Hampton and Wellman suggest that new technology is changing the nature of community for

Question

families and friendship networks in modern society. Portray and explain how Hampton and
Wellman suggest this is occurring.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Hampton and Wellman suggest that in the past, community was largely based upon a spatial
context, in that people shared a common neighborhood, visited with and interacted with each
other, shared experiences and events, and maintained enduring bonds in relationships.
Modernism and technology is changing the context of community through removing the
spatial context, and replacing it with other mechanisms for interaction – in particular, the
telephone and the internet,. Is this working? Hampton and Wellman present evidence that it
is. They found that the internet was being used effectively for interaction with friends and
family who lived more than 50 miles apart, and that a form of community was being
maintained on a nation-wide network of friends and family. It is a community that is less
physical in that there is less face-to-face contact, but emotional and affective bonds are being
maintained regardless of distance.
This is one, among other forms that people and families adjust to change in their culture and
environment. Will the new forms of communication (such as the internet) be adequate and
sufficient to maintain bonding and a sense of belongingness as our society evolves to ever
more modern forms? At least people are finding and using some mechanisms to adjust to
technological change that work to some degree.