The debate between virtual and face to face.

The history of the 21st century is marked by the radical phenomenon of imagined communities – Benedict Anderson. In Anderson’s Imagined Communities: Reflections of the Origin and Spread of Nationalism he discusses that the new age world is defined through the limitations of imagination, as members even from the smallest community will never really know most of their fellow members. Paradoxically, the 21st century is an era exposes to some argue the point of violation, personalised image, and it continues to grow. By living a life where the relationships produce an image perceived as personal communion whilst never actually witnessing the reality of it’s experience, how does one truly belong to it. In the same way that the the morning paper has created a traditional sense of connection through its media form – being used as a vehicle that informs it’s readers of the same issues in a communal perspective – devices such as social media and FaceTime create environments that are isolated to the individuals personal tone. This has created a shift from the broadcast paradigm to a post broadcast paradigm, where commercial stations and public television which use to be as influential as the morning paper is now ‘personalised’ through remodelled systems such as Netflix or the Daily Mail.

As media and technology develop in conjunction with one another they have an affect upon each other that tips the scales of traditional and the new age. Does the ability to personalise one’s life to such an extent decrease public camaraderie through the dismissal of public convention and awareness. Or does an individual’s ability to formulate a surrounding suited for their own preference enhance the dimensions and relationships of their surroundings, opening the gates to new ideas and expanded territory. As the media gains the task of governing society’s desire to seek to establish, does it destroy a system of form of order within a population, a collectivity, a territory, or even the entire surface of the earth?