connected through the Internet.

This desire for connectivity brings me to what I think is the most disturbing effect that the Internet has had on culture and society. In A Review of the Research on Internet Addiction, the authors describe the small percentage of individuals who spend an unhealthy amount of time on the Internet, 39-hours on average according to the study. Internet addiction isn't the most disturbing thing. To me it's the access to connectivity with anonymity. According to the authors of this article, "two of the leading factors underlying pathological use of the Internet are the 'anonymity' and the 'interactivity' of online interpersonal communication."

Basically, people are able to log on to the Internet and engage in detrimental behavior in an anonymous fashion without having to deal with the natural, social over-sight people are subjected to in the real world. A good example of this is the Ana movement. Women and men can find web sites and support groups that promote eating disorders and even teach people how to be better at their eating disorder. People share personal stories, post blogs about how much or how little they've eaten and inspire one another to continue with their eating disorders. These web sites refer to this as "thinspiration." Here are some links to some stories about the Ana movement and some Ana web sites.

articles:
http://www.dailybubble.com/archives/2005/06/01/the-cult-of-ana-thinspiration-revisited.php

http://anorexia-nervosa.suite101.com/article.cfm/ban_proana_social_networking_sites

web sites:

http://www.geocities.com/haven_of_the_delicate_sylph/anasongs.html

http://www.prettythin.com/