The Sociology of Community Connections
Many of our current social problems have been attributed to the breakdown or loss of community as a place and to the fragmentation of connections due to an extreme value of individualism in the Western world, particularly in the United States. Not all sch
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John G. Bruhn
The Sociology of Community Connections Second Edition
John G. Bruhn Department of Sociology Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 USA [email protected]
ISBN 978-94-007-1632-2 e-ISBN 978-94-007-1633-9 DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1633-9 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2011933569 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
What life have you if you have not life together? There is no life that is not in community. T. S. Eliot (1934) The Rock
To my Nebraska hometown, Norfolk, where I first experienced the spirit of community
Preface
The nature of “community” has changed considerably since the first edition of this book; it has become more firmly established as an artifact of technology. A generation of youth who have not experienced community of “place” now have the capability of connecting with others by touching a keypad or joining an online network. Information is accessed; merchandise is purchased; classes are taught; marriage partners are found; self-help is available; and entertainment, chat groups, and even bullying now characterize the ways we connect with each other on a daily basis across geographical, social, and cultural boundaries. As human beings, we reach out to create systems of relationships. We need social connections to survive, reach goals, and leave legacies. We are curious adapting animals and so we continuously seek new ways of connecting as our needs change. We have created new elements of technology to enhance our connectedness. We are constantly being changed by an on-going culture of technology that shapes our individual and collective lives. Scholars and researchers debate and gather data to show us the positive and negative aspects of the influence of technology on our communications in an effort to make future changes more helpful than hurtful. There is concern on the part of some that there is a superficiality of connectedness in our experiences with one another driven by expediency, competition, and individualism resulting in decreased face-to-face relationships and tentative trust. It has been found that trust can be established online; however, trust is more readily established and durable when there are connections that facilitate continuous, dense networks of reciprocity that face-to-face interactions do rather quickly. Trust is essential in relationships because it encourages people to invest themselves in one another in groups and in social institutions. For example, some workplaces are more technolog
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