Breaking digital ties: A brief history of unfriending

Prof Nicholas John (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

(In Person/Physics B16/17, Enderby Lecture Theatre)

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Abstract

Online spaces provide opportunities for creating ties with other people, allowing to us to communicate and share content with them. Sometimes, though, we wish to break some of these ties; we wish not only to friend and to follow, but to unfriend and unfollow as well. In this talk, I present the many features for online interpersonal disconnectivity, and show how have they developed over time. This approach shines a spotlight on a neglected aspect of social media, and opens up new ways of thinking about how the platforms conceive of – and construct – online sociability.

Bio

Nicholas John is an Associate Professor at the Department of Communication and Journalism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is interested in digital culture, and in particular the concept of “sharing” as well as practices of online tie breaking. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Communication, New Media & Society and Information, Communication & Society. He is the author of the award-winning book, The Age of Sharing, and is the Vice-President (and President-Elect) of the Association of Internet Researchers.