Familiar Strangers
By on May 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Public space is composed of many elements. Among components such as objects or environment is the familiar stranger.
By definition a Familiar Stranger (1) must be observed, (2) repeatedly, and (3) without any interaction. An example of this would be people you ride the bus with and would notice if they were not there. They are the cushion between strangers that you see once and people with whom you have social reciprocity.
The familiar stranger plays a very significant role in our lives. They move us, play roles in fictitious stories, encourage us even. They are sometimes the sole reason we are able to bear public spaces when we are lonely, not requiring anything from us while providing familiarity.
(Enter technology, specifically, the Internet)
Surely the definition of public space must now be altered when considering the Internet. Who/what would the familiar stranger on the Internet be? Who can you not know? What would the measurements be altered to? Maybe it just does not apply.
You can observe many things, repeatedly but what would interaction be defined as? Does it depend on the content?
It’s definitely something to think about.
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