[Air-l] viewing American class divisions through Facebook andMySpace

[Daniel Sutko]

I offer no theory but a parallel to Jason's comments. Jason's  
comments on FB aesthetics also reflect the design elements of the  
stereotypical, "cookie-cutter," suburban neighborhoods in the US. The  
designs of the houses vary only slightly, if at all. Furthermore,  
some of these communities are regulated by community boards or groups  
that enforce certain aesthetic rules (no flags on the houses, no  
holiday decorations, no toys left in yards overnight, etc...) The  
upshot is the anesthetized aesthetic now associated with suburban  
living. In light of this, I also find the use of language on this  
thread ("white flight") interesting and suggestive, since that was  
the popular term for (mainly white, wealthier) folks moving out of  
the cities (myspace?) and into the suburbs (FB?).  Maybe literature  
on that social transition would be helpful here.

Dan

dan_sutko at ncsu.edu
TA - Public Speaking Program
RA - Mobile Gaming Research Lab
Dept. of Communication
North Carolina State University

On Jun 28, 2007, at 2:24 AM, Chadwick Andrew wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Jason wrote: "Facebook's aesthetics embody a kind of functional
> minimalism that appeals to a middle class sensibility (significantly
> personalisation applications do not disturb the overall layout and
> colour scheme)"
>
> Could you explain precisely what you mean by that, and the evidence or
> theorising that underlies it, particularly the part about the  
> affinities
> between social class and the design interface? It's intriguing, but
> problematic.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andy
>
> ---------------------------------
> Dr Andrew Chadwick,
> Head of Department,
> Department of Politics & International Relations,
> Director, New Political Communication Unit,
> Royal Holloway,
> University of London.
> ------------------------------------------------------
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>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
>> [mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Jason Wilson
>> Sent: 28 June 2007 05:18
>> To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
>> Subject: Re: [Air-l] viewing American class divisions through
>> Facebook andMySpace
>>
>> Hi Jimmy and all,
>>
>> Points taken Jimmy, but there is more to go with arguments
>> about class, I think.
>>
>> Your point about people not necessarily wanting to flee
>> "people they don't like" may be warranted, but that doesn't
>> necessarily mean that people aren't fleeing *towards* where
>> "people like us" ("linked in", tech-literate, "creative")
>> gather. Saying that MySpace has bad customer service doesn't
>> account for the way in which different groups appear to be
>> gravitating towards one or another of the range of alternatives.
>>
>> According to comscore numbers here
>> http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/11516.asp (admittedly
>> these are a year old)
>>
>> - People 18-24 are 3 times more likely than the average
>> Internet user to
>> visit Facebook.
>>
>> - People in households with an income over US$100,000 are
>> 30% more likely than average to visit Facebook.
>>
>> - The slightly above
>> average level of visitation from people with household incomes lower
>> than US$25,000 is explained by the preponderance of users who are at
>> college/university, who we can safely assume will inhabit a
>> significant
>> proportion of $100K+ households in the future, and will get there  
>> more
>> quickly than those without a University education.
>>
>> Additionally, American teens seem to be going in large
>> numbers to Xanga, while MySpace continues to grow, attracting
>> an older demographic (the "late adopters"?).
>>
>> Facebook's aesthetics embody a kind of functional minimalism
>> that appeals to a middle class sensibility (significantly
>> personalisation applications do not disturb the overall
>> layout and colour scheme). Facebook's privacy and networking
>> models mean that you are significantly less likely to have to
>> interact with people you don't know or like already. The
>> "tech-success" narrative, and the refusal to sell to Yahoo
>> appeal as a kind of modern entrepreneurial fable that
>> aspirational college-educated users are attracted to
>> participating in. The Murdoch-owned MySpace, by contrast,
>> might be seen as a narrative of Big & Old (& Unfashionable)
>> media capitalising on innovation.
>>
>> The marketing people, at least, are excited by the potential
>> that Facebook offers for reaching a higher-income user-base,
>> and ads on Facebook will cost you more: loads of links to
>> this effect here http://del.icio.us/search/?user=digital_white_flight
>>
>> Cheers
>> Jason Wilson
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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