communication education culture

COMMUNICATION EDUCATION CULTURE

University of Presov PRO COMMUNIO 2018

Edited by Monika Podkowińska

Reviewers:

prof. PhDr. Beáta Balogová, PhD. doc. Kamil Kardis PhD. Ks. dr hab. Waldemar Woźniak, prof. UKSW

Technical Editor: Jana Lukacova Juraj Blascak © Copyright by: Monika Podkowińska

ISBN 978-80-555-2024-7

Contents Preface……………………………………………………………..

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The communication dimension of education and the didactic process Monika Jurewicz School life as a story – the analysis of autobiographical material from students of pedagogy.…………………………………....... 13 Joanna Juszczyk - Rygałło Empowerment of the pupil as a process of developing communicative abilities ………………………………………….. 31 Agnieszka Pawluk - Skrzypek Underachievement Syndrome as perceived by primary school teachers………………………………………………....….. 47 Grażyna Chrostowska - Juszczyk Relations between students and teachers in the context of limiting the cyberbullying phenomena…................................63

The world of communication, media and organization – new challenges Joanna Wyleżałek, Monika Podkowińska Pathological mechanisms of human resources management …………..................................................................... 83

Iwona Błaszczak Benefits of an intranet use in dialogue………………………… 103 Ewa Jaska, Agnieszka Werenowska Chatbots as a new communication tool for enterprises and clients…………………………………………………………117

Culture and communication in the contemporary world Emilia Paprzycka Discursiveness of intimacy - sociological conceptualizations and perspectives of analyses………………………………..……..… 133 Agnieszka Maj Changing eating habits and self-reflexivity: a Polish example…………………………………………………. 167 Rafał Pastwa An individual in the world of total communication – in other words, every-day reality of the contemporary nomads in the reality based on distrust………………………………………… 185 Katarzyna Sacharczuk Social Media – a New Communication Way or a Path Following Enslavement…………………………………………. 205

Preface Communication is a process that accompanies a man at every stage of his life, enabling the implementation of goals, meeting needs, building relationships, shaping the impression of others, communicating information, behaviour patterns, traditions, emotions and finally allowing learning and acquiring knowledge. This process is inseparably connected with education and culture. Determining the relationship between communication and culture is obvious and indisputable. After all, “Franz Boras presented the outlines of the view […] that communication is the core of culture and of life itself,”1 allows us to understand the other person, get to know his/her views, dreams or expectations. For this reason, communication cannot be compared only to the exchange of information, because “when people communicate with each other, it is more than just throwing the ball of conversation both ways.”2 It is a joint discovery of meanings, building a bridge of understanding and acceptance. Communication is a process that brings people closer together, but it also brings people closer to getting to know the world, discovering its secrets. Just as the communication process cannot be compared only to the exchange of information, communication cannot be compared only to the exchange of words. Communication is more than words, it is also a whole range of nonverbal behaviours that allow you to understand the other person, his/her needs and way of looking at the world. As E. T. Hall states,

E. T. Hall, Ukryty wymiar, Warszawskie Wydawnictwo Literackie MUZA S.A., Warszawa 2005, p.9. 2 Ibidem, p.14. 1

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“we need to learn how to read silent messages as easily as printed and spoken ones. This is the only way we can communicate with others, whether within or outside the state borders, as the circumstances increasingly require this from us.”3 That is why, this publication contains various considerations indicating the extremely complex, multidimensional and multifaceted nature and the wide scope of the interpersonal communication process. This paper reveals the cultural and educational dimension of communication to the reader, pointing to the wide application of the communication process not only in the sphere of education, didactic process, but also management and marketing. The effectiveness of actions taken by people in various spheres of his activity requires communication skills which underlie proper and correct transfer of knowledge, skills, teaching others, managing or learning others, unknown people, phenomena and objects. That’s why the paper has been divided into three parts, which contain articles indicating a deep and strong relationship between the communication process, culture and education. The first part of this study The communication dimension of education and the didactic process refers to the importance of communication in the world of education. Communication is at the heart of the teaching process, educating young generations. The importance of the communication process is visible not only in the sphere of school education, but also in the family, and not only the atmosphere of the hearth, but also the self-esteem or the ability to solve problems by children will depend on the communication skills of the parents, the adopted family communication style. After all, “opinions and assessments that the child hears about himself, successes and failures in life, as well as comparing himself with meaningful personal models and the socio-economic position of 3

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Ibidem, p.16.

parents are considered the most important for the development of self-esteem. 4 The child acquires information about himself in the first stage of development primarily at home – and so through family communication, the information coming from the environment, from the peers, school, friends gain importance in this area gradually with age. In this part of the publication, the communication dimension of education and teaching has been highlighted and emphasized in four extremely fascinating and interesting articles by M. Jurewicz School life as a story – analysis autobiographical materials from students of pedagogy, J. JuszczykRygałło Empowerment of the pupil as a process of developing communicative abilities, A. Pawluk-Skrzypek Underachievement Syndrome as perceived by primary school teachers and G. ChrostowskaJuszczyk Relations between students and teachers in the context of limiting the cyberbullying phenomena. These articles point to a variety of areas, in which there is a visible relationship between the teaching process, education and communication. The second part of the study The world of communication, media and organization – new challenges concerns the look at communication as a tool for man in achieving goals related to such areas as management or marketing, but also as a tool for seeking understanding of the other person. Dialogue and modern communication solutions, as well as linking communication instruments with efficient management and marketing are undoubtedly challenges for the communication world, which is why their importance is emphasized in articles by Joanna Wyleżałek and Monika Podkowińska, Pathological mechanisms of human resources management, Iwona Błaszczak, Benefits Of An Intranet Use 4

A. Pawluk – Skrzypek A. Witek, Rodzicielskie komunikaty akceptacji w kontekście samooceny młodzieży ze specyficznymi trudnościami w uczeniu się, (in:) Komunikacja w rodzinie, (ed.) M. Podkowińska, Pub. SGGW, Warszawa 2016, p.25. 9

In Dialogue, and Ewa Jaska and Agnieszka Werenowska, Chatbots as a new communication tool for enterprises and clients. The last part of the study Culture and communication in the contemporary world contains articles depicting a contemporary view of the communication process and its relationship with culture. It is through communication, with the use of its various forms and tools, the values, norms, behavioural patterns and tradition are passed over to the future generations. This section contains three articles by Emilia Paprzycka Discursiveness of intimacy - sociological conceptualizations and perspectives of analyses, Agnieszka Maj Changing eating habits and self-reflexivity: a Polish example, Rafał Pastwa An individual in the world of total communication – in other words, every-day reality of the contemporary nomads in the reality based on distrust and Katarzyna Sacharczuk, Social Media – a New Communication Way or a Path Following Enslavement. These articles raise extremely important, current and up-to-date problems, fitting in fully with the subject of the study and creating a coherent whole. The problems and communication dilemmas outlines in this study may constitute the beginning of further research combining the area of communication, education and culture. I hope that the considerations contained in the book will be an inspiration for further scientific research, for young researchers, scientists, academic teachers and specialists in the field of social communication

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THE COMMUNICATION DIMENSION OF EDUCATION AND THE DIDACTIC PROCESS

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School life as a story – the analysis of autobiographical material from students of pedagogy

Monika Jurewicz Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences


Introduction People have been telling their own live stories for generations, but it was the age of individualization and subsequent computerisation of life that gave it an adequate character. Back in the second half of the 1920s W. Dilthey wrote that „Conceptualisation and interpretation of one’s life goes through a long course of stages. Autobiography is the most perfect form of explication. In it an individual gives an account of their own life becoming aware of its involvement in human foundation and historic relations. In the end it can expand the autobiography into a historic picture. And the only factor restricting the scope of autobiography is the same one that gives it meaning: the fact that it is based on experience and its depth is the source of understanding oneself and one’s connections to the world. Reflection that an

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individual turns into themselves remains at the same time a direction and basis”1. The term autobiography consists of three components: autos-self + bios-life + graphein-to write. In this concept, both the individual context and the social entanglement can be found. A biography is always someone's biography conditioned by the environment. Biography is a world from the perspective of the actor of one’s own life. Along with social development, transformations in ways of talking about life have been observed. The Narrator changed (from third-person to first-person), as well as the manner of speaking and the value of talking about life. Traditional world was characterised by the culture of recounting life stories. The narrated stories were passed on orally from one generation to the next. They existed in the form of legends, parables, stories told about extraordinary achievements and spectacular exploits of real people who were living then. With time there were attempts to write the stories down as autobiographies or third-person biographies. They were often moralising. The age of individualisation together with the individualisation of experience gave rise to the culture of describing life. With the development of civilisation of the Western world, individualistic civilisation, man became an individual2. It was only the eighteenth century that such traits as individuality, uniqueness and selfawareness were considered as fundamental characteristics of an individual. M. Mauss, just as Kant and Fichte, concludes: “there has

Source: A. Giza: W. Dilthey, Gesammelte Schriften. Volume VI, 1971, pp. 150151. 2 D. Lalak, Życie jako biografia. Podejście biograficzne w perspektywie pedagogicznej, Żak, Warszawa 2010, pp. 352-352. 1

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been a revolution in intellectuality, every one of us has a sense of self”3. A type of biography characteristic for that period was the so-called “up from below” biography functioning on the edges of social boundaries or differences. K. Plummer will say about this type of biography that it is the story from the margins of society4. A personal narrative became the narrative of the whole community, mainly the voice of minority groups. Narratives of those marginalized, rejected, silenced started to appear and exist in broader social awareness5. The answer to changes in functioning of an individual in the postmodern world is the biographical breakthrough called the culture of reading life. And so, the emergence of a fragmented and volatile identity generates the need to search for and understand the meaning of one’s own life. Moreover, a new phenomenon has been noticed, undoubtedly deriving from consumerism. It turns out that biography can be a consumer good for others. Media and their remarkable expansion into areas of privacy have a significant share in that. In response to the demands of the media authors of biographies (for examples celebrities) more or less willingly are stripping their worlds of more and more layers of privacy. At the same time it should be noted that some biographies take on a life of their own in social circles, despite no willingness or even consent of their authors. “At present each narrative takes on a life of its own, separate from the author and their intentions”6. Other types of culture that emerge in response to social changes, mainly the common virtualization of life – are the culture of

Source: J.C. Kaufmann, Ego socjologia jednostki. Nowa wizja człowieka i konstrukcji podmiotu, Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa 2004, p. 81. 4 K. Plummer, Documents of Life2. An Invitation to A Critical Humanism, Sage Publications, London 2001, p. 90. 5 D. Lalak, Życie jako biografia... op. cit., p. 3591 6 Ibidem., p. 358. 3

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structuring life and the culture of creating life. The task of structuring a biography shifts from first-person actions using spectacular media (for example television talk shows or reality shows) to a full technological and media structure (reproduction) (Truman Show) without the participation of the person. We have been observing evident blurring of boundaries between life, media and life stories. The postmodern world opens up new possibilities, of which many researchers wrote that the more individualism is exposed, the stronger the need arises within individuals to become a part of something, to belong somewhere. Thus new forms of community are beginning to emerge and my biography becomes a collective biography7. Finally, it should be mentioned that the contemporary reflexive turn towards the autobiographical society adds a new dimension to human life. It is individual decision making, entanglements in other forms of social communication that contribute to original visions of the world created in confrontation with the author themselves, significant people and virtual reality. Further on in the paper I shall undertake a descriptive analysis and interpretation of the phenomena of experiencing and understanding one’s own life. Research assumptions I looked into school memories of Pedagogy students. The objective of my research was presenting the school life of individuals and their individual meanings. The main research issue was covered by the question:  How do respondents recount the stories of their school life? I divided the above main issue into three specific ones: 7

D. Lalak, Życie jako biografia ..., op. cit. p. 375.

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 What events of their school life do respondents recall and what meanings do they assign to them?  What people are a part of the narrative and what are their relationships?  What places and spaces do respondents distinguish in their narratives and what meanings do they give them? I conducted the research in May 2016. I asked respondents to write a paper on the subject: “Everyday school life in my personal experience”. Students had ninety minutes to write the paper. During my research I collected more than 220 written accounts concerning school memories. I used 70 randomly selected accounts. The texts were from one to several pages long. Respondents wrote down their accounts in various ways, some in sentences and some made lists. Some narratives presented factographic material, that is, facts from life empirically recorded. I also recorded interpreted facts which A. Giza describes as “real facts still, but consciously selected and described from the point of view of a more general interpretation idea; from the point of view of their significance for the author”8. When reading the written accounts, I used the method of narrative analysis. It is a method that tries to understand the story and its functions. It focuses primarily on the actions of people, indicates the main elements of the story, people who appear in it and their mutual relations. He also examines the way in which the event is told to draw the reader into the world of the story (the narrative world) and its system of values9. When describing the collected research material, I took into account only the interpretive perspective, that is, I noticed in the

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A. Giza, Życie jako opowieść, PAN, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków 1991, p. 162. D. Iskrová, Fazy i zasady analizy narratywnej, Warszawskie Studia Pastoralne 18, 2013, p. 169. 17

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quoted written accounts not so much an objective representation of reality, as its interpretation. The method of analysis adopted for the purposes of this text allowed me to distinguish the following categories that I applied when reading the collected research material:  Characters and their mutual relations; persons appearing in the text, (mutual relations, symbolic value), sometimes their beliefs and views;  Status determination: earlier - later - then - tomorrow etc;  Definition of space and place: roads, towns, directions10. School life as a story The analysis of collected material in the context of recurring data allowed me to capture some certain regularities regarding the school life of respondents. The narrators used a variety of strategies and different interpretative ideas that set out how to present their own past. Talking about their school life they gave it an individual, specific character. And so they either referred to a particular stage of education (for example, classes 1-3), or they described a specific event (for example experiencing an injustice), or characterized the so-called school time generally, without dividing it into specific stages of education. While reminiscing about their school life, they were recalling many people with a greater or lesser, positive or negative – in their opinion – influence on the course of their education, and even subsequent stages of life. They formulated expectations and wishes, pointed out the intentions and motives of the heroes of their own life stories. Among the characters appearing in the texts the

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J. Bąk. Zastosowanie analizy narratywnej i strukturalnej tekstu biblijnego w katechezie (online) www.profesor.pl/publikacja,2207,Artykuly, Zastosowanie-analizy-narratywnej-i-strukt. (date of reading: 18.11.2017)

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following can be distinguished: the Narrator, teachers (the following terms were noted: class teacher, specialist teacher, mathematician, Polish language teacher, musician, librarian, our teacher, forenames and/or surnames of teachers and teachers in general as a professional group)11, janitors, a school nurse, parents, close or distant relatives, classmates, friends (mentioned by forename and/or surname, but also a generally used category: classmate, class), friends and acquaintances. Authors of the texts, pedagogy students, described their own school memories of the period from 1992 to 1999 – the years they were beginning 1st grade of primary school. The vast majority were people starting education on 1 September 1999. This period coincided with the intense changes of the economic system, as well as social and economic processes and demographic phenomena related to them. In addition, on 01.09.1999 a reform of the education system was implemented, under which the two level system of education, in force since 1968, was transformed into a three-tier structure (6-year primary school, 3-year middle school and 3-year high school). Describing their own memories respondents often encountered various difficulties. Undoubtedly one of them was the difficulty to recall information, associations and sensory impressions related to one's own past. They suggested that they did not have much to say, because they had only vague memories or pointed out that only events or persons in relation to whom they expressed their positive or negative emotional attitude were stuck in their memory. This is how they wrote about it: “I remember very little from the period when I went to school”, “school memories are not very clear”, “I 11

I analyze in detail the relationship between I and teachers and the perception of oneself in the text by M. Jurewicz, Szkoła jako miejsce doświadczeń indywidualnych i społecznych (in:) M. Jurewicz (ed.), Oblicza indywidualności w perspektywie pedagogicznej, Wyd. SGGW, Warszawa 2017. 19

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have but traces of memories”, “memories are vague” (8, 10, 29, 35, 43, 45, 48)12. There were also the following statements: “I would like to refer to one of the very important events in my school experience in second grade, something that is etched in my memory quite vividly and when I look at the event from the perspective of time, it seems to me that my teacher judged me too harshly” (12) or “It's difficult for me to assess how I remember these years. After all these years, I find that my class teacher played a big role (unfortunately, it was mainly negative). In retrospect, I have the impression that she was not well prepared as a teacher and educator”(67). The quoted statements reveal the reflection of respondents on their own past. One might even be tempted to say that the authors, when describing the past from the perspective of the present, formulate recommendations for their own future. It is also worth noting that among the 70 written recounts of students collected by me prevailing were those in which respondents only described the past from the perspective of the present. There were sporadic texts in which the analysis of past individual experiences was becoming the starting point of formulating new definitions of the future. As noted by D. Lalak, “a recounted life story is always a reconstruction of past events, told from the perspective of time in which it occurred. It is not, by its very essence, a reconstruction of the past, but a reflection on it”13. In many stories, particular emphasis was given to the positive attitude towards school. Students pointed out in the introduction that they associated the school only with positive experiences. Specifically, they referred to such categories as: „school class” understood as a social group and teachers. Whereas it should be Due to full anonymisation of the collected materials, names, surnames, places, other data, have been changed. However, in parentheses I give assigned numbers of the analyzed texts. 13 D. Lalak, Życie jako biografia ..., op. cit., pp. 123-124. 12

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noted that when recommending specific teachers, at the same time they exposed their characteristic features. The following are worth mentioning: “From my days at school I remember the teachers most of all, mainly the music teacher and her way of approaching the students, the warmth she bestowed on every one of us” (18) or “the teacher was very nice, everyone was treated the same” (24), ”My class teacher was a very warm person, she was always smiling” (30). Positive memories of their teachers shown by the students allowed me to distinguish circumstances that were recalled the most. Respondents defined school memories as positive:  when they talked about their class teachers or some teachers in grades 1-3;  when they emphasized the positive – in their opinion – teacher characteristics. The most represented were positive personality traits (nice, friendly, warm), positive relationships with students, teaching methods (an interesting way of communicating knowledge, a fair grading method);  when they described contacts with teachers as part of extracurricular activities (shorter and longer school trips, preparation of school celebrations, decorating the classroom, participation in competitions). Evidently, these types of activities facilitated the establishment of direct, less formalized relations. In conclusion, it can be said that the relations between teachers and students described by respondents indicated their voluntary crossing of the boundaries of private space, as evidenced by the nature of the relations referred to. For, as K. Polak points out, if the relationships between teachers and students are limited only to contacts in public (strongly formalized) space, then there is little chance for them to build a real community14. 14

K. Polak, Kultura szkoły – od relacji społecznych do języka uczniowskiego, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków 2007, p. 76. 21

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Another category cited by respondents was their school class. Positive memories associated with it referred to both all the pupils making up a given class, as well as smaller groups of classmates, which allowed to build individualized peer relationships. Referring to the Me-Others relationship respondents wrote: “I went to school mainly to meet my friends” (10) “For as long as I remember, I always wanted to go to school. That's where I met my best friends, with whom I still keep in touch” (26) or “My memories of my class are positive. I had a good contact with my classmates” (16). Sometimes the Narrator indicated the important role of classmates in their present life: “My best memories are connected to the people who I met then and who are still my friends, I have been in constant contact with them since that time” (49). There were also statements regarding the Us category. “Boys were in majority in our class, so we, girls were often in cahoots with them. No one gave anybody away, when one of them did something wrong” (17) or “I remember my class very fondly, as we were not the best behaved. For this reason we were never in danger of boredom during breaks and lessons“ (19), “We were a really close group of classmates, there was no division between boys and girls, we used to come back from school all together, the whole squad. We helped one another study, we studied together and pushed one another to work harder (30). Reconstructing past events, respondents referred to both the general description of the school class (the Us category) and the quality of individual relationships with peers (the Me-Others category). The students' statements clearly confirm the importance of a peer group in the life of a young person in the context of the ability to meet one’s own needs, including the need for safety, recognition or success. And what especially resonated in a few stories is the value of being together in a community, regardless of gender, appearance or social and material status. Respondents presented the school primarily as a “community” (Gemeinschaft) in 22


the meaning of F. Tönnies, stemming from mutual respect and trust. Therefore, it involves “whole people” and is based on close relationships between peer group members15. A completely different group of statements were those where students recalled negative experiences from their school life. And here, as in the case of previous descriptions, two dominant categories appeared: negative experiences based on the quality of social relations: relations between students, relations between students and teachers. Respondents' memories show the influences of a peer group understood as a reference group in the context of significant Others. Although in the authors’ recounts these questions were not asked, they seem to be crucial for the functioning of an individual in a social group. Who is Me? Who are Others? In what way is Me similar to and different from Others? These and other questions arise due to the importance assigned to a peer group. A group that is perceived as a group of normative and comparative reference, a specific intermediary for the socialization message. And because physical characteristics are ones of the most exposed attributes of a human being, discrepancies in this area can be quickly noticed and, as a consequence, lead to superficial cognition, stereotyping or even social isolation of an individual. Respondents described these experiences in the following way: “I was very fat and children were laughing at me, nobody wanted to choose me in PE lessons” (25), “I remember moments when colleagues mocked me because of the death of my hamster or because of my corpulence” (48) or a similar statement: “I remember how I was affected by the fact that I was the biggest in class, always last in a queue and how I broke my leg and then my classmates called me gimp because I was limping” (58) .

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Source: K. Kaźmierska, K. Waniek, Opowiedzieć Uniwersytet. Łódź akademicka w biografiach wpisanych w losy Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, U. Ł, Łódź 2016, p. 40. 23

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Other recounts indicated the Narrator's negative attitude towards their classmates or the attitude of classmates towards one another. “There were twenty-one or twenty-two of us. Everyone was different. I did not like Paulina and Ilona very much, because they were always sucking up to the teacher and copying my work” (23) or an extremely sincere confession of one of the Narrators: “In general, students did not speak to me or touch me in class. When I touched someone, even accidentally, they shouted: plague, Aids and ran away (...) In general, elementary school was the worst experience for me” (64). In view of the above, it should be noted that the quality of interaction (often underestimated by adults, including teachers, educators) with people of similar age, and, above all, in a similar biographical situation may in some circumstances affect the future of an individual. Another category extracted from the students' recounts was the category of place and space. Characterizing the space and places respondents focused on geographical names: the names of regions, cities, villages, and pointed out various school spaces. The school is a collection of various spaces – emphasizes K. Polak – whose management always has a specific nature resulting from the specificity of school culture, making it unique. Each of the subjects of school life perceives it and organizes it according to their own abilities and needs16. In the stories of many respondents, the school is also a place. Describing the school the students focused on its location: “The school was located in a typical housing complex and its students were the children living there” (28), “It was a village school” (62); on the school surroundings: “In front of the school on a square there were car tires that we used to play tag” (41); and on its appearance: 16

K. Polak, Kultura szkoły – od relacji społecznych ..., op. cit., p. 63.

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“classes were conducted in the old school, where often there was no room” (17). There is a sentimental recount of one of the Narrators, where she describes the school in terms of sensory experience: “the school is a specific smell – the smell of burnt milk and its specific taste” (6). A significant part of respondents' statements were descriptions of characteristic school spaces, among them: long corridors (defined by one of Narrators as “the yards”, like a prison yard where prisoners take a walk), more or less friendly classrooms, bathrooms, the gymnasium, headmaster’s office, nurse's office, the school canteen, the school shop, library, bathrooms or the cloakroom. Undoubtedly, all these rooms create the so-called public space, which is available in varying degrees to both members of the school community and school visitors. One of the more frequently mentioned places in the internal school space was the classroom. The students described both the appearance of the classroom, pointing out such features as: “small room, two rows of school desks” (27), “a room with “the stage” where the piano and teacher's desk were located” (34), “In the classes there were always a lot of pictures, pieces of information on a given topic, e.g. when we had classes in biology classroom there were a lot of flowers, each of them described. (...)” (46), “Classrooms were not as colourful as they are today” (48) “My classroom was quite big, or maybe it just seemed so at the time” (49). Respondents also gave detailed descriptions, where they recalled the classroom number, the number of school desks in the classroom, and even determined the location of their desk in the space of the classroom. Interestingly, most often they used such terms as “my classroom”, “my desk”, “my place”. “There were 32 people in the class. Everyone was sitting with another person at a school desk. I remember that my place was the 4 th desk, middle

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row” (49) ”I remember that the classroom was number 25. It was on the upper floor of the school” (61). Respondents defined the school space in terms of the description of the building appearance, the ways of use, but also in terms of it being available for various educational entities. And so one of the Narrators proposed an extremely interesting and accurate comparison of the teachers' lounge to the temple. “I remember the teacher's lounge, which was a kind of a temple for us, which we were not allowed to enter” (41). Apart from the teachers' lounge, respondents also indicated other places they described as unavailable to them. Among others: the school playground, the gymnasium, the link bridge with table tennis tables, the upper floor of the school: “Classes 1-3 were located on the second floor of the school building and we were not allowed to go to the lower levels without the teacher” (64). The division of the school space referred to by respondents indicates the asymmetry of the position of teachers and pupils in the description of the so-called hidden school program, as described in detail by P. Bourdieu, E. Hałas, Z. Kwieciński, R. Meighan, J. Passeron, B. Śliwerski, M. Czerepaniak-Walczak et al. The last place I would like to point out is the school cloakroom, referred to by many respondents. Recalling this place in their stories the Narrators assigned special significance to this room. On the one hand, they exposed the location of the cloakroom in the school building space, describing it as a dark, gloomy, poorly lit basement room: “The one picture that I can vividly recall is the memory of a dimly lit cloakroom in which we left things and changed our clothes” (34) or “a loud ringing sound, running down the stairs from the third floor down to the dark cloakroom and long waiting for the janitor to finally open the cloakroom door” (27). On the other hand, respondents referred to an extremely interesting phenomenon that could be compared to the rite of 26


passage described by A. Van Gennepa17. The author has extended the scope of the term used so far to many seemingly different rituals, among other things, he has distinguished rituals involving the physical passage through rooms. In the recounts of several Narrators, the theme of changing the school boxes appeared. This physical transition from one room (box) to the next was perceived by respondents in terms of status changes, that is, changing the position in the school community structure from being first years to last years and related changes concerning new behaviour patterns and different social relationships. One of the Narrators described this change as follows: “I also remember how the teacher brought us to the cloakroom and every year our box changed. The boxes were divided by years, that's why I felt very good when I was moving one box farther. I was not the youngest anymore. I felt older year by year” (35). It can be concluded after A. Wallis, that the school space is “something more than physical or ecological quality, more than the frame or arena of social life. It is a specific social and cultural quality that is the subject of cognition, valuation, experience, shaping and use by individuals and social groups”18. The space also has an existential dimension in which the relationship with man is strongly revealed in the creation of their place of life immersed in culture. Summary To understand a person’s life the knowledge is needed to show not only the stock of individual experiences, but also the way they are organized. The surveyed students, narrators of texts: “Everyday school life in my personal experience”, when telling about their own lives gave them a peculiar, specific character. While describing

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A. Van Gennep, Obrzędy przejścia, PIW, Warszawa 2006. A. Wallis, Socjologia przestrzeni, PIW, Warszawa 1990, p. 235. 27

Monika Jurewicz

school life, they used various strategies and forms of communication. And so some respondents applied linear sequence of events, which is why they used the following terms: first, then or year I, year II, after finishing elementary school, in middle school etc. Others focused on the school routine. This category was singled out by several Narrators and it meant constant, ordinary, repeated school practices. Singling out this category by an author was to suggest that they have nothing to say on this topic. One of the authors began her statement this way: “Everyday life at my school was nothing unusual.” I also recorded the recounts where respondents focused on a selected aspect of school life, for example, describing their relationships with peers or an event of an extraordinary significance for an author, of varying emotional background: for example, an accident in the corridor or winning the Christmas wreath contest, which influenced further course of life. Apart from everyday life the stories of respondents also included the following categories: stages of life, participation in the world and relationships with others (Me – other students, Me – teachers), social role (Me as a pupil), as well as space and its importance in constructing and reconstructing one's own life. Presenting and describing their own lives the narrators confirmed that they are the subjects and managers of their own stories. Among the recorded statements were those where the narrators stated that their elementary education was the time when they learned the most and that stage was the most memorable for them. Among the arguments why the primary school was the significant stage in their lives, they stated: “friendly atmosphere at school, which facilitated learning”, “time spent together on trips”, “bike rides with the teacher”, or finally “scent of burnt milk and its specific taste”, but most of all many respondents emphasized the value of meeting their own past, which gave them the opportunity to re-read their own lives. 28


Bibliography Bąk J., Zastosowanie analizy narratywnej i strukturalnej tekstu biblijnego w katechezie (online) www.profesor.pl/publikacja, 2207,Artykuly,Zastosowanie-analizy-narratywnej-i-strukt. (date of reading: 18.11.2017) Giza A.,: Dilthey W., Gesammelte Schriften. Volume VI, 1971. Giza A., Życie jako opowieść, PAN, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków 1991, p. 162. Iskrová D., Fazy i zasady analizy narratywnej, Warszawskie Studia Pastoralne 18, 2013. Kaufmann J.C.,Ego socjologia jednostki. Nowa wizja człowieka i konstrukcji podmiotu, Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa 2004. Kaźmierska K., Waniek K., Opowiedzieć Uniwersytet. Łódź akademicka w biografiach wpisanych w losy Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, U. Ł, Łódź 2016. Lalak D., Życie jako biografia. Podejście biograficzne w perspektywie pedagogicznej, Żak, Warszawa 2010. Plummer K., Documents of Life 2. An Invitation to A Critical Humanism, Sage Publications, London 2001. Polak K., Kultura szkoły – od relacji społecznych do języka uczniowskiego, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków 2007. Van Gennep A., Obrzędy przejścia, PIW, Warszawa 2006. Wallis A., Socjologia przestrzeni, PIW, Warszawa 1990. Abstract The objective of my research was presenting the school life of individuals and their individual meanings. I looked into school memories of Pedagogy students. I conducted the research in May 2016. I asked respondents to write a paper on the subject: “Everyday school life in my personal experience”. Some narratives presented factographic material, that is, facts from life empirically recorded. It 29

Monika Jurewicz

was a real facts, but consciously selected and described from the point of view of a more general interpretation idea; from the point of view of their significance for the author. When reading the written accounts, I used the method of narrative analysis. It is a method that tries to understand the story and its functions. It focuses primarily on the actions of people, indicates the main elements of the story, people who appear in it and their mutual relations. He also examines the way in which the event is told to draw the reader into the world of the story (the narrative world) and its system of values Key words School life, Life as a narrative, Autobiography. Note about the author Monika Jurewicz - doctor of humanities in the field of pedagogy, a part of research and teaching staff at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, head of the Department of School Pedagogy and Therapy. Member of the Elementary Education Team of the Educational Sciences Committee, Polish Academy of Sciences [KNP PAN]. Author of numerous articles published in Poland and international scientific journals. Author and co-editor of monographic publications. Her research interests focus mainly on issues related to the teacher's functioning in the context of social and pedagogical changes, environmental determinants of school careers, Individuality and its significance in the life of a person, a biographical approach in pedagogical perspective.

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Empowerment of the pupil as a process of developing communicative abilities

Joanna Juszczyk-Rygałło Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa Faculty of Pedagogy

Empowerment of the pupil as a process of developing communicative abilities Introduction “Teachers should base their educational support on understanding child’s subjectivity, treating the child as an active person who develops in relationships with other people, who looks for sense, understanding and can build knowledge, who is able to make choices, is responsible and create own goals”1. Such demands formulated in relation to the teachers at the beginning of the 21 st century result from changes in social life where education context is different than earlier. Main goal of the education is detection of communication abilities, their stimulation and development just at the stage of early education as well as formation of motivating and self-development attitudes. Development of children’s own activity must take place with a sense of responsibility for oneself and other people. The primary task of a post-industrial society is investing in the abilities to self-reliant and fast learning and quick analyzing and modifying acquired information that in the form of acquired knowledge can be then used creatively. On the background of 1

J. Bałachowicz, Obraz dziecka a działania edukacyjne nauczyciela, [in:] Relacje i konteksty (w) edukacji elementarnej, Ed. I. Adamek, M. Grochowalska, E. Żmijewska, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Pedagogicznego, Kraków 2010, p. 16. 31

Joanna Juszczyk-Rygałło

contemporary pedagogical discussion, presenting various understanding of empowerment (individualization and socialization), this article is an attempt to justify desirability of transferring these issues to planning changes in early-school education practice. Transformations in education The idea of universal and mass education appeared in the 18 th century as a result of economic, social and political changes that were a consequence of industrial revolution (so called second wave of civilization development). Spontaneous industrialization and urbanization led to the fastest growth of the standard of living, but it became also a source of gradual degradation of social fabric. There was a need to replace family and traditional educational environments and generally improve the elementary level of citizens' awareness. “In the situation where the institution of family did not perform the function of transmitter of behavioral patterns any longer and the existing mechanisms of social control failed, it was necessary to replace them with other system of regulation and transmission, steered and supervised by the state. The best solution seemed to be shutting the whole population of legally designated years in specially determined objects under the care of properly prepared and qualified staff”2. Since the beginning of the 19th century, compulsory elementary education was established in majority of legal systems (1819 Prussia, 1869 Austria, 1872 Japan, 1876 England, 1882 France, 1848-1918 USA, 1930 USSR). Usefulness of the school, bringing it closer to the needs of practical life, vocational training and development of adult education became the goals of educational efforts of social groups and political parties in

2

J. Jastrzębski, Ideologia i komunikacja. O edukacji, pedagogice i mediach, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, Wrocław 2011, p. 94.

