Trevor Pinch on Goffman

This article engages in a fair bit of mental masturbation but it also has some good moments. Its from the website of the journal Technology and Culture. Here is a good quote.

"This is important to note because often analysts make the mistake of assuming that online interaction, because it is computer mediated, takes place in a different social realm with its own rules of interaction. Worse, sometimes a false dichotomy is drawn between the “virtual” world of online interaction and the “real” world of social interaction. If my reading of Goffman is correct, all interaction can be materially mediated. This is not to say that there may not be crucial differences between online interaction and so-called “face-to-face” interaction, but mediation per se does not seem to be the crucial difference."

Trevor Pinch on Goffman