Join Dr Fauzia Ahmad, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, to discuss the impact mobile apps and social media have on our relationships, our perception of the world and people around us, and our wellbeing.
Wednesday 13 March, 1.30-2.30pm
Delivered online via MS Teams.
In this online talk, we will explore the pervasiveness of mobile apps and their impacts on our personal lives.
- To what extent do we now rely on mobile apps to mediate our personal relationships, our reading material, our social lives, our personal wellness?
- Do they stifle or facilitate our ability to be creative?
- Are we better or worse communicators as a result of relying on apps and our presence on social media sites?
- While our ‘friendship networks’ may have expanded, what is the quality of these relationships? Are these relationships enduring?
Research into the ways mobile technologies have been integrated into our lives suggests that we rely more on technology to seek out relationships but at the same time, use it to protect ourselves from disappointments and commitments – we hide behind the screens of our devices. As Sherry Turkle says, ‘We are designing technologies that will give us the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship’.
In terms of our romantic relationships, do dating apps then, encourage a ‘plenty of fish in the sea’ attitude that ultimately leads us to searching for ‘the one’ for longer? Are they encouraging a search based on unattainable ‘checklists’? If our networks for seeking friendships and partners are expanding, how are they implicated at a global level? What do they say about issues such as power, social and gender inequality?
Through drawing on research-led examples, the talk aims to encourage students to think critically about their relationships with their mobile devices and the digital transformation of intimacy.
Dr Fauzia Ahmad is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths. Her research and publications focus on British Muslims and specifically the experiences of British Muslim women in higher education, employment, social welfare, and on Muslim women’s identities. Her current research is exploring British Muslims and social change in the ways contemporary personal relationships are navigated.
Fauzia teaches qualitative research methods at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the sociology of intimacy, and Islamophobia.
This session is suitable for pre-16 year groups (Years 9 - 11) and for post-16 students (Years 12 and 13).
To book a place, please contact Brett St Louis, [email protected]