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the 19th century. The priority of these activities was the mass nature of education, which aimed at educating as many pupils as possible at the lowest acceptable level. The education system was then modelled on nineteenth-century factories, and the main goal of education was to introduce pupils to the new, industrial reality. Education was subordinated to the requirements of the industrial economy and the preparation of people for the needs of industry. “Mass education – as written by Alvin Toffler – which was based on the factory model, gave basic abilities as reading, writing, arithmetic, a little bit of history and some knowledge from several other subjects.”3 Like in industry, also in education, the product was subject to standardization and uniformity. Pupils were perceived as a plastic material, which was subject to uniform processing that was to lead to the development of typical, standardized skills necessary to perform repetitive work in a stable, industrial environment. Each change was perceived as a threat of deviation from the adopted plan and the chosen direction. It was subject to immediate corrective measures. Individual predispositions and talents were not supported. The choice of the way of life was ultimately defined at the stage of choosing the type of school. The world at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century is the epoch of knowledge society (Toffler's third wave began in the seventies of the last century). Its rules of the game are determined by faster and faster changing reality in which the only constant and certain element is the dynamic change. The environment of life, education and work becomes less stable, unpredictable and burdened with risks and threats. Standardization gives way to personalization and collaboration. Mass culture collides with a strong need for individualization. New generations of pupils come with different educational needs acquired in the process of 3

A. Troffler, Trzecia fala, PIW, Warszawa 2001, p. 70. 33


socialization. Effective learning requires taking into account individual predispositions and communication preferences as well as cultural and social changes, which usually go beyond the framework of institutionalized education. The postulate to change the paradigms of education becomes more and more popular. The determinant of social structure in the emerging postindustrial society, along with its group and individual value systems, has become communication globalization. The analysis and interpretations of the globalization process emphasize its spontaneity and inevitability. The evaluation of this phenomenon shows such implications as increase in the importance of knowledge, development of information and communication technologies, changes in work and life models. Social goals are becoming more individualized, characterized by a strong need to achieve success, but at the same time they are characterized by a nonconformist attitude, openness to new experiences and futureoriented changes, readiness to accept these changes and the ability to plan them, both in personal and public matters. The nature and dynamics of processes of globalization affect the expansion of the space of communication perception, which leads directly to detachment from cultural roots, the consequence of which is the identity crisis of a man living in the contemporary world. His mentality, largely conditioned by the principle of communicative freedom, is formed under the influence of random factors; however, participation in family, children, youth and religious communities is often perceived as less significant, while access to technical means of personal development, enabling virtual or real contact with the distant world, is becoming more and more important4. Changes occurring in interpersonal relations cause

4

Z. Gawlina, Problemy edukacji wczesnoszkolnej w nowej przestrzeni społecznokulturowej, (in:) Edukacja przedszkolna i wczesnoszkolna wyzwaniem dla

34


significant transformations in the functioning of the social whole. Global mix of cultures has introduced pluralism in the sphere of norms and values, and consequently causes it to succumb to hidden norms created by hidden mechanisms. Globalization was to avoid creating divisions and was to give equal opportunities to all, but it turned out to be a source of differences on many levels. And because globalization processes cannot be stopped, some attempts are now being made to mitigate the negative effects of these processes, especially in the area of deepening social stratification. In this activity, great expectations are directed towards education in the field of communication culture (communication culture education). Empowerment of early childhood education in pedagogical discourses The most important goal of education at all its levels is development of pupil’s personality and preparing young people to self-reliant participation in the life of society. This process was characterized by Bogdan Nawroczyński at the beginning of the 20th century as follows: “All didactic activities become meaningful when their goal is formation of a person who corresponds to the deepest needs of particular epoch, particular society and the culture it creates”5. Nawroczyński was a precursor of the idea of educational teaching in Polish pedagogy of the 2nd Polish Republic, whose aim was to be full development of personality involving all its aspects, intellect and character, introduction into the world of values and development of dispositions enabling bringing these values to life

5

nauczycieli i wychowawców nowego wieku, (ed.) E. Bielecki, M. Ciosek, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2012, p.18. B. Nawroczyński, Zasady Nauczania, Wydawnictwo Ossolineum, WarszawaWrocław 1946 p. 42 (first edition: Książnica, Lwów-Warszawa 1930). 35


and following them6. Educational teaching, as strictly connected with the principle of unity of teaching and upbringing, became a space for practical actions and theoretical studies of outstanding Polish educationalist Kazimierza Sośnicki. He claimed that the necessary condition to realize the idea of educational teaching was focusing on the whole personality, taking into account emotional experiences related to the process of learning and the way of assessing and value judgment specific for each individual. Pupil’s preparation consists in accurate, morally and socially justified value judgment of the reality. The value judgment of facts and events from social, cultural, political, economic sphere is individual and subjective, but should be based on values developed for generations7. The issue of educational teaching was discussed by Konstanty Lech in his activity and his book devoted to this issue entitled “Educational teaching”8. He formulated there several principles of realization of educational teaching that were quoted by Wincenty Okoń9. Two of them are important for the postulate of subjective teaching: principle of humanization of work – pupil’s work is to be his or her personal task, which gives perspectives for success, and principle of cooperation and harmony at work – tasks should be performed in team and as common should be also perceived as one’s own. Okoń presents also a list of principles of teaching that includes the principle of individualization and socialization, which postulates creation of a system, where pupil’s individual tasks allowed them to work in a group to complete

H. Gajdamowicz, Tradycje nauczania wychowującego w polskiej pedagogice, „Pedagogia Christiana”, 2012, no. 1/29, p. 124. 7 Ibidem., p. 128-129. 8 K. Lech, Nauczanie wychowujące, PZWS, Warszawa 1967. 9 W. Okoń, Wprowadzenie do dydaktyki ogólnej, Wydawnictwo Akademickie ŻAK, Warszawa 1996, p. 169. 6

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them10. Similarly, nowadays, Tadeusz Nowacki and Urszula Jeruszka11 as well as Franciszek Bereźnicki12 emphasize the principle of individualization and collectivity. The concept of educational teaching was discussed also by, among others, Czesław Kupisiewicz, Ryszard Więckowski, Marian Świeżyński. The last one links the principle of educational teaching with the principle of empowerment13. Current postulate to combine educational teaching with subjective treating of a pupil, which means empowerment, can be achieved if certain conditions are met. These are cooperation with the pupil, respect for his or her individuality, identity and subjectivity, recognizing and taking into account his or her emotionality, clear interpersonal communication. In the era of post-industrial society, child education begins far before the beginning of formal education. Individual interests and passions are discovered and developed from an early age. What characteristic of children is a strong need for independence, a large space for communication expression and the need to be oneself with simultaneous focusing attention on oneself and being noticed in the peer group. The development of child's subjectivity and maximizing its communication potential, which is indispensable in the educational process, requires creating conditions for education centered on the child. Pupils who are treated subjectively treat life situations as tasks to be solved, are more realistic in behavior, appreciate self-control, independence in action, are not significantly influenced by their environment, learn from their own experience,

Ibidem., p. 188. T. Nowacki, U. Jeruszka, Podstawy dydaktyki pracy, Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej TWP, Warszawa 2004, p. 140. 12 F. Bereźnicki, Dydaktyka kształcenia ogólnego, Oficyna wydawnicza IMPULS, Kraków 2007, p. 246. 13 M. Śnieżyński, Dialog edukacyjny, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Papieskiej Akademii Teologicznej, Kraków 2001. 10 11

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have a greater sense of responsibility and are more resistant to stress and frustration. “Subjective approach to human being in the world of values and invoking them create a space to deal with problems and allow to solve them, developing simultaneously creative forces, improving skills and forming responsible attitude”14. Realization of empowerment of the pupil in the process of education allows for comprehensive development of the pupil. The process of empowerment has two dimensions that are based on two, seemingly contradictory principles: individualization and socialization. Traditionally emphasized in various theories of education the apparent contradiction between supporting individual development and socialization was indicated by Jerome Bruner15. In fact, the interpenetration and integration of these two dimensions in the field of education leads to the development of activities supporting the individual development of a child and adaptation to the conditions of collective learning in a peer group. “Task of the school is to provide children with such conditions for building and modelling their mind that support the “line of natural” and “line of social” development. Only a harmonious combination of these two factors supports successful development of the individual”16. Individualization of education is fully accepted in pedagogical discourse in the context of postulates to modernize the system of child’s education. It is demanded in the opinion of teachers and in

K. Chałas, Wychowanie ku wartościom. Elementy teorii i praktyki. Godność, wolność, odpowiedzialność, tolerancja, Volume I, Wydawnictwo JEDNOŚĆ. Kielce 2006, p. 31. 15 J. Bruner, Kultura edukacji, Wydawnictwo UNIVERSITAS, Kraków 2006, p. 118. 16 J. Bałachowicz, Indywidualizacja jako postulat i konieczność współczesnej edukacji początkowej, (in:) Dziecko-uczeń a wczesna edukacja, (ed.) I. Adamek, Z. Zbróg, Wydawnictwo LIBRON and Authors, Kraków 2011, p. 21. 14

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recommended didactic principles17. “On the one hand the issue of individualization comprises educational ideals and goals connected with the development of each individual, on the other hand – it is linked only with taking into account individual characteristics of particular child and pace of learning or refers to teaching content and ways of sharing them. The issue of individualization once refers to formulation of rules concerning organization of learning process and in other case – regularities of learning”18. Wincenty Okoń defines individualization of teaching as a process of adaptation of methods and organization of pedagogical actions to general psychical features that differentiate one pupil from another and specific distinctive features referring to each pupil and his or her communicativeness19. These differences refer to general and specific abilities, interests and pace of work. Similarly, individualization in understood by Tadeusz Lewowicki who describes it as taking into account in didactic and education system all individual differences between pupils by means of the use of pedagogical procedures that support maximum development of personality of each learner20. On the other hand, Krzysztof Kruszewski describes individualization as adapting teaching to pupil’s communication skills, using maximum of his or her possibilities and developing them21.

W. Okoń, Wprowadzenie …op.cit., p. 187. J. Bałachowicz, Indywidualizacja … op. cit.,p.13. 19 W. Okoń, Nowy słownik pedagogiczny, Wydawnictwo Akademickie ŻAK, Warszawa 2001, p. 137. 20 T. Lewowicki, Indywidualizacja kształcenia. Dydaktyka różnicowa, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1977, p. 8. 21 K. Kruszewski, O nauczaniu i uczeniu się w szkole, (in:) Sztuka nauczania. Czynności nauczyciela, (ed.) K. Kruszewski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2008, p. 131. 17 18

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Socialization is “a process of acquiring knowledge, skills and dispositions that makes an individual able to live in a society” 22. Jan Szczepański describes socialization as “a process of biological transformation of a newborn’s body into an active participant of social and cultural life”23. The process of socialization takes place as a result of continuous process of interactive communication. “In the course of socialization taking place in educational institutions, an individual acquires skills necessary to proper functioning in the society. The person learns also involvement, which (…) express readiness to take on social roles”24. The course of socialization in the case of different people and social groups depends on the level of its development, degree of integration and cultural specificity. A child builds his/her personality in the course of individualized processes of social interactions. In this contexts there is a connection between individualization and socialization. “Socialization taking place through everyday life is corrected by intentional influence of people who take care and educate. (…) No one is influenced by socialization involuntarily. Having collected more and more life experience and developed own wisdom and moral attitude each person selects, weakens, neutralizes or enhances social pressure and inspirations. It is related to individually shaped character of particular person and the activity he or she undertakes.”25. Detailed understanding of empowerment of child’s education results from the types of early school pedagogy discourses

M. Pacholski, A. Słaboń, Słownik pojęć socjologicznych, Wydawnictwo Akademii Ekonomiczniej, Kraków 1997, p. 162. 23 J. Szczepański, Elementarne pojęcia socjologii, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1972, p. 73. 24 M.J. Szymański, Socjologia edukacji. Zarys problematyki, Wydawnictwo IMPULS, Kraków 2013, p. 32. 25 Ibidem., p.67. 22

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suggested by Dorota Klus-Stańska26. Presented by Józefa Bałachowicz27 overview of early school pedagogy discourses shows different approaches to understanding category of individualization and socialization, their different scopes, open and hidden meanings and possibility to transfer them to planning changes in education practice. In functional-behavioral discourse subjectivity of a child is subordinated to imposed social rules. Education should form individuals who are able to adapt to the structures and to find their place in them. Education consists in using means that allow to adapt a pupil to expected role model and to typical ways of socialization. The most important is recognizing individual features of a child, comparing them with established norms and such modification of teaching content to achieve educational goals, the same for everyone. In humanistic-adaptation discourse individual values are the top priority, which are connected with autonomy and self-realization of an individual. Hierarchy of human needs is emphasized, where the most important are need for love, activity, being respected and accepted. Individualization, like other values related thereto, refers basically to creating natural environment for child’s development, so the naturalistic approach to individualization determines scope of teacher’s activity, whose role is to follow the child and his or her developmental needs. Education is after children, not before. In constructivist-developmental and constructivist-social discourses individualization refers to a developing subject, knowledge constructed by the subject and transformation of his D. Klus-Stańska, Dyskursy pedagogiki wczesnoszkolnej, (in:) Pedagogika wczesnoszkolna – dyskursy, problemy, rozwiązania, (ed.) D. Klus-Stańska, M. Szczepska-Pustkowska, Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa 2009. 27 J. Bałachowicz, Indywidualizacja …, p. 17 and next ones. 26

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inner world. It emphasizes uniqueness of mental pictures of the world and uniqueness of strategies undertaken by the subject in the process of cognition. Individualization in the didactic process refers to recognizing child’s readiness to learn and organizing appropriate environment for the child’s development, in particular creating conditions for the child’s spontaneous activity. Social constructivism indicates particular role of mechanisms of social interactions in cognitive development of a child. Connection between the processes of individualization and socialization aims at expanding the space for independence, initiative and action. From the point of view of both constructivist discourses, empowerment is included in basic functions of education. In the critical-emancipation discourse education is based on the idea of freedom and pupil’s involvement in solving problems that are important from the individual and social point of view. Each child in the project of education, irrespective of his/her predispositions and abilities, has the right to express his/her own judgements, to question existing circumstances and to realize own life projects and, above all, has the right to realize own subjectivity and to develop emancipation competencies. According to Dorota Klus-Stańska, the presence of the five discourses in early school pedagogy is the reason that the early school education teacher will always represent, more or less consciously, certain ideology and will regard as normal what is coherent with this ideology according to its assumptions. Because the teacher is always indoctrinated by questionable vision of “what should be”28.

28

D. Klus-Stańska, Dyskursy pedagogiki wczesnoszkolnej …op. cit., p. 46.

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Conclusion – education in a personal dimension Contemporary mass school does not create conditions for comprehensive development of pupils. It is an institution that is hermetically closed for innovative activities and development of pupils’ talents and interests. “Schools are more and more isolated from the society – Ryszard Pachociński writes – and from children and young people living in this society. Children are to prepare themselves for life directed towards the future even though the school has been closed in the past”29. In the post-industrial society children become responsible for their own education, which will accompany them for the whole life. Current approaches to educational changes emphasize the right of a child to develop his or her communication skills, self-realization, inner freedom and the right to take part in planning and building the surrounding reality. Communicativeness, as key competence of the 21 st century, becomes necessary not only for effective individual and group learning, but also as a reason to organize own educational environment. Empowerment of education means it takes place in the dimension of personal communication culture and simultaneously in more and more global dimension of culture, economy, society or political systems. The pupils should be supported in development and realization of their education plans by educational institutions dealing with formal and informal education. Their tasks include, among others: diagnosing the state of education, indicating main obstacles to its development inherent in cultural system, getting acquainted with foreign models and solution within the scope of education and preparing assumptions to work out comprehensive, integrated and pro-development vision of education for all levels

29

R. Pachociński, Oświata i praca w erze globalizacji, Wydawnictwo IBE, Warszawa 2006, p. 83. 43


and age groups. The following step should be implementation of the idea of forward-looking education. Bibliography Bałachowicz J., Obraz dziecka a działania edukacyjne nauczyciela, [in:] Relacje i konteksty (w) edukacji elementarnej, Ed. I. Adamek, M. Grochowalska, E. Żmijewska, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Pedagogicznego, Kraków 2010. Bałachowicz J., Indywidualizacja jako postulat i konieczność współczesnej edukacji początkowej, [in:] Dziecko-uczeń a wczesna edukacja, Ed. I. Adamek, Z. Zbróg, Wydawnictwo LIBRON and Authors, Kraków 2011. Bereźnicki F., Dydaktyka kształcenia ogólnego, Oficyna wydawnicza IMPULS, Kraków 2007. Bruner J., Kultura edukacji, Wydawnictwo UNIVERSITAS, Kraków 2006. Chałas K., Wychowanie ku wartościom. Elementy teorii i praktyki. Godność, wolność, odpowiedzialność, tolerancja, Volume I, Wydawnictwo JEDNOŚĆ, Kielce 2006. Gajdamowicz H., Tradycje nauczania wychowującego w polskiej pedagogice, „Pedagogia Christiana”, 2012, no. 1/29. Gawlina Z., Problemy edukacji wczesnoszkolnej w nowej przestrzeni społeczno-kulturowej, [in:] Edukacja przedszkolna i wczesnoszkolna wyzwaniem dla nauczycieli i wychowawców nowego wieku, Ed. E. Bielecki, M. Ciosek, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2012. Klus-Stańska D., Dyskursy pedagogiki wczesnoszkolnej, [in:] Pedagogika wczesnoszkolna – dyskursy, problemy, rozwiązania, Ed. D. KlusStańska, M. Szczepska-Pustkowska , Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa 2009.

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Kruszewski K., O nauczaniu i uczeniu się w szkole, [in:] Sztuka nauczania. Czynności nauczyciela, Ed. K. Kruszewski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2008. Jastrzębski J., Ideologia i komunikacja. O edukacji, pedagogice i mediach, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, Wrocław 2011. Lech K., Nauczanie wychowujące, PZWS, Warszawa 1967. Lewowicki T., Indywidualizacja kształcenia. Dydaktyka różnicowa, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1977. Nawroczyński B., Zasady Nauczania, Wydawnictwo Ossolineum, Warszawa-Wrocław 1946 (first edition: Książnica, LwówWarszawa, 1930). Nowacki T., Jeruszka U., Podstawy dydaktyki pracy, Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej TWP, Warszawa 2004. Okoń W., Wprowadzenie do dydaktyki ogólnej, Wydawnictwo Akademickie ŻAK, Warszawa 1996. Okoń W., Nowy słownik pedagogiczny, Wydawnictwo Akademickie ŻAK, Warszawa 2001. Pacholski M., Słaboń A., Słownik pojęć socjologicznych, Wydawnictwo Akademii Ekonomiczniej, Kraków 1997. Pachociński R., Oświata i praca w erze globalizacji, Wydawnictwo IBE, Warszawa 2006. Szczepański J., Elementarne pojęcia socjologii, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1972. Szymański M.J., Socjologia edukacji. Zarys problematyki, Wydawnictwo IMPULS, Kraków 2013. Śnieżyński M., Dialog edukacyjny, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Papieskiej Akademii Teologicznej, Kraków 2001. Troffler A., Trzecia fala, PIW, Warszawa 2001.

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Abstract Education is invariably associated with communication. Modern and innovative education requires individualization of teaching, which means allowing for pupil’s individual predispositions and communication preferences. It is directly connected to ability to recognize pupil’s communication giftedness and implementing an appropriate strategy of didactic and education work. The basic principle of this approach is empowerment of education. This process consists of two fields of educational activity that interpenetrate with each other: individualization and socialization. This article presents an overview of discourses which shows the various understanding of individualization and socialization, and the possibilities of transferring them for designing changes in educational practice. Keywords Pupil, Education, Empowerment, Individualization, Socialization, Communication. Note about the author Joanna Juszczyk-Rygałło – doctor of humanities in the field of literary studies. Director of the Institute of Pre-School & School Education at the Faculty of Pedagogy at Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa. Chairperson of Częstochowa Division of Polish Educational Research Association. She carries out scientific research within the scope of educational use of new media, social communication, translation and literary studies. Her professional interests focus also on the theory and practice of media education, literature education and culture of a living word.

46

Underachievement Syndrome as perceived by primary school teachers

Agnieszka Pawluk- Skrzypek Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences

Underachievement Syndrome as perceived by primary school teachers Introduction The issue of students' school achievements is very important in contemporary pedagogical concepts. Researchers and theorists of various scientific disciplines analyse the most important factors regarding the course and effectiveness of teaching and learning processes.1 The school puts specific didactic and educational requirements before students, which children are not always able to cope with, while experiencing many failures, even painful. The emerging difficulties may condition the emergence of increasingly generalised school failures, and at the later time may even disturb vocational education and functioning at work.2 In a specific situation there is a student who, despite having the potential, cannot or may not achieve property high results. A proper diagnosis should then confirm or eliminate the Underachievement Syndrome - a phenomenon that may affect even half of the gifted children population. 1

2

M. Jurewicz, Czytanie ze zrozumieniem Uwarunkowania rodzinne, Scholar, Warszawa 2010, p. 36. M. Bogdanowicz, O dysleksji, czyli specyficznych trudnościach w czytaniu i pisaniu, Linea, Lublin 1995, p. 29. 47

Agnieszka Pawluk- Skrzypek

The aim of the research presented in the article was to recognise the level of knowledge of primary school teachers on the subject of the Underachievement Syndrome. The analysis of the literature on the subject and the collected empirical material allowed to answer the questions about whether the teachers know this concept, whether they met in their work students with UAS and whether they know how to recognise the symptoms of this phenomenon and the accompanying consequences. Underachievement Syndrome and its meaning In the light of literature, the Underachievement syndrome, later referred to as UAS, is school failures of students showing aboveaverage abilities who are unable to apply their potential and predisposition. Not using their abilities is characterised by a discrepancy between school results and behaviour and the student's potential. This state is expressed in their work, intelligence, special abilities measured by means of standardised tests as well as opinions and assessments of parents and teachers3. According to B. Dyrda, the most general definition that captures the underachievement manifests itself in the translation of this word as a failure of gifted individuals to use their possibilities. The occurrence of UAS has negative consequences from the point of view of an individual, as well as causes undesirable consequences for the society.4 In turn, S. Rimm noticed that children who in the later stages of their education are not able to achieve successes start education in the first grade of primary school as students who stand out from the B. Dyrda, Syndrom nieadekwatnych osiągnięć, (in:) Encyklopedia pedagogiczna XXI wieku. T. 4, (ed.) T. Pilch, Wydawnictwo Akademickie „Żak”, Warszawa 2003, p. 70. 4 B. Dyrda, Syndrom Nieadekwatnych Osiągnięć jako niepowodzenie szkolne uczniów zdolnych: diagnoza i terapia, Impuls, Kraków 2000, p. 42. 3

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classroom. At some point, their satisfactory school results are gradually or drastically changed, which is best seen when comparing their school performance scores. When a child is in the phase of adequate achievement, his/her school results should be at a relatively constant level. At the moment of transition to the stage of lower achievements, the results decrease significantly5. W. Limont, on the other hand, characterises students with UAS as children who demonstrate noticeable under-performance at a potentially high level of ability. W. Limont defines such students as a group of undervalued children, who have a very heterogeneous characteristic with a common functional feature below their own capabilities with an indication of inconsistency between the achieved results and individual capabilities. The research carried out by the author shows that about 50% of talented students do not use their abilities and skills, and thus achieve low results in learning.6 The term US describes children with a significant disproportion between a high level of cognitive skills manifested in the ability to make hypotheses and the way of building questions and school behaviour such as: negligence or not doing homework. These students are characterised by considerable knowledge possessed from the literature read in their free time chosen according to their own preferences, at the same time the ignorance of required readings is noticeable. It is similar in the case of general knowledge held concerning school messages and knowledge gained about their broad interests outside of school. Another characteristic feature is

5

6

S. Rimm, Bariery szkolnej kariery: dlaczego dzieci zdolne mają słabe stopnie, WSIP, Warszawa 1994, p. 20. W. Limont, Uczeń zdolny. Jak go rozpoznać i jak z nim pracować, GWP, Gdańsk 2005, p. 251 – 252. 49


the discrepancy between the oral responses and the written work of pupils with UAS.7 According to M. Marzec, UAS is not innate, but certain school and family situations are conducive to its occurrence. When parents realise that their child has above-average abilities, they devote a lot of attention to him in childhood, shaping their conviction of their uniqueness. When the child confronts the school situation and realises that the teacher has no time and opportunity, like his parents, to devote all their attention to him/her - he/she is disappointed and starts giving up his/her ambitions. The school programme is not a challenge for them, so over time, school requirements begin to be too low and boring lessons.8 The UAS phenomenon occurs when a child does not develop according to his or her chances and does not use his or her intellectual predispositions, squandering their life chances. Such a student is not a model example of school failure. Meeting the programme's requirements, the child is not particularly distinguished and remains imperceptible at school. Failure to see the student's ability means that nobody tries to make him or her take the most of their talent9. A characteristic feature of the Underachievement Syndrome is its complexity understood as the coexistence of three types of problems: school, personality and family related.10 School causes of the occurrence of UAS are many related problems, including the problem of the lack of uniform, systemic solutions for working with

J. Jasiak, O syndromie nieadekwatnych osiągnięć, „Problemy OpiekuńczoWychowawcze”, 2008, no 9, p. 34-37. 8 M. Marzec, Pokarało mnie geniuszem …, „Psychologia w szkole”, 2008, no 2, p. 67-76. 9 D. Ekiert-Grabowska, Syndrom nieadekwatnych osiągnięć szkolnych, „Życie Szkoły”, 1994, no 3, p. 131-132. 10 S. Rimm, Bariery szkolnej kariery…, op. cit., p. 20. 7

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a gifted student in the Polish education system. In schools, the flagrant problem is the lack of a system for recognising students' aptitudes, including cooperation with a psychological and pedagogical counselling centre. The opportunities given by educational law are not used, namely: an individual course of study, an individual curriculum or scholarship systems. Teachers' conduct is also problematic because they are unable to diagnose a gifted student and are not prepared to work with such children. Having no abilities mentioned above, they lower the requirements for gifted students. The problem is also the negative behaviour of teachers, which include unfair grading, inappropriate commenting on grades, comparing student grades, focusing on mistakes and failures, degrading criticism of individual students' results on the class forum, expressing surprise when the weaker student (in the teacher's opinion) gets good grades and the fact that a still significant group of teachers choose traditional teaching methods that lead to boredom with classes and loss of interest in the subject. Personality related causes focus on classic personal and emotional features, as well as on students' behaviour and social functioning. There are emotional and social problems among able students. They cause disruption of proper development and functioning at school and among other students. They can often camouflage the real potential of their abilities. These problems are a consequence of the non-simultaneity of development and various variants of hyperactivity that arise in early childhood. Pupils with UAS are characterised by emotional and social immaturity. Among them are students with aggressive character, retreating and the type of rebellious withdrawal. Aggressive students openly demonstrate their tendency to conflict behaviour, impulsiveness and violence. Retreating students are bored, uninterested and uninvolved. The third type, that is, rebellious51


withdrawing, is a set of complex aggressive and passive behaviours. Most students want to control their environment: their parents, teachers or other students, but children with UAS use manipulation unconsciously as a defence mechanism. School observation is based on the diagnosis of the student's functioning in everyday school conditions, as well as on the accurate observation of the teacher and the recognition of the most common adverse reactions in students.11 Teachers participating in the intervention programmes for students with UAS listed characteristic behaviours for such students: vast general knowledge, broad interest in non-school literature, high verbal skills, low written skills, high absenteeism, avoidance of class participation, destructive and aggressive behaviour in the classroom, good cooperation with the teacher during individual meetings, manipulation of the environment, low social competences, high level of fear of failure.12 Pupils with UAS demonstrate low self-assessment and low selfesteem. The main causes of this phenomenon are: resistance and unjustified hostility towards adult pressure, external motivation based on adult assessments and school grades instead of internal motivation based on internal standards of behaviour and selfesteem. Most of the surveyed students with UAS show inadequate self-assessment as regards their intellectual abilities13. B. Dyrda after the study finds that students with UAS do not see themselves as guilty of failures. Teachers, parents and peers are blamed for low achievements. They accept only such opinions which coincide with their own self-image. All failures do not reach their consciousness. The researcher claims that the factor stimulating to better achievement in school education is their B. Dyrda, Kiedy uczeń zdolny słabo się uczy, „Psychologia w Szkole”, 2009, no 4, p. 49. 46-55, p. 49. 12 W. Limont, Uczeń zdolny…, op. cit., p. 260. 13 B. Dyrda, Syndrom Nieadekwatnych Osiągnięć jako …, op. cit., p. 132. 11

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learning about their real abilities.14 Not all talented students remain outstanding adult creators who make exceptional achievements in their field. Many of them in adolescence experience crises, after which they cannot return with the same enthusiasm to their interest.15 The basis for UAS counteracting therapy is to carry it out simultaneously on three levels relating to the student, parents and teacher. It is important that both the parent and teacher can manage the child's learning process in such a way that it functions in task situations, the performance of which falls within the upper limit of their abilities. In this way, the child shapes its own learning methods, acquires the skills necessary to achieve school successes. He or she learns to understand the principle that only their own effort and work can improve the learning outcomes, and internal motivation will appear in all subjects.16 According to B. Dyrda, the factors appearing in the child's school environment are very important. They include: a sense of security and confidence, emotional climate of the school class, respect for the student's dignity by both the teacher and peers, shaping the situation of a healthy competition, positive expectations about the child's achievements, individualisation of education, diverse teaching methods involving convergent and divergent thinking, which determine the achievement of success in school education. The teacher's task is to shape the internal motivation of a student with UAS by providing tasks that give the opportunity to derive satisfaction from the efforts. What is more important, according to B. Dyrda, is internal motivation, and not external control measures expressed in the methods of punishments and rewards. The teacher Ibidem, p. 137. H. Gardner, Niepospolite umysły. O czterech niezwykłych postaciach i naszej własnej wyjątkowości, Warszawa 1998, p. 89. 16 B. Dyrda, Syndrom Nieadekwatnych Osiągnięć jako …, op. cit., p. 52-53. 14 15

53


is a guide, a natural stimulator that helps students develop and strengthen their weaknesses.17 Methodology and results of own research The aim of the research was to recognise the level of knowledge of primary school teachers on the subject of the Underachievement Syndrome. The following research problem was formulated: What is the level of knowledge of primary school teachers about the Underachievement Syndrome? For the needs of the research, the diagnostic survey method was used as part of which the survey technique was used. A selfdeveloped questionnaire was used, which included three questions in the scoreboard and 14 proper questions including 10 singlechoice questions, and 4 multiple-choice questions. The research was conducted in May and June 2016 among teachers in six public primary schools in Warsaw. The group was selected in a deliberately random manner. Primary school teachers were deliberately selected, while schools were randomly selected. 126 teachers took part in the research. The majority of respondents were women - 111 people, men were a group of 15 people.

17

Ibidem, p. 52-53.

