The days of counting down until that 5 O’clock clock-off is well and truly a thing of the past. After reading Bradwell & Reeves, I realised that:
2. If you’re not networked, you’re no one
3. There is no distinction between social relationships and professional life
They raise the concept of the ‘network citizen’ and allude to the fact that without engaging in social networks, you will be left behind in the working world. Throughout tutorials this week, Teodor Mitew got me thinking about the vitality of net presence and just how heavily we all rely on it in everyday life.
It is almost as though a social life has become an occupation as there is pressure to know exactly what is happening in each of your friend’s lives on a daily basis (thank you Facebook newsfeed). Bradwell and Reeves comment on constantly being connected to the workplace improves customer loyalty, but at what cost to employees who are constantly connected?
Once again drawing upon ones social life as an occupation, just how much time are we loosing by constantly seeking updates on our friends lives? And if we aren’t connected (GASP) does that make our friendships weaker for not knowing that your best friend checked in at McDonalds for lunch?
Petty as it sounds, I think we are living in fear that if we aren’t connected we will not only lose touch with the workforce, but with friends as well. Indeed it may seem like our social worlds are becoming our occupations, but when technology makes it so easy to be connected to such a wide network, there are no excuses for not knowing what, not just your best friend, but what each and every one of your friends had for lunch.
It truly does seem that we live in a world of fear. Our reliance has become second nature. I'm constantly monitoring my phone and laptop's battery. I can't go a day without my phone, and i guess i'm not the only one. This weeks lab highlighted this issue!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see the world go a day without technology!!! Imagine the chaos
Hey Naomi :)
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the whole 9-5pm working day mentality is starting to drift away. Though with your statement of "There is no distinction between social relationships and professional life" I would have to slightly disagree. There is currently a distinction between both as your real social relationships are maintained outside of work. Though as both do become closer this distinction will blur or not become present at all.
I would have to say these days being networked is everything. If you dont remain in contact (regardless or physical/virtual); relationships will break. Last semester when I stopped using Facebook for 4 weeks during the exam period I myself did feel that I was missing out from what was happening, and then when I did come back everyone questioned whether I had disappeared/ died :/
Hello, thank you for pointing that out! I was probably a bit too blunt in my writing lol!
ReplyDeleteYes, i know exactly what you mean! Everyone seems to think deactivating Facebook instantly means you've fallen off the face off the Earth. Good work on going without it for 4 weeks though, I don't think I would be able to last that long !