For this blog, I will attempt to
analyze the sociological effects the digital age had and is still having on us.
First, however, I will provide a brief history lesson of the subject at hand.
It is not surprising that this issue has turned into a hot debate amongst
professionals from various fields. Long before the internet and other digital
tools were created, new forms of media "have always caused moral panics:
the printing press, newspapers, paperbacks, and television were once denounced
as threats to their consumer's brainpower and moral fiber." (Pinker, 2010)
One of the more obvious effects of digital tools, including but not limited to
video games, is alienation. In Mix It Up,
David Grazian explores the feeling of total flow experienced by those that are
totally immersed in mediums like online games. Players who fall into this state
slowly become disconnected from the real world and lose the feeling of the
passing of time, which Grazian says is illustrative of the increased levels of
loneliness and alienation.
Another effect of digital environments, such as social networks, is the small
degree to which someone living in the digital age has control over his or her
social identity. Palfrey and Gasser, co-authors of the book Born Digital,
provide an example of a 16 year old girl living in the agrarian age. If that
girl wanted to change her social identity, how others view her, she could
travel to a distant land and start a whole new life with a new social identity.
With the rise of the digital era, however, this dramatic change has become
near-impossible. If this girl was living nowadays, her social identity would
probably be greatly influenced by her online interaction with family members,
peers, and online friends, thanks to digital environments like YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Keek, along with the other various social
networks and hubs of communication that belong to the internet.
If we take a look at who exactly has
access to and uses these fancy digital mediums and social networks, we notice
immediately yet another effect of digital tools that we see in everyday
life--social inequality. This is because the poor and those of the lower
working class usually do not have access to things like social networks and
online video games. As a result, their social identity is much less complex and
less rich than those who are privileged enough to own and use such tools.
My 8 year old brother with his Ipad
My Ipad in his age
These were, in summary, some of the sociological effects the digital age and its accompanying tools are having on us. What other effects can you think of?
The general population of Qatar is mostly comprised
of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and others from the Indian subcontinent,
which is about 50% of the total population. Even in Education City, a majority
of the student population comes from the Indian subcontinent and commonly
referred to as "Desis". A big event that is going to take place in
Education City (EC) next week is Desi
Night which is an event that showcases the talents of various desi students
which includes singing; dancing and stand-up comedy.
For the Youth Culture in the Middle East course, the class
discussed about how interaction plays a huge role in the development of
subculture. According to Grazian, culture is conditioned by interaction and the
context about which it revolves. We also discussed about using the dramaturgy
approach to analyze subcultures. Hence, I noticed that the dramaturgy approach
could be used for the Desi Night to
examine the desi subculture in
Education City. So, I wiil be applying this approach for Desi Night 2011 that took place last year.The five important elements that need to be considered while using the
dramaturgy approach are – Actors; setting; roles; audience; front stage and
backstage behavior. Actors – The actors for this particular event included all the desi students of EC. For this particular
event, all the EC students who performed the various desi songs and dances were
the actors. The facilitators of the event that included the VCUQ student
government association can also be grouped as actors. (Not surprisingly, the
VCUQ student government association is completely comprised of desi students) Roles – The roles includes the roles taken up by the various actors for
this event. This includes performers who put on the show and facilitators who
were in charge of making sure that the event took place smoothly; the MCs who
ensured the smooth transition from one performance to next.
The main MC Setting – The setting for this event was in VCUQ lounge. Every year, it
is held there as it can provide space for a large number of people up to 50
students. Audience – The audience includes all those people who attended the event
which includes various students from EC; guest students from universities
outside EC and families of the performers.
Front stage and backstage behavior – The front stage behavior includes
the performances put n by the actors such a singing, dancing and stand up
comedy.
The backstage behavior includes the actions of those facilitators who
helped around the event such as taking care of the caterer; helping out the
performers in changing costumes; providing materials for the MC for the order
of events. After observing the event through these elements, it becomes obvious that interaction is the link that joins all the elements together that contributes to the Desi subculture in EC. For example, there are a lot of groups that are segregated on the basis of their nationality. However, for this event, people from various countries were involved in dance performances together. This would not have been possible without interaction which includes word of mouth communication Even in the audience, you could see groups of students that would not usually interact outside would interact and comment on performances together. It is interesting how these events act as platforms of impact on the Desi subculture in EC.