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Table 1. Respondent’s age. Respondent’s age

Frequency

Percentage

20-30

81

64.3

31-40

33

26.2

41-50

9

7.1

51 and more

3

2.4

Total

126

100.0

Source: own elaboration. As can be seen from the data contained in Table 1, the largest group were teachers between the ages of 20 and 30 (64.3%) and the smallest group were teachers over 50 (2.4%). In turn, the data included in Table 2 demonstrate that the largest group were respondents with seniority up to 5 years (57%) and respondents whose work experience ranges from 6 to 10 years (39%). Table 2. Respondent’s seniority. Respondent’s seniority

Frequency

Percentage

0-5 years

57

45.2

6-10 years

39

31.0

11-15 years

9

7.1

16-20 years

3

2.4

More than 20 years

18

14.3

Total

126

100.0

Source: own elaboration. The age of respondents and their work experience was the grounds to accept the thesis that most of them should know the 55


concept of Underachievement Syndrome, since the largest group of them have relatively recently completed their education and are at the beginning of their professional career, so they try to get a promotion, which is undoubtedly connected with the need to supplement their knowledge. The data obtained during the research shows that 75 respondents (59.5%) declared that they had already met with the concept of UAS, while as many as 51 respondents (40.5%) had never heard the term. The aforementioned thesis was confirmed by the analysis of the obtained data, which shows that the largest group declaring knowledge of the concept of UAS are teachers with the lowest seniority and secondly, teachers with seniority between 6 and 10 years. The data is illustrated in Table 3. Table 3. Seniority and knowledge of the US concept.

Seniority Number % of total 6-10 Number years % of total 11-15 years Number % of total 16-20 years Number % of total More than Number 20 years % of total Total Number % of total 0-5 years

Source: own elaboration.

56

Knowledge of the UAS notion Yes No 36 28.6% 21 16.7% 6 4.8% 3 2.4% 9 7.1% 75 59.5%

21 16.7% 18 14.3% 3 2.4% 0 0.0% 9 7.1% 51 40.5%

Total 57 45.2% 39 31.0% 9 7.1% 3 2.4% 18 14.3% 126 100.0%


Therefore, the respondents' answers to the question about the indication of the proper, UAS definition, were analysed. The correct definition, that this is the high potential and abilities of a student and low school results - was indicated by 108 teachers, which is 85.7%. This proves that even people who declared ignorance of this concept gave (perhaps intuitively) the right answer. In the next step, the teachers' answers to the question about how they assess their level of knowledge about UAS were analysed. The obtained answers show that only 9 teachers (7.1%) assess their state of knowledge very well, while as many as 48 people (38.1%) rate it insufficient and not a little less, because 39 respondents (31%) evaluate it as the average knowledge of the issue. This demonstrates the need to include information on UAS in both future teacher education programmes and training for already working teachers. Then, the teachers' answers to the question of whether or not they think UAS actually occurs among students were analysed. The responses given are illustrated in Table 4. The data contained in it on the one hand give hope that teachers do not doubt the occurrence of UAS phenomenon among students, which was confirmed by 99 respondents (78.6%), and on the other hand give a threat about the possibility of omitting 27 students with UAS, who strongly denied the possibility its occurrence (21.4%). Table 4. Actual occurrence of UAS among students. Actual occurrence of UAS among students Frequency Yes 99

Percentage 78.6

No

27

21.4

Total

126

100.0

Source: own elaboration. The author was also interested in the teachers' answers to the question of whether they think the school may contribute to the

57


occurrence of UAS phenomenon. The obtained data shows that 63 respondents (50%) think that yes, 48 teachers (38.1%) deny this and only 15 of them (11.9) have no opinion. There is, therefore, an urgent need to educate teachers that their work, behaviour towards students, teaching methods used and their personality is of great importance for the emergence of UAS. As emphasised by I. Błaszczak, the educational dialogue is extremely important in the school environment. This is a special, personal meeting which fulfils primarily the function of a development nature for a student, but requires meeting the conditions of reciprocity and mutuality of engagement, climate of authenticity, autonomy and compromise, a sense of responsibility for the student's development, respect for their sensitivity and dignity, and flexibility of expectations for the results of the conversation. Only the dialogue understood this way leads the student to become a personal individuality18. Taking into account the above results, it was checked whether teachers are willing to accept that UAS is innate. The question asked this way was answered by 21 (16.7%) affirmative answers and 105 (83.3%) negative answers. In connection with such responses, the level of respondents' knowledge on the circumstances that they believe may be conducive to the emergence of UAS was analysed, if they are predominantly inclined to say that it is not innate and that the it is not school that is relevant to its formation. The obtained data is illustrated in Table 5.

18

I. Błaszczak, Nauczyciel i uczeń w procesie edukacji dorosłych - tradycje i wymogi współczesności, Pub. Zakładu Filozofii SGGW, Warszawa 2017, p. 145.

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Table 5. Circumstances conducive to the occurrence of UAS Circumstances conducive to the occurrence of UAS Desired and long-awaited child Sickly child Rivalling siblings Child with lower intellectual ability Microdamage to brain during prenatal stage Lone parenthood Upbringing in a re-established family

Frequency 21

Percentage 16.7

21

16.7

15

11.9

9

7.1

3

2.4

18

14.3

9

7.1

Source: own elaboration. According to the data included in the table above, 30 respondents (23.8%) think that being a gifted child is a favourable factor for the formation of UAS, while 21 teachers (16.7%) indicated that being a longed-for child or long-awaited or being a sickly child is a circumstance that is conducive to the emergence of SNOS. Teachers' knowledge about which determinants are of the importance for UAS formation is important because it depends on it whether the teacher will pay attention to pupils who are potentially exposed to this syndrome. The last issue to be analysed was the question about the teachers' understanding of the consequences of UAS occurrence in students. As many as 75 respondents (59.7%) believe that the consequence of this syndrome is not using the student's potential, 18 respondents (14.3%) are of the opinion that the consequence is the student's 59


depression, for 15 people (11.9%) the consequences of UAS are manifested in the form of student's problems with self-acceptance. Subsequently, the respondents mentioned: repetition rate (9 people), overstated student’s self-esteem (6 people) and family conflicts (3 people). Results and conclusions Summing up it must be stated that the majority of respondents declare insufficient knowledge of the concept of UAS or lack of knowledge on the subject. Only half of the teachers would look for the reasons for UAS occurrence in a student in school conditions. Teachers, however, know the consequences of the occurrence of UAS. Most of the teachers surveyed know that UAS is not innate, moreover, teachers are aware that a gifted child may be potentially vulnerable to the occurrence of UAS. Based on the above-mentioned findings, the following practical conclusions can be proposed: there is a need for a continuous training for teachers regarding emerging problems of pupils such as UAS; it is necessary that both the teacher and the therapist strive to supplement their knowledge and improve their skills in order to be ready to serve their charges as best as possible; cooperation between the school and family environment of a student with UAS is necessary to eliminate the syndrome more effectively. The studies carried out do not exhaust the whole issue and are only a contribution to further research.

Bibliography Błaszczak I., Nauczyciel i uczeń w procesie edukacji dorosłych - tradycje i wymogi współczesności, Pub. Zakładu Filozofii SGGW, Warszawa 2017. 60


Bogdanowicz M., O dysleksji, czyli specyficznych trudnościach w czytaniu i pisaniu, Linea, Lublin 1995. Dyrda B., Kiedy uczeń zdolny słabo się uczy, „Psychologia w Szkole”, 2009, nr 4. Dyrda B., Syndrom Nieadekwatnych Osiągnięć jako niepowodzenie szkolne uczniów zdolnych: diagnoza i terapia, Impuls, Kraków 2000. Dyrda B., Syndrom nieadekwatnych osiągnięć, (in:): Encyklopedia pedagogiczna XXI wieku. T. 4, (ed.) T. Pilch, Wydawnictwo Akademickie „Żak”, Warszawa 2003. Ekiert-Grabowska D., Syndrom nieadekwatnych osiągnięć szkolnych, „Życie Szkoły”, 1994, nr 3. Gardner H., Niepospolite umysły. O czterech niezwykłych postaciach i naszej własnej wyjątkowości, Warszawa 1998. Jasiak J., O syndromie nieadekwatnych osiągnięć, „Problemy Opiekuńczo-Wychowawcze”, 2008, nr 9. Jurewicz M., Czytanie ze zrozumieniem Uwarunkowania rodzinne, Scholar, Warszawa 2010. Limont W., Uczeń zdolny. Jak go rozpoznać i jak z nim pracować, GWP, Gdańsk 2005. Marzec M., Pokarało mnie geniuszem …, „Psychologia w szkole”, 2008, nr 2. Rimm S., Bariery szkolnej kariery: dlaczego dzieci zdolne mają słabe stopnie, WSIP, Warszawa 1994. Abstract The article focuses on the discussion of the fundamental research with the aim to recognise the level of knowledge of primary school teachers on the subject of the Underachievement Syndrome. The analysis of the literature on the subject and the collected empirical material allowed to answer the questions about whether the teachers know this concept and whether they know how to recognise the symptoms of this phenomenon and the accompanying consequences. 61


Keywords Underachievement syndrome, Teachers Note about the author Agnieszka Pawluk-Skrzypek – PhD in humanities, pedagogue, pedagogical therapist, employee of the Department of Education and Culture at the Faculty of Social Sciences, SGGW (Warsaw University of Life Sciences) in Warsaw. Her scientific interests focus on students with special educational needs, especially pupils with specific learning difficulties, recognising various aspects of their psychosocial functioning.

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Relations between students and teachers in the context of limiting the cyberbullying phenomena

Grażyna Chrostowska- Juszczyk University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Warsaw

Relations between students and teachers in the context of limiting the cyberbullying phenomena The main objective of the paper is to draw attention to the role of the relationship between students and teachers. Today, when the Internet has become an important social space of the modern student and not overlook this area to build relationships, opening the students the opportunity to communicate not only in teaching matters, but also in an educational. The important goal of the research was to recognize pedagogical and family conditions affecting the changeability of awareness of cyberbullying threats among high school youth in Warsaw. The selection of the test sample was deliberately - random. On the one hand, research is limited to the capital city of Warsaw and to high school students, so in this respect the selection was intentional, on the other hand, the following stages of random sampling were applied. Firstly, the number of upper secondary schools and students in Warsaw as well as individual districts was determined. All districts in which there are high schools, technical schools and basic vocational schools are included in the research: Bielany, Mokotów, Ochota, Praga Południe, Praga Północ, Śródmieście,

63

Grażyna Chrostowska- Juszczyk

Targówek, Ursus, Wola and Żoliborz and it is 93.95% of high school youth in Warsaw study in these districts. The above districts were ranked in order of the number of high school students. Every second district was drawn, starting from the district in the first position, that is with the largest number of students. n this way, five districts with numbers 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 were randomly selected for research: Śródmieście, Mokotów, Bielany, Żoliborz and Praga Północ. In total, there were 28,080 pupils in all types of upper secondary schools in these districts, as at the end of September 2017. The research covered 1,621 students from all types of upper secondary schools in the five Warsaw districts. Thus, the research sample on cyber violence constituted nearly 5.8% of high school students in the analyzed districts of Warsaw. Data and information from the questionnaires were obtained from October 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. Cyberbullying - in literature The phenomenon of school bullying attracted considerable attention worldwide and it became apparent that this widespread behavior was neither innocuous nor stamina-building but harmful and insidious. A considerable and growing body of research has examined the prevalence and consequences of bullying, and also has evaluated the effectiveness of various strategies for reducing the behavior.1 The modern technology has been added to the arsenal of strategies that can be employed by bullies to harm others. In developed countries students of middle and high schools use the Internet and other technology, such as mobile phones. So the

1

I. Błaszczak, Negatywny wpływ mediów na rozwój inteligencji emocjonalnej dzieci i młodzieży. Konstrukty osobiste jako świadectwo poznawcze w koncepcji J. Delia, (in:) Patologie w cyberświecie (ed.) S. Bębas, J. Plis, J. Bednarek, Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa w Radomiu, Radom 2015, p. 63-68.

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potential for hurtful behaviors is great.2 Cyberbullying, a term coined by Canadian Bill Belsey, has increased very quickly and educators and researchers are understandably concerned that this problem is growing rapidly than is educators’ and parents’ ability to respond effectively. It is important to be clear on the meaning of terms to be used in this paper. Bullying has been defined as behavior that is intentional, harmful, repetitive, and reflects an abuse of power. Bullying behaviors can be physical (hitting, kicking, pushing), verbal (teasing, threatening), or relational (social exclusion, harming friendships, spreading rumors). Although physical bullying cannot happen via technology, both verbal and relational bullying can be accomplished using a variety of technological tools. Thus, cyberbullying shall be defined as verbal or relational bullying accomplished using electronic or wireless media. That is, cyberbullying is “covert psychological bullying conveyed through the electronic mediums”.3 The most complete definition is that of Bill Belsey, the creator of the web site: http://www.cyberbullying.org, he defined this unpleasant phenomenon in the following terms: “ Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Websites, and defamatory online personal polling Web

2

S. Keith, M. E. Martin, Cyberbullying: Creating a culture of respect in a cyber world. Reclaiming Children and Youth, vol.13, number 4, 2005, p. 224-228. 3 S. Shariff, R.Gouin, Cyber- dilemmas: Gendered hierarchies free expression and cyber-safety in schools. Paper presented at safety and security in a networked world: Balancing cyber-rights and responsibilities. Oxford Internet Institute Conference, on September 8, 2005, Oxford, U.K 65


sites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.”4 The perpetrators of cyberbullying have a range of tactics with which to inflict harm. Educators should get to know the ways in which technological can be used to bully others.5 They also have to become familiar with the unique conventions of communication in cyberspace; normal rules for spelling, grammar etc., are discarded in the interest of speed.6 Flaming refers to angry confrontational messages, often using explicit and vulgar language. Flaming often occurs in cyber-fights, and can result in a “flame war.” Harassment can be inflicted via email, text messages, instant messages, bulletin board postings, and in chat rooms. It involves repeatedly sending cruel or offensive messages. Denigration is the process of making derogatory statements about the target and disseminating them electronically. The statements are often lies concocted to hurt the target. The goal is to damage the target’s reputation or friendships. Masquerading requires some advanced technical skills. The bully pretends to be the target and sends offensive messages that appear to come from the target. Outing and trickery often go together. The bully manipulates the target into disclosing information or making statements that the bully then publicizes to embarrass the target. This is the tactic that former friends use to share secrets or embarrassing photos that were provided in confidence. Social exclusion can occur online just as it does in real life. Targeted B. Belsey, Cyberbullying: An emerging threat to the “always on” generation, http://www.cyberbullying.ca/pdf/feature_dec2005.pdf. (Access: 16.04.2018), p. 107. 5 I. R. Berson, M. J.Berson, J. M. Ferron, Emerging risks of violence in the digital age: Lessons for educators from an online study of adolescent girls in the United States, “Journal of School Violence”, 1, 2002, p.57. 6 G., Merchant, Teenagers in cyberspace: An investigation of language use and language change in Internet chatrooms, “Journal of Research in Reading”, 2001, 42, p. 293-306. 4

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persons are not allowed to enter a chat room, or are not included on various “buddy” lists. Cyberthreats and cyberstalking are particularly frightening forms of cyberbullying. The latter involves repeatedly sending messages that include threats of future harm, while the former may be threats to others, threats to harm a third party or parties, or threats to harm self. These types of messages are typically associated with emotional distress. The intention of these kind of behavior is to hurt the target. In their daily existence, some youth may be physically weak and possess little in the way of social power. When they are using technology, their power derives from their proficiency with technology.7 There are some unique elements of cyberbullying that create the potential to magnify the damage caused to the target. The obvious difference is that in cyberspace, cyberbullies may believe they are anonymous that their identity has been disguised.8 In reality, there are “cyberfootprints” that can be clues to the bully’s identity, although with considerable difficulty.9 Their belief that they cannot be identified can remove social inhibitions and norms, allowing bullies to behave in ways they would never behave in

7

J. W. Patchin, S. Hinduja, Bullies move beyond the schoolyard: A preliminary look at cyberbullying, “Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice”, 2006, 4, p.148169. 8 K. Brown, M. Jackson, W. Cassidy, Cyberbullying: Developing a policy to direct responses that are equitable and effective in addressing this special form of bullying, “Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy”, 2006, p. 58, http://umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/articles/ brown_jackson_cassidy.html (Access: 15.03.2018). 9 N. Willard, I can’t see you – you can’t see me: How the use of information and communication technologies can impact responsible behavior, 2004 http://www.cyberbully.org/docs/disinhibition.pdf (Access: 20.04.2018.) 67


person.10 In addition to this release from social conventions,11 the victim may believe he or she will not be caught or punished.12 The element of fear of discovery that may act as a behavioral control in person is absent in cyberspace. The other important ways that cyberbullying differs from faceto-face bullying are person-to-person exchanges. One can interpret non-verbal cues to augment the message communicated verbally. Body language and tone of voice communicate essential information.13 In an electronic communication those cues are absent. The receiver of the message does not have as many additional cues about nature of the message, despite the invention of emoticons to provide extra-textual information.14 The absence of the experience of seeing the harm reduces the likelihood of an empathetic reaction.15 According to those who had been targeted by online bullying in the Patchin and Hinduja study16, 32% said they were affected at school by these events. Several researchers17 observed that features of cyberbullying portend even greater psychological 10

J. W. Patchin, S. Hinduja, Bullies move beyond the schoolyard: A preliminary…, op. cit., p. 158. 11 M. L. Ybarra, K. J. Mitchell, Youth engaging in online harassment: Associations with caregiver-child relationships, Internet use, and personal characteristics, “Journal of Adolescence” 2004, 27, p. 319-336. 12 K. Brown, M. Jackson, M., W. Cassidy, Cyberbullying: Developing a policy to …, op. cit., p. 57,http://umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap /articles/ brown_ jackson_cassidy.html) (Access: 15.03.2018). 13 N. Willard, I can’t see you – you can’t see me: How…, op. cit., p.65. 14 B. Belsey, Cyberbullying: An emerging threat to the “always on”… op. cit. p.115. 15 N. Willard, Cyberbullying and cyberthreats. Eugene, OR: Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, 2006, http://www.cyberbully.org/docs/disinhibition.pdf (Access: 20.04.2018). 16 J. W. Patchin, S. Hinduja, Bullies move beyond the schoolyard: A preliminary…, op. cit., p.164. 17 M. A. Campbell, Cyber-bullying: An old problem in a new guise? “Australian Journal of Guidance and Counseling”, 2005, 15, p.75. 68


consequences than have been found with traditional bullying.18 One aspect is that the insults or comments can be preserved, so that the target may revert to reading them repeatedly, re-wounding the psyche with each review. The potential for serious consequences is illustrated by several suicides, a murder, and unknown numbers of school dropouts that were responses to cyberbullying.19 The size of the audience expands the degree of humiliation experienced by the target, which is likely to also increase the psychological impact of such events.20 When the cyberbullying is anonymous, the target’s trust in others is undermined, so that he/she cannot be certain that friends are really friends. If the content is threatening and anonymous, the degree of fear is understandably high, and an ongoing anxiety can result.21 Cyberbullying is such a recent phenomenon, there is no empirical evidence regarding effective interventions. Some strategies are modeled after programs for traditional bullying, while others employ logic and conventional wisdom in designing approaches to this problem. What is essential is that as programs are developed and implemented, rigorous evaluation measures are employed to determine effectiveness. In this way, best practice guidelines can be promoted that are databased. At the current time, however, educators must heed the advice of experts. There are several actions schools can take to reduce the likelihood of cyberbullying. First, all staff need to be educated about A. Fidelus, Życie rodzinne a zachowania patologiczne młodzieży, „Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Humanitas. Pedagogika”, Sosnowiec , 1/2006, p.45-48. 19 K. Brown, M. Jackson, W. Cassidy, Cyberbullying: Developing a policy …, op. cit., p. 57. 20 H. Marzec, Instytucjonalne formy opieki nad dzieckiem kompensujące braki wychowania rodzinnego, „Rocznik Pedagogiki Rodzinnej”, 1/2 2005, p. 125127. 21 M. A. Campbell, Cyberbullying: An old problem in …, op. cit., p. 74. 18

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the problem.22 Because of the rate at which innovations in technology occur, yearly workshops would ensure that staff information is current, new teachers are included, and all staff upto-date. Because so much of the cyberbullying takes place off school grounds, schools can help by providing workshops for parents and enlisting their assistance in monitoring their children’s use of technology. Parents also need to be alerted to possible financial liability if their child is involved in certain types of cyberbullying. Such information must reflect local laws. It is also essential that students be educated about cyberbullying, and instructed about how to handle incidents if they occur. 23They need to know how to print complete email headers, how to take screen shots, and other strategies that increase the chances of identifying the perpetrator. Students should also be encouraged to tell adults when they witness or are targeted in cyberbullying. One of the reasons many youth do not tell adults is that they fear the consequence will be the loss of their technology.24 To young people today, losing their technology is akin to being banished from their social world, and they often would rather risk being a target than losing their technology. As with traditional bullying, bystanders have an important role, and making certain to articulate that in any educational intervention will encourage more students to report problems to concerned adults. In addition to educating staff, parents, and students about

22

Campbell M. A., Cyber-bullying: An old problem in a new guise? “Australian Journal of Guidance and Counseling”, 2005, 15, p. 75. 23 T. Michalczyk, J. Wylężałek, Nierówności społeczne, jako istotne źródło problemów społecznych (in:) J. Klebaniuk (ed.), Fenomen nierówności społecznych. Nierówności społeczne w refleksji humanistycznej, Warszawa 2007, p. 46-48. 24 K. Brown, M. Jackson, W. Cassidy, Cyberbullying: Developing a policy …, op. cit., p. 58. 70


cyberbullying, whole school policies may be effective.25 Many schools and districts have existing policies regarding traditional bullying, which can be modified or amended to explicitly include cyberbullying. Having a clear policy provides guidelines for practice, but also makes a statement about the importance of the issue. The policy should permit confidential reporting of cyberbullying, as the fear of retaliation, serves to inhibit youth from getting help. In addition, it is essential that consequences be individualized to the situation. Policies also need to be individualized to the school context, and must consider carefully whether they wish to make policies that extend beyond the school building and school day. 26 Willard27 recommends that when schools can establish a “nexus” or connection between off-campus Internet use and the ability of a targeted student to participate fully in his/her educational experience, the school disciplinary mechanisms be employed. This expert also urges attention to the complexities of any given cyberbullying event; the student who is identified may have been retaliating for previous harassment, for example, and this should be treated differently than an unprovoked attack. Given that Internet and mobile phone use can occur outside school, it is important to involve and enlist the cooperation of parents when students are involved in cyberbullying. Parents who are aware of problems can take measures to more closely monitor the student’s use of technology. Willard also recommends that all staff be alerted when cyberbullying has occurred, so that monitoring efforts can be increased, and more importantly, other evidence of hostilities between the students be avoided. The policy should clearly state M. A. Campbell, Cyberbullying: An old problem…, op. cit., p.72. K. Brown, M.Jackson, W. Cassidy, Cyber-bullying: Developing a policy …, op. cit., p.57. 27 N. Willard, Cyberbullying and cyberthreats…, op. cit., p. 64. 25 26

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what behaviors constitute criminal code violations, and link the policy to existing protections against discrimination. Brown and colleagues28 advise that the entity charged with crafting a policy be composed of representatives of all stakeholders, including parents and students. Relations between students and teachers - researches results According to preliminary research results, out of 1621 students covered by research from all types of upper secondary schools in Warsaw, 674 students did not encounter cyberbullying, which accounted for 41.6% of the students surveyed, 947 pupils experienced this phenomenon, which is 58.4% of respondents, of which 461 students experienced various forms of cyberbullying, that is, about 28.4% of the surveyed pupil population. They were asked - Indicate the number of points characterize the quality of your relationship with the teacher to whom you have the most confidence, accepting for 100 points an ideal relationship, the average answer of students who did not come across the phenomenon of cyberbullying amounted to 54.8. Among pupils who encountered this phenomenon, the average was similar, but what is important was higher and amounted to 56.8. On the other hand, the average was clearly lower among students who experienced various forms of cyberbullying and were at 32.2. In this respect, the results obtained testify that the quality of student relationships with the teacher to whom they have the greatest confidence slightly exceeds half the ideal relationship with the points of view of high school students. This indirectly also shows that relations with other teachers are qualitatively worse. The possibilities of further improving the quality of relations between students and teachers

28

K. Brown, M.Jackson, W. Cassidy, Cyberbullying: Developing a policy …, op. cit., p.58.

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should be assessed as large. What is more, on the one hand the results of research indicate the best situation in this respect, and on the other hand the potential for improvement, which can be considered a great opportunity to improve mutual relations as a potential factor limiting cyberbullying among high school students. Another question from the subject was: With the teacher to whom you trust the most, list the three characteristics of the teacher, according to the importance that you particularly value in him. The research results in this respect were as follows: - students who did not come into contact with cyberbullying especially appreciated the following teacher's qualities: forbearance, discretion, wisdom; - students who have encountered the phenomenon of cyberbullying especially appreciated such features as: forbearance, discretion, kindness; - however, students who have experienced various forms of cyberbullying have indicated that there are other characteristics of the teacher to which they have the most trust, namely, care is the most important for them, followed by the teacher's willingness / helpfulness and discretion. Analyzing the results obtained, it is worth noting that for students who did not come across the phenomenon of cyberbullying, the teacher's wisdom was ranked third in importance. For students who have encountered this phenomenon or experienced cyberbullying in any form, features and this was not the key. On the other hand, other teacher characteristics were associated with the emotional and personal aspect of subsidiarity in the event of this phenomenon among students. Bearing in mind the problem being analyzed, the students were asked about it - To whom he/she would ask for help in case you would become a cyberbullying object

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a) a friend / colleague b) parents c) siblings; d) the teacher to whom I have the greatest trust, e) the school head, f) school pedagogue, g) school psychologist, h) the police, i) another person, The results of the research varied. It turned out that students who did not come into contact with cyberbullying, in case they became the object of cyberbullying, would turn to help parents in turn, the next persons indicated by this group of students are siblings and a school educator. Students who came into contact with the phenomenon of cyberbullying, help, would look primarily for their parents. On the second place there was a pedagogue and a school psychologist and on the third place a colleague. The last group are students who have experienced various forms of cyberbullying. For them, the most important people for whom they can find help are: a colleague, a teacher to whom they have the most confidence, the third place was the police. The research results indicate that students who actually experienced cyberbullying are looking for help above all among their peers, which should be assessed negatively. It also indicates that the role of both parents and the school as well as the police should be decisive in this respect. Therefore, institutional forms of helping students in case of cyberbullying against them should dominate the others. This shows the need for further cooperation of parents with the school and, if necessary, also with the police. What is more, forms of cooperation in this area should be constantly improved.

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Conclusions 1. The conducted research concerned 1621 students from all types of upper secondary schools in Warsaw, and the students came from Warsaw or its vicinity. The results of the research show that 58.4% of students encountered cyberbullying, while on average in Poland this level was lower and amounted to 39.5% according to the Supreme Audit Office. The difference is therefore significant and indicates a greater threat of this phenomenon in the Warsaw aglomeration. 2. The results of the research show that the quality of students' relations with the teacher to whom they have the greatest trust slightly exceeds half the ideal relationship from the point of view of high school students. Relations with other teachers are qualitatively worse. Therefore, the possibilities of further improving the quality of relations between students and teachers should be assessed as large. What is more, on the one hand the results of research indicate the best situation in this respect, and on the other hand the potential for improvement, which can be considered a great opportunity to improve mutual relations as a potential factor limiting the phenomenon of cyberbullying among high school students. 3. Students who did not come into contact with cyberbullying particularly appreciated the following teacher's qualities: forbearance, discretion, and wisdom. The students who came across the phenomenon of cyberbullying especially appreciated such features as forbearance, discretion and kindness. However, students who have experienced various forms of cyberbullying have pointed to significantly different characteristics of the teacher to whom they have the most trust, namely, care is the most important for them, followed by the willingness to act / subsidiarity of the teacher and discretion. For those students, the most important were the teacher's 75


features related to the emotional and personal aspect of subsidiarity in the event of cyberbullying among students. 4. Students who have not encountered cyberbullying, in the situation when they became the object of cyberbullying, would turn to help parents in turn, the next persons indicated by this group of students are siblings and a school educator. Students who came into contact with the phenomenon of cyberbullying, help were looking above all for parents, the second place was a pedagogue and a school psychologist, and on the third place a colleague. For students who have experienced various forms of cyberbullying, the most important people for whom they sought help include: a colleague, a teacher to whom they trust the most, and the third place was the police. Therefore, students who have actually experienced cyberbullying are looking for help primarily among their peers, which should be assessed negatively. It also indicates that the role of parents and the school as well as the police should be decisive in this respect. 5. It is important for teachers to acquire broad pedagogical and psychological knowledge related to the problems of aggression and to acquire skills that may be useful in school practice. Training and workshops should cover a wide range of topics that would broaden knowledge on how to help, intervene, talk and work with the child. Training on the teacher-student relationship is also necessary.

Bibliography Belsey B., Cyberbullying: An emerging threat to the “always on” generation,http://www.cyberbullying.ca/pdf/feature_ dec2005.pdf ., p.105-142. (Access: 16.04.2018). 76


Berson I. R., Berson M. J., Ferron J. M., Emerging risks of violence in the digital age: Lessons for educators from an online study of adolescent girls in the United States. “Journal of School Violence”, 1, 2002. Błaszczak I., Negatywny wpływ mediów na rozwój inteligencji emocjonalnej dzieci i młodzieży. Konstrukty osobiste jako świadectwo poznawcze w koncepcji J. Delia,[w:] (Patologie w cyberświecie (red.) S. Bębas, J. Plis, Bednarek J., Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa w Radomiu, Radom 2015, p. 63-68. Brown K., Jackson M., Cassidy W., Cyberbullying: Developing a policy to direct responses that are equitable and effective in addressing this special form of bullying, “Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy”, 2006, p. 58, http://umanitoba.ca/ publications/cjeap/articles/brown_jackson_cassidy.html (Access: 15.03.2018). Campbell M. A., Cyber-bullying: An old problem in a new guise? “Australian Journal of Guidance and Counseling”, 2005, 15, p.70-78. Fidelus A., Życie rodzinne a zachowania patologiczne młodzieży, „Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Humanitas. Pedagogika”, Sosnowiec , 1/2006, p. 45-48. Keith S., Martin M. E., Cyberbullying: Creating a culture of respect in a cyber world. Reclaiming Children and Youth, vol.13, number 4, 2005. Marzec H., Instytucjonalne formy opieki nad dzieckiem kompensujące braki wychowania rodzinnego, „Rocznik Pedagogiki Rodzinnej”, 1/2 2005. Merchant G., Teenagers in cyberspace: An investigation of language use and language change in Internet chatrooms, “Journal of Research in Reading”, 2001, 42. Michalczyk T., Wylężałek J., Nierówności społeczne, jako istotne źródło problemów społecznych ( w:) J. Klebaniuk (red.), 77


Fenomen nierówności społecznych. Nierówności społeczne w refleksji humanistycznej, Warszawa 2007, p. 46-48. Patchin J. W., Hinduja S., Bullies move beyond the schoolyard: A preliminary look at cyberbullying, “Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice”, 2006, 4. Shariff S., Gouin R., Cyber- dilemmas: Gendered hierarchies free expression and cyber-safety in schools. Paper presented at safety and security in a networked world: Balancing cyber-rights and responsibilities. Oxford Internet Institute Conference, on September 8, 2005, Oxford, U.K. Willard N., Cyberbullying and cyberthreats. Eugene, OR: Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, 2006, http://www.cyberbully.org/ docs/disinhibition.pdf (Access: 20.04.2018). Willard N., I can’t see you – you can’t see me: How the use of information and communication technologies can impact responsible behavior,2004, http://www.cyberbully.org/docs/ disinhibition.pdf (Access: 20.04.2018) Ybarra M. L., Mitchell K. J., Youth engaging in online harassment: Associations with caregiver-child relationships, Internet use, and personal characteristics, “Journal of Adolescence” 2004, 27. Abstract The paper is devoted to the phenomenon of cyberbullying. The research covered 1621 high school students in Warsaw. It was established that 58.4% of students encountered cyberbullying, while on average in Poland this level was lower and amounted to 39.5% according to the Supreme Audit Office. The research determined that the quality of student relations with the teacher to whom they have the greatest trust slightly exceeds half the ideal relationship. Students who experienced cyberbullying valued the teacher's solicitude, willingness to act / willingness to help and discretion. It also turned out that for students who have experienced 78


cyberbullying, the most important people for whom they seek for help are: a colleague, a teacher to whom they trust the most, and the in the third place is the police. Key words Cyberbullying, Student-teacher relations, Preventing, Cyberbullying. Note about the author Grażyna Chrostowska - Juszczyk, Master of Arts in History, PhD candidate at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. Active high school teacher in Warsaw (history, civics and English). The main research interests concern the phenomenon of cyberbullying among young people and the possibilities of limiting it especially in the context of improving relations between teacher, student and parents. In pedagogical practice she takes actions to reduce cyberbullying using Polish and foreign prevention programs.

