Cyberspace and Identity
Author(s): Sherry Turkle
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 6 (Nov., 1999), pp. 643-648
Published by: American Sociological Association
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-Looking Toward Cyberspace:
= -
Beyond Grounded Sociology
Cyberspaceand Identity
SHERRY
TURKLE
Program
in Science,Technology,
and Society
Massachusetts Instituteof Bechnolo<gy
Wecometoseeourselves differentlyaswecatch ationand projection of constructed personae
sightofourimages inthemirror ofthemachine. intovirtualspace.In cyberspace, it is well
Overa decadeago,whenI first calledthecom- known, one'sbodycanbe represented byone's
putera "secondself"(1984),theseidentity-owntextual description:Theobesecanbeslen-
transforming relationshipsweremostusually der,thebeautiful plain.Thefactthatself-pre-
one-on-one, a personalonewitha machine.1sentation iswritten intextmeansthatthereis
Thisisnolonger thecase.A rapidly expandingtimeto reflect uponandeditone's"composi-
system ofnetworks, collectively
knownas the tion,"whichmakesit easierfortheshyto be
Internet,linksmillions ofpeopletogether in outgoing, the"nerdy" sophisticated.Therelative
newspacesthatarechanging thewaywethink, anonymity oflifeon thescreenonehasthe
thenature ofoursexuality, theform ofourcom- choiceofbeingknownonlybyone'schosen
munities,ourveryidentities. In cyberspace, we "handle"or onlinename givespeoplethe
arelearning to livein virtual worlds. We may chanceto express oftenunexplored aspects of
findourselves alone as we navigatevirtual theself.Additionally, multiple aspects ofself
oceans,unravel virtualmysteries,andengineer canbeexplored inparallel.Onlineservices offer
virtualskyscrapers. Butincreasingly, whenwe their users theopportunity tobeknown bysev-
stepthrough thelooking glass,
other peopleare eraldifferent names.Forexample, it is not
thereaswell. unusual forsomeone to be BroncoBill in one
Overthepastdecade, I havebeenengaged in onlinecommunity, ArmaniBoy inanother, and
theethnographic andclinicalstudy ofhowpeo- MrSensitive ina third.
plenegotiate thevirtual andthe"real"as they Theonlineexercise ofplaying withidentity
represent themselves on computer screens andtrying outnewidentities is perhaps most
linkedthrough theInternet. Formanypeople, explicit in "roleplaying" virtualcommunities
suchexperiences challengewhatthey havetra- (suchasMulti-User Domains, orMUDs)where
ditionallycalled"identity," whichtheyare participation literally
begins withthecreation of
movedto recastin terms ofmultiple windows a persona (orseveral);butitisbynomeans con-
andparallel lives.Onlinelifeisnottheonlyfac- fined tothese somewhat exoticlocations.Inbul-
torthatispushing theminthisdirection; there letinboards, newsgroups, andchatrooms, the
isnosimple senseinwhich computers arecaus- creation ofpersonae maybelessexplicit thanon
inga shift in notions ofidentity. It is,rather, MUDs,butitisnolesspsychologically real.One
thattoday's lifeon thescreendramatizes and IRC (Internet RelayChat)participant describes
concretizes a rangeof culturaltrendsthat herexperience ofonline talk:"Igofrom channel
encourage us to thinkofidentity in terms of tochannel depending onmymood.... I actu-
multiplicityandflexibility. allyfeela partofseveral ofthechannels, sever-
VirtualPersonae al conversations.... I'm different in the
In thisessay, I focuson onekeyelement of differentchats. They bring out different things
onlinelifeanditsimpact on identity: thecre- in me."Identity playcanhappenbychanging
names andbychanging places.
