From Mary Dyck to Twitter followers: Electronically Mediated Relationships

The arrival of radio meant that for the first time,news and information, sports and religion, music and comedy – all were available with the twist of a dial, even in America’s remotest corners. "It brought a common culture to individuals living in vastly different environments , and opened up new possibilities for people living beyond the easy reach of much of the popular culture of the day" (Riney-Kehrberg 1). Radio brought formerly isolated homes into close daily contact with the rest of the
nation. This led many of radio’s developers to believe that the new medium’s greatest promise would be realized in serving rural listeners. Specifically, for rural farm women like Mary Dyck, the radio not only provided entertaining programming but, more importantly, a parasocial relationship with program characters that substituted for the human interaction that was inaccessible. While radio still exists, it is, in my observation, still an old medium that no longer provides members of society with the parasocial relationships so prevalent in Mary Dyck's time. Nowadays, Twitter has become the new "poster technology" for parasocial relationships and our society's insatiable need for an ambient awareness of all that goes on in the lives of our friends and "friends in our head."

Our culture has become, more and more, celebrity obsessed. Additional exposure from new media technology and increased number of media channels has likely intensified this effect. From television to radio to film to print to the internet, fans can easily obtain more than a glimpse into the lives of the famous faces. Mass media increasingly give the illusion of a face-to-face relationship between a spectator and a performer. Today’s media frenzy and explosion of paparazzi includes non-stop exposure to celebrities’ on-screen as well as off-screen lives. The addition of reality television shows, which claim to showcase the “real” lives of these famous individuals, and celebrity news programs has perhaps increased obsession with celebrity personae. The mainstream press offers minute by minute details which one can follow his or her favorite celebrity. Current Websites such as “gawker.com” allows fans to post real-time sightings of celebrities on the streets of Manhattan. The site even provides maps to show fans celebrities’ exact locations. Various celebrities have become incorporated into the daily routines of their spectator’s lives.

The New York magazine article entitled "How Tweet It Is" poses a question that eloquently investigates the above-mentioned: Are we really becoming a nation of people who reflexively share information with everyone the minute we have it? I believe the answer to that question is "yes". The article speaks of the Hudson River airplane crash and how the "Tweet" of a passerby reported this breaking news hours before even the New York Times. This is a positive example of how being on the pulse of what is taking place provides meaningful and important information. While all information disseminated on Twitter and other social network agencies is not of this magnitude of importance, this has, like it or not, become the way in which most of us mediate our various relationships electronically.