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THE WORLD OF COMMUNICATION, MEDIA AND ORGANIZATION – NEW CHALLENGES

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Pathological mechanisms of human resources management

Joanna Wyleżałek Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences Monika Podkowińska Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences

Pathological mechanisms of human resources management Introduction Human resources management refers to activities which aim is to use appropriate and effective tools to motivate and inspire employees, to provide competent staff that, thanks to their knowledge, skills and experience, will be able to efficiently accomplish organizational goals. Human resources management is therefore a collection of “activities related to people, aimed at achieving the organization’s goals and meeting the employees’ needs (development).”1 Human resources management understood this way is based on the communication process, which, although on the one hand can be classified as one of the elements of the personal function, on the other hand is a factor determining the quality of personnel decisions made in the organization. An important issue in the light of an efficient human resources management system in contemporary organizations, therefore, is to 1

Słownik zarządzani kadrami, ed T. Listwan, C.H. Beck, Warszawa 2005, p. 183. 83

Joanna Wyleżałek - Monika Podkowińska

pay attention to those aspects which, when determining the implementation of the personnel function, may lead to problems, ambiguities, conflicts and misunderstandings. Communication in the organization reflects the existing interpersonal relationships related to the adopted management strategy by individuals or groups exercising power. Therefore, it should be assumed that one cannot rationally analyse the processes of human resources management without knowing the mechanisms of exercising power and informal control. As claimed by the creators of the theory of a strategic actor, M. Crozier and E. Friedberg, analysing the phenomenon of power, one should pay attention to the fact that each impact of one man on another in a certain team may contain elements of blackmail and manipulation, and team action is never completely determined neither by structures nor by the prevailing social order.2 In every organization, the key issue for the implementation of organizational goals is the climate of leadership, and team work is conditioned by the style of management. It is the style of leadership that determines the quality of interpersonal relationships within the teams. 3 The need to pay attention to the human resources management system and the mechanisms hindering efficient HR operations seems obvious. As noted by A. Pocztowski, “the need for critical reflection on further possible directions of human resource development is also due to a number of challenges faced by modern enterprises, including: the pressure to increase the innovation of progressive internationalization, the dissemination of new

See M. Crozier, E. Friedberg, Człowiek i system. Ograniczenia działania zespołowego, PWE, Warsaw, 1982, p. 90-122. 3J. Szmatka, Małe struktury społeczne, PWN, Warsaw 2007, p.108-117. 2

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technologies, mobility on labour markets and the increasing uncertainty in a turbulent environment”4 Bearing in mind the need to flexibly respond to changing market requirements, it is necessary to build organizations based on social capital, i.e. a team of cooperating specialists. All internaladministrative problems reduce the organization’s chances of market success. Accepting this obvious dependence of the author of the article, they will try to demonstrate that the purposeful strategic actions of organizational actors to maintain or gain power in the institutions underlie organizational cultures, and mistakes made by managers are often intentional actions underlying the implementation of the interests of specific groups or units. Examples of irregularities in vertical communication Human resources management is based on the internal communication system. The efficiency and timeliness of the work performed, quality of interpersonal relations and the work atmosphere will largely depend on the quality and efficiency of internal information flow. Communication, although it is not the only actor determining issues related to motivating employees, job satisfaction or affecting the quality of personnel decisions, is an important element of an efficient and effective HR management system. However, errors and communication barriers may significantly impede the implementation of personnel activities, negatively affecting the work of the members of the organization and a sense of satisfaction with the work performed. Aside from the intentionality of communication errors at this stage of analysis, it should be pointed out that communication errors and barriers, both intentional and unconscious, being a frequent source of conflicts

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A. Pocztowski, Zrównoważone zarządzanie zasobami ludzkimi w teorii i praktyce, Journal of Management and Finanse Vol. 14, No. 2/1/2016, p. 303. 85


and misunderstandings, can be considered from the perspective of vertical, horizontal and diagonal communication. Taking into consideration vertical communication – communication between the supervisor and the subordinates – the following deserves attention in particular: 1) lack of time to talk with employees – in-depth, clear and transparent transfer of information needed by employees, 2) lack of time that the superior should devote to listening the employees – their problems, ideas, expectations, proposed solutions to existing conflicts and misunderstandings, 3) information deficiencies – these relate, for example, to a situation in which superiors do not provide all the information needed by subordinates, they do not want to share their knowledge or experience with them. The situation, in which some information is stopped at the medium level of the organizational hierarchy and is not made available (or is made available with a significant delay) to serial employees, is problematic, 4) providing information necessary for employees to perform the task too late, 5) too frequent criticism and too many negative messages being a kind of “demotivators”, 6) lack of feedback on the tasks and instructions performed, 7) unclear messages, the use of ambiguous language, which in turn may increase the risk of misunderstanding the sent message, or its misinterpretation. An undoubted problem outlined in the third point is the reluctance of employees to share their knowledge and experience. It not only extends the time of searching for the necessary information, but also can hinder the performance of tasks entrusted to employees, negatively affecting the final result of their work. The communication problem is also the lack of knowledge about procedures, operating principles, etc. What’s more, the lack of 86


knowledge about where the information is needed at the moment causes that the same information is collected by various employees and stored in different places. This extends the time of reaching information and makes employees unnecessarily lose time to “get”, obtain information, which is already “available” in their department. Another irregularity seems to come from a situation, in which employees do not forward messages directly to interested parties, but send them to the so-called intermediaries whose task is to provide this information to the target group. A manager of a specific project may be an example, who instead of transferring the information directly to interested employees who in the organizational structure are in three different departments, first sends this information to the heads of their departments with a request to send it to the subordinates. Thus, the time of getting the information is extended, and the managers of particular departments become persons performing the “postman” function in this case. Therefore, it should be emphasized that the communication openness lies primarily at the core of an efficient human resources management system, which promotes the exchange of information, mutual listening, and even waiting for feedback from subordinates. Clear, obvious information passed up and down the organizational structure favours the creation of a positive working atmosphere, facilitates the performance of tasks and the formation of satisfying relationships. However, if the organization lacks clear procedures relating to such areas of human resources management as rating, promotion, rewarding, etc. It is difficult to build a proper working atmosphere that is also a motivating factor for employees and conducive to building satisfying relationships. An efficient communication system means that the rules and procedures relating to, for example, 87


the assessment or promotion, are known to employees and are accepted by them. Transparency and clarity, as well as wide access to such information form the basis for building an efficient and effective human resources management system. Pathological organizational cultures In addition to internal communication, special attention should be paid to the organizational culture in the sphere of effective management of human resources. Cultural issues, especially in the environment of international corporations, seem to be of special importance. J. Pasieczny draws attention to this type of situations, writing about pathologies resulting from cultural domination. The author notes that “this is particularly evident in international corporations where there are such phenomena as: following nationality criteria for promotions, differences in the level of remuneration in favour of employees from the country of the headquarters, as well as – which only indirectly refers to the area of social organization – unofficial transfers of funds to foreign headquarters.”5 From the perspective of irregularities occurring in organizations, pathological organizational cultures also deserve attention, including:6 1) paranoid organisational culture – which is associated with building a work atmosphere based on a lack of trust, a considerable distance and a reserve that that is kept between employees, engaged in searching for the hidden motives of the actions of others. It is an organizational culture that promotes and encourages the so-called “conspiracy theory of history”

J. Pasieczny, Źródła patologii organizacyjnych, Journal of Management and Finance, Vol. 14, No.3/2/2016, p. 177. 6 Słownik zarządzani kadrami, op. cit., p. 24, 30, 112, 113, 177 5

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2) forced organisational culture – based primarily on formal relations between employees, and also attaching significant importance to seniority and “formalisms”. A characteristic feature of this culture is the preference for excessive perfectionism, flawless performance of tasks, as well as paying attention to details and order, which helps to minimize the risk of all kinds of unexpected problems, confusion or disorganization of the organizational reality. 3) dramatic organizational culture – which, unlike forced organizational culture, recognizes all kinds of formalisms as obstacles and difficulties that negatively affect the development of the organization and its employees, as well as have a negative impact on the interpersonal relationships being built. Within this organizational culture, spontaneous activities based on intuition and instinct are preferred. Improvisation and naturalness are “welcome.” 4) depressive organizational culture – conducive to passivity and attitude expressing helplessness and lack of willingness to introduce any changes. This culture promotes the belief that changing what has happened is not possible because what happens depends on factors independent of employees, such as coincidence, market laws, uncontrollable forces of nature, etc. 5) schizoid organizational culture – which promotes excessive distance between employees, as well as exaggerated individual employee autonomy. This leads to feelings of loneliness and alienation, negatively affecting the interpersonal relationships and the working atmosphere. Employees are separated by a lack of trust, coldness, indifference and closed attitude. Pathological organizational cultures focus the attention and actions of employees around these values and principles, which instead of fostering development, creativity, as well as stimulating action, cooperation and seeking new solutions, become a 89


contribution to avoiding responsibility and excessive involvement in work. The pathological organizational cultures result in “inappropriate values, beliefs and practices promoted in the company, dysfunctionally affecting the behaviour of employees and the work they perform.”7 In such a case, it is difficult to talk about communicative openness, building an atmosphere of work, which is conducive not only to openness but also to development and which motivates and integrates employees around organizational goals. There is no doubt that communication as well as organizational culture are inextricably linked and constitute the organization’s factors used not only for motivation, but also for building appropriate relationships, enabling efficient and effective management of the most valuable resource of the organization – people. Irregularities in organizational communication, promotion of inappropriate behaviour through the organizational culture may lead to stagnation, withdrawal or acceptance by employees of a defensive attitude. This means that the way in which information is provided to employees, the timing of their delivery, and the value promoted by the organization can be a tool to stimulate employees to work, integrate them and unite organizational objectives, or in the case of communication pathologies and pathological organizational cultures, they can demotivate, promote passivity, indifference and lack of commitment to organizational matters. In the case of communication pathologies and pathological organizational cultures, these may be purposeful actions aimed at maintaining or gaining power by eliminating potential competition.

7

Ibidem, p. 112.

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Power in the theory of organizational games and the pathologies of human management Bertrand Russel stated that “power is a fundamental concept of the science of society”8 and indeed, power as a subject of considerations appears in sociological theories quite often, unfortunately, contrary to research. The theory that provides the theoretical basis for conducting research on the relations of power in an organization is the theory of organizational games or otherwise a strategic actor formulated by French researchers, Michel Crozier and Erhard Friedberg.9 It allows to examine at what point a relational or communication disorder appears, what it is conditioned by and whether it is a strategic activity.10 As pointed out by Michel Crozier and Erhard Friedberg, in their considerations regarding the limitations of team activities, every material problem contains a considerable amount of “uncertainty”, that is, lack of determination of specific ways of solving it. Therefore, it can be assumed that uncertainty is a fundamental asset in all negotiations and is a source of power. Actors able to control specific sources of uncertainty use this asset in negotiations with others who, as a result, become dependent on them. This way, relations between actors (individual or group) and between them and the problems they solve are structured in the area of power and dependence. The basic reason for discrepancy between the notions about the functioning of the organization and reality is the fact that the functioning of each organization includes both the sphere of formal activities related to formal and legal regulations and

B. Russel, Władza. Nowa analiza społeczna, Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 2001, p.18. 9 M. Crozier, E. Friedberg, Człowiek i system…op. cit. 10 See. J. Wyleżałek, Mobbing uczelniany jako problem społeczny. Specyfika , uwarunkowania organizacyjne oraz konsekwencje przemocy w miejscu pracy na przykładzie szkół wyższych, Pub. SGGW, Warsaw 2012. 8

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informal control, which may be based, apart from positive aspects of informal relation, also only on the implementation of particular interests. It seems correct from the perspective of the analysis of the functioning of the organization that the area of formal and informal activities should be treated equally. Regardless of the scope of the analysis of the organization’s activities, taking into account more or less the informal sphere, power is the most important because team action is a continuous policy. It should be taken into account that the sources of power themselves are not strictly formal, although they are directly related to the institutional structure and organizational goals. The actual relations of power that arise within a given organization are never a simple and clear reflection of the relation of forces and forms of domination conditioned by the social structure or division of labour. The organizational structure is, however, a factor determining the areas on which relations of power can be established and defining the conditions under which they take place. Crozier and Friedberg proposed a division into types of power corresponding to the sources of uncertainty particularly characteristic of the organization: 1) expert power – resulting from mastering particular skills or from specific functional specialization, an expert who can solve important problems for an organization has a position much more advantageous in negotiations; 2) power related to the control of the organization’s connections with its surroundings – the ability to control those segments of the social environment with which the organization is associated; 3) power resulting from access to communication channels and certain types of information – arises as a result of the actors’ use of the place and position occupied in the process of the organization

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functioning and is associated with the availability of information important for the partners’ ability to act; 4) power resulting from generally applicable organizational rules – it is the director’s response to problems arising from the existence of the other three sources of power; it mainly concerns the formulation of provisions.11 Maintaining control over the sources of organizational uncertainty requires the adoption of an appropriate action strategy by each organizational actor. In the area of functioning of each organization, however, this management strategy becomes crucial for the implementation of system objectives and strategies of other organizational actors. All contemporary management theories are built or, at the very least, take into account the theory of social capital. This concept discussed by many theoreticians (Bourdieu, Coleman, Putnam, Fukuyama, Sztompka et al.)12 can be defined according to R. Putnam as: “properties of social life: a network of norms and mutual trust that allow members of society to achieve common goals more effectively”. In other words, social capital refers to social bonds and the accompanying norms of trust.13 The reflection on the contextual conditions of generalized trust is crucial for building the human capital, which includes: 1) normative certainty and its opposite – normative chaos or anomia, 2) transparency of the social organization or its opacity and secrecy,

M. Crozier, E. Friedberg, Człowiek i system…op. cit., p.81-89. P. Sztompka, Kapitał społeczny. Teoria przestrzeni międzyludzkiej, Pub. Znak, Cracow 2016, p.286-295. 13 R.D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1993, p.36. 11 12

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3) stability of the social order and its opposite – liquidity and short-term aspect, 4) liability of the authority or lack of liability and arbitrariness, 5) enforcing rights and imposing duties or their opposite, i.e. powerlessness in relations to offenses, 6) enforcing duties and fulfilment of obligations or permissiveness, 7) ensuring dignity, integrity of the autonomy of each member of society or the lack thereof.14 The theory of Crozier and Friedberg prove useful in order to understand the conditions of existence of the culture of trust or lack of confidence in the organization, who point out the nature of action strategies adopted by organizational actors that contain two opposite and complementary aspects: 1) avoiding the limitations of self-reliance – a defensive strategy which primary purpose is to broaden the margin of organizational freedom through self-development; 2) striving to limit the freedom of other participants’ actions – an offensive strategy, which in the area of organizational pathology can be used as a tool for manipulation and “discouragement” of development activities, while in the field of ethical activities it can be a means of controlling those actors who treat unethical activities as organizational standard.15 The importance and significance of each aspect varies in space and time depending on the situation of the action and on the strengths that the actor has. It should be assumed that actors who do not have strong organizational strengths or the ability to acquire these assets, i.e. actors with low levels of organizational

P. Sztompka, Zaufanie i nieufność i dwa paradoksy demokracji (in:) P. Sztompka, M. Kucia, Socjologia. Lektury, Pub. Znak, Cracow 2007, p.397-408. 15 M. Crozier, E. Friedberg, Człowiek i system…op. cit. 90-91. 14

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competence, to expand their own margin of freedom, will apply primarily manipulations limiting the actions of actors with higher potentials, and in a situation where, based on the adopted strategies, they acquire the formal authority of their actions, along with manipulation in the informal sphere, there will be coercion in the formal sphere and not negotiations, as in the case of the authority of power. The specific configuration of interpersonal relations and the strategies adopted by the actors form the real matrix of organizational life, combining the divergent goals of individual actors and giving them a social dimension. However, the nature of the dominant strategies in the organization determines the type of organizational culture that may favour the development of institutions or be dysfunctional in relation to organizational goals. The domination of offensive strategies limiting actors with stronger organizational strengths, as well as blackmail and manipulation are the basis for the creation of a culture of distrust and degradation of social capital and, as a consequence, discrimination, mobbing, clientelism, corruption, nepotism and other organizational pathologies. All these pathologies are favoured by irregularities in the processes of interorganizational communication. Organizations in which management pathologies become an element of organizational culture are characterized by: 1) giving preference to short-term interests instead of long-term ones; 2) regular transgression of internal organization norms and codes; 3) failure to observe the ethical problems and ethical consequences of decisions; 4) loss of ethical behaviour in the face of financial profits; 5) introduction of ethics only as a tool for creating an image; 6) treating members of the organization only as subordinates and not as partners; 7) lack of support and motivation for ethical behaviour; 8) lack of ethical programs and an active policy of supporting ethical

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conduct.16 Such organizations do not achieve systemic goals because their actions are paralysed by incoherence and normative relativism. Ending The correct understanding of the essence of power in the intentional dimension is important in the scope of comprehensive analysis of the relationship of power and human resources management. The basic problem in the discourse devoted to the issue of power, according to many researchers, should become the issue of the intentions of actions undertaken as part of the power relations both in the micro- and macro-structural dimension, that is the “behind-the-scenes” issues concerning the specific interests.17 Although some classic analyses of power today do not include enough of these intentions18, it should also be noted that Max Weber has already formulated this definition of power taking into account the importance of the will of the person in power, which is significantly related to intentions.19 Regarding this classical definition, it should be noted that the will can be carried out in three basic ways: 1) by imposing one’s will – that is, enforcing certain behaviours even against one’s will or the ability not to perform the actions that are demanded by someone; 2) by carrying out one’s own will by defining the issues – that is defining the issues to be considered, but also blocking issues that may be dangerous to consider from the point of view of exercising

P. Fobel, D. Fobelová, Etyka i kultura w organizacji, Pub. WSZiNS in Tychy, Tychy 2007, p.38-39. 17 See K. Pietrowicz, P. Stankiewicz (ed.), Za kulisami. Szkice o władzy, interesach i bezpieczeństwie, Pub. Zysk i S-ka, Poznan 2012. 18 R. A. Dahl, The Concept of Power, Behavioural Science 2, 1957, p.201-205. 19 See M. Weber, Gospodarka i społeczeństwo, Zarys socjologii rozumiejącej, PWN, Warsaw 2002, p.39. 16

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and maintaining power;20 3) by carrying out one’s own will by defining desires – that is, exercising power by shaping the expectations and desires of individuals. 21 Imposing one’s will in the power relationship does not have to be a negative phenomenon, especially if the social structure is in a situation of deformation, resulting from the dominance of the permissive atmosphere or, on the contrary, punctuality. The leader, whose primary intention is to restore the state of balance and social development in society, must have coercive means, if the negotiations and persuasion to change attitudes cannot be effective at the given moment. The situation is different in the case of strategies for defining issues, where one should pay attention to one-sidedness in the process of shaping collective consciousness, i.e. what distortions are deliberately subjected to the process of perceiving reality and what actions are undertaken to maintain these deformations. Therefore, by analysing the dominant values and organisational or political procedures, it can be detected which persons and which groups gain from maintaining distortions of perception of reality and which are impaired, as a result of their occurrence. By analysing the power from this perspective, it is also possible to discover a way in which people and groups interested in maintaining the “status quo” try to limit the decision-making process to safe issues, from their point of view. The biggest possibilities of blocking the entry of “uncomfortable” issues to the collective consciousness are found in those people and groups that have already gained power, which means that the current system of power will be sustained and reproduced. Limiting information is never an ethical phenomenon

P. Bachrach, M.S. Baratz, Decisions and Nondecisions: An Analytical Framework, The American Political Science Review 57, 1963, p.947-952. 21 S. Lukes, Power, A Radical View, London 1974, p.23. 20

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because it deprives subordinates of the possibility of making free choices, which is also the case for specific interest groups. Comparing the exercise of power by defining issues with the exercise of power by defining desires, one can distinguish a significant difference that requires treating the second form as even more cynical. In the first case, the individual or group realizes that the problems that are important to it are not present in the discourse, but cannot be included due to obvious limitations. In the second case, an individual or a group cannot include issues that are important to the discourse, because they are unaware of their existence and because in its present form the discourse discriminate against it. Therefore, a person is subject to power not because he has received such an order and not because his point of view is excluded from public debate and considered unauthorized, but because he thinks he is doing what he wants to. Such a way of exercising power is, of course, particularly sophisticated, because through the prism of own interests, individuals and groups exercising power define what is true and what cannot be recognized as truth. It is also effective because, as a result, it can refer to “common sense” of individuals and manipulated groups.22 Both forms of conducting own will should be therefore considered as pathological mechanisms of power, which are reflected in the strategy of human resources management based on the exclusion from the discourse of important issues or manipulation of desires and needs subordinated to power for their own benefit. Assuming, in a certain simplification, that the universal correctness of the ethical power relations i san action directed at the

22

P. Hensel, J. Ramus, Władza w organizacji-problem badawczy, którego nie ma (in:) B. Glinka. K. Konecki (ed.) Współczesne problemy socjologii organizacji i zarządzania, Pub. Uł, Łódź 2006, p. 58-73.

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development of the organization and not on the particular interests of specific social groups or individual interests, proper management will lead to the sustainable development of all groups fulfilling the social contract on the principles set by the system participants who build their social capital and on exclusion, irrespective of their position, from the system of these groups of units, who do not comply with the social contract. This situation eliminates the occurrence of pathological organizational cultures while building a culture of trust through a transparent human resources management system.

Bibliography Bachrach P.,. Baratz M.S, Decisions and Nondecisions: An Analytical Framework, The American Political Science Review 57, 1963. Crozier M., Friedberg E., Człowiek i system. Ograniczenia działania zespołowego, PWE, Warszawa, 1982. Dahl R. A., The Concept of Power, Behavioural Science 2, 1957. Fobel P., Fobelová D., Etyka i kultura w organizacji, Wyd. WSZiNS w Tychach, Tychy 2007. Lukes S., Power, A Radical View, London 1974. Hensel P, Ramus J., Władza w organizacji-problem badawczy, którego nie ma (w:) B. Glinka. K. Konecki (red.) Współczesne problemy socjologii organizacji i zarządzania, Wyd. Uł, Łódź 2006. Pasieczny J., Źródła patologii organizacyjnych, Journal of Management and Finance, Vol. 14, No.3/2/2016. Pietrowicz K., Stankiewicz P. (red.), Za kulisami. Szkice o władzy, interesach i bezpieczeństwie, Wyd. Zysk i S-ka, Poznań 2012. Pocztowski A., Zrównoważone zarządzanie zasobami ludzkimi w teorii i praktyce, Journal of Management and Finanse Vol. 14, No. 2/1/2016. Putnam R.D., Making Democracy Work, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1993

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Russel B., Władza. Nowa analiza społeczna, Wyd. Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 2001 Słownik zarządzani kadrami, red T. Listwan, Wydawnictwo C.H. Beck, Warszawa 2005. Szmatka J., Małe struktury społeczne, PWN, Warszawa 2007. Sztompka P., Kapitał społeczny. Teoria przestrzeni międzyludzkiej, Wyd. Znak, Kraków 2016. Sztompka P., Zaufanie i nieufność i dwa paradoksy demokracji (w:) P. Sztompka, M. Kucia, Socjologia. Lektury, Wyd. Znak, Kraków 2007. Weber M., Gospodarka i społeczeństwo, Zarys socjologii rozumiejącej, PWN, Warszawa 2002 Wyleżałek J., Mobbing uczelniany jako problem społeczny. Specyfika , uwarunkowania organizacyjne oraz konsekwencje przemocy w miejscu pracy na przykładzie szkół wyższych, Wyd. SGGW, Warszawa 2012 Abstract The article entitled “Pathological mechanisms of human resources management as strategic actions of the authorities” i san attempt to indicate various theoretical concepts of management and power, so as to discover the “behind-the-scenes” strategic activities that often lead to dysfunctionality of the organization. Referring to the theory of organizational games, the authors point to the actions of actors who, expanding their own margin of freedom, can pursue their own strategies that are different from the rational strategies of the organizations or other actors. The domination of offensive activities in the organization may lead to pathology in human resources management and consequently create pathological organizational cultures. The article also presents the selected irregularities in the sphere of internal communication and characterized the selected pathological organizational cultures.

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Key words Organization, Human resources management, Power, organizational game, Pathological mechanisms of power, Pathological organizational cultures, Vertical communication. Note about the authors Assoc. Prof. Joanna Wyleżałek, PhD - She has been the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at SGGW since 2016, and has also acted as the Head of the General Sociology Department since 2017. She is a member of the Management Board of the Sociology Section of the Polish Sociological Association. Her scientific interests concern the social and cultural functions of didactic, educational and scientific institutions as well as mechanisms of exercising power and social control. Assoc. Prof. Monika Podkowińska, PhD, is the Head of the Department of Sociology and the Head of the Division of Social Communication at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. Her scientific interests focus on the issues of family communication and social work, solving interpersonal and group conflicts, and management sociology. She is the author of several dozen articles, four books dedicated to communication issues, a scientific editor of two national monographs and a co-editor of one foreign monograph.

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Benefits of an intranet use in dialogue

Iwona Błaszczak Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences

Benefits of an intranet use in dialogue Introduction The expansion of new technologies is said to be a challenge for the contemporary people also in the area of professional development. In this world, where the computers play a huge role in our daily works, the scientific and technological development happens in a surprising pace, it is not enough to possess only those skills that we learnt at school. Everyone has to invest in his self – development and professional development, which last during the whole life indeed. Acquisition of the knowledge is becoming a necessity nowadays. This phenomenon is especially visible within the professional domain, where higher qualifications are required more and more. That is why every human has to build up constantly his intellectual asset.1 Organisations that have chosen to apply intranet communication show an improvement in the level of professional communication and convenience at work. Effective

1

I. Błaszczak, Coaching and mentoring as one of the most effective instruments motivating employees to develop their professional competences - illustrated by a description of the academy of corporate mentoring’s work, (in:) Ekzistencìjnì ta komunìkativnì pitannâ upravlìnnâ: materìali mìžnarodnoï naukovoteoretičnoï konferencìï, Sumskij Derzawnyj Uniwersytet, Sumi - Ukraina 2014, s. 7-17. 103

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internal communication allows employers to manage the organisation more easily and prevent conflicts and crises. “Without an effective system of internal communication it would not be possible to effectively manage all organisational resources, including the human resources. Communication is a process, which allows for the optimal and rational use of the available resources, build the corporate image, develop relationships with the environment. Both the internal and the external communication is a factor determining the quality of the decision-making in all areas of the organisational activity.”2 Moreover, informed employees have a sense of participation in the activities of the organisation and are better motivated to perform their tasks. Employees are motivated due to the feeling that their opinion is taken into account in making decisions about their business. As Monika Podkowińska emphasises: It is worth stressing that the communication process supports and complements any HR actions and reinforces the strength of the pecuniary and nonfinancial incentives.”3 Because of tools such as discussion forum, poll, chat and the ability to comment on articles, the communication process within the companybecomes bilateral - everyone can express their opinion instead of being a passive reader of published content. An intranet is undoubtedly one of the most effective forms of communication, which increases the efficiency of an organisation and contributes to the integration of employees. Through an

2

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M.Podkowińska, The communicative dimension of employees’ development,(in:) Management 2016, Domestic Particularities and Emerging Markets in the Light of Research, (ed.) R Štefko, M. Frankovský, R. Fedorko, Bookman s.r.o., Prešov 2016, p. 147 M. Podkowińska Communication in Employees’ Motivation and Remuneration System, „Edukacja Ekonomistów i Menedżerów” 4/2011, p. 150.

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intranet the employed have the opportunity to improve their competence, e.g. by participating in interactive training and elearning courses. These examples are just some of the benefits that can be obtained using an intranet in any company. Intranet application in dialogue An intranet in the era of information technology is widely used in order to ensure current communication of employees, exchange of information, ideas, opinions and remarks. Grzegorz Kolasiński, an expert on this issue, states that the most useful and the most frequently ordered intranet modules include:4 1. A phonebook, a company contacts book - it is a search engine that after entering the surname or name allows you to find the desired person. The description may include a photo, contact information (phone number, email address), job description and other additional information. A phonebook performs an integrating role within an organisation. 2. The database of external contacts – these contacts are jointly updated via employees creating a knowledge base within an organisation. 3. Company news – every organisation needs to transmit information amongst groups of employees. All current information that applies to all employees are placed on the intranet. 4. The database of company documents – an intranet contains one place, known to all employees, with a basic set of documents such as business documents patterns, statute, product descriptions, tender templates, contract templates, holiday applications, etc.

4

G. Kolasiński, MTH Intranetu, czyli co każdy dojrzały Intranet mieć powinien, Intranety.pl - Pierwszy Polski Portal Intranetów i komunikacji wewnętrznej, http://www.intranety.pl/?dalej=article&articleID=10, (Access: 02.02. 2015).

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5. Knowledgebase and corporate training – an intranet has got a special place dedicated to training and storage of all training materials. 6. Holiday application – this holiday module not only informs you about the number of holiday days left, but constitutes a way to report a will to take a leave by resigning from paper application forms and in this place one is able to obtain information whether one’s leave has been accepted or rejected. 7. Calendar - may include absence of employees, and sometimes is limited to specific corporate events. Corporate Calendar is a presentation of important events from the perspective of a particular organisation. 8. Reservation of resources - it is a way to organise information regarding the use of corporate property; via an intranet in the resource reservation module we can book a room, a projector, or a company car. 9. Lending book of records– it is the next intranet module via which people are able to manage company’s goods. 10. Employee notices - one of the natural needs is to exchange information directly between employees. 11. Business discussions – it is a conversation on an intranet at a distance, but more importantly, it is sharing this conversation with others. Business discussions constitute also a way to build a knowledge base of an organisation. 12. Company gallery - contains images of employee events, such as business trips, holiday celebrations, special meetings of employees, etc. The company gallery module is most commonly used as a factor integrating all employees. 13. Useful links – an intranet gives its users another facilitation: all kinds of web addresses to restaurants, bars, but also to the latest acts.

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14. Employee surveys and polls - at this point one can express their views, opinions, take part in surveys and polls designed specifically for employees and placed on an intranet. 15. Intranet statistics - these are statistics which provide data on the assessment of suitability of individual intranet modules. Electronic communication Internal communication within an organisation constitutes a valuable tool for building company culture and for internal crisis prevention. “Of course, communication is not a tool, which allows you to solve all problems relating to the sphere of human resource management, including the ones related to the implementation of organisational changes and the adaptation to the market requirements, but it undoubtedly constitutes an instrument, which can be helpful in many problematic situations, facilitating the resolution of many problematic issues, unclear and conflicting. It is also a tool, which affects the quality of the personnel decisions, also in the area of the staff development.”5 The image of each institution ought to be shaped amongst its employees, since the way in which its members evaluate their company has a great significance for shaping their attitudes and identifying with the workplace. As Barbara Rozwadowska emphasises: “Internal communication is for an organisation the same as blood for a living organism. When properly conducted, it becomes a platform of modern management as it arises trust and prevents isolation, organises actions and gives them a profound sense.6 5

6

M. Podkowińska, The communicative dimension of employees’ development..., op. cit., p. 147. B. Rozwadowska, Public Relations teoria, praktyka, perspektywa, Studio Emka Warsaw 2002, p. 120. 107

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Moreover, “The communication process takes an import ant position in this respect, as the efficient flow of information will influence the success of the organisation in the field of HR management, including effective motivation and remuneration of employees. However, to be able to under stand employees and learn their expectations and opinions, we need to make effective use of the communication means available to us.”7 Those employees who have a great knowledge about their company form their opinions about its functioning easier and take an active attitude. Well-informed employees feel important and of great worth, better motivated to fulfil the tasks entrusted to them. Furthermore, they identify themselves with the organisation in which they are employed and feel responsible for it. They demonstrate their own initiative more frequently. Informing employees about difficulties, successes and the direction towards which the enterprise goes, arises trust towards the managing staff, favours appropriate atmosphere and strengthens the authority of the managing staff. The effectiveness of communication with employees depends, to a high extent, on the choice of proper means of conveying information within an organisation. Table 1 presents the combination of the chosen means.

