Instantaneous Interaction: More on Confucian Facebook Friends

     A while back I posted some thoughts on what Confucianism might make of the social networking sites like Facebook. My initial sense was this:

While, for Confucians, our family obligations are primary, we need friends, face-to-face friends, to fully enact and extend our Humanity in the world.  And, in a way, Facebook friending may facilitate this kind of Humanity.

     That is, social networking sites like Facebook might promote Confucian sociability if - and this is a very important if - such internet-mediated interactions are merely complementary to continued and sustained face-to-face relationships.  Humanity, in other words, cannot be disembodied.

      Two recent stories, however, might demand some further refinement of my initial thoughts.

      First, it seems that Facebook is being researched by serious sociologists (ht Crooked Timber).  And here is one of their preliminary findings:

An important finding, Ms. Ellison said, was that students who reported low satisfaction with life and low self-esteem, and who used Facebook intensively, accumulated a form of social capital linked to what sociologists call “weak ties.” A weak tie is a fellow classmate or someone you meet at a party, not a friend or family member. Weak ties are significant, scholars say, because they are likely to provide people with new perspectives and opportunities that they might not get from close friends and family. “With close friends and family we’ve already shared information,” Ms. Ellison said.

   The question, then, (and this is a question that extends beyond Facebook) is: what do weak ties mean for Confucian notions of sociability.  On the face of it (and from a non-sociologist point of view), it would seem that weak ties, to the extent that they dilute the identity-creating power of our family ties, would negate Confucian aspirations.  And if it is true that weak ties are particularly important for modern youth - and perhaps made more important still by internet social networking - then that would be a sign of the inapplicability of Confucianism, or some elements of it, in the modern world.  C'est la vie...

      Second, a story out of China (ht CDT) further complicates the picture:

...China's Internet audience has, for the most part, given sites like Facebook and MySpace the cold shoulder. Even local Chinese sites like Xiaonei or 51.com have failed to establish big national followings. What may seem on the surface to be a stubborn backwardness on the part of the Chinese, however, could also be interpreted as a viable alternative to Western-style social networking. Many experts are starting to think that the Chinese are leading the way to a new kind of social Internet—one that emphasizes the kind of instant communication that Herman and his friends prize so highly. Recent surveys leave little doubt that a different kind of Internet culture is emerging in China—younger, more devoted, more addicted to speed and intimacy than its Western counterparts. 

 For young Chinese, Facebook is - as some of my students might say - like, so ten minutes ago...  But what does it mean to be "addicted to speed and intimacy"?  Again, on the face of it, this would seem to push against Confucian expectations, which would aim for deliberate and careful and slow and sustained social connections.  Now, perhaps "speed" could facilitate maintenance of family ties...but I imagine that manic, text-messaging Chinese youth are not interacting with their parents and grandparents on their cell phones (I could be wrong about this, so corrections welcome!).

     If we add the two stories together, if Chinese youth are rapidly interacting with "weak ties", and if that is how "intimacy" is being defined in contemporary China - and maybe even contemporary America - then a modern Confucian would frown on it. 

    But, if by comparison, slow and sedate Facebook allows for relative depth and development of social ties, and even family ties, then my initial thought might still hold up: Facebook is more congenial to Confucian sociality than other forms of internet social networking.

     Your thoughts?

Comments

[Pearl]

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