Conceptualizing Techno-Social Generations for Communication Research

• In Event: Techno-Social Generations and Communication Research

Abstract

For the German sociologist Karl Mannheim, the phenomenon of generations is one of the basic factors contributing to the dynamics of historical change. To the extent that historical change is also a fundamental problem in communication research, how might a sociology of generations be made theoretically fruitful for studying communication processes? I suggest that the concept of techno-social generations might provide a useful starting point. Just as a sociological generation is formed through exposure to historical experiences of “dynamic de-stabilization,” a techno-social generation is created when members of a society encounter the de-stabilizing effects of new technological forms, such as the Internet. The more de-stabilizing the effects of a new technological form, the stronger the techno-social generational identity among those who are most exposed to these technologies. Methodologically, the study of techno-social generations might begin with the analysis of historical junctures, those critical moments when old technological forms meet the new. I illustrate my argument through an analysis of one such critical moment, the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the first contingent of Chinese electronic magazines appeared on the Internet. I argue that although these e-magazines were ostensibly new, digital publications, they resembled more closely the print magazines in design, format, and style than the digital publications that would appear later, because they carried the imprints of a generation socialized in print culture.

Author

• Guobin Yang, U of Pennsylvania