Fora fuller discussion
ofthethemesin thisessay, Formanypeople,joining onlinecommuni-
seeTurkle( 1995). tiesmeanscrossing a boundary intohighly
643
644 Symposium
charged territory.Somefeelan uncomfortable experience when, forexample, onewakesupas
senseoffragmentation, somea senseofrelief. a lover, makes breakfast as a mother, anddrives
Somesensethepossibilities forself-discovery.A towork asa lawyer. Thewindows metaphor sug-
26-year-old graduate student in history says, gestsa distributed selfthatexists inmany worlds
"WhenI logontoa newcommunity andI cre- andplaysmanyrolesat thesametime.The
atea character andknowI havetostart typing "windows" enabled bya computer operating sys-
mydescription, I alwaysfeela senseofpanic. temsupport themetaphor, andcyberspace raises
LikeI couldfindoutsomething I don'twantto theexperience toa higher power bytranslating
know." A woman whojustgot
inherlatethirties the metaphor into a life experience of"cycling
an account withAmerica Onlineusedthefact through."
thatshecouldcreate five"names" forherself on
heraccount asa chanceto"layoutallthemoods Identity, Moratoria, and Play
I'min all thewaysI wantto be in different Cyberspace, likeallcomplex phenomena, has
placesonthesystem." a range of psychological effects.For some people,
Thecreation onlinepersonae itisa placeto"actout"unresolved
ofsite-specific to
conflicts,
depends not onlyon adopting a newname. playand replay characterological difficultieson
happens witha changeof a newandexotic stage. Forothers, itprovides an
Shiftingofpersonae significantper-
through virtual environ- opportunity to "work through"
virtualplace.Cycling tousethenewmaterials ofcyberso-
ments ismadepossible bytheexistence ofwhat sonalissues, resolutions. Thesemore
cialityto reach for new
havecometo be called"windows" in modern identity effectsfollow from thefactthat
computing environments.Windows area wayto positive
forsome, cyberspace provides whatErikErikson
work witha computer thatmakes itpossible for ([1950]1963) wouldhavecalleda "psychosocial
themachine toplaceyouinseveral contexts at moratorium,'' a centralelementin how he
thesametime.As a user,youareattentive to thought aboutidentity development in adoles-
justoneofthewindows on yourscreen at any cence.Although thetermmoratorium implies a
givenmoment, butina certain sense,youarea "timeout,"whatErikson hadin mindwasnot
presenceinallofthem atalltimes.Youmight be withdrawal. On thecontrary, the adolescent
writinga paperin bacteriology andusingyour moratorium isa timeofintense interaction with
computer in severalwaystohelpyou:Youare peopleand ideas.It is a timeof passionate
"present" to a wordprocessing program on friendships and experimentation. The adoles-
whichyou are takingnotesand collecting centfallsin andoutoflovewithpeopleand
thoughts,youare"present" tocommunications ideas.Erikson's notionofthemoratorium was
softwarethatisintouchwitha distant comput- nota "hold"on significant experiences buton
er forcollecting referencematerials,youare theirconsequences. It is a timeduring which
"present"toa simulation program thatischart- one'sactions are,ina certain sense, notcounted
ingthegrowth colonies
ofbacterial whena new asthey willbelaterinlife.Theyarenotgiven as
organism enters ecology,
their andyouare"pre- muchweight, notgiventheforce offulljudg-
sent"to an onlinechatsession whosepartici- ment.In thiscontext, experimentation can
pantsarediscussing recentresearch inthefield. become thenorm rather thana bravedeparture.
