Photo by Brian Hooks. Alex Baca browses the Internet from the confines of her room in College Park. She regularly updates her Facebook, Twitter and blog from the computer as well as on the street with her iPhone.

Published on: Wednesday, April 07, 2010

By Brian Hooks

Alex Baca, a senior English and American Studies major at the University of Maryland, walked out of the school’s gym in pain.  It was Monday morning, the first of March, and she regretted her decision to squeeze in a workout before her school week began.

On the brisk walk across campus, Alex grabbed the iPhone in her pocket, limping between the commuters, early birds and muddied mounds of snow resembling Oreo ice cream; remnants of three blizzards to hit the mid-Atlantic.

“Cannot walk well due to shin splints. Pain! I may curl into a ball when I take my shower.”

It was 10:07 a.m. and Alex began her day not unlike many others –with tweets.

She has no interest in the college party or bar scene. Alex lives in College Park and takes the Green Line into Washington, D.C. many weekends to be with her boyfriend. As a result, the Metro system has become her most frequent victim of micro-assaults via Twitter.

By 12:45, Alex was sitting, two tweets older, at her computer. She just finished a 10-post streak on Tumblr –a short-form blogging Web site– including an A-to-Z questionnaire.

E—Easiest Person To Talk To On Tumblr: “Everyone on Tumblr that I find easy to talk to I usually also talk to in real life.”

P—Phobias: “Aging, having kids, getting stuck in a job that I marginally enjoy but do not love.”

Y—Your Favorite Pastime: “Getting a full night’s sleep, bragging about getting a full night’s sleep, cooking/baking, reading, reading on the Metro, reading in bed, reading when I’m supposed to be doing other stuff.”

Like her profile picture on Twitter and photos on Facebook, the images on Alex’s Tumblelog (Yes, that’s what it’s called) reflect her open obsessions with designer cupcakes and staples of men’s fashion –Ray-Ban glasses and tattoos, to name a couple. She considers a lot of her content “superfluous.”

A random stranger on the Web can see the photos Alex has surfed through, what her thoughts are on gay rights and how much homework she has committed to on any given night.

Has Alex isolated herself? Is she spending time on the Web that would otherwise be with close friends or family?

A 2006 study by researchers at the University of Arizona and Duke University, analyzed a nationwide social survey and found the number of Americans who claimed to have no one with whom to discuss “important issues” had nearly tripled, from 1985 and 2004.  The researchers suggest a possible explanation is dramatically increased use of cell phones and communication channels on the Internet.

And this study is not the first to raise the flag on social isolation – Harvard public policy professor Robert Putnam discussed deflated civic-engagement among Americans in his famous 1995 essay, “Bowling Alone.” Putnam warned of the threat to democracy when the realm of public debate begins to erode, along with the diverse sets of ideas people are exposed to and their access to numerous life choices – benefits he calls “social-capital.”

More than 10 years after Putnam sounded the horn, this Arizona-Duke study concluded –final corrections made– that the number of confidants a “typical” American claimed shrank by about one person.

But what has changed since? The researchers acknowledged that everyone has cell phones and Internet access – has the technology made us less social?

By 1 p.m., Alex reposted a proverb of sorts that she saw on another person’s Tumblelog.

“Guns don’t kill people, Nancy Pelosi does.”

Six minutes later, after wading through the Web site of her electrical company, she Tweeted.

“Dear Pepco, your new online billing system sucks...”

Alex has 650 “followers” on Tumblr, 135 on Twitter and 574 “friends” on a Facebook account she doesn’t use “a lot” (three status updates this week, checks for messages daily). Aside from this digital gaggle though, she only claims a half-dozen or so friends who she encounters face-to-face on a weekly basis.

A Pew Internet Research study, released November 2009, contradicts the findings in the Arizona-Duke study. The Pew researchers suggest that Alex is not isolating herself, but actually participating in a continuous and broad discourse facilitated by communication technologies.

According to the findings, only 6 percent of American adults are without a person with whom they can talk to about important matters.

Professor Keith Hampton, lead author of the study, said, “Those who use the Internet and mobile phones have notable social advantages. People use the technology to stay in touch and share information in ways that keep them socially active and connected to their communities.”

In contrast to Putnam’s “Bowling Alone,” this study suggests people are still talking about politics, religion and other civic issues –weaving debated discourse with the recreational tweets and blog posts of people like Alex. Further, people are no longer restricted to the views, opinions and intellect of the local bowling league, Lions’ Den, or country club.

In support of the Pew research, a 2002 study, conducted by psychologists at New York University and published in the Journal of Social Issues, suggests the relative anonymity of the Internet makes people more willing to openly express opinions and ideas. By not having to conform to the norms of face-to-face interaction, a person’s fear of rejection significantly reduces.

The Internet “foster[s] presentation of one’s true self,” but at the same time leads many people to project “idealized qualities” onto Web confidants, according to the researchers.

Less than 10 minutes after her vilification of the company, Alex got a slightly remorseful reply Tweet from Pepco spokesman Andre Francis, “Hopefully it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. ‘My Account’ has useful features to help save money and energy. Try it out!”

“Just venting through Twitter. Everything’s all set now—I appreciate quick reply, thank you!”

By 8 p.m. Alex was at work in the newsroom of the school newspaper. In the 10 hours since she first tweeted about her shin splints, she amassed 15 Tumblr posts, 18 Tweets and a couple of posts from friends on Facebook.Some people say wireless technologies and social networks hinder a person’s ability to stay connected to the actual people surrounding them. Some say the more a person is aware of the events around them, the more anxiety they feel for not always being “where it’s at.”

Alex had read on Facebook about a concert that night at the Thirsty Turtle featuring a reality-TV star from MTV’s “The Jersey Shore.” She tweeted one more time.

“DJ Pauly D is on the ones and twos at Turtle tonight and I’m at work reading “Paradise Lost.” Guess what I’m 100 percent okay with?”