Last week, we discussed the role of communication technologies in our
perceptions of geography. Tuan examines James' (1961) idea that the
decline in one's sense of place can be attributed to, among other
things, "... the loss of intimate contact with the physical setting in
an age when people seldom walk and almost never loiter ..." (p. 453).
Therefore, do modern technologies, such as the Internet, which exists
in the realm of cyberspace and thus involves an absence of physical
contact, further undermine one's sense of place or can the idea
of "place" be adapted to apply to these new technologies?
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I think that decline in sense of place is strongly related with decline in sense of community. Sense of community is strongly associated with quality of life since it is composed of mutual trust, membership, tolerance, interdependence, etc. Therefore, if we lose sense of place, we may lose sense of community. It eventually might affect our quality of life. I think that is why many scholars worry about the decline in sense of place. I think that all those issues are ultimately about communication: interaction with environment and interaction within enviromnent.
While such electronic media as the Internet have positive characters that lead mutual interaction, they have many negative aspects. The thing is how we can and must use those new media technologies to contribute to positive social change.
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