Eachoftheseactivities takesplacein a "win- Relatively consequence-free experimentation
dow,"andyouridentity on thecomputer isthe facilitates thedevelopment ofa "coreself," a
sumofyour presence.
distributed personal senseofwhatgiveslifemeaning that
Thedevelopment ofthewindows metaphorErikson called"identity."
forcomputer wasa technical
interfaces innova- Eriksondevelopedtheseideasaboutthe
tionmotivated bythedesiretogetpeoplework- importance of a moratorium during thelate
ing moreefficiently by "cyclingthrough" 1950sandearly1960s.Atthattime, thenotion
differentapplications, muchas time-sharing corresponded to a common understanding of
computers cycledthrough thecomputing needs what"thecollegeyears" wereabout.Today, 30
of differentpeople.Butin practice, windows years later, theideaofthecollege years asa con-
havebecomea potentmetaphor forthinkingsequence-free "timeout"seemsofanother era.
abouttheselfas a multiple, distributed,"time- Collegeispre-professional, andAIDS hasmade
sharing"system. consequence-free sexualexperimentation an
Theselfnolonger simplyplays differentroles impossibility. Theyears associated withadoles-
in different settingssomething thatpeople cenceno longer seema "timeout."Butifour
Symposium645
culture nolonger offers
an adolescent moratori-tomyquestion "Do youfeelthatyoucallupon
um,virtual communities often do. It is partof your personae inreallife?" Caseresponded:
whatmakes them seemsoattractive. Yes,an aspect sortofclears itsthroat and
Erikson's ideasaboutstagesdidnotsuggest says, "I candothis. Youarebeing soamaz-
rigidsequences. Hisstages describe whatpeople inglyconflicted overthisandI know exact-
needtoachieve beforethey canmoveaheadeas- lywhat todo.Whydon't youjustletmedo
ilytoanother developmental task.Forexample, it?". . . Inreallife, I tendtobeextremely
Erikson pointed outthatsuccessful intimacy in diplomatic, nonconfrontational. I don'tlike
young adulthood isdifficult
ifonedoesnotcome to rammyideasdownanyone's throat.
toitwitha senseofwhooneis,thechallenge of [Online] I canbe,"Takeitorleaveit."All
adolescent identitybuilding. Inreallife, howev- of myHepburn characters arethatway.
er, peoplefrequently moveon withserious That'sprobably whyI playthem. Because
deficits. Withincompletely resolved "stages," they aresmart-mouthed, theywillnotsugar
they simply dothebestthey can.Theyusewhat- coattheir words.
evermaterials they haveathandtogetas much
as they canofwhatthey havemissed. Nowvir- In someways,Case'sdescription ofhis inner
tualsociallifecanplaya roleinthesedramas of world of actors who address him and areableto
self-reparation.
Timeincyberspace reworks the takeovernegotiations isreminiscent ofthelan-
notionofthemoratorium becauseitmaynow guageofpeoplewithmultiple-personality disor-
existonanalways-available "window." der.But the contrast is significant: Case's inner
actorsarenotsplitofffrom eachother orfrom
Expanding One's Range in the Real hissenseof"himself." He experiences himself
Case,a 34-year-old industrialdesigner happi- very much asa collective self,notfeeling thathe
lymarried to a female co-worker, describes his must goadorrepress thisorthataspectofhim-
real-life(RL) personaas a "niceguy," a "Jimmyselfintoconformity. He is at ease,cycling
Stewart typelikemyfather." He describes his through fromKatharine Hepburnto Jimmy
outgoing, assertive motheras a "Katharine Stewart. To use analyst Philip Bromberg's lan-
Hepburn type."ForCase,whoviewsassertive- guage (1994), online life has helped Case learn
ness throughthe prismof this Jimmy howto"stand inthespacesbetween selvesand
Stewart/Katharine Hepburndichotomy, an stillfeelone,toseethemultiplicity andstillfeel
assertive manis quickly perceived as "beinga a unity." To use computer scientist Marvin
bastard." An assertive woman, in contrast, is Minsky's ( 1987 ) phrase, Case feels at ease
perceived asbeing"modern andtogether." Case cyclingthrough his "society of mind," a notion
saysthatalthough he is comfortable withhis of identity as distributed and heterogeneous.
temperament andlovesandrespects hisfather, Identity, from the Latin idem, has beenused
hefeels hepaysa highpriceforhisownlow-key habitually to refer to the sameness between two
ways.In particular, he feelsat a losswhenit qualities.On the Internet, however, one can be
comesto confrontation, bothat homeandat many, andoneusually is.
work. Online, ina widerange ofvirtual commu- An Object to Think with forThinking
nities,
Casepresents himself asfemales whom he About Identity
callshis"Katharine Hepburn types." Theseare In thelate1960sandearly1970s,I wasfirst
strong,dynamic, "outthere" women whoremind exposed tonotions ofidentity andmultiplicity.