This Sunday, almost like every other Sunday evening, I drove all the way to the Mesaimeer area, in which the Church City or Church Complex is located. As usual, there was a huge traffic jam and there were too many policemen around who were trying to redirect the traffic in different directions and resolve the issue. The roads nearby are still under construction and this was causing a lot of trouble to church goers and more importantly, for the residents of the Barwa Housing Complex which is located nearby. While I was waiting for the traffic to clear, I just thought about how things were in the past and how things had changed over the last 5 years.
Inside the Catholic church in Qatar
Flashback to year 2000, and I remember going to small villas and houses for Church and Catechism classes. At that time, there wasn't a definite location set for the church and there wasn't a proper setup for conducting religious classes as well. To be honest, even talking about the Church or the idea of having a large space dedicated for practicing Christianity was doubtful. It was almost impossible to see a Christmas tree around in the malls or Santa Claus costumes for sale. Last winter, I remember the huge Christmas tree that was erected in the City Center mall and I saw so many Santa Claus costumes for sale at various malls. So how did this happen? I mean there was a drastic change and it happened sequentially.
Interaction between communities:
In the readings in the sociology class, we read about Grazian's theory of interaction. He mentions that culture is to some extent conditioned by interaction and the context that surrounds it. Over the last decade, there has been a strong influx of expatriates from various nations. A vast majority of the expatriate population in Qatar today comes from the South Asia, particularly the Philippines. Moreover, there are large Christian members from Western countries, some African nations and also from Southern India. It is perhaps the interaction between these cultures and the predominant Muslim culture in Qatar that led to a better understanding and the permission from the government to go ahead and build the Church.
Globalization:
With the entry of several global corporations into Qatar, there have been so many high level/executive level professionals entering into the country. A growing country like Qatar does need to keep up to the standards of other international countries in order to cater to international customers, corporations and clients. In fact, the organization of the Asian Games in Doha, 2006 perhaps triggered the need for the establishment of a church complex. While bidding to host key tournaments such as the World Cup, Olympics etc., these are some aspects that the judging committee would evaluate the country on. So there is definitely a capitalistic idea of growth behind it as well. Now that the FIFA World Cup 2022 has been awarded to Qatar, it's only fitting that the nation provides services for all the diverse communities in Qatar.
Communication:
After attending the church session (mass), I wandered into a nearby building in the complex. I noticed that there was an Arabic service going on at that time. It was really interesting to see a fairly large Arabic speaking community in the church. There are many Christians in the Arab countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Egypt etc. On the church website, one can find the timings of the various masses and the different languages they are being offered in. http://www.rosarychurchqatar.com/mass.php?pg=timings
There are masses in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Tamil, Tagalog, Sinhala, Malayalam etc. There are various subcultural groups that exist within this complex. The whole group of Christians in Qatar can be seen the complex and yet there are special areas in the complex assigned for each group. However, there are special occasions in which all communities get together to celebrate mass together. The picture below was taken on one such occasion where two Indian Catholics can be seen alongside Indonesian Catholic members.
During the church inauguration
Dramaturgy:
The term is defined as a theory by which organizations or groups can be examined like plays or movies. In this case, the entire setting of the church before a service begins can be seen as the arena. The priest and the alter servers can be looked at as the stage. They play various roles during the service. Also, the religious members present in the church make up the audience of the 'drama'. Additionally, there is the church choir for the music aspect of it.
Below is a video taken during the occasion of "Holy Communion" which was a function common to all Catholics regardless of their language/ethnicity etc.
Within all these, I looked closely at the identities of the individuals present there. In my opinion, the members attending the regional language services were making a strong point about their identity; for instance, their identity as Arab Christians or Indian Christians. In the reading about the Identity Expression on Facebook earlier this week, we discussed that personal identity is different from group identity in the way that we define the features. A group/subcultural identity is formed and developed by the heads of groups or a group of accomplished members rather than by an individual.
The major change in Qatar took place during the last decade, in which the society and the government in general has become more tolerant and open towards different cultures and religions. This is a good sign, especially since a large proportion of the population is made up of expatriates. The government has thus far done a good job in catering to the needs of the expatriate community without harming the needs and preferences of the local population as well.
