"Dude...Facebook me!"
While reviewing my notes on Bourdieu, the first thought that came to my mind regarding Social Capital was “Facebook!” That time consuming addictive phenomenon of social networking and communication that has taken on a life of its own over the past several years and has amassed a social capital of its own to the tune of over one billion users and multi-billions of dollars in economic capital. Looking back to its inception, it’s hard to imagine that something that has become so fundamental in today’s society started as a simple project created for fun by Mark Zuckerberg, which let Harvard students rate who they thought was the “hottest” person on campus, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg). Today, for those of us who have become addicted to Facebook and regularly check our accounts throughout the day, it’s hard to imagine how we stayed in touch with anyone before Facebook came along.
My first experience with Facebook began grudgingly when my wife urged me to sign up so that I could friend her. At that time, I thought why would I need to sign up for some service just so that I could friend my wife; after all, we were married and saw each other daily! But join I did and it was shortly after that when my job was outsourced overseas and I was laid off. Generally speaking, when a person gets laid off, they lose much of the social capital that they had acquired over the years while working at a company. Some connections may remain, but for the most part, you immediately lose touch with former co-workers as well as the inner workings and fundamental aspects of what is happing among those that remain. Suddenly, the “Habitus” or as we discussed in class the “life experiences, dispositions and expectations of life” which one acquires in the “field” of their occupation remains in a state of stasis or suspended animation. Almost immediately, unless you happen to see your former co-workers on a daily basis, you lose touch with all the changes that are taking place daily and what is going on in the inner circle of your former associates . In a sense you lose your credibility and level of acceptance among your peers as you no longer have access to the water cooler discussion groups. In that same sense, you begin to lose that “Social Capital” that had come to define who you are or at least who you were in life.
For me, Facebook became a life raft that helped bridge what eventually become an ever-widening gap in my “Habitus” and helped me adjust to a new life and, in a sense, to create an even stronger “Social Capital” or network than I had previously. Upon being laid off, I was immediately “friended” by a large number of my former co-workers (actual capital) who kept me abreast of what was happening on a daily basis. I was also “friended” by friends of friends (potential capital) who had also been laid off and were trying to expand their social network or capital in hopes of finding work within our field of digital imaging and photography. An unofficial online community of workers from inside as well as outside our former company had begun to form allowing us to commiserate as well as help each other through difficult times sharing stories and options that together we were in the process of experiencing and creating. The “Social Capital” or network that I would have lost when I was laid off, was now growing larger and larger in this online community wrought with its own “Doxa” or rules and field specific capital. As time passed, more and more people left my former employer until eventually the “Doxa” that had existed at that company no longer mattered and was replaced by a new “Doxa” or set of rules within our online Facebook community. We were now united not by a singular corporate entity, but by a union of like-minded individuals that shared numerous Social Capitals, which we had acquired that often carried over to becoming a part of completely new communities, which often are shared.
Today, I am still in touch with many of my former co-workers on an almost daily basis. In fact, I probably have more contact now that I did when we actually worked together. Through social networking, I have expanded my Social Capital to include numerous other interest groups and standpoints. In turn, I have also been able to use the Social Capital that I have acquired to gain Economic Capital by promoting my photography studio and the services we offer within my network of friends who in turn pass this on in their individual networks, which helps to bring in customers. I often look back at what we did before social networking became so pervasive in society, and while I’m sure we could manage without it, it sure makes building a strong social network and maintaining social capital much easier on a global level.
My first experience with Facebook began grudgingly when my wife urged me to sign up so that I could friend her. At that time, I thought why would I need to sign up for some service just so that I could friend my wife; after all, we were married and saw each other daily! But join I did and it was shortly after that when my job was outsourced overseas and I was laid off. Generally speaking, when a person gets laid off, they lose much of the social capital that they had acquired over the years while working at a company. Some connections may remain, but for the most part, you immediately lose touch with former co-workers as well as the inner workings and fundamental aspects of what is happing among those that remain. Suddenly, the “Habitus” or as we discussed in class the “life experiences, dispositions and expectations of life” which one acquires in the “field” of their occupation remains in a state of stasis or suspended animation. Almost immediately, unless you happen to see your former co-workers on a daily basis, you lose touch with all the changes that are taking place daily and what is going on in the inner circle of your former associates . In a sense you lose your credibility and level of acceptance among your peers as you no longer have access to the water cooler discussion groups. In that same sense, you begin to lose that “Social Capital” that had come to define who you are or at least who you were in life.
For me, Facebook became a life raft that helped bridge what eventually become an ever-widening gap in my “Habitus” and helped me adjust to a new life and, in a sense, to create an even stronger “Social Capital” or network than I had previously. Upon being laid off, I was immediately “friended” by a large number of my former co-workers (actual capital) who kept me abreast of what was happening on a daily basis. I was also “friended” by friends of friends (potential capital) who had also been laid off and were trying to expand their social network or capital in hopes of finding work within our field of digital imaging and photography. An unofficial online community of workers from inside as well as outside our former company had begun to form allowing us to commiserate as well as help each other through difficult times sharing stories and options that together we were in the process of experiencing and creating. The “Social Capital” or network that I would have lost when I was laid off, was now growing larger and larger in this online community wrought with its own “Doxa” or rules and field specific capital. As time passed, more and more people left my former employer until eventually the “Doxa” that had existed at that company no longer mattered and was replaced by a new “Doxa” or set of rules within our online Facebook community. We were now united not by a singular corporate entity, but by a union of like-minded individuals that shared numerous Social Capitals, which we had acquired that often carried over to becoming a part of completely new communities, which often are shared.
Today, I am still in touch with many of my former co-workers on an almost daily basis. In fact, I probably have more contact now that I did when we actually worked together. Through social networking, I have expanded my Social Capital to include numerous other interest groups and standpoints. In turn, I have also been able to use the Social Capital that I have acquired to gain Economic Capital by promoting my photography studio and the services we offer within my network of friends who in turn pass this on in their individual networks, which helps to bring in customers. I often look back at what we did before social networking became so pervasive in society, and while I’m sure we could manage without it, it sure makes building a strong social network and maintaining social capital much easier on a global level.