Caseofhismother, who"says exactly what's on Theseideas most notably thatthere isnosuch
hermind." He tellsmethatpresenting himself as thing as"theego,"thateachofusisa multiplic-
a womanonlinehas brought himto a point ityof parts,fragments, and desiring connec-
where he is morecomfortable withconfronta-tions surfaced in theintellectual hothouse of
tioninhisRLasa man. Paris,theypresented theworldaccording to
Case describes hisKatharine Hepburn per- suchauthors as Jacques Lacan,GillesDeleuze,
sonaeas"externalizations ofa partofmyself." In andFelixGuattari. Butdespite suchidealcondi-
one interview withhim,I usedtheexpressiontionsforabsorbing theory, my"French lessons"
"aspectsoftheself," andhepicked itupeagerly,remained abstract exercises. Thesetheorists of
forhisonlinelifereminds himofhowHindu poststructuralism spoke words thataddressed the
godscouldhavedifferent aspects orsubpersonal- relationship between mindandbody, butfrom
ities,
allthewhilebeing a wholeself. Inresponse mypointofviewhadlittle todowithmyown.
646 Symposium
Inmylackofpersonal connection withthese theideathatslipsanddreams betray anuncon-
ideas,I wasnotalone.To takeoneexample, for sciousbegantofeelnatural.
many peopleitishardtoaccept anychallenge to In Freud'swork,dreamsand slipsof the
theideaofanautonomous ego.Whileinrecent tongue carried thetheory. Today,lifeon the
years,manypsychologists, socialtheorists, psy- computer screencarries theory. Peopledecide
choanalysts, andphilosophers haveargued that thatthey wanttointeract withothers ona com-
the selfshouldbe thought of as essentiallyputer network. Theygetan account on a com-
decentered, thenormal requirements ofevery- mercialservice.They thinkthatthiswill
daylifeexertstrong pressure on peopletotake provide themwithnewaccessto peopleand
responsibilityfortheiractions andtoseethem- information, andofcourseit does.Butit does
selves as unitaryactors.This disjuncturemore. Whentheylogon,theymayfindthem-
between theory (theunitary selfis an illusion) selvesplaying multiple roles;theymayfind
andlivedexperience (theunitary selfisthemost themselves playing characters of theopposite
basicreality) is one ofthemainreasons why sex.In thisway,theyaresweptup byexperi-
multiple anddecentered theories havebeenslow encesthatenablethemto explore previously
tocatchon orwhentheydo,whywetendto unexamined aspectsoftheirsexuality or that
settlebackquickly intoolder, centralized ways challenge theirideasabouta unitary self.The
oflooking atthings. instrumental computer, thecomputer thatdoes
When,20 yearslater,I usedmypersonal things forus,hasrevealed another side:a sub-
computer andmodem tojoinonlinecommuni-jective computer thatdoesthings tO us aspeople,
I
ties, had an experienceof thistheoretical per- toour view of ourselvesand our relationships, to
spective whichbrought it shockingly downto ourways oflooking atourminds. Insimulation,
earth.I usedlanguage tocreateseveral charac- identitycanbefluid andmultiple, a signifierno
ters.My textualactionsare myactionsmy longer clearly pointstoa thing thatissignified,
words makethings happen. I created selvesthat and understanding is less likelyto proceed
weremadeandtransformed bylanguage. And through analysis thanbynavigation through vir-
different personaewereexploring differenttualspace.