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M. Podkowińska Communication in Employees’ Motivation …, op. cit., p. 147148.

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Table 1. Means of communication within an organisation Connected with conveying information

Connected with direct communication

The print media:

Formal

- corporate publishing company (company bulletin, newsletter, Employee handbook, company chronicle), - reports for employees (annual, periodic) - information and announcing boards, - publications for the management staff, - informative brochures, The electronic media:

- written manuals, - internal documents, memoranda, formal meetings and conferences for employees,

- Internet, - electronic post, - company radio, - infoline

- personal communication, - briefings, - consultations, - visiting employees in their workplace

Having an influence on the shaping of the company image in the eyes of its employees - visual identification system, - exhibitions, - contests for employees and their families, - charity in favour of local community, - company open days, - special events, recreation, employee clubs,

Informal

The audiovisual media: - video, - projects, - complaint box, ideas box,

Source: J. Penc, Komunikacja i negocjowanie w organizacji, Warszawa 2010, p. 114. 109

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Electronic communication plays a significant role in professional dialogue in every modern company. According to Józef Penc, electronic communication consists of formal information systems and personal information techniques. A. Formal information systems. An optimal information system ought to enable access to any necessary and proper information to every employee. Nonetheless, a closed and unintegrated system is likely to seriously hamper the flow of information within an enterprise. When such a system is created, the following conditions are to be fulfilled:8 it must be adapted to the needs and comprise all areas of business activity, levels of management and levels of decisionmaking; this system is to serve complex and current information in order to react quickly to changes connected with internal and external conditions; this system ought to segregate, assemble and update information, as it enables speed and frequency; the flow of information is to be as short as possible and compatible with the structure of the organisation; this system must be protected against the influence of unwanted informal information. B. Personal electronic engineering technology. Nowadays almost every position is equipped with a computer, mostly a mobile one. Several factors may disrupt the process of communication among employees. As shown in Table 2, these may be divided into two categories: individual barriers and organisational barriers.

8

J. Penc, Komunikacja i negocjowanie w organizacji, Warszawa 2010, p. 106.

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Table 2. Barriers to effective communication Individual barriers Organisational barriers - conflicting or inconsistent signals - semantics - interlocutor’s credibility - status or power differences - reluctance to communicate - different perceptions - poor listening habits - noise - attitude adopted in advance - overload Source: R. W. Griffin, Podstawy zarządzania organizacjami, Warszawa 2005, p. 610. When defeating communication barriers within a particular organisation, methods referring to both managing staff and other employees are extremely useful. As shown in Table 3, these methods comprise individual and organisational skills. Table 3. Overcoming barriers to communication Individual skills Organisational skills - developing good listening skills -development and -encourage two-way continuation communication - regulate information flows - be aware of language and - understand the richness of meaning media - maintain credibility - be sensitive to the receiver’s perspective - be sensitive to the sender’s perspective Source: R. W. Griffin, Podstawy zarządzania organizacjami, Warszawa 2005, p. 611.

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Iwona Błaszczak

Benefits of an intranet The added value that we obtain after the implementation of an

intranet in an organisation depends mostly on the attitude of the employees and their commitment to the company. An intranet as an information management system and internal communication management system turned out to work amongst employee groups consisting of young people. Aleksander Sala, in the article published in the portal Intranety.pl. The First Polish Portal about Intranets and internal communication, presented 21 key benefits resulting from using an intranet in communication within an organisation:9 communication improvement, more efficient reserve management, quick access to current standards and patterns, introduction of electronic document circulation, creating libraries and information archives in the form of electronic documents, creating a demand for information in a company, learning from the mistakes of others and one’s own, employee integration, building of organisational culture more easily, lowering operating costs, improving the implementation of new employees, low maintenance costs of positions (only Internet browsers required), access to relevant data and business resources for the proper group of employees, creating an important source of knowledge about the functioning of the company and its subsidiaries for the management staff, the ability to perform a quick assessment of the state of the various departments of the company, as well as cross-sectional analysis of the business through the use of reporting tools, quick response to the needs of the company, providing all key company information in one tool via systems integration function, easy to use

9

Sala A., Minimum 21 korzyści z wdrożenia Intranetu, Intranety.pl - Pierwszy Polski Portal Intranetów i komunikacji wewnętrznej: http://www.intranety.pl/?dalej=article&articleID=5A, (Access: 02.02. 2015).

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user interface - the use of an intranet does not require long-lasting and expensive training, the ability to browse the web using a web browser, system flexibility expressed via modularity allows the implementation of the system at the right time for particular areas of activity, relatively low implementation costs, short implementation time. Conclusion In the 21st century the electronic media has become the dominant means of social communication. Obviously, the technological development changes the way of the world perception by an individual and the character of interpersonal communication. The aforementioned changes also affect the way of conveying information within professional dialogue. As Emilia Paprzycka, Zbigniew Izdebski emphasises: “the Internet entails incomparable changes on the availability of other persons as well as the possibility of establishment and maintenance relations with them, thus providing an additional space of people-to-people contacts” 10. Modern organisations attempt to follow these alterations. For this reason they introduce electronic systems of internal communication including an intranet, as one of the most effective electronic tools used for information management, professional dialogue and communication within an organisation. An intranet is a computer network comprising one enterprise or institution. This tool is available only for a particular group of people, for instance, employees of an organisation, who are provided with an authorised access to their company intranet. It enables the control of the flow of information and prevents the access to it of those being unauthorised, from the outside of a particular organisation. 10

E. Paprzycka, Z. Izdebski, Single i singielki. Difin: Warszawa 2016, p. 216. 113

Iwona Błaszczak

At the initial stage of its development, an intranet was replaced by company newsletters, and now its basic task is connected with conducting professional dialogues within an organisation. An intranet is described as ‘elastic’ due to the fact that it can be freely modified, improved and extended, depending on the current needs. Taking WAN into consideration, which is a distributed network, there is an unrestricted territorial scope of the net. Using an intranet brings both measurable financial benefits for the company and it leads to employee integration via heated discussions on essential topics connected with a particular company.

Bibliography Błaszczak, I., Coaching and mentoring as one of the most effective instruments motivating employees to develop their professional competences - illustrated by a description of the academy of corporate mentoring’s work, (in:) Ekzistencìjnì ta komunìkativnì pitannâ upravlìnnâ: materìali mìžnarodnoï naukovo-teoretičnoï konferencìï, Sumskij Derzawnyj Uniwersytet, Sumi - Ukraina 2014. G. Kolasiński, MTH Intranetu, czyli co każdy dojrzały Intranet mieć powinien, Intranety.pl - Pierwszy Polski Portal Intranetów i komunikacji wewnętrznej: http://www.intranety.pl/ ?dalej=article&articleID=10, [02.02. 2015]. Goban-Klas T., Media i komunikowanie masowe, PWN, Warszawa 2008. Golko M., Bariery w komunikowaniu i społeczeństwo (dez)informacyjne, PWN, Warszawa 2008. Griffin, R., W., Podstawy zarządzania organizacjami, PWN, Warszawa 2005. Paprzycka E., Z. Izdebski, Single i singielki. Difin: Warszawa 2016 114


Penc J., Komunikacja i negocjowanie w organizacji, Difin, Warszawa 2010. Podkowińska M., Communication in Employees’ Motivation and Remuneration System, „Edukacja Ekonomistów i Menedżerów” 4/2011. Podkowińska M., The communicative dimension of employees’ development,(in:) Management 2016, Rozwadowska B, Public Relations teoria, praktyka, perspektywa, Studio Emka, Warsaw 2002. Sala A., Minimum 21 korzyści z wdrożenia Intranetu, Intranety.pl Pierwszy Polski Portal Intranetów i komunikacji wewnętrznej: http://www.intranety.pl/?dalej=article&articleID=5A, [ 02.02. 2015]. Abstract Effective internal communication facilitates organisation management and well-informed employees feel better motivated to perform tasks entrusted to them. An intranet is contemporary one of the most commonly used tools for communication and professional dialogue within an organisation. Key words Intranet, Communication, Dialogue. Note about the author PhD. Iwona Błaszczak - An expert of Faculty Row associating America’s top professors. The member of many scientific societies including: Academic Society of Andragogy, Polish Company of production management – branch of Mazovia, Secretary of History Committee of the board of National Association of Folk High Schools at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Economy in Warsaw, Member of the Editorial Team of Scientific Quarterly of 115

Iwona Błaszczak

Polish Association of High Folk Universities. Member of the Association of Children's Friends, National Council of the Foundation "Children Smile", acting on behalf of children and gifted youth, coming from the rural areas, Vice-chairman of the Korczak Circle of Łódź , Member of Janusz Korczak Association of Poland, Drohiczyński Scientific Society.

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Chatbots as a new communication tool for enterprises and clients

Ewa Jaska Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Faculty of Economic Sciences Agnieszka Werenowska Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW Faculty of Economic Sciences

Chatbots as a new communication tool for enterprises and clients Introduction In the marketing communication process, enterprises use two types of media: traditional and new. Paul Levinson proposes a division into three types: traditional, new, new new1. When looking at the pace of development of new technologies, this division is well-founded. Already in the 90s of the last century he mentioned the great changes taking place in the field of the media. Technology has been affecting the development of various communication methods for many years. Social media contribute to this very much, including very popular communicators such as Facebook, Messenger, as well as WhatsApp and Skype. Modern communication solutions are used by enterprises to maintain constant communication with clients. Chatbots are part of this communication strategy, being literally virtual assistants whose main task is to talk with the Internet user. In the article the 1

P. Levinson, Nowe nowe media, WAM, Warszawa 2010, p. 327. 117

Ewa Jaska – Agnieszka Werenowska

descriptive method was used to analyse the literature on the subject and present the importance of new technologies in the development of communication. The aim was to present the chatbot as a modern instrument of communication with the Internet users. New media in marketing communication The number of Internet users in Poland is constantly growing. For comparison, in November 2016, there were 26.5 million users, and in the same period of 2017 it was already 27.7 million 2. The number of social media users is also increasing. The most popular in the world are: Facebook, YouTube or Snapchat. This is evidenced by data from "Digital in 2017 Global Overview" report which shows that the number of active social media users in the world is 2,789 billion. The largest group of social media users in relation to the entire population of the country inhabits United Arab Emirates - as many as 99% of people have an active account in the largest social media, followed by South Korea, where social media uses 83% of residents and Singapore 77% of active users. Poland is 26th in this ranking, where 39% of residents are active social media users 3. It should be assumed that these values will be growing every year. Companies use this tendency and most of the communication process with clients is carried out with this channel. New media can function under various forms. These include electronic editions of some magazines and newspapers, periodicals,

2

3

http://pbi.org.pl/badanie-gemius-pbi/polscy-internauci-listopadzie2017/(Access: 14.01.2018) https://socialpress.pl/2017/02/ilu-uzytkownikow-na-swiecie-korzysta-zmediow-spolecznosciowych/(Access: 19.01.2018)

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online news sites, internet forums, blogs, podcasts4, wikis5, as well as places where users exchange photos, music and video. Applications belonging to new media are e.g.: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Second Life, Myspace and Wikipedia. New media are characterized by specific features. According to L. Manovich, they include6: • easy availability of data, • interactivity, • the ability to copy without compromising on quality. The Internet is a source of information for its users and at the same time a tool that helps in establishing and maintaining friendships. As shown by surveys carried out in 2016 by the Central Statistical Office, a total of 60.3% of households using the Internet used social networking sites in 20167. The easiest way to interact and the speed of interaction is considered to be the most important advantages of Internet communication8. The convenience of virtual communication is often emphasized. This is due to the following aspects 9: • with this form of communication, the contact with the recipient happens without leaving home, The system of indirect sharing on the Internet, previously recorded radio materials in digital form, usually in the form of individual episodes, eg a radio program available in MP3 format. 5 The type of website in which content can be created and changed from the level of the web browser. 6 L Manovich., Język nowych mediów, WAiP, Warszawa 2006, p. 92 7 Społeczeństwo informacyjne w Polsce. Wyniki badań statystycznych z lat 2012-2016, GUS Warszawa 2016, p.122 8 B. Maj, Komunikacja wirtualna – możliwości i ograniczenia, (in:): M. WawrzakChodaczek (ed.), Komunikacja społeczna w świecie wirtualnym, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2008, p. 64, 66; A. Nowakowska, Czas społeczny a komunikacja w Internecie (in:) M. Wawrzak-Chodaczek (ed.), Komunikacja społeczna w świecie wirtualnym, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2008, p. 104 9 A. Nowakowska, Czas społeczny a komunikacja w Internecie ...op. cit., p. 105 4

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• the surfer decides whether or not to interrupt the interaction, • maintaining anonymity, • almost real-time conversation. The effectiveness of marketing communication via new media is visible in the results of research conducted by the team of the Department of Market and Marketing Research of the EU in Katowice in 2014, where over 80% of surveyed respondents rated very highly the effectiveness of marketing communication conducted with the use of new media in comparison to traditional media [tab1.]10. Table 1. Effectiveness of marketing communication conducted with the use of new media in comparison to communication using traditional media Specification Number of %/ n=120 answers Definitely bigger 51 42,5 Rather bigger 49 40,8 Comparable 14 11,7 Rather smaller 4 3,3 Definitely smaller 1 0,8 I have no opinion 1 0,8 Source: See: A. Bajdak, Nowe media w komunikacji marketingowej przedsiębiorstw, (in:) Handel Wewnętrzny 2017, 2(367), p. 24 It should be remembered that the largest group of Internet users are representatives of generations: Y and Z. Generation Y are people born after 1980, who were brought up in times of strong 10

A. Bajdak, Nowe media w komunikacji marketingowej przedsiębiorstw, (in:) Handel Wewnętrzny 2017, 2(367), p. 24

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development of new technologies. W. Wrzesień called generation Y the European Seekers people who "do not remember the PRL", who are close to the prospect of Poland joining the European Union11. Generation Y, increased during the period of great technological progress. Its representatives are better educated than their peers from a dozen or so years ago. They are familiar with the global economy and the diversity of cultures and are characterized by a high tolerance in relation to it. The changes in the socio-economic situation have contributed to the fact that young people have become more and more inclined towards individualism12. Generation Y is the first generation that grew up in a world dominated by computers, mobile phones, multimedia devices and online social networks. In turn, the generation Z is a generation that has never existed before. This young generation born after 1995 in terms of knowledge about the use and use of the Internet, mobile devices significantly outperforms its predecessors. The reason for this is communing in a completely natural environment for them. This generation, which was born already in the era of new technologies, cannot function without it. According to the report "Generation-30in-the-world-virtual-and-real13" about 30% of teenagers stay on-line all the time, regardless of changes in location. As much as 93.4% uses the Internet at home every day. First of all, to communicate with friends from school. The dominant proportion are also contacts with friends from outside the school (85.4%). Lack of access to the W. Wrzesień, Czy pokoleniowość nam się przydarzy? Kilka uwag o współczesnej polskiej młodzieży. Nauka, 3., 2007. 12 S. Radzięta, Czego spodziewać się po pokoleniu Y?, http://rynekpracy.pl/artykul.php/typ.1/kateg oria_glowna.324/wpis.826, (Access: 03.02.2017) 13 http://www.nask.pl/pl/aktualnosci/wydarzenia/wydarzenia2017/684,Pokolenie-30-w-swiecie-wirtualnym-i-realnym-raport-z-badanNASK.html (Access: 13.01.2018) 11

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Internet means that they feel deprived of the basic communication tool and all kinds of information. They make life easier, often looking for shortcuts, mainly to save time. According to the Mobile Travel Report14, the technology is most popular among the younger generation: 55% of respondents aged 18 to 24 have already heard about chatbots. It is for them that companies outdo each other in search of new communication solutions that will make it easier for them to get information in a personalized manner at any time of the day or night, and social media and artificial intelligence are the key to these solutions. What is chatbot? Chatbot is a product of artificial intelligence. It is a virtual assistant whose task is to conduct a real-time dialogue with the Internet user staying on the website. The conversation takes on the character of a traditional chat. The important thing is that chatbots can take on various forms of avatars [Fig. 1]. Increased interest in virtual assistants has been observed since 2016. As the first Polish insurance company "Warta" in 2015 launched a virtual assistant, whose task is to help in reporting claims handling. On Messenger chatbot allows you to attach photos from the place of the event, the necessary documents, answer questions, and if you cannot deal with them automatically redirects the conversation to a "live" consultant15.

https://www.kayak.pl/news/chatboty-ile-polacy-o-nich-wiedza/(Access: 16.01.2018) 15 https://www.cashless.pl/wiadomosci/insurtech/3037-pierwszy-chatbotubezpieczeniowy-w-polsce-warta-uruchomila-go-na-messengerze (Access: 15.01.2018) 14

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Figure 1. Print screen https://chatbot.pl/awatar

Source: chatbot.pl Another example of a very interesting use of chatbots is "Chatbot ePaul”. This is probably the first evangelization tool in the world using artificial intelligence [Fig.2]. Asking detailed questions, chatbot searches for relevant thematic articles for the user. The ePaul application immediately proposes a list of articles relating to a given problem in order to satisfy the information needs of the user concerned. This smart tool is supported by Facebook Messenger and the Aleteia.pl portal16.

16

http://misyjne.pl/sztuczna-inteligencja-pomoze-w-ewangelizacji (Access: 14.01.2018) 123


Figure 2. Print screen

Source: http://misyjne.pl/sztuczna-inteligencja-pomoze-wewangelizacji/ This interesting solution was introduced as a tool supporting the World Social Communication Day. Another example of the industry that saw the benefits of chatbots is television. TVN, introducing a new edition of the popular program "Millionaires", decided to promote it using chatbot by posting it on Messenger. After 2 weeks from the start, TVN reported that almost 8.5 million messages were sent to it, and more than 130,000 people took part in virtual "Millionaires". This example indicates that chatbot is a great tool that for use in various marketing activities17. The growing importance of this communication solution is demonstrated by the situation in China in 2017, when the authorities of the PRC ordered the shut-down of two BabyQ and XaoBing chatbots, which answered the questions inconsistently 17

https://businessinsider.com.pl/media/marketing/chatboty-wmarketingu-przyklady-jak-mozna-je-wykorzystac/779whx5 (Access: 18.01.2018)

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with the line of the ruling party. "Chatbots were turned off after Chinese internet users began to pass on screenshots of conversations, which showed that their virtual interlocutors are not exemplary communists18. A modern client and at the same time an Internet user is extremely demanding. His expectations are not only about the product and the service but the pace of the brand's reaction, quick, precise information and almost immediate feedback. The customer service employees are not always able to meet such requirements. According to the results of research conducted by Gartner19 until 2020, up to 85% of customer interactions will take place without human intervention. Modern technological solutions come with help - among other things, these are chatbots. Their use is supported by excessive exploitation of applications that need updating, they occupy users with a lot of memory on mobile devices20. Chatbots have the advantage that in one application the user can have access to many services without the need to download several tools at the same time. The main task of chatbots is to facilitate customer communication with the company by automating the interaction between them. This process is becoming easier thanks to the possibilities of processing natural language and elements of artificial intelligence. The ability of these programs to learn, process and memorize commands, face recognition, voice, geolocation, expands the list of areas of their use. The Machine Learning process allows for personalized responses. In addition, when comparing conversations, the user can get more precise answers. Inclusion of cognitive information http://www.rp.pl/Nowe-technologie/170809457-Chiny-Chatboty-niepokochaly-komunistow.html (Access:17.01.2018) 19 http://www.gartner.com/imagesrv/summits/docs/na/customer360/C360_2011_brochure_FINAL.pdf (Access: 15.01.2018) 20 https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3018618 (Access: 15.01.2018) 18

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technologies for data processing opens many possibilities for chatbots21. Chatbot users use them to perform many tasks that other applications have previously used. The Mobile Travel Report research from 2017 indicates that half of the respondents use them to make purchases online (50%), they make contact with customer service (43%) and plan their holidays (28%). Polish respondents use chatbots least often for ordering taxis. Bot technology is not very widespread, but nevertheless, Polish internet users see the potential and benefits that can result from its use. As the main advantage (50%) they indicated accessibility around the clock, and not only at scheduled times, they also appreciated their efficiency, and thus time savings (39%)22. From the point of view of the enterprise, a great advantage is the possibility of conducting a conversation with a large number of users at the same time. This allows you to relieve the call centre department. Continuous contact with Internet users causes them to be stopped on websites, which, combined with the continuous presentation and conversation of a virtual assistant on topics related to the company, increases the knowledge about the company by the potential customer23. Chatbots can be used in activities such as24: 1. Content marketing - a bot can be a news and inspiration newsletter. 2. Customer service. 3. Contests and lotteries - the bot can accept competition entries.

http://www.mobiletrends.pl/chatboty-wypra-aplikacje-mobilne-czesc-2/ (Access: 15.01.2018) 22 https://www.kayak.pl/news/chatboty-ile-polacy-o-nich-wiedza/ (Access: 16.01.2018) 23 https://chatbot.pl/ (Access: 18.01.2018) 24 https://businessinsider.com.pl/media/marketing/chatboty-wmarketingu- przyklady-jak-mozna-je-wykorzystac/779whx5/ (Access: 18.01.2018) 21

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4. Notifications - personalized information and reminders of used services. 5. Product adviser - recommendation based on the narrowing of preferences. 6. Location of places - searching for a place based on the location. Conclusion The development of new technologies causes a constant search for better and more effective ways to communicate with Internet users. Popularity of chatbots results to a large extent from the speed of their operation, personalization and matching the customer's needs. They simplify solving problems reported by clients. It is not surprising that they are becoming a real competition for mobile applications. Chatbot can do a lot: it can give the latest news on a selected topic, manage finances, search for the cheapest trips, can act as a shop assistant, weathercast, and even a friend - in China, such a Microsoft bot is called Xiaoice and over 20 million people talk to it25. Although chatbot could theoretically take over the function of a consultant in a company, it should be noted that an attempt to complete replace a person can be risky. However, always a man client will strive especially in complicated situations for direct contact with another person, not an automaton. Therefore, their role should be defined as supporting the work of people associated with customer service.

25

http://mamstartup.pl/customer-care/10706/czy-przyszlosc-komunikacjiz-klientem-bedzie-nalezec-do-chatbotow (access: 19.01.2018) 127


Bibliography Bajdak A., Nowe media w komunikacji marketingowej przedsiębiorstw [w:] Handel Wewnętrzny 2017, 2(367), http://mamstartup.pl/customer-care/10706/czy-przyszlosckomunikacji-z-klientem-bedzie-nalezec-do-chatbotow (dostęp: 19.01.2018) http://misyjne.pl/sztuczna-inteligencja-pomoze-wewangelizacji(dostęp: 14.01.2018) http://pbi.org.pl/badanie-gemius-pbi/polscy-internaucilistopadzie-2017/(dostęp: 14.01.2018) http://www.gartner.com/imagesrv/summits/docs/na/customer -360/C360_2011_brochure_FINAL.pdf (dostęp: 15.01.2018) http://www.mobiletrends.pl/chatboty-wypra-aplikacje-mobilneczesc-2/ (dostęp: 15.01.2018) http://www.nask.pl/pl/aktualnosci/wydarzenia/wydarzenia2017/684,Pokolenie-30-w-swiecie-wirtualnym-i-realnym-raport-zbadan-NASK.html (dostęp: 13.01.2018) http://www.rp.pl/Nowe-technologie/170809457-ChinyChatboty-nie-pokochaly-komunistow.html (dostęp:17.01.2018) https://businessinsider.com.pl/media/marketing/chatboty-wmarketingu-przyklady-jak-mozna-je-wykorzystac/779whx5 (dostęp: 18.01.2018) https://businessinsider.com.pl/media/marketing/chatboty-wmarketingu-przyklady-jak-mozna-je-wykorzystac/779whx5/ (dostęp: 18.01.2018) https://chatbot.pl/(dostęp: 18.01.2018) https://socialpress.pl/2017/02/ilu-uzytkownikow-na-swieciekorzysta-z-mediow-spolecznosciowych/(dostęp: 19.01.2018) https://www.cashless.pl/wiadomosci/insurtech/3037-pierwszychatbot-ubezpieczeniowy-w-polsce-warta-uruchomila-go-namessengerze (dostęp: 15.01.2018) 128


https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3018618(dostęp: 15.01.2018) https://www.kayak.pl/news/chatboty-ile-polacy-o-nich-wiedza/ (dostęp: 16.01.2018) https://www.kayak.pl/news/chatboty-ile-polacy-o-nich-wiedza/ (dostęp: 16.01.2018) Levinson P., Nowe nowe media, Wydawnictwo WAM, Warszawa 2010, s. 327. Maj B., Komunikacja wirtualna – możliwości i ograniczenia, w: M. Wawrzak-Chodaczek (red.), Komunikacja społeczna w świecie wirtualnym, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2008, s. 64, 66; A. Nowakowska, Czas społeczny a komunikacja w Internecie [w:] M. Wawrzak-Chodaczek (red.), Komunikacja społeczna w świecie wirtualnym, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2008, s. 104 Manovich L., Język nowych mediów, WAiP, Warszawa 2006, s. 92 Nowakowska A., Czas społeczny a komunikacja w Internecie [w:] M. Wawrzak-Chodaczek (red.), Komunikacja społeczna w świecie wirtualnym, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2008, s. 105 Radzięta S., Czego spodziewać się po pokoleniu Y?, http://rynekpracy.pl/artykul.php/typ.1/kateg oria_glowna.324/wpis.826, pobrano dnia: 03.02.2017 Społeczeństwo informacyjne w Polsce. Wyniki badań statystycznych z lat 2012-2016, GUS Warszawa 2016, s.122 Wrzesień W., Czy pokoleniowość nam się przydarzy? Kilka uwag o współczesnej polskiej młodzieży. Nauka, 3., 2007 Abstract Enterprises are constantly looking for new solutions aimed at improving communication with clients. They use new technologies for this, which give the possibility of almost constant maintenance 129


of relationships with specific groups of recipients. Unprecedented progress in the development of artificial intelligence gives many opportunities to the Internet users. Bearing in mind that the main users are representatives of the Y and Z generation, in other words, those born in the Internet era, enterprises are almost forced to use the latest technologies in communication. The article presents the analysis of the literature on the subject of the importance of new technologies in the development of communication. The aim was to present the chatbot as a modern instrument of communication with the Internet users. Key words Communication, Internet, Chatbots. Note about the authors Ewa Jaska – PhD. in economics. Head of the Division of Social Communication and Counselling at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at SGGW in Warsaw. Main areas of scientific interest: mass communication, media market and media economics, enterprise communication with the market and information management. She is the author of over 100 publications, as well as the scientific editor of 7 collective works, including 3 volumes of the series "Media in the Information Society". Agnieszka Werenowska – PhD. in economics. Research and didactic worker at the Department of Education Economics, Communication and Counselling at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at SGGW in Warsaw. Main research area: marketing in the enterprise and local government units, public relations, media communication. Author of over 80 publications from the mentioned areas.

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CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

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Discursiveness of intimacy - sociological conceptualizations and perspectives of analyses

Emilia Paprzycka Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences

Discursiveness of intimacy - sociological conceptualizations and perspectives of analyses Introduction Intimacy and intimate relationships in today’s understanding of the word are relatively new concepts. As Mariola Bieńko emphasized in her study on intimate practices, up to the 1960s, Western societies were dominated by a culture of silence and ignorance towards intimate and sexual life. Until the sexual revolution, any public discussion on topics relating to intimacy and sexuality, including private conversations between partners, and even in areas of professional research, were frowned upon1. A similar approach was also displayed with regard to love, which, as Maciej Gdula notes, has only recently become an important and recognized element of culture and which, thanks to new theoretical and research categories, has finally been elevated from a position supplementing “serious” research to a central position in the

1

M. Bieńko, Intymne i prywatne praktyki codzienności, Pub. UW, Warszawa 2013, p. 153. 133

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sociological description of interpersonal relations, thus replacing the family-economic perspective2. The issue of intimacy is of interest to social researchers mainly in the context of the transformation of private life with analyses focusing primarily on the institution of marriage and the family. Recently, it has also started to be analysed in the context of public life. In those studies which aim to systematize intimacy, it is often emphasized that the concept is difficult to define from a scientific perspective as it is understood by people intuitively, and treated as taboo, while at the same time idealized not only in everyday life, but also in science3. In social sciences, intimacy is usually defined as an emotional and social experience. It is expressed by a reference to closeness, a constructive love, which is both a sexual and erotic experience within interpersonal relationships. As has often been seen, love and sexuality are subjected to strict social regulations, and are analysed first and foremost in terms of the historically variable social norms. These regulations result not only from tradition, religion or value systems, but also from a level of knowledge, a demographic situation and ways of defining different expectations as to the social role of women and men. It is also a category regulated by the resources of the individual – his or her economic, social and political capital4. Intimate relationships, on the other hand, are defined as social relations in which the characteristics of a given individual come into prominence. In this sense, they are defined as small groups based on direct contacts and reciprocity which enable their members to satisfy their emotional and affiliate

M. Gdula, Zmienne losy miłości w socjologii, „Kultura i społeczeństwo: więzi i uczucia”, 2006, T. 50, nr 1-2, p. 79-84. 3 M. Grochalska, Perspektywa krytyczna w badaniach nad intymnością, „Ars Educandi”, 2014, T. XI, part.1, p. 27. 4 M. Bieńko, Intymne i prywatne praktyki…, op. cit., p. 39. 2

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needs5. The distinguishing factors of these relationships are: informality, immediacy of interaction, autotelicity of motivation, a wide spectrum of activities with their simultaneous dispersal, spontaneity and considerable freedom of regulation, as well as strong identification with partners and the admissibility of emotions6. In sociological studies, the subject of intimacy and intimate relationships is analysed above all in the context of love in modern times and in the so-called postmodernity. It is habitually treated as part of the sociology of family, and more and more often, as part of the sociology of emotions7. Researchers from both fields underline the everyday character of intimacy, its discursiveness, production and reproduction in social contexts, as well as its subjectivity, all of which is done to emphasize the fact that intimacy is socially constructed8. This paper adopts the constructivist perspective mentioned above. It focuses on the discourses on intimacy and its transformations as constructed in sociology. The text thematically comprises the issues of everyday sociology and the sociology of emotions. As it focuses on public (scientific) discourse, it belongs to the area of social communication analysis. The paper adopts the understanding of social communication as a process within which knowledge and comprehension of surrounding phenomena and processes take place9. Discourse is understood here as a formal

N. Luhmann, Semantyka miłości. O kodowaniu intymności, Scholar, Warszawa 2003, p.92. 6 M. Bieńko, Intymne i prywatne praktyki…, op. cit., p. 25. 7 A. Stasińska, Miłość w czasach nowoczesności. Nowe ujęcie socjologiczne, Studia Socjologiczne, 2014/4 (215), p. 295. 8 S. Jackson S., S. Scott, Theorizing Sexuality, Open University Press, Maidenhead 2010, p.62-67. 9 M. Podkowińska, Wstęp, (in:) Komunikacja społeczna -tendencje, problemy, wyzwania, (ed.) M. Podkowińska, Pub. SGGW, Warszawa 2014, p. 5. 5

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discussion10 which plays a constructive and dynamic role in organising the areas of knowledge and related social and institutional practices11. It is also assumed that public discourse is a space of common definitions and allows for chronological analysis of texts characterized by universal availability and validity12. Discourse is always “someone’s” discourse and contains a reference to the external conditions in which it takes place. According to the above, scientific discourse - as an element of public discourse – not only constructs knowledge and defines and creates concepts, but it also gives context-dependent meanings. These meanings can also act as feedback on cultural changes affecting or changing the meanings and definitions of pre-existing ones13. The purpose of the presented analyses was an interpretive attempt to synthetically describe a selected range of recent conceptualizations of intimacy in the perspective of the constructed categories of intimacy14. The first part of the article presents the current prevailing sociological perspectives of the analysis of changes in private - intimate life in the purported modern societies, which is followed by analysis of the so-called postmodern R. Fasold, Sociolinguistics of Language, Blackwell, Oxford 1990, p. 65. N. Candlin, General editor's preface, (in:) The Construction of Professional Discourse, (ed.) B. L. Gunnarsson, P. Linell, B. Nordberg, Longman, London 1997, p.9-14. 12 Vide P. Pawliszczak, D. Rancew-Sikora, Wprowadzenie do socjologicznej analizy dyskursu (SAD), „Studia Socjologiczne”, 2012, n. 1, p. 5-15. 13 A. Rogalski A., Semiotyczno-pragmatyczny kontekst komunikacji, (in:) Komunikacja społeczna -tendencje, problem, wyzwania, (ed.) M. Podkowińska, Pub. SGGW, Warszawa 2014, p. 181-182. 14 The analysis was exploratory and interpretative in nature. The analytical field was built on the basis of selected publications in the field of sociology. They included studies most frequently invoked by researchers of intimacy. The selection was deliberate and arbitrary, but not systematized - the submitted text is assumed to be analytical and not empirical. The article, in accordance with the adopted assumption, is only one of the “voices” in the discourses on intimacy constructed in the social sciences. 10

11C.

