Social Animal Syndrome: New Media Ideas from History

I just finished re-reading the book From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman and was struck by several parts of the book. One part in particular discredited the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes. In Leviathan Friedman quotes Hobbes regarding the "state of nature:"

...."where every man is enemy to every man...there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain....and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Notice the solitary aspect of Hobbes' assertion.

But what Friedman noticed in Beirut was that no matter how awful things got, people didn't become solitary beings. They reached out to each other, and as Friedman said, "Rather the behavior of Beirutis suggested that man's natural state is as a social animal who will do everything he can to seek out and create community and structures when the larger government or society disappears." The idea of making order out of chaos.

Friedman continued with his assertion that when government in Beirut failed, people turned to microsocieties based on religion, culture, geography, family ties, and other ties that bind people together. In short, people searched for ways they were alike.

This idea plays into the community that can be created using new media and/or social media. We, as communicators, focus on the ties that bind our constituents together, and send our message to those communities. In a sense, we create our own little societies based on our interests, our family, our religion, our culture, our whatever--insert your favorite thing here. That's why you can find whole websites devoted to Star Wars, Star Trek and other "cult-like" phenomena. In essence, we're all just trying to find people we can talk to and understand us, at least on some level.

I guess if you think about this from a physical and psychological standpoint, you can look at the need for babies to maintain physical interaction and nurturing to sustain their growth and development. As adults, we seem to be no different. Physical interaction and nurturing are essential elements to a healthy life. So what does this have to do with communication?

Segmentation and differentiation. As communicators, we need to segment or differentiate our audiences based on their differences and commonalities. It's easy to appeal to differences to drive wedges between people, but the commonalities upon which we develop communities, whether they are based on geography or shared interests, make people more likely to listen to and act on messages that impact them. And that's how new media can learn from history.

Where do I fit?

In creating community or in joining a community, that's the question that most people ask--where do I fit? If they don't feel as if they fit, then they won't join. Sometimes it's a matter of physical fit. Just last week, our student chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators met in a room that was pretty small. A few students came by, looked in and left. They didn't want to come in because they felt as if they wouldn't physically fit into the room.

Sometimes, it's a matter of critical mass, to use a term that is mostly associated with ethnic and racial minority fit in the larger culture. People who are ethnic or racial minorities must feel as if they fit to stay in a predominantly white cultural setting. To achieve this fit, a sense of critical mass is needed. I say a sense of critical mass rather than actual critical mass, because it is truly that perception that makes the difference.

In my dissertation, "Latino Success Stories in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study of Graduates at a Health Science Center," located at: http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-3687
I discovered that critical mass is as much about perception as it is about reality. The former students who were successful created this sense of critical mass for themselves.

For other communities or for people who cross community boundaries, keeping a foot in several different communities, the question becomes more problematic. Where do I fit may depend on where I am not necessarily who I am. If you are a female of Hispanic and African-American descent and you identify as bisexual, what group is your community? What word do you choose first when describing yourself?

Just where you fit is a matter of comfort, and at any given moment, that can change. That's why creating and sustaining community can be so challenging.