From the outset of this meeting, the debate has been on: are social networks contributing to the decline or strengthening of human ties? It’s a question that continues to challenge contemporary sociologists. We speak of a « revolution », an « anthropological rupture » (Marcel Gauchet), a « technical transformation », all terminologies that underline the difference between before and after the Internet, between the human bond and the virtual bond. To open the day, philosopher, writer and journalist Roger-Pol Droit drew a parallel between the advent of the Internet and the technical revolution that mankind has already experienced: the printing press. Axelle Lemaire, French Secretary of State for the Digital Economy, sets the scene by quantifying the enthusiasm of French Internet users for social networks: 90% are members, and subscribe, on average, to more than four social networks.

Finally, throughout the day, the speakers were fairly unanimous: no, digital links do not replace human links. On the contrary, thanks to their advantages and technological possibilities, social networks tend to reinforce them, or even replace them.

STRENGTHEN SOLIDARITY AND THE SPIRIT OF CITIZENSHIP

For Axelle Lemaire, the digital tool can undoubtedly nurture social ties, and social networks themselves contribute to a form of reappropriation of the public voice:  » they give Internet users the ability to become autonomous, to create links, to participate, to act « . She points out that digital technology can even be used as a tool for a new kind of solidarity, evoking collaborative projects such as car-sharing. These arguments are shared by sociologist Serge Paugam (Director of Studies at EHESS and researcher at CNRS), winner of the Foundation’s 2013 Senior Research Prize.  » Many public events have been made possible thanks to social networks , » he adds. He doesn’t hesitate to share his personal experience in this area:  » Earlier this week, my wife gave birth. I didn’t even have time to spread the good news to my nearest and dearest myself, but my whole family had already heard about it via social networks! « . How do we decipher this (happy) event? Digital links increase the speed with which information can be circulated within the same community, and amplify internal solidarity, » he explains. In a completely different vein, Baptiste Brossard, sociologist and winner of the Foundation’s 2013 Young Researcher Award, illustrates this spirit of virtual solidarity through the example of self-help forums for people who practice self-mutilation. At the heart of these networks are two key behaviors: we support, and we are supported.  » It ‘ s an alternative system of give-and-take  » (a theory developed by anthropologist Marcel Mauss), a form of moral contract between Internet users. These spaces can thus become a veritable social refuge for individuals who fear stigmatization. In fact, the concept of some digital platforms is based on this spirit of solidarity that is so typical of social networks.

CHILDHOOD AND DIGITAL

Digital technology is not just for adults. Equipping a class of children with motor disabilities with digital tools is the innovative project of specialist teacher David Hébert. An extraordinary tool for extraordinary pupils, » he adds. The idea is to find tools that enable these children to learn as much as others. The benefits identified in the child’s schooling are multiple: this tablet creates a bond within the family and siblings, while playing an important socialization role with the other pupils in the class. It enables the child to communicate remotely with his or her teacher, not to mention accompanying him or her during inclusion in ordinary classes, notably by taking notes and recording lessons.

While Serge Tisseron, psychiatrist and Doctor of Psychology (HDR) at the University of Paris VII Denis Diderot, also recognizes the positive contribution of digital technology to learning, he insists on the need to be aware of the dangers that accompany it. In his view, the solution lies in an education that combines support, alternation and learning to self-regulate:  » our children will be all the more likely to take the right path if we know how to introduce screens to them at the right time and in the right way. Just as there are age guidelines for introducing dairy products, vegetables and meats into the diet, it is possible to design a screen diet « .

FACEBOOK: TRUE OR FALSE FRIENDS?

Facebook alone is the subject of much debate: the social network is criticized for locking users into a form of long-distance communication with « fake friends » – the term « friend » having become overused. But what about in real life? Roger-Pol Droit paints the picture: « there’s no real break between the virtual and the real: studies have shown that the more virtual friends you have, the more real friends you have « . A point echoed by Pierre Mercklé, sociologist, lecturer at ENS Lyon and researcher at the Max Weber Centre. In his view, remote communication is not a substitute for face-to-face communication.  » Our long-distance communications may be weaker in terms of intensity. In this case, we are adding weak links with people with whom we had no previous connection. « . Dominique Cardon, a sociologist at Orange Labs’ SENSE uses laboratory and associate researcher at the Centre d’Etudes des Mouvements Sociaux, points out that Facebook networks are generally small, with between 120 and 150 friends, even though we only chat with 5 or 10 people at the end of the day. However,  » these 5 or 10 people are often people we’ve just left behind in real life! The digital link is the perpetuation of a conversation « .

WHEN REAL AND VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES INTERSECT

Contrary to appearances, there is a real continuity between virtual and human relationships. This point is illustrated by sociologist Antonio Casilli, lecturer at Télécom ParisTech and researcher at the Centre Edgar Morin, using the example of virtual forums for exchanges between people suffering from anorexia (known as « pro-ana »). He points out that classic codes can be found in these spaces: doctors remain indirectly present, on the periphery of this relational world, while in the event of a major health crisis, the Internet user draws closer to his family and doctors to distance himself from other Internet users, as might be the case in reality. As Nathan Stern, designer of solidarity-based social networks, points out,  » social networks are merely tools at the service of pre-existing networks: once you’re on the Internet, you find the same collective dynamics « .

SURPASSING THE LIMITS OF THE POSSIBLE

But that’s not all. Virtual relationships transcend the physical and temporal limits to which real human relationships are subject. To communicate with someone, we’re forced to be in the same place at the same time. Jean-Paul Delevoye, President of the EESC, enthuses:  » Today, social networks are pushing back the boundaries of what’s possible. I think it’s really exciting what’s happening! « . Indeed, according to Pierre Mercklé, what we call « weak » links build bridges between people or groups who would otherwise remain disconnected from one another. Laurent Monnet, Director of Information Systems at the French Red Cross, explains how the association uses digital technology to help its beneficiaries. Among the innovative systems developed, the « Allo, tu me vois? » project helps elderly people living in institutions or alone at home to use a technological tool that enables them to communicate remotely with their loved ones. The Red Cross also relies on social networks to help re-establish family ties and create links between people separated from their loved ones by war or natural disaster.  » For me, digital technology is first and foremost about creating links. But these projects are still experimental « says Laurent Monnet. In the same dynamic of substituting digital links for real ones, Serge Paugam demonstrated in a study conducted at the Bibliothèque Publique d’Information (Centre Pompidou) that many isolated homeless people connect to the web, via public services, to communicate with Internet users from all over the world.  » To a certain extent, digital links can replace ordinary social links, » he says.

Do social networks foster the decline or the strengthening of solidarity and citizenship? « Both. But also neither Roger-Pol Droit suggests, in reference to the title of this day of exchanges.  » It’s a juxtaposition of the best and the worst, but above all a way of thinking about a new distribution of links, new interactions and new solidarities« . In this year of celebrations, the symposium organized by the Foundation has demonstrated that the French Red Cross is an association turned towards modernity, with a 150-year history, and ready to build the future in the service of renewed solidarity.