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discourse. The description of the latest conceptualizations of the category of intimacy is preceded by the analysis of the contexts of changing the meaning of intimacy - “shifting” the subject of intimate relationships from the area of private to public life. From marriage to intimate relationship - selected contexts of constructing contemporary intimacy The emergence of the category of intimacy and love can be treated as an outcome of moral changes that took place in Western societies at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The main form of the relationship, which today is defined as intimate, and which was socially accepted in the past, was marriage. Until the beginning of the 20th century, however, it was a socio-economic institution, a form of economic or political transaction and had no connection with romantic love or an intimate relationship. It was mainly connected to the public sphere – economic and not intimate, and preferences as to the partner or the nature of emotional and sexual relations with him or her, did not matter. As a result, we can only speak about the meaning of feelings and the subsequent choice of partner from the 1920s onwards. From that period, the intimate relationship of two people was socially sanctioned, and so the bringing together of couples became increasingly a matter of individual free choice of partner, where feelings and intimacy began to play a far more significant role15. It was not until the midtwentieth century that marriage and family gradually ceased to represent the characteristics of an economic institution, and love, which formed the basis of relations between partners, was increasingly important in establishing a formal relationship. The change that finally took place during this period was the final

15

P. Szarota, Anatomia randki, Warszawskie Wyd. literackie MUZA, Warszawa 2011, p.5-10. 137

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separation of the public sphere from the private sphere, which resulted in the appearance of intimacy and privacy. Marriage founded on the basis of emotional choice in addition to economic and social functions had begun to be a space within which one was satisfied by needs of a completely different kind, such as a need for intimacy, proximity and care. Love became the causative factor of marriage, with intimacy as its bond and the condition for its permanence. The opportunity for allowing people to get to know each other, by which they could build an intimate relationship, was made possible thanks to the institution of dating, whose emergence permitted talk in regards to new rules and standards for building relations and creating relationships. Classic dating was treated as a kind of polygon preparing two people for marriage. A certain standard was the expectations towards the partner in a relation, such as the similarity of age or origin, heterosexuality, the division of roles by gender, the young age of the partners and the assumption that meetings precede the establishment of a longer, permanent relationship heading for its formalization16. As Tomasz Szlendak points out, in earlier periods, due to a strong social regulation of relationships and economic considerations, in Western culture love did not have a significant influence on the social structure. The author emphasizes that the creation of a specific variety of a relation between the sexes, which resulted in marriage for love, was a phenomenon on a global scale. The culture of European capitalism, in which women went to work en masse, was the only place in the world which offered such opportunities. Just as the ideology of the free market dominated the capitalist economy,

16

Ibidem, p. 75-76.

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as Szlendak writes, the ideology of a free market of emotions prevailed in sexual selection17. The so-called free market of emotions led to significant changes in the area of private-intimate life and intimate relationships. Popular scientific studies on the topic often emphasize that there are no more serious transformations nowadays than those that happen within marriage, family, personal life and emotional relations. It is also underlined that changes in the area of intimate relationships are now global in nature, and their determinants and consequences are observed in various places around the world, although the specifications vary locally18. What is more, they are said to have been provoked by three parallel revolutions: post-industrial revolutions, the revolution of the life cycle and the revolution in the field of psychological education. The first is related to the increasing independence of women due to education, professional work, equality changes, the delayed birth of the first child and a decrease in the number of children held. Changes in relations between women and men are indicated as one of the most important factors affecting the dynamics of intimate relationships, emotional (including marriage), sexuality and raising children. The second concerns changes connected with the extension of lifespan and changes in mortality rates. The third is associated with the increase in the reflectiveness of individuals in the area of intimate and family life, and is a consequence of psychological education about the functioning of relationships, under the influence of which the partnership model becomes strengthened19.

T. Szlendak, Socjologia rodziny. Ewolucja, historia, zróżnicowanie, PWN, Warszawa 2011, p. 346. 18 A. Giddens, The Global Revolution in Family and Personal Life, (in:) Family in Transition, (ed.) A. S. Skolnick, J.H. Skolnick, Pearson, Boston 2007, p. 76-95. 19 Vide T. Szlendak, Socjologia rodziny. Ewolucja ..., op. cit., p. 394. 17

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A significant meaning in the area of transformation in intimate relations is attributed to the process of individualization, which manifests itself in three dimensions: liberation from traditional historically given social forms and ties, the loss of stability as a consequence of rejection of traditional beliefs about action, faith and norms and reintegration, or appearance of new types of social ties. These three dimensions remain in close relation to the life situation and self-awareness and manifest themselves, on the one hand, in the disintegration of earlier social forms, and on the other, in a new set of requirements that are now demanded from individuals 20. What is symptomatic of this situation, is the weakening of the impact of such categories as social status, gender roles and family on the functioning of the individual and, at the same time, strengthening the controlling role of the labour market and its institutions. It has also been pointed out that the increase in opportunities and necessities addressed to the individual, which is linked to the process of individualization, has contributed not only to changes in attitudes towards the individual, but also to changes in the attitudes of the individuals themselves. Individual biographies are characterised as being freed from traditional social ties and obligations and norms previously determined by belonging to a certain class or gender. In view of the above, contemporary individual biographies are defined in terms of “self-reflective” constructs in the implementation of which the number of morally and practically acceptable choices of life forms is definitely greater than before. It has also been mentioned that in the context of intimate life, individualisation and self-fulfillment directly affect the emerging contradictions between labour market requirements and partnership requirements and between family and professional

20

U. Beck, E. Beck-Gernsheim, The Normal Chaos of Love, Polity Press, Cambridge 1995, p. 3.

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roles21. Consequently, this leads to individuals experiencing a situation of a “conflict of interest” between love, family and personal freedom. As Tomasz Szlendak writes, love and personal freedom have become more important than ever and, what is more, they have become equally important at the same time. Modern relationships, therefore, are less and less based on economic conditions or duties towards children, and more often on intimacy and the desire to feel happy as a couple. Their foundation is love, which is temporally changeable22. Intimate life, as a result of these changes, is described as being in transition from homogeneity towards heterogeneity. It has also been emphasized that this is a transition from stability to change, the important aspect of which is moving away from the so-called traditional model. It is believed that they have a chance of being realized due to the unprecedented possibility of experimenting freely in the sphere of emotional relations, which is the result of isolating sex from biological reproduction and eroticism from love23. Marriage and family life versus alternatives - perspectives for interpreting the changes of intimacy The prevailing discourse in Polish sociology is that of family intimacy24. The issues connected to the transformation of intimate relationships is most often analysed in the context of marriage and

U. Beck, E. Beck-Gernsheim, Indyvidualization. Instytutionalized individualism and its social and political consequences, Sage Publications London -Thousand Oaks-New Deli 2002, p.178. 22 T. Szlendak, Socjologia rodziny. Ewolucja ..., op. cit., p. 405. 23 Z. Bauman, O ponowoczesnych pożytkach z seksu, „Studia Socjologiczne”, 1997, nr 4 (147), p. 98. 24 M. Grochalska, Perspektywa krytyczna w badaniach…, op.cit. p. 27. 21

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the family25. The observable indicators of these changes are, among others, a decrease in the number of marriages, an increase in divorce rates, an increase in the importance of cohabitation, an increase in the age of first marriage by men and women, an increase in the average age of women giving birth to their first child, an increase in the number of reconstructed families, second marriages and singleparent families, reduction in the fertility rate, and the intensification of the nuclearization of families26. In sociology, the analysis of changes in the area of private and intimate life are usually embedded in the paradigm of social change27. The changes which are now being observed in the so-called modern and post-modern societies, are analysed from the perspective of changes in the family structure and focus on the recognition and characteristics of its alternatives. They are most often made from a perspective that takes into account their importance for the durability and change of the so-called traditional model. The literature on the subject contains three dominant ways of interpreting family changes: the creation of a neo-traditional family, a revolution in the family structure, the coexistence of traditional and new values that embody both changes and continuation28. See: J. Ostrouch-Kamińska, Rodzina partnerska jako relacja współzależnych podmiotów, Impuls, Kraków 2011, p. 31-40. 26 W. Warzywoda-Kruszyńska, Rodzina w procesie przemian, (in:) Rodzina w zmieniającym się społeczeństwie polskim, (ed.) W. Warzywoda-Kruszyńska, P. Szukalski, Pub. UŁ, Łódź 2004, p.175-196; K. Slany, Socjo-demograficzne aspekty „syndromu opóźniania” i jego konsekwencje dla polityki społecznej, „Roczniki Socjologii Rodziny. Studia socjologiczne oraz interdyscyplinarne”, 2006, XVII, p. 13-25. 27 Vide K. Slany, Rodzina w refleksji feministyczno-genderowej, (in:) Gender w społeczeństwie polskim, (ed.) K. Slany, J. Struzik, K. Wojnicka, Pub. NOMOS, Kraków 2011, p. 225-249. 28 Vide F.R. Eliot, 1986. The Family: Change or continuity?, MacMillan Press LTD, Houndmills, Basinngstoke, Hampshire and London 1986, p. 36; za: A. Kwak, Rodzina w dobie przemian. Małżeństwo i kohabitacja. Pub. Akademickie „Żak”, Warszawa 2005, p. 50. 25

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In the first approach, the emerging diverse forms of intimate relationships are presented as new forms of family. Cohabitation, or living alone, are analysed here as a transitional form and treated rather as indicators of postponing the decision on marriage and starting a family rather than resigning from it. The situation of divorcees or single parents is also treated as a transitional stage – their target is to re-marry and start a new family after divorce29. Living as a couple or living as a single person is analysed in this approach as a stage in an intimate biography, which in the prospective perspective is oriented towards family life30. The second approach captures changes in family life in terms of the revolution of the family’s transformational structure. It analyses them from the perspective of possibilities and choices. This is a perspective that departs from the dominance of one model in favor of the plurality of contemporary sexual and parental relationships that are significantly different from those known in the past. Studies that adopt this perspective – both classic and more contemporary ones – define the emerging and increasingly popular forms of “being together” as alternative models to the traditional nuclear family. The term “alternative forms of marital-family life” is defined here as any arrangements of sexual and family relationships that are not legally sanctioned and / or do not include biological parenting31. The classifications representing the second approach Vide Z. Izdebski, E. Paprzycka, E. Mianowska, Płeć biologiczna i płeć społecznokulturowa a związki intymne Polaków, „Studia Socjologiczne”, 4/2014 (215) , nr 4, p. 13-41. 30 Vide E. Paprzycka, Z. Izdebski, Single i singielki. Intymność i seksualność osób żyjących w pojedynkę , Difin, Warszawa 2016, p. 9-18. 31 A. Kwak, Rodzina i jej przemiany, ISNS UW, Warszawa 1994; D. DuchKrzystoszek, Małżeństwo, seks, prokreacja. Analiza socjologiczna, Pub. IFiS PAN, Warszawa 1995; A. Kwak, Alternatywne formy życia małżeńsko-rodzinnego w świecie współczesnym. Diagnoza i prognoza, (in:) Ludzie przełomu tysiąclecia a cywilizacja przyszłości, (ed.) M. Ziółkowski, Pub. Fundacji Humianiora, Poznań 2001, p. 155-167; K. Slany, Alternatywne formy życia małżeńsko29

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point to alternatives to marriage and family and interpret them in terms of new forms of intimate relationships32. They include: group marriages, community families, unmarried couples, families without children with working partners, families with children with working parents, single-parent families and reconstructed families33. There are also suggestions to divide them into traditional nuclear families, pseudo-families (DINKS, singles, seniors’ network systems) and alternative family models (unmarried cohabitation, friendly clusters, same-sex relationships or “lonely” parents) 34. Sometimes, even more detailed distinctions are indicated: alternatives to marriage (living alone, unmarried cohabitation, same-sex relationships) and alternatives in marriage (arrangements in which wives work professionally, voluntary childlessness, extramarital sex)35. The third perspective of interpreting changes indicates the coexistence of traditional and liberal values and behaviour patterns, which results in a diversity of marital and family life forms - both traditional and alternative ones36. At the same time, it is pointed out that the forms of relationships that are alternative to the traditional nuclear family have always been present, what is new, however, is

rodzinnego w ponowoczesnym świecie, Zakład Wydawniczy NOMOS, Kraków 2001. 32 Vide E. D. Macklin, Nontraditional Family Forms: A Decade of Research, “Journal of Marriage and the Family”, 1980, t.42. p. 905-922; B. Buunk, Alternative lifestyles from an international perspective: A trans-atlantic comparison, (in:) Contemporary Families and Alternative Lifestyles: Handbook on Research and Theory, (ed.) E. D. Macklin, R. H. Rubin, Sage, London 1983, p. 308-330; J. Bernarders, Family studies. An introduction, Routledge, London and New York 1997. 33 L. Duberman, Marriage and its alternatives, Preager Publishers, New York Washington 1974. 34 T. Szlendak, Socjologia rodziny. Ewolucja ..., op. cit., p. 465. 35 B. Buunk, op. cit. p. 314. 36 A. Kwak, op. cit. p. 50-53. 144


the level of their prevalence, or the disregard of historical data in contemporary analyses of life as a couple37. New forms of being together are considered in the perspective of the so-called diversity model, in which each form of the family - both traditional and as an alternative to it - creates a lifestyle structure38. They indicate parallel alternatives to marriage, which do not replace the traditional family (e.g. cohabitation), alternatives included, which result from changes in male-female relationships, but do not negate the traditional values and functions of family - the structure remains unchanged, but some content (e.g. visiting marriages) and alternatives to family, which are a full alternative to traditional nuclear family - due to the exclusion from the structure of the traditional nuclear family (e.g. friendly bunches, same-sex relationships) 39. The first two approaches presented here are quite different: the first one suggests that contemporary patterns of sexual and parental behaviour are a specific version of traditional style - structural continuity and similarity are maintained, while in the second one change and diversity are indicated. The third approach is a peculiar synthesis of the first two. All perspectives, being constructs embedded in given social realities, shape discourses and show some analytical perspectives regarding the standard of living as a couple in a formalized version and use the language embedded in the F. Schmidt, Para, mieszkanie, małżeństwo. Dynamika związków intymnych na tle przemian historycznych i współczesnych dyskusji o procesach indywidualizacji, Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej, Warszawa–Toruń 2015, p. 188-189. 38 Vide F.R. Eliot, Gender, family and society, MacMillan Press LTD, Houndmills, Basinngstoke, Hampshire and London 1996; W. G. Axinn , A. Thornton, The transformation in the meaning of marriage, (in:) The ties that bind. Pesrpectives on marriage and cohabitation, (ed.) L. J. Waite, Aldine de Gruyter, New York 2000, p. 233-246; R. H. Rubin, Alternative lifestyles revisited, or whatever happened to swingers, group marriages, and communes?, “Journal of Family Issues”, 2001, n. 22, p. 711-723. 39 B. N. Adams, The family. A sociological interpretation, Harcourt Brace Collage Publishers, Fort Worth, Texas 1995, p. 412-429. 37

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discourse of marriage and the family. Living together in this description refers to marriages and is described as a stage before, after or as an alternative, but also analysed in the context of the course, function or structure of such relationships and institutional context of family and marital discourse. However, the perspectives presented above have become insufficient to describe contemporarily diversified intimate experiences, both due to the participation of individuals in various types of relationships, as well as because of the number of intimate relationships and their character in intimate biographies. Living together is now treated as experience varying in time and diversified. Together with the emerging changes and the growth of various forms of living together and the observed dynamics of union experiences in biographies, and perhaps most of all, under the influence of “transition” of intimacy from the private sphere to the public sphere, new categories and concepts as well as another description language start to appear. Intimacy – from private to public sphere As Plummer points out, the simultaneous existence of the traditional, modern and postmodern intimacy model make it difficult to have one cohesive vision of intimacy. The authors emphasizes, however, that without a doubt, intimacy in contemporary societies is at the center of the private life40. Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim write that in contemporary mass culture, preference is given above all to expressive ideology based on romantic love and sexual satisfaction, on discovering oneself and fulfilling one’s own self through love and sexuality 41.

K. Plumer, Intimate Citizenship: Private Decisions and Public Dialouges, University of Washington Press, Seattle-London 2003, p.20-25. 41 U. Beck, E. Beck-Gernsheim, The Normal….op. cit., p. 55. 40

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According to Anthony Giddens, today’s relationship with another human being in a friendly, faithful closeness becomes the normative principle of erotic relationships, and intimacy or the search for it is the essence of friendship and lasting sexual ties42. Intimate relationships, as Lynn Jamieson underlines, have now become the basic area for individuals to learn and discover themselves and at the same time, they are one of the most important forms of selffulfillment according to the scheme: loving, caring and sharing43. Eva Illouz writes that today the social sense of value is no longer simply based on the economic and social status of the individual, but stems from intimacy - from the private and non-institutional dimension of individual life44. According to Plummer, intimacy, however, does not mean today, only close relationships with friends, family, children or lovers, but also a deep experience of yourself: your feelings, your emotions of the body, your identity. It is an area of perception of interpersonal relations in which only what is close and directly experienced counts. In the “intimate society”, any social phenomena, however non-personal in structure, must be expressed in a personal way so that they can become meaningful. The author even proposes a new concept of “intimate citizenship”, which he defines as a social phenomenon related to the right to manage your own body, image, identity, feelings and relationships, as well as lust, sex and eroticism. This concept is an oxymoron, combining two different orders and thus creating a bridge between private and public spheres. Thereby, he emphasizes that nowadays intimate

A. Giddens, Nowoczesność i tożsamość. „Ja” i społeczeństwo w epoce późnej nowoczesności, PWN, Warszawa 2010, p. 131. 43 L. Jamieson, Intimacy. Personal relationships in modern societies, Polity Press, Cambridge & Malden 2005, p. 9. 44 E. Illouz , Uczucia w dobie kapitalizmu, Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa 2006, p. 10. 42

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experiences have shifted not only from the margins of private life to its center, but also found their place in public discourse. According to Plummer, the broader meaning of the concept of “intimate citizenship” comes down to raising our awareness and allowing us to consider the multiplicity of public discourses and stories about private life45. Contemporary culture focused on emotions, as Illouz writes, has produced a new type of a human being - a Homo sentimentalis focused on his or her own experiences and emotions. In order to convey the specificity of contemporary intimate relationships, she uses the term “emotional capitalism” and at the same time she observes that through the process of rationalizing and commodifying feelings a “therapeutic emotional style” based on a huge concentration of individuals and societies on the significance of unique, very emotional states of subjects was formed 46. In her opinion, emotional capitalism is present in various social areas, e.g. women’s magazines, self-help books, TV talk shows, online dating sites, and therapies. The author refers her own understanding of feelings to the issue of the division into what is private and public, claiming that nowadays it is difficult to talk about the retreat of the individual from the public sphere to the private sphere, but rather about the situation of publicizing privacy through the discursiveness of private life. In her view, the construction of a modern identity rests on how it is presented and shaped in the public sphere by means of narratives that are a combination of aspirations to become self-fulfilled, on the one hand, and the resentment caused by emotional deficits or difficulties, on the other47. According to the author, nowadays, when the sense of K. Plumer, Intimate Citizenship: Private..., op. cit., 20-25. E. Illouz, Uczucia w dobie kapitalizmu ..., op. cit., p. 10. 47 E. Illouz , Dlaczego miłość rani. Studium socjologiczne, Pub. Krytyki Politycznej, Warszawa 2016, p. 19. 45 46

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uniqueness has become extremely important, the social recognition of the feeling of love and being loved helps to overcome the sense of ordinariness and invisibility, and it is the success in the intimate sphere that builds a sense of value and identity. In this perspective, love is expressed in terms of the effort resulting from the dependence of self on modern institutions, above all the relationship between sex and economy. In her opinion, the main transformation that has taken place in the social experience of love concerns the social conditions in which the romantic choices and architecture of this choice are made. Changes in the structure of the romantic will - the needs and expectations of the potential and the actual partner take on a form of sexual competition. This results in the transformation of the structure of choice itself as it becomes similar to an economic exchange - it is regulated by the law of resources, requirements, deficit and overproduction48 . Today, as Illouz writes, science, technology and politics have rationalized intimacy. By undermining the emotional intensity of love and social agency, they have contributed to the diametrical change of the shape of the intimate experience. In the post-modern period, individuals, who, for example, are now better educated because of reading various self-help books, monitor their psyche to determine whether the way they engage in feelings meets social standards of health, and whether it contributes to maximizing their individual interest and pleasure. In the analysis of intimate changes in the political context, the side effects of feminism are emphasized, the second wave of which has contributed to a change in the dynamics of intimate relationships mainly through highlighting the oppressiveness of love and relationships as it is experienced by women. According to the author quoted here, thanks to the struggle for the emancipation of women in private life, a social norm of 48

Ibidem, p. 57-59. 149

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equality and symmetry of women and men in intimate relations was created, according to which the value of the relationship is determined by partnership and similarity of status. As a consequence, the measure of a successful relationship is literally understood as equality in every aspect of living together. It also has implications with a constant feeling of uncertainty both in the way it is conducted, and in the intensity of mutually expressed feelings. An important factor in the change of intimate life, as Illouz emphasizes, is technology and, above all, the Internet, which has contributed to strengthening the utilitarian dimension of the love choice, enabling what was previously impossible, or at least not on such a grand scale, which is allowing people to “being picky” in the choosing of a partner. This expansion of the selection architecture manifests itself not only in the possibility of defining almost every desirable candidate feature even before meeting them, but also in striving to choose the most ideal candidate, and not the optimal one, which is the first one who will meet the requirements up to a satisfactory degree. Making the intimacy and dominance of the message about the meaning of emotion and success in the area of intimate relationships led, according to the author, to the emergence of a new intimacy model, which assumes the awareness of one’s own thoughts and feelings, acting in accordance with them and informing the partner about it49. It is emphasized, however, that as a result of processes related to the image of love as shaped by popular culture and new technologies, cultural practices have become institutionalized and individualized, making the desire for love autotelic, detached from the love object and based on false emotions50.

49 50

E. Illouz, Uczucia…, op. cit.., p. 32. E. Illouz, Dlaczego…, op. cit., p. 66-71.

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Between reflexivity and uncertainty - postmodern conceptualizations of intimacy In addition to the discourse of the idealized-imaginary intimacy inscribed in the concept of romantic love51, which has often been analysed in scientific studies, the literature on the subject also mentions other discourses on intimacy that are embedded in postmodernity. Interpersonal relations in the area of intimacy are described in the context of the so-called chaos, or a new era in intimate relations, and are characterised from the perspective of the conflict of interests between love, family and personal autonomy52. The next part of the paper presents a specific catalogue of intimacy constructed in these discourses, which are part of the above mentioned contexts of constructing this category. The analysed discourses often mention the following types of intimacy: intimacy as a contract - calculated intimacy, rational intimacy, intimacy as a product – rationalized intimacy, non-committal intimacy, immediate intimacy, intimacy as uncertainty - uncertain intimacy. The reflexive intimacy, which is contractual, seems to be the experience described by Anthony Giddens as the so-called pure relationship, which is defined as an emotional bond on the terms set by equal partners53. Intimacy is here a relation in which the emotional relationship is a negotiation area, or what the author calls the “subpolicy area”. This type of relationship is possible in “democratic” relationships in which there is a kind of unwritten Vide T. Szlendak, Architektura Romansu, Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa 2002; H. Fisher, Anatomia miłości, Dom Wydawniczy REBIS, Poznań 2005; J. C. Kaufman, Niezwykła historia szczęśliwej miłości, Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa 2012; J. Wróblewska-Skrzek, Architektura randki a kryzys matrymonialny, „Dyskursy Młodych Andragogów”, 2017, T. 18, 389 - 403. 52 Vide U. Beck, E. Beck-Gernsheim, Całkiem zwyczajny chaos miłości, Pub. Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej, Wrocław 2013. 53 A. Giddens, Przemiany Intymności. Seksualność, miłość, erotyzm we współczesnych społeczeństwach, PWN, Warszawa 2006, p. 76. 51

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agreement possible in a situation where the relationship is characterised by reflexivity, autonomy of participants, and a dialogue based on “reflexivity, autonomy and dialogue”. In this sense, the traditional relationship based on “us” and defined in terms of responsibility, intimacy and the desire for a shared future, is replaced by a relationship built on the basis of an agreement between the two “I’s”. An intimate relationship conceptualized in this way is based on gratification, constant striving for compromises, and constant balancing between the willingness to use freedom and satisfying individual needs, and the need for security that provides a relationship with another person. It assumes a large openness of partners and an orientation towards satisfying the needs of the partner in order to maintain this relationship, while assuming that withdrawal from this relationship - termination of the contract - is possible at any time if one of the conditions is not met in a satisfactory manner for one of the partners54. Intimacy, understood in this way, is shown as a gradual development, where the relationship becomes part of identity projects, and is maintained only to the extent that suits the life plans of both partners. However, if it starts to be perceived as an uninterrupted emotional closeness, it can also be described in terms of “overwhelming” intimacy. It seems that this type of intimacy in the realities of social life has its limitations in the social structure, as it will be realised only by representatives of the upper tiers of the social structure - educated people or people with high economic status, from whom we can expect a certain level of reflexivity and psychological competence. This type of a relation will not find its exemplifications in all types of relationships, but will only be limited to egalitarian ones. In view of the above, the intimacy of this type can be described as rational or conventional, yet limited in the 54

Ibidem, p. 75.

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scope of implementation possibilities. It seems that one can even speak here of rationalized intimacy, because in a relation defined in such way, we can sometimes come across superficial rational justification of one’s decisions and attitudes after the decision has already been taken or implemented, or the situation when the motives behind taking an action are unconscious, e.g. they can be the implementation of social expectations or patterns. Intimacy can also be conceptualized as impossible or unrealisable. It can be seen as a form exemplifying consumerism which manifests itself in treating intimacy as a product. In the description of the realization of this type of intimacy one can find a similarity to the category of contractual-rationalized intimacy. This conceptualization is embedded in the perspective of the commodification of intimacy that, in the opinion of many scholars, goes hand in hand with twenty-first century relationships. It fits into Illouz’s perspective of living in times of “emotional capitalism”, where intimate relations are subjected to double processes economic and emotional, which define and create one another. Intimacy in this perspective is prone to institutionalization, feelings appear as a product of treatment rooms, and the individual rationalizes emotions, approaches them as a commodity, as a service which is to be at the highest level possible. In this sense, emotions are subject to the rules of the free market and the principle of consumer rationality, which is based on the still unsatisfied and constantly stimulated desire55. Such emotionality translates into intimate relationships because individuals oriented to a need to experience more and more powerful sensations are less and less interested in adapting to the needs of others. In the case of intimacy treated as a product, the goal is rather to strive for it, to possess it. The dominant need is to find love and an ideal partner - the best 55

E. Illouz, Dlaczego…op. cit. p. 97-101. 153

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possible, but this process seems to be endless. First of all, in the current situation of the unlimited choice of partner56, making a decision that a given candidate meets expectations is difficult because it is hard to check all the other candidates that are “free to take” on the market. Secondly, in the situation of choice, there is no guarantee that one day somebody new won’t appear, one who may subsequently meet our expectations in a more fulfilling way. With this type of intimacy, the negotiation or conventionality of the intimate relationship seem to be losing importance. Implementation of this type of intimacy is possible with the assumption of temporariness, and therefore realizable in informal relationships by cohabiting and by being single assuming its temporariness. It also seems not to have limitations resulting from the social structure. Non-committal intimacy refers to close relationships which can be characterized by no specific permanence and a greater erotic and sexual rather than emotional engagement. This type of relationship fits into the modern focus on private life and is a modification of the idea of Giddens’s57 orientation towards seeking intimacy as the essence of friendship and lasting sexual ties. The idea is the same, only the durability is defined differently - as temporarily determined. The closeness in this intimacy is based on mutual trust. It is a physical and emotional relationship between partners who are primarily connected by sexual contacts, but also by friendly relations. Participation in such an intimate relationship determines the temporary interest and commitment, and its specificity depends on the production of intimacy through closeness without limiting exclusivity and permanent commitment, i.e. without those elements

Vide A. Ansari, Modern Romance. Miłość w czasach Internetu, Pub. Józef Częścik, 2016. 57 A. Giddens, Nowoczesność…, op. cit., p. 131. 56

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that usually characterize intimate relationships. This type of intimacy is associated with sexual involvement and a friendly relationship, and is exemplified most often by the relationship described as Friends with benefits (FWB)58. This kind of relationship provides a sense of security and trust, it also meets the criterion of similarity of interests, which is connected with the possibility of interesting and satisfying leisure time management and sexual needs are deemed safe with a partner we know. This type of intimacy has a chance to change into an involved intimacy realized by defining the relationship. It seems to have the greatest application in the case of people who are undecided about becoming interested in a permanent relationship or those who, by choice related to the life stage or job situation, do not want a binding relationship. Immediate intimacy is another category that can be used to describe the production of short-term proximity, which is associated with the fulfillment of emotional and / or sexual needs, but in a relationship without obligations. The partners in such a relationship are temporarily oriented towards each other to satisfy a need for attention, interest and admiration. This kind of intimacy can be produced in temporary relationships, and established as a parallel relationship without an assumption for long-term continuation by both those living together, and/or those involved in permanent relationships. Christopher Lasch described this kind of intimacy as symptomatic of contemporary western societies whose members, as a result of individualistic orientations, represent narcissistic culture, i.e. they are success-oriented, self-absorbed, consumer-oriented and addicted to expert knowledge. This construction of intimacy is less demanding than, for example, in the case of non-committal intimacy - as Lash points out – which does 58

L. Jamieson, op. cit. p. 88. 155

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not interfere with concentration on psychophysical selfdevelopment, and is a form of private survival strategy 59. Currently, it does not require direct contact as it can be mediated via the Internet, which provides the appropriate space for the creation of this kind of intimacy, and as a result has no limitations resulting from age, orientation or social position. Intimacy of this type seems to obtain the correct social acceptance, except for situations concerning people involved in other relationships. Another category of intimacy that appears in the discourse is the intimacy often described as the uncertain intimacy - a kind of intimacy that is a derivative of fear of involvement. Fear of a permanent and exclusive intimate relationship is described by researchers as a feature more and more often characteristic of contemporary individuals. The observed fear of involvement in a relationship, according to Illouz, is a consequence of emotional and sexual freedom in an intimate life that has led to the transformation of emotional exchange between women and men. According to the author, this transformation has contributed – most particularly in the case of men - to the fear of a relationship requiring commitment, thus legitimizing inequalities between women and men. Intimacy which is experienced in such way is often associated with the postmodern sense of uncertainty, and accompanies the intimate relationship at all stages. It arises at the beginning, and does not pass with the emergence of involvement, but must constantly be negated by practices implemented in the act of love recognition. Illouz places this type of intimacy mainly in heterosexual relationships, claiming that contemporary women entering into intimate relationships are victims of this emotional and sexual freedom as they expect

59

Ch. Lasch, The Minimal Self: Psychic Survival in Troubled Times, W. W. Northon, New York 1984, p. 178.

