Gergen’s "Social Saturation" – Flashcards

-He is a social constructionism -The self is a social construction, its something we develop through our experiences -The self has changed with technology

-The self is something that you do, a social process, you're not born with it -3 aspects of the complete self 1) The "I" (impulsive actions/reactions) 2) The "me" (reflecting on who you are before doing something) 3) The "generalized other" (reflecting on how other people see you in the community)

-micro sociologist in 1960/70 -"The presentation of self" -constantly presenting ourselves on a stage, always roll playing -we do self through the process of presentation and roll playing -always presenting a different version of yourself

-What is our self a product of? 1)language that we use informal and shapes what we believe is real, possible, good, bad, and valued -we need certain terms to describe ourselves, when language changes so do our selves 2)culture -romanticism (personal depth, passion, soul, creativity) -Modernism (predictability, honest, sincere, rational) -Post modernism (there are no anchors, idea that you can be whoever you want and shift and change)

-the continual exposure to multiple diverse others -we are now in contact with so many different kinds of ppl -the process through which this happens is a matter of populating the self with different experiences

-virtigo, not having a sense of our barrings -we don't have a core sense of self because of the multiplicity social experiences we get from transportation and social technology

2 types of technologies that throw us into social saturation 1) gradual -railroad -post office -telephone -radio -printed books 2) Immediate -air travel -cable tv -computers -internet

1) Apparatgeist -pure communication, being alone feels like a problem we need to solve -we feel alone because no one will ever be able to know what we're truly feeling/thinking 2) taken-for-granted -mobile phone is embedded into the structure of our society 3) ritual interaction chains -symbols that bring us together, but these need to happen face to face -sense of shared focus and mood