When publishing changes, so does society. Investigate and compare the impact of two publication technologies, one pre-1900 and one post-1962, on a specific aspect of society (e.g. education, politics, creative industries, science, entertainment, social relationships).
The Printing Press vs. Social Media. How it has changed social relationships
The printing press; a mechanism created by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, which until the late 20th century was the principal means of printing. The process involved applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium, which allowed for the ink to transfer. (Wikipedia, 2011)
Gutenberg's printing press.
Social media; the use of various online technology tools, which enable people to communicate easily via the Internet, in order to share information and resources. This can include resources such as text, audio, video, images, podcasts, and other multimedia communications (Doyle, 2011) and is represented through sites such as Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs and Flickr.
An example of some of the many forms and uses of social media.
Two highly different mediums, created in largely different eras, however with one important thing in common, they allowed for social relationships to transform and flourish. This essay will explore and contrast these two differing publishing mediums’ impacts on social relationships.
One of the key impacts that the printing press had on social relationships was that it allowed educational barriers in the class system to be broken down. With books now being able to be printed in mass numbers, the working class was able to access books, giving them the opportunity to learn to read. (Kirkpatrick, 2011)
This was important for numerous reasons; firstly it allowed for the working class to more easily understand the information that was being communicated to them in regards to news in society. This meant that the working class could become more socially involved with what was going on around them as for the first time they understood, and were well informed, about societal situations.
Secondly, it allowed the working class to take a more active role in communicating themselves, as they now had a platform which enabled them to do so. As the printing press allowed for books to be mass produced, it became easier for anyone to publish their ideas in books, newspapers or magazines. This led to increased equality amongst social classes as the opinions of the working class could now be heard. This allowed for larger social discussions to occur, involving thoughts and opinions that would have otherwise been unheard of, a result that benefited social relationships greatly, as different social classes were able to interact more equally for the first time. (Kirkpatrick, 2011)
On a larger scale, what this can suggest is that the printing press allowed literature to become part of the ‘commons’ which meant that it was now available, and shared by everyone in society equally. (Bollier, 2002) This resulted in society becoming more democratised (Hertzberg,2000) and thus made social relationships larger and more diverse, as everyone was given a chance to access the same resources.
The Gutenberg Bible. The bible was the first book that was printed by Gutenberg using movable type, allowing it to be accessible to everyone.
Likewise, as the ability to share information was now more evenly distributed amongst the masses; it significantly impacted on the dynamic of social relationships for powers that were once dominant in society. No longer was the process of social relations strictly linear, with large powers being able to control large numbers of people without objection. This can be seen through the example of the Church, who found it increasingly more difficult to maintain their power and control due to the printing press. Before it was created, the church was heavily relied on for copying books. However with the printing press diminishing this reliance, it became much harder for the Church to censor and control what was being written. (Butler, 2007) This resulted in their power becoming limited and thus their role in larger social relations was decreased.
Leading on from all of this, it can be suggested that through the creation of the printing press, the social structure of Europe was completely reorganised with a middle class being created. Garniss Curtis suggested that: “As books were published, people became more inspired to learn to read. Reading led to thinking about what had been read, to further publication, and to communication between people. The first ‘World Wide Web’ had arrived.” (Curtis, 2000) With this power that education brought, the new middle class now had the ability to win more rights for themselves, in turn, changing their social status. (Hertzberg,2000)
As mentioned before, the creation of the printing press allowed books to be more readily available. A factor that both aided and hindered social relationships. On the one hand, although books were now mass produced, the resource of paper was still expensive and thus not everyone was able to afford them. This lead to the increased popularity of coffee houses where people would gather to read and discuss books, newspapers and magazines. (Kirkpatrick, 2011) This allowed for both the chance for people to further their knowledge as they exchanged information socially, whilst also allowing social communication to flourish, as people began to discuss their ideas together.