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engagement and love recognition faster and more often than men60. It seems, however, that experiencing this type of intimacy is not only reserved for heterosexual relationships, but can be encountered also in same-sex relationships outside the context of gender. Intimacy as a failure is another category which is present in the sociological discourse. This category appears in Maciej Gdula’s narration on the love discourse. Based on the analysis of love books, the author distinguishes three main love discourses currently in force in the public sphere - utopian, utilitarian and traditional. In each of them, intimacy is doomed to failure because there are objective obstacles preventing a satisfying intimate relationship. In the utopian discourse, which assumes the possibility of maintaining a close relation with the partner despite the lack of a complementary relation, the obstacle stems from differences between the sexes. In utilitarian discourse, intimacy is doomed to failure because partners’ engagement in the relationship is driven by their own balance of profits and losses. In the traditional discourse, which emphasizes the importance of having children as a natural consequence of a full male-female relationship, the failure in satisfying intimacy depends on the external context - unfavorable socio-economic reality and consumer culture61. Despite various reasons differentiating between these failures, the narrative proposed by this author fits in with the category of intimacy, which is reestablished by postmodern sociology, and corresponds with the above-presented conceptualizations.

60 61

E. Illouz , Dlaczego…, op. cit., p. 82-83. M. Gdula, op. cit. p.79-84. 157

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Conclusion Discussions about intimacy - love and sexuality, made recently and only in the private sphere, are now transferred into both public and scientific discourse. Such an analysis seems necessary and justified because public discourse, as Monika Grochalska writes, imposes a specific way of conceptualizing partner-family relations, which in turn affects the ways of imagining these relations and their construction in everyday life62. In times of great demand for expert knowledge, the concepts and analytical categories created in the scientific discourse are not without influence on interpreting everyday intimate experiences and undertaken practices. The aim of the article was to show the discursiveness of intimacy based on the analysis of selected recent sociological studies. As it has been shown, the narratives about the so-called modern society differ significantly from the post-modern ones both at the level of language and analytical categories. The perspectives of intimate life analyzes presented in this text correspond with two narratives about intimacy distinguished by Lynn Jamieson63. The first – the socalled pessimistic one - constructs the category of intimacy by including it in the concept of a crisis of close relationships and the end of the family. It focuses on the loss of economic, religious and normative grounds for marriage and the disappearance of engagement. The second - the so-called optimistic one - describes intimacy as the basis of private life and emphasizes its unprecedented intensity. The diversity of types of close relationships in this approach is acceptable or even expected. A modernly embedded intimate discourse focuses on the change and heterogeneity of intimate relationships. The diversity of these M. Grochalska, Rytuały w związku – dyskursywne konstruowanie intymności, „Dyskursy Młodych Andragogów”, 2017, T. 18, p. 333. 63 L. Jamieson, op. cit. p. 89. 62

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relations is emphasized, not only because of structural conditions, but also by widening the spectrum of various types of available intimate forms. Intimate experiences described in the post-modern discourse are presented as changeable and context-dependent. The importance of constructing intimacy in the relationship is often underlined - both in the context of living together or being single. The analyses focus not so much on the structure of these relationships, but on their “content” and quality, and above all on the dynamics of changes in intimate relations. Despite highlighting the diversity of intimacy, attempts are made to define it as a new model, which assumes awareness of one’s thoughts and feelings and acting in accordance with them and informing one’s partner about it. This type of intimacy seems to fit the concept of a biography of a contemporary individual as a self-reflective project. Intimacy constructed in such a project described in the post-modern perspective seems to contain all the features that connect with impermanence and transience indicated as characteristic for this perspective. Thus, we are dealing with a discourse of reflective, impossible, non-committal, immediate and uncertain intimacy. In conclusion, it is, however, worth noting that the categories created in science are discursive in nature. What and how something is presented is only an interpretation - a contextually defined statement. It is determined not only by the conditions of the functioning of a modern society, but above all by paradigms which reflect the current state of knowledge and the dominant perspectives of description. Therefore, the assessment of the meaning of a scientific discourse that fits into the field of public discourse is possible only within its scope.

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Eliot F. R., Gender, family and society, MacMillan Press LTD, Houndmills, Basinngstoke, Hampshire and London 1996. Eliot F.R., The Family: Change or continuity?, MacMillan Press LTD, Houndmills, Basinngstoke, Hampshire and London 1986. Fasold R., Sociolinguistics of Language, Blackwell, Oxford 1990. Fisher H., Anatomia miłości, Dom Wydawniczy REBIS, Poznań 2005. Gdula M., Zmienne losy miłości w socjologii, „Kultura i społeczeństwo: więzi i uczucia”, 2006, T. 50, nr 1-2, p. 79-84. Giddens A., Nowoczesność i tożsamość. „Ja” i społeczeństwo w epoce późnej nowoczesności, Wyd. Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2010. Giddens A., Przemiany Intymności. Seksualność, miłość, erotyzm we współczesnych społeczeństwach, Wyd. Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2006. Giddens A., The Global Revolution in Family and Personal Life, w: Family in Transition, ed. A. S. Skolnick, J.H. Skolnick, Pearson, Boston 2007, p. 76-95. Grochalska M., Perspektywa krytyczna w badaniach nad intymnością, „Ars Educandi”, 2014, T. XI, cz.1, p. 27- 41. Grochalska M., Rytuały w związku – dyskursywne konstruowanie intymności, „Dyskursy Młodych Andragogów”, 2017, T. 18, p. 333. Illouz E. , Uczucia w dobie kapitalizmu, Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa 2006. Illouz E., Dlaczego miłość rani. Studium socjologiczne, Wyd. Krytyki Politycznej, Warszawa 2016. Izdebski Z., Paprzycka E., Mianowska E., Płeć biologiczna i płeć społeczno-kulturowa a związki intymne Polaków, „Studia Socjologiczne”, 4/2014 (215) , nr 4, p. 13-41. Jackson S., Scott, Theorizing Sexuality, Open University Press, Maidenhead 2010. Jamieson L., Intimacy. Personal relationships in modern societies, Polity Press, Cambridge & Malden 2005. 161

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Podkowińska, Wydawnictwo SGGW, Warszawa 2014, p. 177189. Rubin R. H. , Alternative lifestyles revisited, or whatever happened to swingers, group marriages, and communes?, “Journal of Family Issues”, 2001, n. 22, p. 711-723; Schmidt F., Para, mieszkanie, małżeństwo. Dynamika związków intymnych na tle przemian historycznych i współczesnych dyskusji o procesach indywidualizacji, Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej, Warszawa–Toruń 2015. Slany K., Alternatywne formy życia małżeńsko-rodzinnego w ponowoczesnym świecie, Zakład Wydawniczy NOMOS, Kraków 2001. Slany K., Rodzina w refleksji feministyczno-genderowej, w: Gender w społeczeństwie polskim, ed. K. Slany, J. Struzik, K. Wojnicka, Wydawnictwo NOMOS, Kraków 2011, p. 225-249. Slany K., Socjo-demograficzne aspekty „syndromu opóźniania” i jego konsekwencje dla polityki społecznej, „Roczniki Socjologii Rodziny. Studia socjologiczne oraz interdyscyplinarne”, 2006, XVII, p. 13-25. Stasińska A., Miłość w czasach nowoczesności. Nowe ujęcie socjologiczne, Studia Socjologiczne, 2014/4 (215), p. 295-303. Szarota P., Anatomia randki, Warszawskie Wyd. literackie MUZA, Warszawa 2011. Szlendak T., Architektura Romansu, Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa 2002. Szlendak T., Socjologia rodziny. Ewolucja, historia, zróżnicowanie, Wyd. Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2011. Warzywoda-Kruszyńska W., Rodzina w procesie przemian, w: Rodzina w zmieniającym się społeczeństwie polskim, ed. W. WarzywodaKruszyńska, P. Szukalski, Wyd. UŁ, Łódź 2004, p.175-196; Wróblewska-Skrzek J., Architektura randki a kryzys matrymonialny, „Dyskursy Młodych Andragogów”, 2017, T. 18, 389 - 403. 163

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Abstract The paper focuses on the discourses on intimacy and its transformations as constructed in sociology. The aim of the analyses is an interpretative attempt to synthesize a selected range of recent conceptualizations of intimacy. The article is analytical. It presents selected contexts for constructing the category of intimacy, as well as the characteristics of its post-modern shift from the private sphere to public discourse. It enlists a number of analytical perspectives of intimate relationships constructed in the discourse describing changes in private life in purported contemporary societies. The analysis focuses primarily on identifying discourses on intimacy in the latest literature on the subject. It attempts to analytically analyse the categories of intimacy in new and popular sociological studies. As a result, the following discursively constructed categories of intimacy are recognized: reflective, impossible, non-committal, immediate and uncertain. Key words Intimacy, Sociological concepts of intimacy, Change of intimacy, Change of morals. Emilia Paprzycka – doctor of sociology, assistant professor at the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. Research interests: changes in morals and customs, the phenomenon of living alone, dynamics of contemporary intimate relationships, patterns of femininity and masculinity, sexual capital. She specializes in quantitative and qualitative research methodology - data analysis design and strategies. An author and co-author of articles, reports and books, among others Single i singielki. Intymność i seksualność osób żyjących w pojedynkę” (2016) [Single. Intimacy and sexuality of people living alone” (2016)], „Kobiety żyjące w pojedynkę – między wyborem a 164


przymusem” (2008) [„Women living alone - between choice and compulsion” (2008)]. A thematic editor of the scientific journal Discourses of Young Andragogs. A member of Polish and international professional associations, among others European Sociological Association, International Association for Relationship Research, Gender and Education Association.

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Changing eating habits and self-reflexivity: a Polish example

Agnieszka Maj Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences

Changing eating habits and self-reflexivity: a Polish example Introduction Within the past few years we have been able to observe a growing interest in alternative ways of eating among Polish people. In an opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) in 2014, 40% of those interviewed declared that their way of eating was different than that of their parents’ generation1. As a result of such changes as a greater availability of different lifestyles, food products and diets, including the popularization of healthy living and a greater social awareness of relations between food consumption and health, eating habits have become increasingly individualized, and as a result are perceived primarily as a specific lifestyle choice. As was indicated by Anthony Giddens: “In modern social life, the notion of a lifestyle takes on a particular significance. The more tradition loses its hold, the more daily life is reconstructed in terms of the dialectical interplay of the local and the global, the more individuals are forced to negotiate lifestyle

1

CBOS report No.115/2014"Zachowania żywieniowe Polaków“(“Nutritional Behaviours of the Poles”) http://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2014/K_ 115_ 14.PDF, ISSN: 2353:5822, p.8. 167

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choices among the diversity of options”2. As Giddens points out, adopting a certain lifestyle is strictly connected with body regimes, which include diet3. According to Giddens, in contemporary societies we are all “on a diet”, meaning we constantly have to make choices regarding our nutritional intake. As Nick Crossley observed, in our society we are bombarded with information about various ways of eating and we are forced to choose: “Some of us may live on deep-fried Mars bars and chips. However, we still make a choice to reject advice of health and beauty experts and we live with an awareness of alternatives. In that respect, our eating patterns are much less shaped by deeply engrained habits of tradition than they were in the past, and much more by reflection and decision”4. In this article, I would like to look closely at the results of a series of in-depth interviews which I conducted during 2016-2017, all of which were with people who had decided to adopt a healthy lifestyle, subsequently changing their eating habits according to the rules of “healthy eating”. When conducting my research, I wanted to learn more about the research participants’ motivations in adopting new eating habits. I had originally expected that this decision would somehow relate to their body ideals. However, during the course of analysis it became clear that all those who were interviewed saw the change in their eating habits as more than just a means to make their bodies look younger or slimmer. Not only did they want to change their outward appearance, but they viewed their new eating habits as a form of self-development, a means by which they were able to change their entire way of living. In my A. Giddens, Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991, p.5. 3 Ibidem, p. 102. 4 N. Crossley Reflexive Embodiment in Contemporary Society: The Body in Late Modern Society, Open University Press, 2006, p.20 2

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article I will try to show that such a change can be interpreted as a manifestation of a chosen lifestyle, as Giddens himself demonstrated in his own writing on the subject. I will focus on my research participants’ self-reflexive attitudes towards their bodies, and a sense of responsibility for their health, but also the reasons for changing their lifestyle, which were often food anxieties and uncertainty concerning shifting symbolic values attached to certain kinds of food products. Materials and Methods The article is based on a concise research study based on 17 indepth interviews conducted in Poland between the summer of 2016 and 2017 with 17 research participants, who declared to have made a fundamental change in their current diet, and adjusting it accordingly to the rules of ‘healthy eating’. All of my research participants were Polish, resided of Warsaw (Poland), were ranged from ages 30 to 62. The length of the interviews ranged from 15 to 45 minutes. The interviews were conducted according to a structured scenario which focused on the research participants’ motivations to change their eating habits. All interviews were recorded and analyzed using a variable-oriented approach to identify the most important issues which appeared across the cases5. I will present the most important findings of the study in the subsequent parts of the text. Results As has already been stated, the basic criterion for selecting the research participants was that they had made radical changes in their eating habits at a certain stage of their lives. For the majority

5

M. B. Miles, A. M. Huberman , Qualitative Data Analysis, Sage Publications, London and New Dehli, 1994, p. 175. 169

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of my respondents the reason for these changes was dissatisfaction with the way their bodies looked or functioned as result of their then current state: the desire to look slimmer, but also to the desire stay healthy for as long as possible. However, many of them also experienced health problems which motivated them to seek new ways of acquiring nutrition. For all of the respondents adopting a new diet resulted in weight loss, which ranged approximately from 4 to 20 kilograms. The first positive effects to improve their looks, health or to lose weight then encouraged them to follow these new eating habits. When talking about their experiences, they recollected that they began by searching for sources of information connected to healthy lifestyles by which they could reference as the proceeded. As one of the interviewees described, she was searching for “some kind of a signpost”. As Giddens indicated, this ‘signpost’ may be a specific chosen lifestyle, and in the case of my research participants this was a diet. The authorities chosen by the research participants as a source of reference concerning new eating habits varied: a sports trainer, a dietician, a doctor, a therapist, as well as famous TV chefs or internet celebrities. Most of the research participants looked at different kinds of information sources before finding one which they adopted. Trust or lack of trust in “authorities”? The research participants often described their ways of verifying the trustworthiness of an expert or a certain source of information, some examples which helped them decide which they believed to be more reliable than others. According to the respondents, what reduced their feeling of uncertainty was the possibility of referring to a given source of knowledge whenever they needed it. For example, in the opinion of my interviewees the most trustworthy 170


was a dietician with whom they could contact directly, allowing them to consult on a regular basis. The respondents also preferred to be supervised, since they found it helpful when someone taught them new eating habits, while checking they were doing so correctly. What seemed to have an impact on the research participants’ trust in authorities was also the expectation that they would be treated “individually,” and that the advice of an expert would be tailored to their needs. This was noted when one of the respondents showed skepticism towards the advice of doctors who were following the latest trends, because in her opinion it meant they would not treat a patient individually: “But I'm sceptical about such things as fashion. ‘Everyone has some hypothyroidism - I have it too’ - I think that doctors do not approach everybody individually” (F.62) At the same time, the research participants described things which discouraged them from trusting authorities. The lack of trust usually arose when it was difficult to follow the authorities’ guidelines, for example, when one was obliged to prepare five wellbalanced meals a day or write down what had been eaten for each meal. In such cases, when they had to put more effort into following their authorities’ guidelines, the respondents found it difficult to subordinate. The interviewed described a whole set of strategies which they found helpful in maintaining their new eating habits. Some of the strategies focused on limiting a variety of available options. For example, a diet planner makes it easier to plan the menu for the whole week, meaning only the required products need be bought. A ready-made shopping list also helps to avoid such “temptations” as shopping for products to keep “in reserve” or buying products that “catch your eye” in the shop. Apart from trust issues with certain types of authorities, the research participants usually referred to each piece of advice in 171

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accordance to their preferences: each had to be confronted with personal likes and dislikes. This is well exemplified in the following citation: "I read what's on the package, I'm not interested in whether it's healthy food. I’m guided by taste. If something is recommended as healthy but it is disgusting, I will not eat it. If something is healthy and at the same time tasty I eat it, just as I recently discovered spirulina which I add to spinach and blend."(F.32) As for sources of knowledge concerning healthy eating, it is interesting to note that both professional advice and popular beliefs were used as a source of reference. For example, when asked about how they chose healthy products, some respondents answered that they “try to rely on their own judgment” or that they “use common sense”: “It’s a common sense: it is known that if you eat a lot of sweets, you will gain weight” (F.34) Among such popular beliefs which the respondents often referred, there was also a certain amount of trust placed in the selfregulating power of nature: “Maybe it’s an old-fashioned view but I think my body knows what it needs” (F.37) Other respondents tried to base their decisions concerning healthy eating on self-observation and a better recognition of the needs of their organisms: “I can observe that: when I don’t eat too much pasta or carbohydrates I can see that I feel better” (F.31). “I write down what I eat, I write down how I felt after eating it and this way I can recognize what’s harmful for me” (F.35) Expressing such views, the interviewees pointed out the need for individualizing their diets – adjusting it to the needs of their organism, which can be achieved through careful examination of their bodies. The same need for individualization was previously 172


expressed in the expectation of the interviewees, that when using the services of professional advisors (doctors, dieticians) they preferred to be treated individually. As for the self-observation thread, in some cases it was connected with a need for selfimprovement. It was also observed when one research participant said: “I remembered when I felt the best with my weight. It turned out that my right weight was the one that I wanted to have” (F.37). These words may be interpreted as an expectation that by respecting the needs of one’s body results in it functioning better, so that the efforts of the body’s owner would be somehow “rewarded” in the way they looked and felt. Healthy eating as a part of personal development It should be emphasized that the interviewees described changes they introduced in their eating patterns in a wider context of their entire biographies, indicating subsequent steps which led them to the point at which they are now. For example, one research participant started changing his eating habits by excluding fast food. After he lost some weight, he decided to start practicing sports, and became interested in martial arts. Currently he is a martial arts instructor himself. Another interviewee started a new hobby once her children had grown up and left home. She also wanted to improve her fitness, started practicing yoga, and gradually changed her diet. The resulting positive effects in the way she looked encouraged her to change her entire attitude to life and, in the end, she decided to get divorced and re-marry. For many of the research participants changing their eating habits was a process by which they re-defined their goals. In many cases they described a particular moment in which they realized that they had long been neglecting their needs. Preoccupied with everyday problems, they did not pay much attention to a proper nutritional intake. This led to dissatisfaction with the way they looked and sometimes led to health problems. The process of 173

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change involved not only their eating habits, but it also meant that their attitudes towards their bodies became more self-reflexive. One of the research participants described this process in the following way: “Professional therapy and personal development have caused that I began to be interested in what I eat. And this has gone to a “higher level”: that I want to be healthy, live as long as possible. I've been attending the therapy for two years now. It turns out that I did not consider my body as something valuable, I ate anything. Right now, after two years of therapy, almost three, I'm on a gluten-free, dairy-free diet, without meat. I have just grown up mentally, emotionally, and I want to take care of myself (…) I want to be healthy, live as long as possible” (F.35) Another research participant described the moment in which she “discovered” healthy eating as a moment of: “Reaching a certain stage of consciousness about yourself, changing the way of life that gets into a habit” (F.36) The research participants perceived the change in their eating habits in terms of a greater self-consciousness which required a rethinking of their attitudes towards their bodies, better recognition of their needs and adjusting to new eating patterns. In many cases this was a process of “creating a new self”: the research participants had to re-interpret their relations with their bodies and their whole social environment. It involved changes within the sphere of their habits, not only those related to food, such as the way in which they used to cook or how they shopped. It also required updating their knowledge regarding new recipes, the nutritional properties of certain food products or even changing the way they dressed. Food anxieties and shifting symbolic values of certain food products. All of the participants in the study experimented with their diet and decided to exclude or limit consumption of certain kinds of 174


food either temporarily or permanently. The products most often excluded or limited by this research were meat, sugar and sweets, fat and cow’s milk, potatoes and white bread, as well as highly processed food and fast food. Some research participants excluded from their menus products containing gluten or lactose. In such cases the causes of choosing lactose-free or gluten-free diets were usually related to health problems. But in many cases the reason for the exclusion of certain products was rather the uncertainty about the influence of certain food products on their health. This could be observed in particular with reference to the research participants’ beliefs concerning meat. Many of them declared that they reduced or completely excluded meat from their diet. When justifying their decisions, they referred to anxieties concerning preservatives added to meat: “I eat a lot less meat than I used to eat at home. And very often it happens to me that I want to buy something, I take it in my hand, I read a composition on the label, I see all the phosphates and so on in it and I put it aside. When reaching for it, I already know that I will find something there. In my opinion, that really reduced my meat consumption "(F.40) The aforementioned interviewee also referred to the matter of intergenerational differences in preferred foods, indicating that in her parents’ home (“at home” – A. Maj), when she was younger, more meat was consumed. Similar remarks were made by another research participant who decided to become vegetarian when she was a teenager. She remembered that when she lived at her parents’ home her diet was based on dishes prepared on the basis of flour and cabbage (home-made pasta, pancakes and dumplings) whereas nowadays they were replaced with spinach and kale, which she prefers in the dishes she prepares in her own home. Referring to the motivations which led them to changing their eating habits, the research participants often pointed out to the 175

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process of pluralization of eating habits which they have recently observed in Poland. For example, those who have decided to become vegetarians expressed their satisfaction with the growing acceptance of various, non-traditional ways of eating in Poland: “Good that the vegetarian diet is not negatively evaluated in any way. It is so popular now that it is not talked about badly. What's more, I am surprised when there is no vegetarian menu somewhere” (F.37) The respondents also indicated the important role of digital media in popularizing new trends, especially the internet, which many of them used for shopping or searching for information. They described the internet as an “easy” and “convenient” medium where everything is “within grasp”: new recipes, a community that inspires, professional advice. On the other hand, the research participants were aware of the participation and influence of the mass media in creating dietary trends through the dissemination of certain kinds of information. For instance, those concerning the negative effects of eating products containing gluten or lactose. The research participants were suspicious about the truthfulness of this information: “I was irritated with this ‘battue’ on gluten” (F.23) “But a gluten-free or lactose-free diet is simply a marketing trick” (F.34) Taking advantage of the whole diversity of options, there were many elements of tradition which the research participants valued and respected. One such pattern referred to the traditional role of women as providers of food for the family and those responsible for taking care of the health of all family members. One research participant referred to the importance of passing on knowledge pertaining to proper nutritional intake to the next generation: “I have a daughter. I would like her to have a healthy mother who nourishes herself healthy, cooks healthy. I would like her to eat 176


well too, I would like to use this knowledge in the future for herself” (F.35) Discussion In this part of the article I would like to comment briefly on some of the findings of my study. First, I would like to refer to the thesis about the progressive differentiation of diets in Poland by citing the results of a nationwide research. The search for one’s own way of eating seems to have become a wider trend, as shown by the results of research published by CBOS in 20146. They indicated that 26% of respondents declared to having undertaken an elimination diet. At the same time, 40% of those surveyed by CBOS declared that their diet is different from the way their parents ate, indicating a generational change, which would seem to be the case with my research participants. Returning to the citation from Anthony Giddens with which I started the article, the decision to go on a diet may be interpreted as a choice of a kind of “nutritional strategy” that allows one to find their own nutritional intake method from as many possible options. According to Giddens, the adoption of a certain lifestyle is integrated with body regimes: the way we care about our bodies reflects our lifestyle and is often perceived as a manifestation of our views. Although many of my research participants looked for a diet to improve their appearance and well-being, it gradually became a source of personal change for them, too. Usually, the initial interest with certain patterns of eating or the exclusion of certain food 6

CBOS report No.115/2014"Zachowania żywieniowe Polaków“(“Nutritional Behaviours of the Poles”) http://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2014/ K_115_14.PDF, ISSN: 2353:5822.

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products, became a prelude to a change in their way of thinking about nutrition. The respondents reported this change in the context of their biographical experiences. For some of them it involved a reevaluation of their lives as well as making other important personal decisions. Some also perceived the decision to change their way of eating as an element of the reflective gaze “deep inside themselves”, which allowed them to redefine their needs. Some of the research participants even described the change of nutrition as an element of self-development. This can be interpreted with reference to the concept of “creating oneself” introduced by Małgorzata Jacyno7. In her book entitled, “The Culture of Individualism,” she wrote: “lifestyle, which has the meaning of choice assigned, becomes, as once self-discipline used to be, the way individuals create themselves. The conviction of the possibility and necessity of creating oneself is a constitutive experience for the culture of individualism”. The need for individualization was strongly expressed by my research participants. This particular way of thinking about eating habits as a means of “creating one’s self” was also developed by Deborah Lupton. She wrote: “It is obvious that food habits and preferences are central practices of the self, directed at self-care via the continuing nourishment of the body with foods that are culturally deemed appropriate, constituting a source of pleasure and acting symbolically as commodities to present a persona to oneself and others. In contemporary western societies, individuals’ physical appearance is highly important in the way they perceive themselves and how others perceive them”8. The idea of creating a sense of self through body work is closely connected with the concept of

7 8

M. Jacyno, Kultura indywidualizmu, PWN, Warszawa, 2007, p.51. D. Lupton, Food, the Body and the Self, Sage Publications, London, New Dehli, 1996, p.15.

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“reflexive embodiment”, which assumes that we are the ‘object’ and the ‘subject’ of a perception, thought, desire or action at the same time9. At the same time, we “are” our bodies and take active part in “constructing” them through the adopted diet. Giddens introduced the notion of “expert systems” to indicate that in contemporary societies people refer to various sources of knowledge to reduce their uncertainty concerning certain aspects of their lives10. This refers also to my research participants. Many of them had chosen their diets by referring to expert systems such as dieticians, doctors, sports trainers or media authorities. However, among the respondents there were also those who did not trust authorities and tried to rely rather on themselves, referring to their own judgment, common sense or by using selfobservation as a means of a better understanding of the needs of their bodies. This may be interpreted as a symptom of ‘detraditionalization’ – a process typical for late modern societies in which authorities are often questioned or interrogated. As Beck, Giddens and Lash point out: “In traditional societies specialists in knowledge are ‘guardians’ (…). In modernity in contrast knowledge specialists are ‘experts’ and truth is propositional. (…) Only in late modernity do scientific statements become treated by the now reflexive public as contestable propositional truths open to ‘discoursive articulation’ and critique”11. The decision for going on a diet may also be interpreted as an attempt to reduce uncertainty concerning unknown influence of

9N.

Crossley, Reflexive Embodiment in Contemporary Society: The Body in Late Modern Society, Open University Press, 2006, p.1. 10 A. Giddens, Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991, p.102. 11 U. Beck, A. Giddens, S. Lash, Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1994, p.202. 179

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certain food products on one’s health, which are known as “food anxieties”. The examples given by my research participants were most often products containing gluten or lactose. Many of the interviewees had decided to reduce or eliminate meat from their diet and, as one of them pointed out, her decision to reduce the consumption of meat stemmed from the uncertainty about the way meat was produced (with addition of preservatives). According to Peter Jackson, this kind of anxiety has its roots in an increasing gap between meat producers and consumers: “Most consumers, in modern Western societies, now live at considerable distances from the main sites of agricultural production giving rise to the potential for consumer distrust and anxiety (…)”12. However, the interviewees were also aware of the mass media’s role in perpetuating such kind of anxieties. The respondents tried to adapt their diets to their own needs using the means available to them, such as the media or sources accessed technically. The mass media were used for acquiring new recipes, or learning about the nutritional values of products or particular dietary recommendations. Some research participants also declared that they used technical devices, such as ovens, food processors, etc. to prepare home-made food (e.g. bread). This may also be interpreted as one of the strategies for reducing uncertainty concerning the quality of ready-made products as sold in shops (one of the research participants even declared that she ground the flour herself using a food processor). These findings can be referenced to the thesis of Isabelle de Solier (2013) who claimed that in contemporary societies practices connected with preparing food and cooking have become a form of self-expression. Production has lost its meaning at work and taken on a form of ‘productive leisure’:

12

P. Jackson, Anxious Appetites: Food and Consumer Culture, Bloomsbury, London and New York, 2015, p. 13.

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we express ourselves not through the things we’ve produced at work, but rather through things produced during the time we spent on our hobbies, such as cooking and preparing home-made food. De Solier also points out the change in the way knowledge is produced in contemporary societies. Learning about objects carries a higher value than consuming them13. For many of my research participants gaining knowledge about healthy eating was important in the process of their personal development. It helped them realize who they were as well as recognizing their own needs. The effort they put into changing their eating habits and the preparation of healthy food became a source of pride for them, something which distinguished them from others. Thanks to this process, they have become conscious consumers who know what products to buy. Conclusions One of the cultural dimensions of globalization described by Arjun Appadurai (2003) was the fact that “ordinary people have begun to deploy their imaginations in the practice of their everyday lives”14. I believe that this quote reflects the attitude of my respondents who dared to challenge the traditional ways of eating, and to follow their intuitions about the most appropriate diet for them in their quest to look good, and to possess the healthy body they desired most. By successfully shaping their bodies according to their own desires, but also through the implementation of new eating habits, became a means of self-expression for them. In the experiences they described we can find all the characteristic features of modernity: the necessity of making choices, strategies for dealing with uncertainty and risk, but also the availability of many possible De Solier I., Food and the Self: Consumption, Production and Material Culture, Bloomsbury, London, New Dehli, New York, Sydney, 2013, p. 3-4. 14 Appadurai A., Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, London, 2003, p. 5. 13

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options to choose from. When talking about this, the research participants referred particularly to a growing availability of products and differentiation of lifestyles in contemporary Poland, which has allowed them a greater individualization of their nutrition, and of adjusting it to their needs.

Bibliography Appadurai A., Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, London, 2003. Beck U., Giddens A., Lash S., Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1994. CBOS report No.115/2014"Zachowania żywieniowe Polaków“(“Nutritional Behaviours of the Poles”) http://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2014/K_115_14.PDF, ISSN: 2353:5822 Crossley N., Reflexive Embodiment in Contemporary Society: The Body in Late Modern Society, Open University Press, 2006. De Solier I., Food and the Self: Consumption, Production and Material Culture, Bloomsbury, London, New Dehli, New York, Sydney, 2013. Giddens A., Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991. Jacyno M., Kultura indywidualizmu, PWN, Warsaw, 2007. Jackson P., Anxious Appetites: Food and Consumer Culture, Bloomsbury, London and New York, 2015. Lupton D., Food, the Body and the Self, Sage Publications, London, New Dehli, 1996.

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Miles M. B. Huberman A.M., Qualitative Data Analysis, Sage Publications, London and New Dehli, 1994. Abstract Within the past few years we have been able to observe a growing interest in alternative ways of eating among Polish people. In an opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) in 2014, 40% of those interviewed declared that their way of eating was different than that of their parents’ generation15. As a result of such changes as a greater availability of different lifestyles, food products and diets, including the popularization of healthy living and a greater social awareness of relations between food consumption and health, eating habits have become increasingly individualized, and as a result are perceived primarily as a specific lifestyle choice. In this article, I would like to look closely at the results of a series of in-depth interviews which I conducted during 2016-2017, all of which were with people who had decided to adopt a healthy lifestyle, subsequently changing their eating habits according to the rules of “healthy eating”. I will try to show that such a change can be interpreted as a manifestation of a chosen lifestyle, as Giddens himself demonstrated in his own writing on the subject. I will focus on my research participants’ self-reflexive attitudes towards their bodies, and a sense of responsibility for their health, but also the reasons for changing their lifestyle, which were often food anxieties and uncertainty concerning shifting symbolic values attached to certain kinds of food products. Key words Eating habits. Lifestyle. Food. Poland. Food anxieties. 15

CBOS report No.115/2014"Zachowania żywieniowe Polaków“(“Nutritional Behaviours of the Poles”) http://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2014/ K_115_14.PDF, ISSN: 2353:5822, p.8. 183

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Note about the author PhD Agnieszka Maj - a graduate of the Graduate School for Social Research (GSSR) at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Since 2010 she has been working as an adjunct at the Department of Sociology at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW). Her research interests include issues related to the influence of contemporary culture on the perception of the human body and the sociology of obesity and sociology of food.

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An individual in the world of total communication – in other words, every-day reality of the contemporary nomads in the reality based on distrust.

