Always-on Society - Society

This could be a contemporary scene, but in fact it’s an account of life in Berlin in the year 1900, as seen by the German philosopher Georg Simmel. In Simmel’s vision of the future, the urbanite becomes a dandy—cynical and emotionless, but also very lonely, because the only way to master the constant flow of stimuli is by deadening his feelings.

Privacy Has Priority. "Our concern about the influence of technology is exaggerated." That’s the reassuring conclusion of Prof. Heinz Bude, an expert on contemporary society who teaches at the University of Kassel. "The future will be much less dramatic than people often claim. Paradoxically, being accessible everywhere and at all times makes privacy all the more valuable. Being inaccessible by choice will therefore be a much more sought-after alternative." According to the sociologist, this trend also offers new opportunities—for example, to develop solutions that satisfy the increased need for privacy.

This means that face-to-face communication will play a more exclusive role in the lives of the always-on generation. "The one-on-one conversation may become rarer, and thus more valuable," says Bude. And he points out that people already assign different values to different forms of communication. For example, today people write letters only on important or formal occasions; in their e-mails they deal with more everyday matters. In the future, according to Dr. Nadia Kutscher of the Competence Center for Informal Education at the University of Bielefeld, the level of banality in our communication may increase even further. "The new technologies encourage social contact, but their users then communicate faster and about more trivial subjects," she says. That’s a trend all of us have already observed—for example, when young people communicate via cell phone and SMS.

Etiquette for the Networked World. The transformation of how we communicate is already becoming visible as we unconsciously develop and internalize a large number of informal norms. "For example, cell phone users usually switch off their phones at the movies," says Dr. Robert Gaßner of the Berlin Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment. "People cope with technological progress by developing culturally acceptable arrangements." In the future, the need for norms of this kind will increase considerably.

To feel comfortable in the networked future, people will have to create a host of new conventions, according to Michael Jäckel, a professor of sociology at the University of Trier. "In a world of permanent accessibility, we feel a growing need for a clear division between work and leisure," Jäckel says, "the division that’s being blurred by the use of new technologies." In a paradoxical way, our work life may also become more stressful in the future: "We are becoming less and less able to really enjoy being undisturbed. Multitasking is becoming a standard activity," explains the sociologist. "Today, if an hour goes by and we haven’t received any e-mails, we’re likely to wonder if there’s something wrong with our computer."

For the individual, modern communications bring more opportunities and more freedom but they also pose a challenge, which is especially true for people who refuse to keep up with the rapid pace of development. "We’re caught up in a world where nothing works any more without technology," says Jäckel. "Trying to operate outside these structures may be more exhausting in the long run than grudgingly adjusting sometimes to the new circumstances."

To ensure people aren’t shortchanged in the always-on society, Kutscher advocates more incentives and support for learning about new technologies. "Studies show that people with higher levels of education are more likely to use new technologies than people with lower levels of education," Kutscher says. "The world is becoming a global village, but that is generally happening only at the level of the information elite. Educational institutions should try to close this gap." If they don’t, she warns, a division between social groups will be the result. (To find out more about the "Digital Divide," see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2002,  Digital Divide).

Modern Nomadism. Flexibility is a buzzword of tomorrow. That’s because more and more things can be done simultaneously with modern communications. According to Jäckel, this trend is also affecting how we spend our leisure time. "To take just one example, many people don’t want to commit to spending their evening at a given event, restaurant or party," he says. "We’re seeing the development of a modern nomadism that’s influenced by cell phone networks." Already, we often see people using short phone calls or SMS to change schedules and meeting points again and again because it’s so easy to reach one another. The new walkie-talkie functions of future cell phones, which make it possible to send a message to many recipients simultaneously (see  Facts and Forecasts) will intensify this trend.

The future face of the "always-on society" may seem strange to us now, but there’s one point on which the scientists agree: Human beings are born into their environment, but they are selective—they choose the things that appeal to them—and, above all, they are adaptable. In other words, Simmel’s urban neurotic will be no more typical of tomorrow’s world than the individual who has avoided technology altogether. "The human beings of the future," says Bude, "will gladly benefit from the opportunities offered by technology, but according to their own rules. Individuals will decide how accessible they want to be."

Florian Martini

What will tomorrow’s "always on" society look like?

Bude: Electronic communication will become part of everyday life—after all, an always-on society has no prejudices against technology. But people are again starting to value the personal side of life, what we call the private sphere. In the future, this could give rise to a contradictory situation where people live relatively withdrawn in their small worlds, yet they’ll have a great need to communicate and be part of networks. They’ll accept offers to join in a network only when this makes sense to them, though.

How is the constantly increasing flood of information affecting us?

Bude: We have to distinguish between information and knowledge. More and more people are concluding that the tremendous increase of available information doesn’t mean we’re also gaining more knowledge. Consequently, systems that not only deliver information but also evaluate it may become much more important. The key concept here is relevance. People want to be able to sort out the things that are important to them from those that are unimportant. People in the always-on society are generally accessible, even during their leisure time.

How is this affecting us?

Bude: We’re already seeing a tendency to separate our workplace from our home. People will again enjoy being entirely inaccessible during leisure time or on vacation, so they can decide for themselves when they’ll be reached. We’re going to start seeing ourselves as "stayers"—people with a relatively quiet lifestyle—as opposed to the "movers" of the 1990s. Today we tend to think of the "movers" as nervous individuals. In the future, people will retreat into the personal worlds where they live while enjoying the advantages of communications systems that reach far beyond their own individual spheres.

What will happen to the people who reject the always-on lifestyle?

Bude: For many people, a paradoxical effect may arise. The spread of accessibility means that inaccessibility will be connected with an enhanced status. In other words, the more inaccessible you become, the more important you are. This development can already be seen today. For example, I don’t believe you’ll ever be able to reach former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt via your cell phone—and for many people, that makes him seem very interesting.

Interview: Florian Martini