Where does the individual factor into this? I see it as the ultimate extension of the high-school clique mentality. When I was in high school, the in-school cliques were intensive group-fests (no matter what clique it was), but by necessity it dissolved slightly in the after-school hours. That dissolution doesn't happen any more.
What about individuals on the fringes? Do they not become even more alienated by this hive-mind behaviour? What fringes? I don't think they exist in the same way they used to, because they relied on alienation, moving the targeted individual out of any group or support structure. At a large university, there's enough students that everyone finds a group of like-minded individuals, plus they can keep their group members from previous locations. The ubiquity of cell phones (and their cameras) means that meaningful contact can be maintained without physical proximity. Alienation, and the threat of alienation, becomes much less of a factor.
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Date: 2009-12-04 07:20 pm (UTC)I see it as the ultimate extension of the high-school clique mentality. When I was in high school, the in-school cliques were intensive group-fests (no matter what clique it was), but by necessity it dissolved slightly in the after-school hours. That dissolution doesn't happen any more.
What about individuals on the fringes? Do they not become even more alienated by this hive-mind behaviour?
What fringes? I don't think they exist in the same way they used to, because they relied on alienation, moving the targeted individual out of any group or support structure. At a large university, there's enough students that everyone finds a group of like-minded individuals, plus they can keep their group members from previous locations. The ubiquity of cell phones (and their cameras) means that meaningful contact can be maintained without physical proximity. Alienation, and the threat of alienation, becomes much less of a factor.