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An individual in the world of total communication – in other words, every-day reality of the contemporary nomads in the reality based on distrust. Seldom should the fact that we live in the globalised world of total communication be clarified to anyone1. The existence of the new media, often referred to as the new new media2 allows the existence of pluripotent communication along with the ability of creating and influencing the body of certain content. Currently, not only does an ordinary recipient of the media actively comment, but also conveys and replicates the already seen content. Moreover, he also creates it. A change in the general nature of the media means that the average inhabitant of Eastern Europe, West Africa, Alaska, Central America or Australia can freely use the media, communicate with other users around the world, create content, images and sounds to share them with other participants – for commercial purposes or inspiration of a private nature. Therefore, the level of understanding the rules for functioning of the new media, along with consequences of certain attitudes and See: A. Sugier-Szerega, Komunikacja globalna a rozwój „kultury uczestnictwa”, Tożsamość i komunikacja, (ed.). J. Szulich-Kałuża, L. Dyczewski, R. Szwed, Wydawnictwo KUL, Lublin 2011, p. 35-36. 2 See: P. Levinson, Nowe nowe media, WAM, 2010, p. 9-29. 1

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behaviours in media space, skilful reading of information, resistance to overwhelming manipulation and fake news, seems to be another significant issue. Nowadays, the mediatisation of everyday life makes it difficult to distinguish the truth from falsehood. Thus, it seems perhaps even more difficult to obtain something that can certainly be determined as real information. Communicating involves the possibility of influencing others. In addition, it provides opportunities to change one’s decisions or their attitude towards a specific issue. Research suggests that, for instance, in case of voters, advertising is claimed to have greater influence on choosing a certain candidate than news programmes3. The media shape the collective perception and understanding of not only politics, but also culture, economy, sport and religion. Today, the media process is even said to significantly influence the formation of faith and religiosity. It is even claimed that the media have repossessed many functions that were previously reserved for religion. They interpret the reality, using such means as creation and manipulation, and most importantly they are said to consolidate patterns of community experiences 4. Thus, would it be possible to make an attempt to name and analyse the main trends, as well as to describe the basic phenomena, which were created thanks to the development of tools and techniques leading to the total communication? If so, is it possible to predict their consequences, both the closer and the further? And finally, can the previously posted diagnosis indicate the potential preventive measures? In the following part of the paper I will attempt to reach such a reflexion. 3

4

See: I. Podobas, Reklama polityczna jako forma komunikacji politycznej, (in:): Komunikacja społeczna- tendencje, problemy, wyzwania, (ed.) M. Podkowińska, Pub. SGGW, Warszawa 2014, p. 62. See: R. Pastwa, Gdy Kościół stracił wizję. Przyszłość wiary w Europie ŚrodkowoWschodniej, „Więź” 2017, 2 p. 120.

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A Polish composer and pianist - Leszek Możdżer, on the occasion of the last Christmas, wished ‘everything that is true’ to his friends and fans, by posting this message on his social media profile, stressing that nowadays it is very difficult to receive this truth in everyday and professional life as well as in the social space. Indeed, the media have become a space for a continuous and total entertainment, which for many participants constitutes for endless fun. According to Marshall McLuhan, society desires intense experiences with the support of technology5. Another aspect is politicisation of the media and the ubiquity of celebrities who have won the key to participation in the lives of average citizens. MolędaZdziech refer in such situation to the ‘effectiveness of celebrities’ and the ‘dictate of the media’6. Using the digital devices available today, you can follow the actions of the President of the United States or Russia, the Pope, the German Chancellor, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Nadal. The era of total communication is at the same time the age of great manipulation, which is possible due to the existence of new media and the ongoing, increasingly complicated processes of mediatisation. This makes it increasingly difficult to deal with manipulation, which should not be associated only with fake news. Occasionally this is an action based on the assumption that the average ‘lazy media recipient’ does not have enough knowledge and tools or does not spend enough time to get to the source and, consequently, to the real information7. In addition, the perception of

5

6

7

See: M. McLuhan, Mechaniczna panna młoda, (in:): Wybór Tekstów, (ed.) E. McLuhan, F. Zingrone, Pub. Zysk i S-ka, Poznań 2001, p. 46-48. See: M. Molęda-Zdziech. Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja życia publicznego, Difin SA, Warszawa 2013, p. 14-21. See: R. Pastwa. Rozbawieni odbiorcy mediów są leniwi. Skandal za skandalem i … jest strach, http://lublin.gosc.pl/doc/3556941.Rozbawieni-odbiorcymediow-sa-leniwi-Skandal-za-skandalem-i (14.01.2018). 187

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risk is also changing, because people today possess significantly greater awareness of threats8. The risk, also the so called ‘produced risk’, becomes a universal phenomenon, exceeding the existing framework9. It is the result of civilizational and technical progress. On the contrary, the introduction of a personal computer, cheap electronic devices and low-cost information technologies may be inhibit breaking the information monopoly10. However, the contemporary cultural perspective tends to change from year to year. Until recently, the society described as ‘consumer society’ has now become a society of individuals, focused on the consumption of various goods, which is additionally characterized by extreme distrust. It seems that the maximum tolerance and lack of pickiness still applies within the cultural elite, and the binding principle of cultural superiority makes us feel at home in every environment 11. But universal access to information and electronic devices meant that in the general approach, besides ‘omnivorousness’, distrust of institutions, began to dominate, however not independently. Post-modern society constitutes for the stage of strongly individualized individuals, increasingly lonely consumers12, also consumers of new media. A society, which

See: A. Giddens, Nowoczesność i tożsamość. „Ja” i społeczeństwo w epoce późnej nowoczesności, Warszawa 2010, p. 14-15. 9 See: M. Molęda-Zdziech, Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja …, op. cit., p. 338. 10 See: F. Fukuyama, Koniec człowieka. Konsekwencje rewolucji biotechnologicznej, Znak, Kraków 2008, p. 17. 11 See: Z. Bauman, Kultura w płynnej nowoczesności, Pub. Agora SA, Warszawa 2011, p. 28. 12 See: Z. Bauman, Postmodernistyczny obraz człowieka w społeczeństwie. Gdzie źródła nadziei na lepszą przyszłość?, (in:) W poszukiwaniu człowieka w człowieku. Chrześcijańskie korzenie nadziei, (ed) S. Nowosad, A. Eckmann, T. Adamczyk, Towarzystwo Naukowe Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego Jana Pawła II, Lublin 2012, p. 169. 8

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according to Bauman, is characterized by a strong rise in inequality and morally ravaged. 13. Distrustful and atomized individuals functioning in postmodern culture can be defined as modern nomads. Extreme fragmentation and only apparent coherence cause that only a few ask themselves basic questions, fighting only for the progress measured by the improvement of comfort and the quality of life. This leads to a state of continuous existential uncertainty, which in combination with ignorance intensifies even greater isolation and division. Consequently, it raises distrust and growing fear of the other. Therefore, calls for solidarity in this situation seem absurd14. Without trust, however, it is difficult to talk about cooperation at the global level, and it is even more difficult to imagine this type of cooperation on the political, military, economic or cultural field. 15. The ‘2017 Edelman Trust Barometer’ report indicates blatantly that never before in the history of conducting this type of research has there been such a low level of trust, globally measured, towards government, non-governmental institutions, the media and business16. The media, in fact, having the capacity to perpetuate and construct the picture of reality - also consolidate such trends. The fluently modern civilization of individuals who are distrustful towards institutions does not constitute for the environment, which is beneficial for entering social consensuses, because both the individual goals and the goals of exclusive groups exceed the rules

See: Z. Bauman, 44 listy ze świata płynnej nowoczesności, Wydawnictwo Literackie. Cambridge 2010, p. 147. 14 See: Z. Bauman, Postmodernistyczny obraz człowieka…, p. 178-179. 15 See: P. Sztompka, Zaufanie. Fundament społeczeństwa, Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2007, p. 45-51. 16 See: 10 Trust Barometer Insights, https://pl.scribd.com/ document/ 336642756/10-Trust-Barometer-Insights#from_embed ( Access: 14.01.2018). 13

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of contractualism, understood as the choice of the most objective value for the whole society 17. Undoubtedly social media, including Facebook – have been and continue to be successful. However, this matter requires some bitter assessment and reflexion. Though, the new media are not always conducive to building social solidarity or the emergence of a new integration system. The creator of Facebook has also noticed the ambivalence of the situation. Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized that at the moment the company has so many moderators that it is not possible to control fake news or even Russian influence on the situation in the US 18. Zuckerberg, according to Christopher Mims of the ‘The Wall Street Journal’, set up the company when he was still in college and did not think that it would have such an overwhelming influence on global politics and the daily lives of its users. Back in June 2017, Zuckerberg changed the company’s mission to ‘bringing the world closer together’. He emphasized that he wanted to give people an opportunity, the voice to make the world a better place. However, he said that society was still divided, which was why he had seen the need for more responsibility, in order to do much more. The following situation led to the introduction of surveys among users, regarding communication and sharing of content between individuals and small groups on Facebook. The survey conducted in 2017 among 1,500 young people concerned the evaluation of the largest social networking to eliminate the negative impact on mental health. ‘Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and the Facebook-owned Instagram all pushed survey

See: Ibidem. Ch. Mims, Zuckerberg’s Dilemma: When Facebook’s Success Is Bad for Society Facebook’s chief has signaled he will do what it takes to curb the social network’s negative effects—but how far will he go?, “The Wall Street Journal”, https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-facebook-sacrifice-billions-in-revenueto-save-its-users-1515326401 (Access: 10.01.2018). 17 18

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participants to contrast their lives with others, a phenomenon known as social comparison. The exception was YouTube, in part because the dynamic is usually one-to-many communication, with person-to-person socializing happening in comments’19. The author of ‘Zuckerberg’s Dilemma: When Facebook’s Success Is Bad for Society Facebook’s chief has signalled he will do what it takes to curb the social network’s negative effects—but how far will he go?’ states, that Facebook can function better after the implementation of certain steps, the aim of which will actually bring people closer. Christopher Mims also refers to the economic dimension of the announced changes. He notes that only in the first nine months of 2017 the change in the algorithm translated into a 47%-increase in revenues. Mims states finally that: “Facebook is built on the idea of bringing the world closer together, as its mission statement so boldly pronounces. The irony that Mr. Zuckerberg must confront is that the very means of that connection—what the company euphemistically calls engagement, but which experts say is more accurately described as addiction—appears to be detrimental to the humans whose thriving he seems earnestly to want to promote’20. The impact on the human being is exerted not only by the content, but also by the very form of the media. According to Marshall McLuhan the medium itself is a message, assuming that there are no neutral means of media 21. The Internet, which delighted some of the people with its capabilities, made others uneasy. This has been happening to date, although the development of the Internet imposes the search for a growing number of new paths that can serve as a relief in times of rapidly multiplying See: Ibidem. Ibidem. 21 See: M. McLuhan, Zrozumieć media. Przedłużenie człowieka, Warszawa 2004, p. 37-53. 19 20

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threats. In fact, the biggest transformations do not take place in the Web, but in the society under the influence of content and media. People constantly learn how to communicate, improve their tools, and at the same time undergo changes in their own thinking and functioning. There are certainly many threats that ‘modern nomads’ are subject to – the term is adequate for instance for the sake that they came to live in a fluid, fusible and immensely alternating reality. Following E. Aboujaoude claims A. Chudzik reasonably notes, that the effect and impact of web space leads to the phenomenon of virtualism, which can be defined as the state of an alienated existence, in which people are not able to distinguish between real and virtual boundaries 22. In this context, P. Levinson suggests, quite optimistically, that the media can barely induce such social effects, which could not be repaired 23. However, Goban-Klas believes that the media construct social situations and understanding history by applying images of reality in a way that is predictable and in some sense fixed. On the contrary, the recipient processes these images of reality and creates his own view of the surrounding world24. Consequently, it is of upmost importance to note that the media play a crucial role in the process of globalisation in modern societies. According to T. Flew: ‘Globalization of the media undermines some existing beliefs about the relationship between territory, identity and culture. It constitutes for new challenges for those subjects,

See: A. Chudzik, Internet jako technologia komunikacji międzyludzkiej – czego obawiają się jego użytkownicy?, (in:) Społeczne i etyczne wymiary przemian w zmodernizowanym społeczeństwie, (ed.) W. Jedynak, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, Rzeszów 2014, p. 211. 23 See: P. Levinson, Miękkie ostrze, czyli historia i przyszłość rewolucji informacyjnej, Warszawa 2006, p. 22. 24 See: T. Goban-Klas, Media i terroryści. Czy zastraszą nas na śmierć?, Kraków 2009, p. 99-100. 22

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which seek to regulate and control media flows, power and the supervision over the media’25. One must not ignore the fact that media influence the direction in thinking of the modern receiver, or in other words the participant for the media field. It seems, however, that the Brendan Cohen principle still applies, which is reminded by J. Kinal: ‘The media do not show the participants of the communication process,’ what to think ‘but’ what to think about ‘26. Despite the creation of a new industrial and cultural map of global media, hegemonic media capitals still exist 27. There is still a relationship between ‘media and forms of cultural or symbolic power, having its source in the possibility of exercising control over resources related to information means and communication and the possibility of using and distributing these resources’28. It must be pointed out at this time that Flew supports Thompson’s claims that symbolic authority is of particular importance in this context. Moreover, it is the mail tool for formation and development of other people’s actions through the creation and processing of values, beliefs and ideas. It also includes the impact that takes place through cultural and religious institutions, universities and schools, as well as the media industry. Symbolic power is consequently no less important than the economic, political or the power associated with the state’s defence institutions 29. The media as a ‘specific kind of authorities’ constitute See: T. Flew, Media globalne, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2010, p. 243. 26 See: J. Kinal, Nowe media w kontekście agenda-setting. Przemiana form medialnego wpływu, (in:) Społeczne i etyczne wymiary przemian w zmodernizowanym społeczeństwie, (ed.) W. Jedynak, Pub. Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, Rzeszów 2014, p. 230. 27 See: T. Flew, Media globalne…, op. cit., p. 254. 28 See: Ibidem, p. 6. 29 See: Ibidem, p. 5-6. 25

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for a huge force today. Media authority is a process of mutual connections and relations between various dimensions of power: a cultural and symbolic dimension as well as a political and economic one 30. One should take into account the legitimacy of assuming that celebrities also contribute to the reconstruction of the entire public sphere, making it one big media field. Molęda-Zdziech emphasizes that: ‘As a result of this change, participants in public life become witnesses to the celebritization of all dimensions in public life: political, economic and socio-cultural ‘31. It should be emphasised that the new media have become an immensely absorbing, interesting and simultaneously dominant space. Consequently, the modern individuals spend most of their time with the media. Stasiuk-Krajewska emphasizes that the use of the media becomes a public activity rather than an individual and private one, especially due to technical capabilities 32. According to her claims the media today tend to mediatize themselves. Indeed, apart from the creation of media events, we have to deal with the emergence of media materials based on a different text or image. It is frequent that social media posts, tweets, and statements of politicians and other celebrities serve as foundation for the press materials etc.33 Molęda-Zdziech as cited in van Dijk might perhaps be right to claim that one of the possible reasons for mediatisation is, paradoxically, ‘the end of mass communication’34. In spite of Zuckerberg’s announcement, who wants Facebook to prefer family and individual entries before advertisements or posts See: Ibidem. M. Molęda-Zdziech, Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja …, op. cit., p. 17. 32 See: K. Stasiuk-Krajewska, Co ludzie robią z mediami? O nieoczywistości wpływu mediów, (in:) (Nowe)Media, Implikacje kulturowe, językowe i edukacyjne, (ed.) M. Karwatowska, B. Jarosz, Pub. Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, Lublin 2015, p. 15-16. 33 See: Ibidem, p. 16. 34 See: Molęda-Zdziech, Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja …, op. cit., p. 21. 30 31

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of organizations and institutions 35 - it should be assumed that the future of the mediatisation process will not end in a positive scenario. Development of new mediatisation methods seems highly probable. If there is a connection and increased permeation of the linking, semiotic and economic functions 36 – it may turn out that many people, including smaller institutions, will experience ‘digital exclusion’. J. Van Dijk suggests that the use of new media will require more and more developed technologies, and thus an increasing number of expenditures. Those who will not possess these technological tools or will not be able to use them efficiently, will be doomed to exclusion 37. The type of ‘digital exclusion’ may turn out to be extremely painful for many reasons, especially if you take into account modern communication needs of a man. They exceed other needs far beyond. The so called megacomunication of the ‘modern nomads’ absorbs a lot of time, energy and limits the possibility of direct contact. Irresponsible and inappropriate use of the resources and opportunities that the Internet brings can lead to numerous negative effects 38. Certainly, attention should be paid to the possible conception of completely unnecessary information, participation in the world created by the media, deepening social processes, which lead to the consolidation of the lack of dialogue and to the reality built on distrust. It seems that today the only dominant form of See: M. Weinberger, Dobra zmiana „dla ludzi”. Mark Zuckerberg szykuje rewolucje na Facebooku, Insider Business Polska, https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/facebook-w-2018-roku-szykujezmiany-min-news-feeda/hjv2wvx (Access: 13.01.2018). 36 See: M. Molęda-Zdziech, Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja …, op. cit., p. 48-49. 37 See: J. Dijk Van, Społeczne aspekty nowych mediów. Analiza społeczeństwa sieci, PWN, Warszawa 2010, p. 249-259. 38 See: M. Potent-Ambroziewicz, Młodzież w chmurze, czyli o poszukiwaniu informacji, (in:) (Nowe)Media. Implikacje kulturowe, językowe i edukacyjne, (ed.) M. Karwatowska, B. Jarosz, Pub. Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, Lublin 2015, p. 189-198. 35

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existence is the one that takes place with the media and through the media 39. Among the possibilities offered by the media, entertainment is dominating. This attempt ‘to entertain a man to death ‘is not just a matter of television, as claimed by Postman40 – but more certainly, according to U. Jarecka all the media that can be defined as ‘postmodern hybrids’’41. However, it should be strongly emphasized that in today’s cultural climate it is not just an offer provided by tabloids. In the post-modern world, scepticism, nihilism, irony have ambitions to replace rationality and even declarations of progress, not only in science, but also in the media. ‘The place of rational argumentation is to be occupied by a loose game of associations, analogies and metaphors, ironies and distance which will allow to notice the previously neglected aspects of scientific studies. The aspects were ignored in the times of scientific fascination with rational science subjected to strict methodological procedures’42. One of the consequences of this approach is the rapidly growing pessimism, as well as the unbelief in the possibility for building a better world. As it turns out, in the era of culture shaped in this way and total communication, the attitude of distrust towards people and institutions is developing. What if the distrust is the most severe consequence of mediatisation? Global communication gives people

See: Molęda-Zdziech, Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja …, op. cit., p. 21. See: N. Postman, Zabawić się na śmierć: Dyskurs publiczny w epoce show-biznesu, Muza, Warszawa 2002, p. 24-26. 41 See: U. Jarecka, Tabloidyzacja oferty medialnej na tle przemian sfery publicznej, (in:) Kultura medialnie zapośredniczona. Badania nad mediami w optyce kulturoznawczej, (ed.) W. Chyła, M. Kamińska, P. Kędziora, M. Kosińska, Pub. Naukowe Bogucki, Poznań, p. 295-306. 42 J. Życiński, Zagrożenie wartości humanistycznych w nurcie współczesnych przemian kulturowych, (in:) Jestem Józef wasz brat. III. Okruchy twórczości, Janineum, Wiedeń 2015, p. 474. 39 40

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various possibilities and tools. However, with the naked eye one can see the existence of the dictates of the media, which by specific actions, mechanisms and institutions perpetuate a certain style of the current culture 43. It should be assumed that it is the ‘culture built on distrust’ that is currently one of the greatest anxieties of post-modern era societies44. You can probably link and explain this definition with U. Beck’s claim, who stated that contemporary variations of civilization risk tend to escape human perception, also due to the negative impact of institutions 45. This is certainly influenced by the growing differences between the most rich and the most poor, because today there is an unusual and complex polarization in the world. 46. ‘‘2017 Edelman Trust Barometer’ clearly indicates that humanity has definitely ceased to trust governments, institutions, even nongovernmental organizations and the media. What is particularly surprising is the drastically low level of trust in the media. These studies have never been so pessimistic. As always, there are specific causes behind such a phenomenon, hence their proper recognition might predict the consequences of such a state of affairs. However, despite these difficulties, one should not underestimate this report and the problems it exposes. If we refer to the category of ‘active trust’, which according to A Giddensen is the source for new forms of social solidarity in See: A. Sugier-Szerega, Komunikacja globalna a rozwój…,op. cit., p. 35-42. See: R. Pastwa, Janusz Palikot zainteresował się różańcem. http://lublin.gosc.pl/doc/4239485. Janusz-Palikot-zainteresowal-sierozancem, (Access: 13.01.2018). 45 See: U. Beck, Społeczeństwo ryzyka, W drodze do innej nowoczesności, Warszawa 2004, p. 37. 46 See: Business Insider Polska, W Davos rozpoczyna się 47. Światowe Forum Ekonomiczne. http://businessinsider.com.pl/wiadomosci/swiatowe-forumekonomiczne-w-davos-2017/q7b0zbm (Access: 11.01.2018). 43 44

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‘contexts spreading from intimate personal bounds up to global interaction systems’ – is it still possible in the era of ‘individualisation’47 and ‘culture built on distrust’ to revive the trust? In the era of new media, the public benefits from the privilege previously reserved only for journalists, it participates in the process of reality creation, often sharing unproven, false information - even without confirming them. Of course, the fact of possessing the tools for such verification is deliberately omitted by me in this situation. In my opinion, new media transform the reality that surrounds us, irrevocably 48. It seems likely that the aforementioned distrust of institutions has been transferred to interpersonal relations. It seems even difficult to imagine further consequences of this process. We live in a world full of risk, where awareness of threats is still increasing. The phenomenon of secularization becomes more and more visible, according to Molęda-Zdziech as cited in Sztompką. Secularization in this sense means the defencelessness of the individual and the lack of defence mechanisms against the threats that the media bring and produce to a large extent 49. Does the creation and development of the totally individualised and isolated individuals constitute for the most dangerous threat? The phenomenon is therefore, a consequence of changes present See: A. Giddens, Ryzyko, zaufanie, refleksyjność. w: U. Beck, A. Giddens, S. Lash, Modernizacja, tradycja i estetyka w porządku społecznym nowoczesności, Warszawa 2009, p. 235-238. 48 See: R. Kuczer, „Nowe nowe media”, Paul Levinson, Kraków 2010: [Review], (in:) „Resovia Sacra”, Studia Teologiczno-Filozoficzne Diecezji Rzeszowskiej 2010, 17, p. 334, http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Resovia_ Sacra_Studia_Teologiczno_Filozoficzne_Diecezji_Rzeszowskiej/Resovia_Sa cra_Studia_Teologiczno_Filozoficzne_Diecezji_Rzeszowskiej-r2010-t17/ Resovia_Sacra_Studia_Teologiczno_Filozoficzne_Diecezji_ Rzeszowskiej-r2010-t17-s333-338/Resovia_Sacra_Studia_Teologiczno_ Filozoficzne_Diecezji_Rzeszowskiej-r2010-t17-s333-338.pdf 49 See: Molęda-Zdziech, Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja …, op. cit., p. 338-339. 47

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due to the lower confidence in media and other institutions, but also in relation to other people. One of the key points of the Edelman Report, which assesses the level of confidence of representatives of twenty-eight nationalities in four types of institutions: governmental, non-governmental, media and business – concerns the so-called ‘Broken system’. As much as 53 percent the respondents believe that the system in which they live and function does not work in their favour. The system is often referred to as unjust and not giving hope for a better future. The survey shows that respondents do not believe in the emergence of leaders who could repair and solve the existing problems. As much as 32 percent. expressed its uncertainty in this matter, only 15 percent. believes that the system works properly. The participants of the survey are most concerned about corruption, globalization processes, erosion of social values, migration crisis and policy introducing modern technologies and innovations. A long list of these biggest ‘fears’ shows that they can significantly strengthen populist activities in individual countries 50. Do we live in an age of uncertainty as claimed by P. Sztompka? Indeed, despite access to new media and the latest technologies, risk is increasingly replacing all forms of security. It is immensely difficult to get predictability and stability. If the perception of threats was reinforced by lack of knowledge, it would be extremely difficult to overcome such situations. Hence, the fact that not always all communities pursue the goal of building social trust and a sense of security should definitely be recognized. Can we agree with the researchers who blame the degradation of communities, intimate relations, social ties, and family erosion for the disintegration of all kinds of trust? Certainly, in the situation of a global crisis of confidence, it is difficult to predict further 50

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consequences of such a direction of change 51. It is because we have lived in a world of unpredictable contexts, distrust and in the era of total communication, hence it is becoming increasingly difficult to precisely indicate solutions. In my opinion, creation of dialogue culture as well as popularisation of media education could serve as a solution to this matter. When it comes to overcoming the lack of trust in the world of total communication and the reality built on distrust, also towards the media, it seems that a return to serious, socially engaged journalism could be a milestone. We also definitely need to return to reliable journalistic information, at the same time withdrawing from attempts to comment and evaluate everything. Perhaps it is also worth following the indications stated in the Edelman Report, put a change in the integration model of modern societies. Only then will it be possible to continue looking for ways to rebuild trust again.

Bibliography Bauman Z., Kultura w płynnej nowoczesności, Agora SA, Warszawa 2011. Bauman Z., Postmodernistyczny obraz człowieka w społeczeństwie. Gdzie źródła nadziei na lepszą przyszłość?, (in:) W poszukiwaniu człowieka w człowieku. Chrześcijańskie korzenie nadziei, (ed.) S. Nowosad, A. Eckmann, T. Adamczyk, Towarzystwo Naukowe Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego Jana Pawła II, Lublin, 2012. Bauman Z., 44 listy ze świata płynnej nowoczesności, Pub. Literackie, Cambridge 2010.

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Beck U., Społeczeństwo ryzyka. W drodze do innej nowoczesności, Warszawa 2004. Chudzik A., Internet jako technologia komunikacji międzyludzkiej – czego obawiają się jego użytkownicy?, (in:) Społeczne i etyczne wymiary przemian w zmodernizowanym społeczeństwie, (ed.) W. Jedynak, Pub. Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, Rzeszów 2014. Dijk Van J., Społeczne aspekty nowych mediów. Analiza społeczeństwa sieci, PWN, Warszawa 2010. Flew T., Media globalne, Pub. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2010. Fukuyama F., Koniec człowieka. Konsekwencje rewolucji biotechnologicznej, Znak, Kraków 2008. Giddens A., Nowoczesność i tożsamość. „Ja” i społeczeństwo w epoce późnej nowoczesności, Warszawa 2010. Giddens A., Ryzyko, zaufanie, refleksyjność, (in:) U. Beck, A. Giddens, S. Lash, Modernizacja, tradycja i estetyka w porządku społecznym nowoczesności, Warszawa 2009. Goban-Klas T., Media i terroryści. Czy zastraszą nas na śmierć?, Pub. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2009. Jarecka U., Tabloidyzacja oferty medialnej na tle przemian sfery publicznej, (in:) Kultura medialnie zapośredniczona. Badania nad mediami w optyce kulturoznawczej, (ed.) W. Chyła. M. Kamińska, P. Kędziora i in., Wydawnictwo Naukowe Bogucki, Poznań 2010. Kinal J., Nowe media w kontekście agenda-setting. Przemiana form medialnego wpływu, (in:) Społeczne i etyczne wymiary przemian w zmodernizowanym społeczeństwie, (ed.) W. Jedynak. Pub. Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, Rzeszów 2014. Levinson P., Miękkie ostrze, czyli historia i przyszłość rewolucji informacyjnej, Muza, Warszawa 2006. Levinson P., Nowe nowe media, Pub. WAM, Kraków 2010.

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McLuhan M., Mechaniczna panna młoda, (in:) Wybór Tekstów, red. E. McLuhan, F. Zingrone, J. M. Stokłosa, Pub. Zysk i S-ka, Poznań 2001. McLuhan M., Zrozumieć media. Przedłużenie człowieka, Pub. Naukowo-Techniczne, Warszawa 2004. Molęda-Zdziech M., Czas celebrytów. Mediatyzacja życia publicznego, Difin SA, Warszawa 2013. Sugier-Szerega A., Komunikacja globalna a rozwój „kultury uczestnictwa”. Tożsamość i komunikacja, (ed.) J. Szulich-Kałuża, L. Dyczewski, R. Szwed, Pub. KUL, Lublin 2011. Pastwa R., Gdy Kościół stracił wizję. Przyszłość wiary w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej. „Więź” 2017, 2. Podobas I., Reklama polityczna jako forma komunikacji politycznej, (in:) Komunikacja społeczna- tendencje, problemy, wyzwania, (ed.) M. Podkowińska, Pub. SGGW, Warszawa 2014. Postman N., Zabawić się na śmierć: Dyskurs publiczny w epoce showbiznesu, Muza, Warszawa 2002. Potent-Ambroziewicz M., Młodzież w chmurze, czyli o poszukiwaniu informacji, (in:) (Nowe)Media. Implikacje kulturowe, językowe i edukacyjne, (ed.) M. Karwatowska, B. Jarosz. Pub. Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, Lublin 2015. Stasiuk-Krajewska K., Co ludzie robią z mediami? O nieoczywistości wpływu mediów, (in:) (Nowe)Media. Implikacje kulturowe, językowe i edukacyjne, (ed.) M. Karwatowska, B. Jarosz, Pub. Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, Lublin 2015. Sztompka P., Zaufanie. Fundament społeczeństwa, Znak, Kraków 2007. Życiński J., Zagrożenie wartości humanistycznych w nurcie współczesnych przemian kulturowych, (in:) Jestem Józef wasz brat. III. Okruchy twórczości, Janineum, Wiedeń 2015. Business Insider Polska, W Davos rozpoczyna się 47. Światowe Forum Ekonomiczne,

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http://businessinsider.com.pl/wiadomosci/swiatowe-forumekonomiczne-w-davos-2017/q7b0zbm (Access: 11.01.2018). Kuczer R., „Nowe nowe media”, Paul Levinson, Kraków 2010: [Review], (in:) „Resovia Sacra”, Studia TeologicznoFilozoficzne Diecezji Rzeszowskiej 2010, 17, http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Resovia_Sacra_Stud ia_Teologiczno_Filozoficzne_Diecezji_Rzeszowskiej/Resovia_ Sacra_Studia_Teologiczno_Filozoficzne_Diecezji_Rzeszowskie j-r2010-t17/Resovia_Sacra_Studia_Teologiczno_Filozoficzne_ Diecezji_Rzeszowskiej-r2010-t17-s333-338/Resovia_Sacra_ Studia_Teologiczno_Filozoficzne_Diecezji_Rzeszowskiejr2010-t17-s333-338.pdf (Access 20.01.2018). Mims Ch., Zuckerberg’s Dilemma: When Facebook’s Success Is Bad for Society Facebook’s chief has signaled he will do what it takes to curb the social network’s negative effects-but how far will he go?, “The Wall Street Journal”, https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-facebooksacrifice-billions-in-revenue-to-save-its-users-1515326401 (Access: 10.01.2018). Pastwa R., Janusz Palikot zainteresował się różańcem, http://lublin.gosc.pl/doc/4239485.Janusz-Palikotzainteresowal-sie-rozancem. (Access 13.01.2018). Pastwa R., Rozbawieni odbiorcy mediów są leniwi. Skandal za skandalem i … jest strach, http://lublin.gosc.pl/doc/3556941. Rozbawieni-odbiorcy-mediow-sa-leniwi-Skandal-zaskandalem-i (Access 14.01.2018). Weinberger M., Dobra zmiana „dla ludzi”. Mark Zuckerberg szykuje rewolucje na Facebooku, Insider Business Polska, https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/facebook-w-2018roku-szykuje-zmiany-min-news-feeda/hjv2wvx(Access 13.01.2018).

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Trust Barometer Insights, https://pl.scribd.com/document/ 336642756/10-Trust-Barometer-Insights#from_embed (Access 14.01.2018). Key words Culture of trust, Culture of distrust, Global communication New media, Mediatisation. Abstract New media in today’s globalised reality have created possibility for total communication. It has a great importance in the ‘culture of building the distrust’. The irresponsible usage of mechanism and tools of communication and information deepens trust and dialogue issues. Also, social inequalities and aggressive politics deepens the distrust. ‘2017 Edelman Trust Barometer’ indicates there is high level of distrust in: government institutions, non- governmental institutions, media and business. