TY - ABST
T1 - Distance breached or distance transformed? Dilemmas of simulated and banal closeness in humanitarian communication
AU - Bajde, Domen
AU - Knudsen, Gry Høngsmark
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Social media have been argued to have transformed humanitarian communication and those involved in it. Networked humanitarian organizations are supposedly more open and transparent (Kanter and Fine 2010) and their “audiences” too are networked and "cause-wired" (Watson 2009), implying an unprecedented closeness (i.e., erasure of distance) between actors, institutions and causes. On the other hand, new media have been argued to contribute to a narcissistic culture (Chouliaraki 2012), beleaguered with “improper distance” (Silverstone 2006, Chouliaraki 2011). Our examination of two cases of networked humanitarianism (the global case of Kiva.org and the more local case of Kirkens Korshær) shows that networked technology does not erode distance between humanitarian actors, but rather reformats it into simulated closeness (Kiva) or banal closeness (KK), thus giving rise to several dilemmas and challenges.
AB - Social media have been argued to have transformed humanitarian communication and those involved in it. Networked humanitarian organizations are supposedly more open and transparent (Kanter and Fine 2010) and their “audiences” too are networked and "cause-wired" (Watson 2009), implying an unprecedented closeness (i.e., erasure of distance) between actors, institutions and causes. On the other hand, new media have been argued to contribute to a narcissistic culture (Chouliaraki 2012), beleaguered with “improper distance” (Silverstone 2006, Chouliaraki 2011). Our examination of two cases of networked humanitarianism (the global case of Kiva.org and the more local case of Kirkens Korshær) shows that networked technology does not erode distance between humanitarian actors, but rather reformats it into simulated closeness (Kiva) or banal closeness (KK), thus giving rise to several dilemmas and challenges.
UR - https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/en/publications/62d439ce-a976-4d28-9f5a-06c1afd2ab1a
M3 - Abstract
ER -