However on the other hand, for the upper class, the ability to now buy their own books meant that the experience of reading, which was once based around sharing information in a social environment, was now an independent activity that could be done in the comfort of their own homes. This impacted on social relationships, as reading became a more isolated activity that required less social contact.
Whilst the impact the Printing Press had on social relationships is evidently quite straightforward and positive, the impact on social relationships due to social media is more complex and less concrete.
One of the most evident impacts of social media on social relationships is that it allows for its users to communicate globally on a level that was before impossible. Through services such as Skype, Facebook and Twitter, users are able to communicate with people great distances away by sending messages, talking through web cams and sharing photos and videos. Paddy Scannell describes this idea as the ‘doubling of place’ as it suggests that events can now occur simultaneously in two different places, the place of the event itself, and where it is being watched and heard. (Couldry and McCarthy, 2004) This aids in maintaining friendships over larges distances, as for example through the use of talking to each other through Skype, users are able to stay informed in their friends’ everyday lives with the speed and ease that makes them feel that they are not great distances apart.
Mirroring the advantage of the printing press, social networking sites continue to provide a platform on which disempowered people are able to voice their opinions, in turn allowing them to be more socially involved. Through the use of blogs, Twitter and Facebook, people regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and social economic status are able to voice their opinions through their own blogs or simply through a tweet. This can be seen through the example of the Dalai Lama using Twitter to circumvent the Chinese government’s censorship in order for him to talk to the masses. (Van Grove, 2010) What this means is that people who are either repressed and un able to express their views and opinions, or are too shy to voice their opinion usually in a social situation, are able to still have their voice be heard in social discussions and thus are still able to establish social relationships.
Furthermore, as people begin voicing their opinions online, they are able to contribute to a larger conversation concerning whatever topic they choose. This is achieved through the ability for people to comment on other people’s personal blogs, in turn creating online discussions. As mentioned before, in relation to the printing press, this ability to allow a community to share a resource equally, creates the concept of a ‘commons’,an idea that can also be seen through social media however on a much larger scale. Social media creates what can be seen as a ‘Global Commons’, which Stefan Baritz suggests is: “a new form of societal production.” (Bauwens, 2011) This ‘Global Commons’ allows for people to create their own works with the benefit of having social interaction as others contribute. This allows for social relationships to continue growing, as people are able to discuss and bond together about issues or works that they are concerned about.
Following on from this, as the communication platform has widened, anyone is now able to find a group that they can identify with regardless of the persons interest or hobby. This means that people with more niche interests will still be able to find people with similar likes and dislikes, further allowing social relationships to grow and form. An example of this can be seen through the extensive number of Facebook ‘groups’ that are available. These groups can range from hobbies that you enjoy, to simple statements that you feel are true, and join people together over their similar interests.
A small example of the variety of Facebook groups people are able to join.
Of course giving anyone a voice can also lead to problems. The ease to share information on social networking sites and ability to join groups together, has led to increased incidents of cyber-bullying. Cyber- bullying occurs when a minor is; “tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another [minor] using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones.” (Manor, 2010) Often, bullies use social media websites as a platform for abuse as they remain an ‘invisible audience.’ (Boyd, 2009) What this term means is that, when presenting information about themselves online, users are unable to know who is exactly looking at their information at any given time. These ‘invisible audiences’ are thus able to view other people’s information without being identified and can often leave anonymous comments. This gives them the security to be able to make any comment they want, regardless of how malicious, without detection. This can result in the diminishing of social relationships as often after encountering cyber bullying, victims become socially withdrawn from their peers.
An example of cyber bullying.
