Facebook as a Tool for Producing Sociality and Connectivity

TLDR

Understanding social media dynamics requires more than updating network theory, legal frameworks, or political-economic models. The study examines whether Facebook creates a new public, private, or corporate sphere. The authors propose an analytical model linking theories to capture the interplay of private, public, and corporate interests in mediated communication. The authors conclude that social media does not redefine Habermas’ public sphere but instead creates a contested arena where private, public, and corporate interests shape new norms of sociality and connectivity.

Abstract

This article investigates whether social media in general—using Facebook as an example—warrant identification of a new public sphere, another private sphere, or a different corporate sphere, as some scholars have argued. It is argued that social media platforms neither warrant a recalibration of Habermas’ public sphere, nor a conscious blending of spheres. Rather, social media platforms form a contested space where private, public and corporate interests compete to produce new norms of sociality and connectivity. In order to understand the dynamics of social media, it is not enough to revamp existing social theory of networks, to polish up legal frames, or to reintroduce political-economic schemes. We need to connect these theories and come up with an analytical model that accounts for the complexities of the various interests interpenetrating the new space of mediated communication.