aspects oftheself.Thenotionofa decentered Withinthepsychoanalytic tradition, many
identity wasconcretized byexperiences on a "schools" havedeparted from a unitary viewof
computer screen.In this way,cyberspaceidentity, amongthesetheJungian, object-rela-
becomes an objectto thinkwithforthinkingtions, andLacanian. In different ways, eachof
aboutidentityan element ofcultural brico- thesegroups ofanalysts wasbanished from the
lage. ranksof orthodox Freudians forsuchsugges-
Appropriable theoriesideasthatcapture tions, orsomehow relegated tothemargins. As
theimagination oftheculture atlarge tendto theUnitedStatesbecame thecenter ofpsycho-
bethosewithwhich peoplecanbecome active- analytic politics in themid-twentieth century,
lyinvolved. Theytendtobetheories thatcanke ideasabouta robust executive egobegantocon-
"played" with.So onewayto thinkaboutthe stitute thepsychoanalytic mainstream.
socialappropriabilityofa giventheory istoask Buttoday,thependulum has swungaway
whether itisaccompanied byitsownobjects-to-fromthatcomplacent viewof a unitary self.
think-with thatcan helpit moveoutbeyond Through thefragmented selvespresented by
intellectualcircles. patients and through theories thatstress the
Forexample, thepopular appropriation of decentered subject,contemporary socialand
Freudian ideashadlittleto do withscientificpsychological thinkers areconfronting whathas
demonstrations oftheirvalidity. Freudian ideas beenleftoutoftheories oftheunitary self.It is
passedintothepopular culture becausethey asking suchquestions as,Whatistheselfwhen
offered robustand down-to-earth objects-to-itfunctions asa society? Whatistheselfwhenit
think-with. The objectswerenotphysical but divides itslabors among itsconstituent "alters?"
almost-tangibleideas,suchasdreams andslipsof Thoseburdened bypost-traumatic dissociative
thetongue. Peoplewereabletoplaywithsuch disorders suffer thesequestions; I amsuggesting
Freudian Theybecameusedto look- thatinhabitants
"objects." of virtual communities play
ingforthemandmanipulating them, bothseri- withthem. Inourlivesonthescreen, peopleare
ouslyandnotso seriously. Andas theydidso, developing ideasaboutidentity as multiplicity
Symposium647
through newsocialpractices ofidentity asmulti- ristsin efforts to thinkabouthealthy selves
pllclty.
. . .
whose resilienceandcapacity forjoycomes from
Withtheseremarks, I amnotimplying that having accesstotheir manyaspects. Forexam-
chatrooms orMUDsortheoptionto declare ple,PhilipBromberg (1994),insists thatour
multiple usernameson America Onlineare waysofdescribing "goodparenting" mustnow
causally implicated in thedramatic increase of shiftawayfrom an emphasis on confirming a
peoplewhoexhibit symptoms ofmultiple-per- childin a "coreself"andontohelping a child
sonality disorder (MPD), or thatpeopleon developthecapacity to negotiate fluidtransi-
MUDshaveMPD,orthatMUDding (oronline tionsbetween selfstates.Thehealthy individual
chatting) islikehaving MPD.I amsaying that knows how to be many but to smooth outthe
themanymanifestations ofmultiplicity in our moments of transition between statesof self.
culture, including theadoption ofonlineper- Bromberg says:"Health iswhenyouaremultiple
sonae,arecontributing toa general reconsidera-butfeela unity. Healthiswhendifferent aspects
tionoftraditional, unitary notions ofidentity. ofselfcan get to know each other and reflect
Onlineexperiences with"parallel lives"arepart uponeachother." Here,within thepsychoana-
ofthesignificant cultural context thatsupportslytictradition, is a modelofmultiplicity as a
newtheorizing aboutnonpathological, indeed stateofeasytraffic acrossselves,a conscious,
healthy, multiple selves. highlyarticulated"cycling through."
