Hyperconnectivity: impacts and implications

Sociological Analysis of Hyperconnectivity

Sociology

Hyperconnectivity is a fairly new concept that it is indigenous to the 21st century. The term was coined only a few years ago by Canadian social scientists as a way to describe how people are connect via machines, networked organizations, and networked societies overall. Thus, this is a term that could have been coined now. "Hyper" is usually an adjective to describe a state of excess excitement and unruly energy; "hyper" as it exists as a prefix coming from the Greek language, means abnormal, unusual, and appearing in quantities beyond what is normal. Both definitions can be useful when considering the global culture or state of hyperconnectivity that much of the world finds itself in during the 21st century. We have mobile devices that connect to the internet wherever we are and wherever there is an internet connection. We have long since had computers and laptops with which we use to connect to others. There are now generations of people who were born into a world overflowing with ways to say hyperconnected, but before we continue boldly into the future, it behooves us to consider the ramifications of hyperconnectivity upon our social realities. The paper examines the concept of hyperconnectivity with respect to the sociological perspective. Hyperconnectivity is a sociological phenomenon as well as a technological one; hyperconnectivity is affecting how we perceive ourselves, each other, and the world, for better and for worse.

As with most forms of technology, the technology itself is neither good nor bad, but what is good or bad, is how humanity uses it. The digital technology that allows for hyperconnectivity is neither good nor bad, while it also holds the potential be both good and bad. Social networks have exploded, with some of the most notable ones being Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, with hundreds of millions, and like billions of users among just those three. Hyperconnectivity certainly allows people to connect and communicate in many more ways that in previous decades and centuries. We are able to expand our social realities because of the distances our communication can travel for a price or for free (like Skype) because of hyperconnectivity. If we are on the move or are traveling we can still keep in touch with colleagues, friends, and family because of the state of hyperconnectivity in the 21st century. Further, we have the opportunity to expand our social realities and networks by getting in touch with people we would have never had the opportunity to meet because of such technologies. There is definitely a positive sociological aspect to hyperconnectivity. We become potentially more literate technologically, culturally, and with respect to information. Our concepts of identity and social institutions can expand and change because of exposure to people outside our common networks. Our realities can be enhanced and enriched because of hyperconnectivity. On a larger scale, because of hyperconnectivity, there is also potential for better communication in cases of emergency such as fire, terrorism, and natural disasters.

One the other hand, while there are just as many advocates for the positive affects of hyperconnectivity, there are just as many who advocate that hyperconnectivity is dangerous with negative affects. For example, …many of the young people growing up hyperconnected to each other and the mobile Web and counting on the internet as their external brain will be nimble, quick-acting multitaskers who will do well in key respects. At the same time, these experts predicted that the impact of networked living on today's young will drive them to thirst for instant gratification, settle for quick choices, and lack patience. A number of the survey respondents argued that it is vital to reform education and emphasize digital literacy. A notable number expressed concerns that trends are leading to a future in which most people are shallow consumers of information, and some mentioned George Orwell's 1984 or expressed their fears of control by powerful interests in an age of entertaining distractions. (Anderson, 2012, 2)

Hyperconnectivity can improve socialization and communication, but it also can clearly hinder or retard them. Hyperconnectivity can be a crutch upon which people lean on for all or most of their social interaction, creating generations of people who do not know how to effectively, normatively, and healthily socialize. Lack of social and emotional intelligence is already a bit of a hot topic in news and other fields such as psychology and sociology, with hyperconnectivity as one of the places to lay blame.

In the United States, for example, there is currently a scandal involving the N.S.A. (National Security Agency) and Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked numerous documents demonstrating how the NSA and other agencies are collecting data on millions of Americans unnecessarily -- using the primary methods or avenues of hyperconnectivity as their source for personal and private data. Thus, this is an example of how hyperconnectivity can be used against users without their knowledge. People feel safe in sharing personal information via the avenues of hyperconnectivity, and that safety, in a way, is an illusion. Hyperconnectivity in this perspective comes at the price of privacy.