Quote:
Originally Posted by Registered 2018
More like transtribalism than transnationalism.
Tribe is defined as "a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader."
Facebook has created the platform for making non-geographic defined tribes a reality. The strength of these tribes will only get stronger because of communication and travel technology.
Nationalism is defined as "identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations." Nationalist extremists are buggy whip makers trying to prevent the spread of automobiles.
Hmmm...
Facebook itself doesn't maintain the social structure that keeps the roads paved, transportation networks working smoothly, water and electricity flowing to me and sewer flowing away. I don't see how Facebook (or similar virtual platforms) will replace (local) physical government, and therefore the notion that it will replace "national sentiment" seems like a stretch.
The rise of communication technology (perhaps: online sports betting?) has had no effect on how strongly folks support physically local sports teams and how much they "hate" the team from "somewhere else" even though you frequently see folks wearing jerseys or hats of teams 1000s of miles away as a fashion statement.
I also don't see how maximal tribalism leads to peaceful co-existence. In fact, I think historically, maximal tribalism has (always?) lead directly to the empowerment of the warrior class in essentially all cultures. Doesn't "virtual trans-tribalism" merely increase the physical footprint of maximal tribalism? Doesn't sitting in your bedroom only interacting with people who closely share your own views make things worse, not better, generally?
Ultimately, I think Facebook itself is always at the mercy of the fashion du jour, and probably wont be able to innovate fast enough to keep up.
Last edited by Lapidator; 01-10-2020 at 11:36 AM.