Home | Browse | Search | Credits | About
Register | User Area | DL-Harvest | Help
DLIST

SI2: Social Informatics and Symbolic Interactionism: A Conceptual Exploration

Oltmann, Shannon M (2007) SI2: Social Informatics and Symbolic Interactionism: A Conceptual Exploration. In Proceedings 2007 Social Informatics Pre-conference Research Symposia at ASIST, Milwaukee Wisconsin.

Full text available as:
Microsoft Word Document (.doc) - Requires Microsoft Word

Abstract

This is a submission to the 3rd Annual Social Informatics SIG Research Symposium: The Social Web, Social Computing and the Social Analysis of Computing. This conceptual essay explores how symbolic interactionism can inform social informatics, particularly in the study of socially constructed concepts such as privacy. Examining how physical and virtual objects are defined and constructed can be, and often is, a significant component of social informatics investigations (Kling, 2000; Kling, Rosenbaum, & Sawyer, 2005). Perhaps this is particularly important in domains were those constructions are still emerging, or are in the process of changing, as in Web 2.0. Thus, this essay suggests that social informatics can use symbolic interactionism as a theoretical underpinning to analyzing various aspects of Web 2.0. In the following sections, I review symbolic interactionism, demonstrate how it complements social informatics perspectives, and illustrate how it could inform social informatics research by examining privacy in the context of Web 2.0.

EPrint Type:Conference Paper
Keywords:symbolic interactionism
Subjects:Social Informatics
ID Code:2019
Deposited On:03 September 2007
Eprint Statistics:View statistics for this eprint
Tell A Colleague:Tell a colleague about it.

Bennett, C.J. (1991). Computers, personal data, and theories of technology: Comparative approaches to privacy protection in the 1990s. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 16(1), 51-69.

Best, S.J., Krueger, B.S., & Ladewig, J. (2006). The polls—trends: Privacy in the information age. Public Opinion Quarterly, 70(3), 375-401.

Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Chalfant, D. (2005, November 2). Facebook postings, photos incriminate dorm party-goes. The Northerner. Retrieved August 30, 2007, from http://www.thenortherner.com/media/paper527/news/2005/11/02/News/Facebook.Postings.Photos.Incriminate.Dorm.PartyGoers-1042037.shtml

Chicago Sun-Times. (2007, July 10). Miss NJ: Photos aren’t negative. Retrieved on August 30, 2007, from http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/461609,CST-NWS-beauty10.article

Cossette, P. (1998). The study of language in organizations: A symbolic interactionist stance. Human Relations, 51(11), 1355-1376.

Fernback, J. (2005). Information technology, networks, and community voices: Social inclusion for urban regeneration. Information, Communication & Society, 8(4), 482-502.

Fidishun, D. (2003). Symbolic interactionism and library research: Using a qualitative methodology to understand library interchange. Portal: libraries and the academy, 2(3), 443-452.

Fried, C. (1968). Privacy. Yale Law Journal, 77.

Kasper, D.V.S. (2005). The evolution (or devolution) of privacy. Sociological Forum, 20(1), 69-92.

Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351 (1967).

Kling, R. (2000). Learning about information technologies and social change: The contribution of social informatics. The Information Society, 16(3), 217-232.

Kling, R., Rosenbaum, H., and Sawyer. S. (2005). Understanding and Communicating Social Informatics: A framework for studying and teaching the human contexts of information and communication technologies. Medford, NJ: Information Today.

Lynch, M., & McConatha, D. (2006). Hyper-symbolic interactionism: Prelude to a refurbished theory of symbolic interaction or just old wine? Sociological Viewpoints, Spring, 87-96.

Nesson, C. (2001). Threats to privacy. Social Research, 68(1), 105-113.

Oksman, V., & Turtiainen, J. (2004). Mobile communication as a social stage. New Media & Society, 6(3), 319-339.

Scarcella, M.A. (2007, February 18). Man jailed after nude photo is put on MySpace. Herald Tribune. Retrieved August 30, 2007, from http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070218/NEWS/702180336

Senicar, V., Jerman-Blazic, B., & Klobucar, T. (2003). Privacy-enhancing technologies—approaches and development. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 25, 147-158.

Solove, D.J. (2001). Privacy and power: Computer databases and metaphors for information privacy. Stanford Law Review, 53, 1393-1462.

Snow, D.A. (2001). Extending and broadening Blumer’s conceptualization of symbolic interactionism. Symbolic Interaction, 24(3), 367-377.

Westin, A. (1967). Privacy and Freedom. New York: Atheneum.

Zhao, S. (2005). The digital self: Through the looking glass of telecopresent others. Symbolic Interaction, 28(3), 387-405.

EPrints dLIST, an open access archive for the Information Sciences, is supported by the School of Information Resources and Library Science and Learning Technologies Center, University of Arizona. Established in 2002, dLIST has a global Advisory Board and is a part of the Information Technology & Society Research Lab. Open Archives
Contact: Admin | Donate