I think our society definitely builds worlds through communication. However, I must stress the word worlds, because I don't believe the United states is building just one world anymore. Take the election for example. Each presidential candidate is painting a picture of a new world and the two worlds each of them are painting is very different from the other. We now live in a time where are world is constantly changing and fast.
A lot of the communication we build is through media. I live in the technology world. So much of our communication is no longer done face to face. We communicate through other means such as: phones, texting, instant messaging, email, facebook, myspace and so on. We don't even have to leave our computer to meet new people we simply sign online. I really do believe that because the worlds we have built now don't depend on human interaction that we aren't as happy as we were in the past.
We no longer have a sense of community, for example I have lived in the same house for eight years and I don't know my next door neighbors. Well yes, I know their names but we aren't friends. If this were the 1950s we would be having barbeque's with our neighbors. I think it is very sad that we no longer take the time to get to know people. We have too much going on to worry about people.
1 comment:
Reese,
I have to agree that “If this were the 1950s we would be having barbeques with our neighbors.” Although this didn’t happen in all neighborhoods in America in the 1950s, it did happen in our neighborhood. Since I grew up in the 1950s I can relate to the issue of knowing your neighbors. For those of us who couldn’t afford to have BBQs, we attended church BBQs, where everyone brought something and the kids played together. You knew your local milkman and baker who delivered your bread and sweets. There was in fact a sense of community. However, that sense of community is not completely gone. You can see it in action in small country communities throughout the USA and in larger cities you can find these small communities thriving within its larger borders. In a lifetime we could never experience all that there is in this world but we can live life to the fullest. The reason may not be that we no longer take the time to get to know people; it may be that we prioritize our limited time and use it accordingly. So many of us are working hard to make ends meet, raising a family, taking kids to soccer or music lessons, doing homework and just trying to survive. This in turn causes us to limit or interaction with others (neighbors). In the 1950s, although it sounds sexist, mom stayed at home, or you had a grandmother or aunt who took care of you while family members worked. Some kids, I remember, were latchkey kids with no alternative, no family to help out. However, their mom and dad didn’t know that they (my friends) were playing with neighborhood kids instead of staying inside. So the neighborhood kids became family.
I have to disagree with the social constructionist perspective when they say that we don’t ever really experience the world first hand! Then who’s experiencing it for us? I really enjoyed reading your comments on the social constructionist perspective. My perspective is that you can experience the world first hand. They, social constructionists, and their culture could not in ten lifetimes define or explain the complexities of the world. No need to fret about these theories or wonder if you are experiencing the world first hand. I don’t know about you, but it hits me between the eyes quite often!
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