Ambient Intimacy - The Connected Future

Ambient Intimacy is a term sociologist use to define awareness of other’s emotional cues without having to communicate directly, likened to ESP (Thompson 2008). New forms of social media are increasing this awareness. Mitsa Matsuda (2005) first noticed this phenomena with Japanese teenagers. Social media sites allow today’s teenagers to be more attuned to their friendships, as they are played out in public mediated interactions (Boyd 2008). Social media sites have been studied as forms of teenage communication, but a new trend is emerging in which the post 30’s generation is entering the social media world. Salon magazine featured an article which described adults entrance to facebook and some of the embarrassing mishaps they are having online (Martin 2008). Everyone is becoming a mini-celebrity and their own PR agent.
Micah White (2008) is critical of social networking sites for their corporate attachments. The side effect of increased information being shared online, is an increased ability for companies to personalize their advertising. Elmer (2006) fear the internets drive toward hierarchy is destroying the ability for connections outside a pre-ordained structure. While it is crucial that a critical eye be maintained in studying social networking sites, activists and educators may want to look at the movements of networks that are forming, in order to utilize them for purposes other than corporations.
My hypothesis is that as adults enter online social networking sites, the technological and communication gap between age groups will decrease and a larger sense of social awareness between social groups will increase. This may bring increased tolerance, and a new super-conscious, or public mirror that users will reflect their daily actions against. Instead of a narcissistic consumer driven culture, a more co-operative and understanding future may be around the corner. The small connections enabled by newsfeeds, and quick data exchanges, may surpass interface difficulties and help get people online. These personal interactions are always self-referential and can help reveal the larger constructions of society and the human-machine network (Sarriera 2006). As subjectivity is pluralized, there remains a unity – as Sarriera calls for we should study the aesthetics and ethics of these connections. Interfaces are the space where people first come online and it is how we develop these interfaces to be welcoming and their ability to cross programs that can help enable a more connected future. As we create our own social news – the move from passive consumer to active producer is creating an exciting new opportunity for our cultural and political situation of today.


Boyd, D. “Friendship” (2008) Digital Youth Research. http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/book-friendship
Elmer, G. (2006) The Vertical (Layered) Net. Critical Cyberculture Studies. Silver, D. Massanari, A. eds. New York; New York Press.
Martin, M. (2008, September 29)”Old People Facebook Disasters” Salon. http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/09/29/old_people/
Sarriera, H. (2006). Connecting The Selves. Critical Cyberculture Studies. Silver, D> Massanari, A. Eds. New York, New York Press.
Thompson, C. (2008 September) "Brave New Worlds of Digital Intimacy" New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html
White, M. (2008 May/June); Committ Facebook Suicide. Adbusters # 77 http://www.micahmwhite.com/writer/commit-facebook-suicide.php



My evernote notes-

----By the way - I actually do not like Evernote, it seems to be just another way for me to lose what I am doing. I am the type of person who has 1000 windows 1000 journals and it seems to just be another space that attempts to unify them all but helps me lose them. I have to work 'in the moment' a bit, actually a lot. I have to just trust that I can find what I need when I need it - when writing. I research and try to save and bookmark and put sticky notes in books etc. But really it is more about me finding ways or processes that I can remember the search than archiving. But I think I may be weird. Considering Wix - and flash seems like the best way to archive info to me.----