10Our digital social life
Well over a decade ago, Nancy Baym (2006) argued that the Internet as a fundamentally social technology is worthy of scrutiny for its role in interpersonal life “online.” Since then, the Internet has moved on and moved into social interaction and relational maintenance through smartphones and social media applications, becoming part of the very fabric of social life in much of the world. As mediated modes of communication became accessible to more people and in more situations, the ability to engage each other online has shifted from an interesting but relatively unusual activity to an expected mode of living. It no longer makes sense to speak of interaction online as a particular activity separate ...