In thinking abouttheself,multiplicity is a
term thatcarrieswithitseveral centuries ofneg- From a Psychoanalyticto a Computer
Culture?
ativeassociations, butsuchauthors as Kenneth Havingliterally written ouronlinepersonae
Gergen(1991), EmilyMartin(1994), and intoexistence, they canbea kindofRorschach
Robert Jay Lifton (1993)speakinpositive terms test.Wecanusethem tobecome moreawareof
ofanadaptive, "flexible" self.Theflexible selfis whatweproject intoeveryday life.We canuse
notunitary, norareitspartsstableentities. A thevirtual toreflect constructively onthereal.
person cycles through itsaspects, andtheseare Cyberspace opensthe possibility foridentity
themselves ever-changing andinconstant com- play,butitisvery serious play.Peoplewhocul-
munication witheachother.DanielDennett tivate an awareness ofwhatstands behind their
(1991)speaksoftheflexible selfbyusingthe screen personae aretheonesmostlikely tosuc-
metaphor of consciousness as multiple drafts,ceedinusing virtual experience forpersonal and
analogous totheexperience ofseveral versions socialtransformation. And the peoplewho
of a document openon a computer screen, makethemostoftheirliveson thescreen are
where theuserisabletomovebetween themat thosewhoareabletoapproach itina spirit of
will.ForDennett, knowledge of thesedrafts self-reflection.Whatdoesmybehavior incyber-
encourages a respect forthemany different ver- spacetellmeaboutwhatI want, whoI am,what
sions,whileit imposes a certain distance from I maynotbegetting intherestofmylife?
them.DonnaHaraway (1991),picking up on As a culture, we are at the end of the
thistheme ofhowa distance between selfstates Freudian century. Freud after all,wasa childof
maybe salutory, equates a "splitandcontradic-thenineteenth century; ofcourse, hewascarry-
tory self"
witha "knowing self."Sheisoptimisticingthebaggage ofa very different scientific
sen-
aboutitspossibilities: "Theknowing selfispar- sibility thanour own.But facedwiththe
tialinallitsguises, never finished, whole, simply challenges ofcyberspace, ourneedfora practical
thereandoriginal; itis always constructed and philosophy ofself-knowledge, onethatdoesnot
stitchedtogether imperfectly; andtherefore able shyawayfrom issues ofmultiplicity, complexity,
to joinwithanother, to see together without andambivalence, thatdoesnotshyawayfrom
claiming tobe another." Whatmostcharacter-thepower ofsymbolism, from thepower ofthe
izesHaraway's andDennett's models ofa know- word, from thepower ofidentity play,hasnever
ingselfis thatthe linesof communication beengreater as we struggle to makemeaning
between itsvarious aspects areopen.Theopen from ourlivesonthescreen. Itisfashionable to
communication encourages an attitudeof think thatwehavepassed from a psychoanalyt-
respect forthemanywithin us andthemany ic culture to a computer culturethatwe no
within others. longerneedtothink interms ofFreudian slips
Increasingly, socialtheorists and philoso- butrather ofinformation processing errors.But
phersarebeingjoinedbypsychoanalytic theo- therealityismore complex. Itistimetorethink
648 Symposium
our relationshipto the computerculture and Gergen,Kenneth.1991.TheSaturated Self:Dilemmas
psychoanalyticcultureas a proudlyheld joint ofIdentityin ContemporaryLife.New York:Basic
. .
cltlzens Alp. Books.
Lifton,RobertJay.1993. The ProteanSelf:Human
References in an AgeofFragmentation.
Resilience New York:
Bromberg, Philip.1994."SpeakthatI MaySee You: BasicBooks.
Some Reflections on Dissociation, Reality,and Martin, Emily. 1994. FlexibleBodies: Tracking
Psychoanalytic Psychoanalytic
Listening." Dialogues Immunity inAmerica Culturefrom theDaysofPolio
4 (4): 517-47. totheDaysofAIDS. Boston:BeaconPress.
