Abstract
In this thesis, I ask how our understanding of human relations carries implications for the way we understand the affordances of communication technology on human relations. To this end, I examine and compare two opposed perspectives of human relations and social life. The first perspective, networked individualism, is a version of network theory that begins with a foundation of agentic individuals who actively construct and manage their social worlds. Levinasian relationalism, the second perspective, offers a contrasting view that sees human relations as constitutive of human subjectivity. In comparing these two perspectives, I argue that networked individualism is an inadequate framework inasmuch as its ontological assertions prevent it from seeing some of the significant affordances of technology on human relations, and I suggest that Levinasian relationalism is a viable alternative.
Degree
MS
College and Department
Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Sociology
Rights
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Wood, Michael Lee, "Examining the Social Affordances of Communication Technology on Human Relations: A Critique of Networked Individualism from the Perspective of the Ethical Phenomenology of Emmanuel Levinas" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 4145.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4145
Date Submitted
2014-06-30
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd7139
Keywords
information and communication technologies (ICTs), human relations, social networks, networked individualism, relational ontology, ethical phenomenology, Barry Wellman, Emmanuel Levinas
Language
English