Essay 1

Pete Carper

Dr. Mulliken

Engl 1113

6 Sept. 2011

Today’s World of Technology

            In the first chapter of Ben Agger’s book, “The Virtual Self: A Contemporary Sociology”, Agger begins to talk about the relationship between what sociologists call social structure and people’s everyday lives.  The purpose of this book is not to complain about sociology, but rather to argue that people can find sociology that is good in places that are surprising. Agger’s main goal in writing this book and more specifically this chapter is to apprise people about their virtual selves. People who are living in postmodern worlds, this idea is very different from previous generations.  For example now we are able to send an email that will instantly be received by whomever we wish, but when our grandparents were kids they did not have this useful tool at their disposal. In this chapter Agger talks about the positive ways that information technologies could be used to challenge the big companies that control power and wealth. Agger says that the same technology can be used to make the citizens operating them submissive and less likely to search for the truth.

            Ben Agger wrote this chapter to help educate people about sociology and its relationship with technology. Agger says that today people are becoming more and more virtual, “I view technology as a dense set of social relations defining the uses of machinery, electronics, media” (6).  This statement means that there are a myriad of ways that we relate virtually, whether it is through email or online dating web sites. No matter the use they are all telling us how to operate and interpret the technology and information we are given. Ben Agger say’s “we need to think

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sociologically on the ground of our experience, which is what Neil Young does as he explores the intersection of his world and his self” (7).

            In this chapter Ben Agger talks about social structures he say’s “Structures are things you can’t easily see or discern. But they make their presence felt” (40). Agger says to help you, “think of religion and churches, economy and money, and now think of the Internet and other electronic connections that altar the distinction between self and society, inside and outside” (40). All of these things, Agger argues, give you clear guides to help you see what the connection is between social and self. For example religion is self because no one can make you believe anything you don’t want to, but the church is the social gathering that encourages and growth within religion.

            Agger believes that the Internet and other technologies can and should encourage people to join together and help fight existing positions of power, wealth, and information. Agger says that more often than not, these technologies that are supposed to be helping us, by making our life easier by having information and entertainment at our fingertips, are really just making us take the information we get for face value, instead of being able to critically think and analyze the problem. Agger suggests that it is possible that all of the information we have at our fingertips it is making us less able to think for ourselves. Agger gives the example of internet searches, instead of having to answer questions for ourselves and having to investigate for the truth. We can just type our question into the computer and we will usually have the answers we are looking for. Agger says that on the other hand these technologies are empowering people. The technologies are enabling us to become more active members in society. People that

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ordinarily would just read the news are now becoming authors and bloggers that are working for a better world.

            Ben Agger believes that there is a huge potential for our virtual selves. We have the ability to put our thoughts on display for the entire world to see if we wish. We have the power to take on some of the bigger problems in the world, like the problems that are going on in government, by joining together virtually. All of these things should be bringing us closer together, but in a lot of cases they are doing the exact opposite. With all of the information on hand at any moment, it is making us less able to think for ourselves and make us more dependent on technology to get us through the day.

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Works Cited

Agger, Ben. "Everyday Life in Our Wired World." The Virtual Self: A Contemporary Sociology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. 1-41. Print.