My first interview

(Read if you’re interested in my specific project and general intellectual geekyness. Or if you’re very bored. Otherwise, go do something else …like read another one of my posts :P )

I got to speak to Yuji. It was pretty much the first time as he isn’t around a lot – by the time he comes home from work, he just wants to sleep. But I had the most fascinating discussion and interview with him (he’s not concerned with confidentiality so I’m not breaking any rules here ;-) )! When I asked about his concept of the West he immediately said independent and then about Japan he spoke of a concept called amaeru which means being dependent on one another but in a good way – in a way, this acts a measure of self-worth in Japan. This is fascinating when you consider the extensive use of mobile phones for emailing. Not replying to emails quickly is considered rude and if you want to maintain relationships, you email and you email A LOT. I guess this could be seen as an extension of amaeru into the technological world – the use of the Internet can be seen as a way of strengthening it. I’ll need to enquire more about this as I conduct more interviews.

Another interesting point is that he firmly believes the Internet is a tool which is adapted to cultural context in which it is used. This echoes the arguments of Manuel Castells (an important author on the subject of the Internet) and so I was obviously pretty excited by this affirmation! Therefore, I may find that Japanese culture has not been altered by it. However, part of my project was to see whether the Internet was a space of escapism in a traditionally “collectivistic” culture and Yuji did say that the Internet is a good place for letting out one’s emotions, anonymously or not. In the end, therefore, the argument may come down to a chicken-and-egg scenario – is society shaped more by technology or technology shaped more by society? This was the subject of an extended essay I wrote earlier this year, although I had other things to deal with such as whether machines had agency or not…an interesting question, but one which essentially comes down to definitions. That aside, it may be that the Internet acts as a space of escapism, therefore enhancing Japanese society without fundamentally altering Japanese culture. Watch this space for further developments.