Radio Atlantic

What Cities Can Teach Us About Life Online

Jun 13, 2024

Researcher danah boyd discusses how the challenges of transitioning to city life parallel the struggles of moving online. The podcast explores similarities in social dynamics, privacy, and community building between physical cities and digital spaces. It delves into the concept of civil inattention, Stanley Milgram's research, and the potential for shaping a more constructive future online.

32:50

Episode guests

danah boyd

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Transition to cities mirrors transition to life online, lessons from urbanization apply.

Anonymity online offers privacy and control, enabling exploration of personal interests.

Deep dives

Navigating Online and Urban Interactions

The podcast discusses the similarities between navigating interactions in cities and online spaces. It explores how sociological challenges in cities parallel challenges in online behavior, emphasizing the importance of history in understanding and navigating new questions in both realms.

Intro

3min

Navigating Parallel Spaces: City and Online Interactions

7min

Analyzing Social Dynamics in Urban Spaces and Online Interactions

2min

Exploring Stanley Milgram's Work and Parallels Between Cities and the Internet

2min

Navigating Cities and Online Spaces

15min

Exploring the Concept of the Internet as a Physical Space for Creation and Control

3min

Humanity’s transition to life online is disorienting, but perhaps not without comparison. According to the researcher danah boyd, people faced similar challenges in the transition to city life, meaning that the history of urbanization can offer lessons for humankind’s more recent mass digital migration. And if the rules and ways of cities have become clearer over the years, maybe there’s hope that the same can be said for life online.

Boyd’s work is the focus of a recent episode of The Atlantic’s podcast How to Know What’s Real, with co-hosts Megan Garber and Andrea Valdez. This week, Radio Atlantic is showcasing that episode, with an introduction by host Hanna Rosin.

Listen and subscribe to How to Know What's Real at any of these links:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts

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