Final : THEME 2

Throughout all aspects of relationships, electronic media can be observed as minimizing the effects and our perceptions of certain aspects of life such as distance, time, and location. Regarding location, for example, media shortens our perception of it. We can instantaneously communicate with and see, through video chat for example, with people that may be on a different continent. Video chat also shortens the amount of time it takes to share events with others in different locations around the world. Communication is made instantaneous. An example of this can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay_uiWGdwpw . One area of Meyrowitz’s theory concerning relationships enabled by electronic media states that media helps people understand the concept of the para-social relationship. A para-social relationship is one sided, in which one party knows a great deal about the other, but this knowledge is not mutual. They are mostly observed between celebrities and their fans or an otherwise broad audience. It is safe to say that the first type if media that allowed these relationships to develop was the radio. Para-social relationships were viewed in women during the 1930’s. In most cases, housewives and farm women, isolated all day and left at home to complete housework and chores, developed para-social relationships with characters in the daily radio soap operas they listened to. Usually working long hours alone and every day, soap operas and their characters provided companionship to these women. This was the case for the 1930’s Kansas farm wife, Mary Dyck. She treated the radio as if it was her church or spiritual center, her entertainment, and most of all, her companion. Mary was practically cut off from the rest of the world due to her children moving away, the death of her son, and her husband abandoning her to go on alcoholic endeavors. The radio served as her lifeline and her only connection to the world. The para-social relationship occurring between Mary and her soap opera characters can be viewed as parallel to the connection fans feel to celebrities. After the radio, television became an enabler for the formation of para-social relationships. Gossip shows such as TMZ and E! News are on daily, always giving the public the ‘scoop’ on famous people and what is going on in their lives. You can rely on these types of television programs to update you immediately on what celebrities are wearing to red carpet events or if Angelina Jolie decides to adopt another child. Currently, the media that is the most enabling for para-social relationsips to form is the internet. This type of relationship has been enhanced by social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. On both of these sites, users are able to follow or add anyone they want, including famous individuals. On Twitter, for example, if you choose to follow a celebrity, you are constantly viewing their tweets at all times throughout the day. It is completely understandable how Twitter and Facebook could enable the formation of para-social relationships. Constantly being reminded of what a certain person is doing all the time can make some people feel as if they have a special relationship with that individual. You can be knowledgeable of what your favorite celebrity is doing practically every minute of the day. An example of this would be Lil’ Wayne’s twitter page, of which I personally am a follower: http://twitter.com/liltunechi . All of these different types of medias are enabling us to form para-social relationships with people we have never met before and, in this sense, increase our ambient awareness in a somewhat negative way. The scary part is, as media develops, it allows us to get more in depth and personal information regarding someone else’s life.