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| Title: | Assessing virtual culture exchanges: Internet social networks and global interactions among Windhoek youth |
| Author: | Fox, Tom |
| Year: | 2012 |
| Periodical: | Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (ISSN 2026-7215) |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 201-216 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Namibia |
| Subjects: | urban youth Internet social media cultural change social life |
| Abstract: | A total of 62 young adult Windhoekers (ages of 18 and 26 years) were interviewed in-depth to study the sociological impact of new media and Internet communication on cultural shifts within Namibian contexts. The interviews provided evidence on youth linkages and electronic sociability with 'others' in distant settings. The rapidly growing presence of old and new media in postcolonial Namibia, particularly from the decade after the turn of the Millennium, has significance for cultural and lifestyle transformations in the country. The author concludes that the Internet has moved decisively into lifestyles: 1. as a resource; 2. as a form of self-presentation or a window into other cultures; 3. as entertainment or to access novel or sundry ideas and experiences; and 4. for sensual or intimate possibilities. A core of youth was entirely practical, using social networks to develop information and knowledge to shape intellectual outlooks and future life planning. Beyond the control and media literacy issues raised by the arrival of social networks, the final overriding outcome of these cultural shifts appears to be a cosmopolitan one for Windhoek youth. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [ASC Leiden abstract] |