Relationships and the Internet

Miller and Slater use the case of the Trinidadians to study the impact of the Internet on relationships between people of the same family, friends, and strangers. The fact that the Internet has allowed family members of all ages to keep in touch with each other, is not exclusive of the Trinidadians, but what makes it so particular is that, according to the authors, this phenomenon is common to most Trinidadians.

Is it possible that because Trinidad is an island and most families have relatives abroad, the Internet has made a major impact on the Trinidadians culture? Probably the fact that the population in Trinidad is only a little more than a million has something to do with it. Anyway, it would be interesting to find out what percent of the population of Trinidad lives in another country, and what percent of the population really has access to computers.

The authors of this article also explore other types of relationships. For example, virtual friendships were reality and virtual mixed together; and real friendship developed in cyber cafés, clubs, and schools because of their interest on the Internet.

Finally, it would be very interesting to explore how this change took place, who were the innovators, the early adopters, and early majority; and how they all embraced this technology to get where they are now.

References:

Miller, D. and Slater, D. Relationships. In: K. Askew and R. Wilk (Eds.), The Anthropology of Media. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. [Chapter 12, pp. 187-209.]

Trinidad and Tobago People. Retrieved November 26, 2003 from http://www.1uptravel.com/international/caribbean/trinidad-tobago/people.html.