Furthermore, increased use of social media is changing the amount of attention we give to our social relationships. Linda Stone coined the term ‘Continuous partial attention’ to express this change. She suggests that people are now ‘hyper alert’ (Jenkins, 2010) and are often at one time partaking in numerous online activities for example participating in instant messaging conversations, checking a Twitter news feed, typing in a word document and sending comments on their Facebook. Although this can suggest that users are becoming more sophisticated in their media uses, it can also suggest that people are increasingly investing less and less in to their social relationships as they try and focus on more than one thing at once, ultimately impacting on how they socially interact. The work of Herbet Simon can be applied to this suggestion. Simon suggests that in an information age the more information there is, the less attention is given and there becomes “the need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” (Erard, 2009) What this suggests is that if people are un able to allocate their attention efficiently, social relationships can suffer, as limited attention is spent maintaining them.
In conclusion, the printing press and social media have both been monumental publishing mediums in their own era, which have each impacted greatly on social relationships. Whilst the impacts of the printing press have been relatively straightforward to identify and measure, with impacts such as an increased literacy rate, a new platform to communicate on and a medium that allows the working class to be both empowered and informed. The impact that social media has on social relationships is more complex. Whilst it is clear that this publishing medium has similar positive impacts to the printing press, just on a much larger scale, for example the ability to give minorities a voice in order to communicate with their peers on whatever level, social networking sites can also be seen to have negative impacts on social relationships. This can be seen, for example, through the suggestion that it has resulted in increased numbers of cyber bullying and a decreasing amount of attention set aside solely for social relationships.
References
Bauwens, M, January 2011, Ten Theses About Global Commons Movement, WordPress, accessed 20 May 2011, http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/ten-theses-about-global-commons-movement/2011/01/05
Bollier, M, 2002, Reclaiming the commons, Boston Review, accessed 7 June 2011, http://bostonreview.net/BR27.3/bollier.html
Boyd, D, 2009, “Social media is here to stay… now what”, accessed 5 June 2011, http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/MSRTechFest2009.html
Butler, C, 2007, The invention of the printing press and its effects, flowofhistory.com, accessed 6 June 2011, http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/west/11/FC74
Couldry and McCarthy, ‘ The Doubling of place: Electronic media, time-space arrangements and social relationships’ in Media Space: Place, Scale and Culture in a media age, Rutledge, 2004, p. 21-34
Curtis, G in Brockman, J (ed), 2000, The greatest inventions of the past 2,000 years, Simon & Schuster, New York.
Doyle, A, 2011, Social Media- Social Media Definition, About.com, accessed 30 May 2011,http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/g/socialmedia.htm
Erard, M, 2009, A short manifesto of the future of Attention, Design Observer, accessed 7 June 2011,http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=10297
Hertzberg, H in Brockman, J (ed), 2000, The greatest inventions of the past 2,000 years, Simon & Schuster, New York.
Jenkins, H, November 2010, Confessions of an aca-fan, the official weblog of Henry Jenkins, accessed 15 May 2011, http://henryjenkins.org/2010/11/multitasking_and_continuous_pa.html
Kirkpatrick, D, April 2011, blogspot, accessed 20 May 2011,http://newmedianarrativesonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/publishing-and-social-relationships.html
Manor, D, 2010, Can social media be held accountable for cyber- bullying?, Social Times, accessed 30 May 2011, http://socialtimes.com/social-media-cyberbullying_b9615
Van Grove, J, 2010, Dalai Lama used Twitter to circumvent Chinese Government, Mashable Inc, accessed 7 June 2011, http://mashable.com/2010/05/21/dalai-lama-twitter-chat/
Wikepedia, 2011, Printing press, Wikepedia Inc,accessed 20 May 2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press
Image references
Gutenbergs printing press: http://romantree.blogspot.com/2011/05/gutenberg.html
Gutenberg bible:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gutenberg_Bible,_Lenox_Copy,_New_York_Public_Library,_2009._Pic_01.jpg
Social media landscape:http://www.fredcavazza.net/2008/06/09/social-media-landscape/
Facebook groups: ( Own image)
Cyber bullying:http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/cyber-bullying-goes-unchecked/story-fn6t2xlc-1225969438923
Musings of a media student. 
