RA "No sense of place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior"

No sense of place by Joshua Meyrowitz argues that the accessibility of electronic media has led to the blurring of social distinctions. Since social rules are based largely on context and electronic media removes much of that context, social rules and roles are also broken down.

Some examples of context. For the speaker on TV program: who is the audience? For the TV audience: what rules govern my response or even interest in the privacy of my home?

Given that the publisher is Oxford University Press, the audience is more scholarly, but it seems also addressed to the layman, rather than a specialized group of PhDs.

The author introduces himself informally by recounting a personal experience. Then he follows with a couple of social theories which, despite strengths, he felt did not entirely succeed in describing social change. He proposes a synthesis of those theories. So at once, the author is presenting himself as an academic, but also an approachable everyday college graduate.

Being a full length book, I did not have time to review the entire argument. However, from the brief description of the introduction the arguments and topics seem typical of sociology/psychology (gender roles, socialization and power structures are the three main applications of his theory.) The book does have a chapter on applying the theory, and comparing the results.

The conclusion argues that the development of a placeless culture (as result of the electronic media) generates a culture more similar to that of nomads. Interesting, although it seems a stretch. (Then again, much of sociology seems that way to me, so...)

Since the book was published in 1985, it would be interesting to compare his predictions with a society that now has in addition to television the developments of e-mail, cell-phones, and youtube.

Published by Oxford Press.