by Jovanna Haddad
The book review on New Tech, New Ties: How Mobile Communication Is Reshaping Social Cohesion by Rich Ling was written by Kathrin Kissau. New Tech, New Ties is about the emerging social bonds that occur from ritualistic conversations that are made possible through mobile phones. The book speculates that bonds through digital media help reinforce social circles in face-to-face interactions. However, the book focused on adolescents to support the data and also neglected to pay much attention to what it does to those that are not involved. Although these are great observations, Kissau does not discuss her opinion on the author’s claims. The positive side of that approach is that it leaves me intrigued about the book. Too often we hear that digital media for personal connections damages people’s ability to have fulfilling face-to-face interactions. This popular thought is disputed head-on in this book and I find the topic relevant and interesting. For anyone Gen Y affiliate, it is a topic to pay attention to as critiques pin us as incompetent. In the mean time, the book review is just positive enough, while remaining candid, to spark my interest in researching the author and the book.
Intro to Comm Rocks Summer School 