Making connections

One major phenomenon of the last decade has undoubtedly been the global and exponential rise of social media. Seeded at the turn of the century, the social web phase of Internet development promoted connections, participation, networked sociality. It didn't take long for the emerging social networking services to gain massive worldwide subscriptions. To be able to connect to others and to share ideas and content instantly, caught the imagination of many. Van Dijck (2013) calls this phenomenon the culture of connectivity, but it has been spoken of by many others including Jenkins (2006) who argued that the prevailing culture was convergence - where old and new media combined to create new and distinctly different social contexts. Manuel Castells (2012) remarked on the autonomous nature of social media, and how ideas and other content can be amplified across vast networks, reaching huge audiences in seconds. News of world events on Twitter and other large social media platforms have often stolen the march of the mainstream media, reaching hundreds of millions of people several hours ahead of any major media breaking news announcements. The social web truly is a powerful communication technology.

This is one reason why teachers and other professionals should get involved. We are no longer in the age of isolation. Professionals should never be isolated, and that is why, in the past, conferences and symposia were organised, professional societies and associations were established. Now, in the social media age, anyone can connect to a worldwide network of professionals with similar interests to their own. They can share their ideas, concerns and triumphs, and gain feedback. A vast array of user generated content, much of it very useful, is available for free use on numerous sites, including YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo and Slideshare. Teachers need not feel isolated any longer. Simply connecting into the appropriate community of practice is enough to assuage any feelings of loneliness. You are no longer alone, but it's a matter of choice for each of us as to whether, or how, we engage. As Carl Jung eloquently put it: 'Loneliness does not come from being alone, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important.'

References
Castells, M. (2012) Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press.
Van Dijck, J. (2013) The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Graphic by Ashley Knight


Making connections by Steve Wheeler was written in Istanbul, Turkey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.