About the Project
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Social distancing continues. London neighbourhoods stay the same as physical existence, while with much less human interactions—we lost part of the sense of the neighbourhood. Everything goes online, digital technologies undoubtedly rewrite a digitalized version of neighbourhood. Early in 1960s, ‘global village’ by Marshall McLuhan indicates that media technologies bring the entire world together. The metaphor of village coincides with the small-scale geographic area of neighbourhood. In addition, digital technologies alter the communication infrastructure, changing the dynamics of networks. When introducing digital neighbourhoods, the starting point is to understand the mutual relationship of digital technologies and social actors, that is to read the interrelations and interactions between digital and physical neighbourhoods.
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This project focus on three neighbours in London, they are three Chinese students in UCL and also flat-mates. The ethnographic research presents three interrelated layers of neighbourhoods. Firstly, they share the same London neighbourhood near Regent’s Park. And it is their first time living in London in a new neighbourhood atmosphere. Secondly, their use of digital technologies constructs distinct neighbourhoods in online spaces, in the form of digital games, forums or communities. Thirdly, they innately share the same ethnic identity which is simultaneously a community identity. Neighbourhoods across world differ because they are integral to ways of living. From a cross-cultural perspective, the traditional pattern of Chinese neighbourhood adds to another comparison to better understand the underlying cultural values. The research questions in this projects are:
1) how my participants perceive London neighbourhoods and how do they engage with digital technologies to connect, share and expand their relationship online;
2) what are the interactions and mutual impacts between physical and virtual neighbourhood, and what are the defining attributes of neighbourhood;
3) how ethnic identities and cultural difference effect the perception and construction of neighbourhood?
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Digital Neighbourhood?
"Public spaces in neighbourhood matter, so that people can gather together to make connections." --From Xiong
"In this digital study space, many people are studying right with me." --From Xixi
"It was my first day in London. I see only a few lights on in the hotel. Traveler could have been neighbors. I'm new here too." -- From Lei
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Drawing on my ethnographic data, this website is a showcase of three neighbourhoods in comparison—China, London and digital neighbourhoods, to better understand the concept of neighbourhood and the role of digital technology. Space and time, two threads underpin the structure of neighbourhood, form two pairs of comparison. Space indicates infrastructure, as neighborhood is confined in specific small area, here physical and digital spaces present different affordances and characteristics. Another thread of time is implicitly linked with cultures, the past was China, and the present is London. The dynamics of neighbourhood derive from human interactions, manifesting the underpinning cultures. It is about locating different cultures, in a classic comparison of collectivism and individualism, portrayed as Eastern and Western values. I use a metaphor from an indigenous theory of ripples in a lake when throwing a pebble, to demonstrate the social relations in China (Fei, 2006) This theory is based on rural China decades ago, but the inside-out connections still exists, and coincide with my participants’ description of neighbourhood in the memories of our generation. I intentionally add another interpretation of ripples more closely linked with time—throwing a Madeleine into tea. Proust, Madeleine and memory, the past life begins with the centered Madeleine and ripples of memories, and the past casts influence on the present.
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In this project, it is important to understand the interrelations of the three neighbourhoods, particularly the digital neighbourhoods, as the technological development is a dynamic among social groups (Lenert 2004, 242). The digital neighbourhood is accessible, available and achievable, not confined with geographic distance. It manifests the Chinese culture, a memetic network that is the most familiar for Chinese people in a foreign country; it also suggests how ethnic identities adapt to new cultures, reflected in their appropriations of digital technologies. Reading digital neighbourhoods, is about reading relationships and making connections in localized cultures and localized physical spaces.
Navigating the site
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Fei, Xiaotong. (2006). From the Soil —The Foundations of Chinese Society. Shanghai: Shanghai
People's Publishing House.
Lenert, Edward. (2004). A social shaping perspective on the development of the world wide web
New Media & Society, 6(2), 235-258.
Proust, Marcel. (2010). In Search of Lost Time [volumes 1 to 7] (H. Xu, Trans.) [Kindle Paperwhite
version]. Retrieved from amazon.com
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