Blog #4 - Chapter 5 and 6 by Rheingold

For this week’s readings we read Rheingold’s chapters 5 & 6. He started chapter 5 by talking about networks and he shared benefits and some guidelines as to basically how to network. As I read his chapter, I thought about how I’ve always heard how important it is to get to know people in person and also connecting with them online via the appropriate platforms based on the type of relationships you are building up with them. After all, it’s always important to build your connections/your networks. It was kind of funny for me to see how he talked about the six degree of separation between us and everyone else in the planet. It was funny because we were actually talking about this last class while we were talking ideas for our class final project. So, as he started his conversation about networks, I thought it was interesting how he touched upon this topic. I also found interesting how he later talked about another study where the following has been said: “according to Fowler and Christakis, friends of friends’ friends have about one-third as much influence as people you know directly.” He also added that the results of this study were tentative until others do more research on this matter. The conversation about the influence people around you have in you made me remember an old Spanish saying I’ve been hearing my entire life: “Mira con quién andas y te diré quién eres” which translates from Spanish to: “Look at who you are hanging out with and I’ll tell you who you are” this saying has the same meaning as the old English saying I recently heard: “birds of the same feather flock together.” I found amazing, based on what Rheingold shared, how people can actually have such influence in us. I think that when networking we should be conscience about this since, to an extent, others are influencing our identities.

Later in his chapter, Rheingold talked about another very important topic and he labeled it ‘Networked Individualism’. In this section, he talked about how parents currently have less control about the interactions and relationships their children have. He quoted a parent he knows saying: “I don’t know my children’s friends anymore. They used to have to talk to me when they called my house, but now they just call or text my son’s or daughter’s mobile phone.” As I read this, I remember when I was growing up because that’s exactly how things were in my home. My friends had to talk to my mom before getting me on the phone. Let alone hanging out with them outside school; my mom had to constantly talk to my friends’ parents before I would go anywhere. I think that it was important for Rheingold to share this because it is something that is definitely happening in today’s society. It’s useful for the parents to analyze what’s happening in their household and to think if they would like to make any changes (if possible) to how their children are building relationships. It is also relevant for those who don’t have any children to think about what they would like to do in these situations, if they are even planning on having children one day. Rheingold touched upon this parenting subject in chapter 6 as well. There, he shared what boyd has to say about this topic. Boyd stated that it is key to communication with our children, this in one of the main ways to be able to find out more about what our children are doing when they are online or using the different technologies to communicate with others. This communication will also help to guide the children into what they should or should not use since you’ll be building a deeper relationship with them.

As I mentioned in prior blog posts, one of the things I appreciated most about Rheingold’s book was the easy how-to details he shares. In chapter 5 he dedicated an entire section to Facebook which is a social media platform that I am not that familiar with. Then, he talked about Facebook again in chapter 6. I liked how he sounded honest about what he was sharing in regards to Facebook. For instance, when he said that we are able to change the privacy settings only up to what Facebook allows us to do I immediately thought, as a non-Facebook user, that Facebook doesn’t really allow you to have a complete private profile. Rheingold shared specifics, which I found necessary, about how to look under places such as “Account”, “Privacy Preferences”, “Customize settings” and so on to give us direction as to where to adjust, if we desired, our privacy settings.

He ended his book with chapter 6 overall saying to watch out for what we post online. He encouraged us to be mindful about what we post and know that people will see our posting. He also mentioned that, while you can, try your best to adjust your privacy settings on your accounts. But to know that you have no control over what your, for example Facebook friends, shows his/her friends about your profile. I totally agree with him when he talked about the publicity of your posts. He mentioned that it has happened that people are actually denied jobs, being demoted or fired over content they have posted online. This really grabbed my attention since I’ve seen how what you post online can jeopardize your job.