Dennett,Daniel. 1991. Consciousness Explained. Minsky, Martin.1987.TheSociety ofMind.NewYork:
Boston:Little,Brown. Simon& Schuster.
Erikson, Erik.[1950]1963.Childhood andSociety,2nd Turkle,Sherry.[1978] 1990. Psychoanalytic Politics:
Ed.NewYork:Norton. JacquesLacanand Freud'sFrench 2nd
Revolution.
Haraway,Donna. 1991. "The Actorsare Cyborg, Ed.NewYork:Guilford Press.
NatureisCoyote,andtheGeography isElsewhere: . 1984. The SecondSelf:Computers and the
Postscriptto 'Cyborgsat Large."'In Technoculture, HumanSpirit. NewYork:Simon& Schuster.
editedby ConstancePenleyand AndrewRoss. intheAgeof
. 1995.Lifeon theScreen:Identity
Minneapolis: UniversityofMinnesota Press. NewYork:Simon& Schuster.
theInternet.
Living Networked On and Offline
WELLMANand KEITH HAMPTON
BAR1RY
of Toronto
University
Weareliving ina paradigm notonlyinthe flatter
shift, and morerecursive. The changefrom
wayweperceive society,but even more in the groupsto networks can be seen atmany levels.
wayin whichpeopleandinstitutions arecon- Tradingand politicalblocshave lost their
nected. It istheshift from in"little
living box- monolithic character in the worldsystem.
es''1toliving innetworked societies. Organizations formcomplexnetworks of
Members oflittle-box dealonlywith allianceandexchange
societies rather thancartels,and
fellow members ofthefewgroups towhich they workers (especiallyprofessionals, technical
belong: athome,intheneighborhood, atwork, workers, andmanagers) report tomultiple peers
orinvoluntary organizations. Theybelong toa and superiors. Management by network is
discrete workgroupin a singleorganization;replacing management by(two-way) matrix as
they liveina household ina neighborhood; they well as management by hierarchical trees
belongto a kinship group (oneeachforthem- (Berkowitz 1982; Wellman1988; Castells
selvesandtheirspouse)andtodiscrete volun- 1996).
taryorganizations: churches, bowling leagues, Wefocus hereonthematters thatweknow
professional associations, schoolassociations,best:thedevelopment ofnetworked communi-
andthelike.All oftheseappearto be bodies ties,bothonlineandoSine. Evenbefore the
with precise boundaries forinclusion (andthere- adventofcompueer-mediated communication,
foreexclusion). Eachhasan internal organiza-itbecame clearthatwhenyoudefine communi-
tion thatis oftenhierarchically structured:tiesassetsofinformal support,
tiesofsociability,
supervisors andemployees, parentsandchildren,andidentity, theyrarely areneighborhood soli-
pastors andchurchgoers, theunionexecutive darities orevendensely knitgroups ofkinand
anditsmembers. Insucha society,eachinterac- friends (Wellman 1999a).To lookforcommu-
tionremains initsplace:onegroup ata time. nityonlyin localities and groups has always
Although peopleoftenviewtheworldin beenthe wronggame focusing on territory
terms ofgroups (Freeman 1992),theyfunctionrather thanon socialrelationships andinstitu-
innetworks. In networked boundariestions anditisbecoming
societies evenmore wrong with
are morepermeable, interactionsoccurwith thegrowth ofrelationships incyberspace.
diverseothers, linkagesswitch between multiple Communities areclearly networks, andnot
networks, andhierarchies (whenthey exist)are neatlyorganized intolittleneighborhood boxes.
Peopleusually havemorefriends outsidetheir
l In thewords ofMalvina great
Reynolds's song neighborhood thanwithin it:Indeed,many peo-
(1963). ple havemoretiesoutside theirmetropolitan
