Space and place are two concepts that we as human beings use in order to establish what we view as being important to us. Place and space are symbolic (Tuan, 1991), and play an integral role in not only clarifying what is and isn’t symbolic to us as individuals, but also in aiding us with social interaction, a concept further explored by Eva Hornecker.
As Dr Ariella Van Luyn states, “space becomes place through humans imposing meaning on it” (Van Luyn, 2013). This statement is extremely evident on virtual networks, particularly that of Facebook. A sense of place and space is created on Facebook in many ways, particularly via the use of imagery. The use of image is a component of Facebook that creates a sense of space and place online by allowing users the opportunity to personalise their Facebook profiles to their liking with the use of imagery. This is achieved by letting users upload images of places that are particularly symbolic and important to them, and giving them the ability to share these images with potentially hundreds of people. This use of imagery creates an enormous sense of both space and place as it allows people from vastly different cultures to experience the similarities and differences in what others see as being symbolic to them personally. Facebook also allows its users to ‘tag’ people in their images, a process of linking someone’s profile to a particular image. This creates a connection not only between the persons whose image it is, but also between many others - a process that further widens the overall space and place that is evident on Facebook by linking many people to the one symbolic place and space.
Reference List:
Hornecker, E. (2005). Space and place - Setting the stage for social interaction. Retrieved 28
August, 2013, from
http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/research/groups/interact/publications/Hornecker.pdf
Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. In Annals of
the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696.
Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Lecture 5,
[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Image Credits:
Image 1: Petterson, M. (2008). Blue in my room. Retrieved from
http://macenphotos.deviantart.com/art/blue-in-my-room-73638817
Image 1: Petterson, M. (2008). Blue in my room. Retrieved from
http://macenphotos.deviantart.com/art/blue-in-my-room-73638817
Taylar, that is an interesting exploration of how images contribute to the making of place on Facebook. From reading your blog, I feel that you have focused mainly on individual profiles as spaces made into places. What about the Facebook site its self? In reality, the site is a space. If we did not have interaction and customisation options on the site it would remain a space because it is defied of human meaning. It is the memories, meaning and stories that we contribute as a community that make it a social place. These narratives create the 'tangible web of human relations' that we know as Facebook (Tuan, 1979).
ReplyDeleteTaylar, you have raised a valid point by saying that a space becomes a place through the importance and personalisation placed upon it. Through this post, I have glimpsed that there is also the possibility to impose your space on someone else is by tagging him or her in your pictures.
ReplyDeleteAs Tuan (1991) suggests your friends may help to start to build a place but without their help you won’t be able to improve it. This is the same with the Facebook profile, without your friends posting, reading and liking things like pictures on your profile I suppose you could just be writing in a diary. Similarly, to a diary there is also the risk of other people abusing this network for personal gain or just to abuse you.
As far as allowing others from other cultures to experience the similarities and differences in your life and theirs, this is down to what your privacy settings are and if they are your friend or not. As some people know from experience you do not just add strangers to your friends list. So, where does this exchange of culture really begin? Truthfully, I believe it starts out there in the real world, or somewhere outside of your comfort zone.
Reference
Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. In Annals of the association of American geographers, 81(4), pp.684-696.