digital media review

29 Apr, 2008

The Economist on the New Nomads

Posted by: Juan Lopez-Valcarcel In: Analysis| Internet

Excellent series of articles from The Economist on the impact that technology has in our lives:

Humans have always migrated and travelled, without necessarily living nomadic lives. The nomadism now emerging is different from, and involves much more than, merely making journeys. A modern nomad is as likely to be a teenager in Oslo, Tokyo or suburban America as a jet-setting chief executive. He or she may never have left his or her city, stepped into an aeroplane or changed address. Indeed, how far he moves is completely irrelevant. Even if an urban nomad confines himself to a small perimeter, he nonetheless has a new and surprisingly different relationship to time, to place and to other people. “Permanent connectivity, not motion, is the critical thing,” says Manuel Castells, a sociologist at the Annenberg School for Communication, a part of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

[...] Nomadism, most believe, tends to bring people who are already close, such as family members, even closer. But it may do so at the expense of their attentiveness towards strangers encountered physically (rather than virtually) in daily life. That has implications for society at large.

If you have ever wondered how “always connected” impacts your day to day and is slowly changing our society this is a fantastic read.

Other related posts from digitalmediareview.com:

  • The Economist opens its online archives
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  • Are videogames evil now that parents play with their kids?


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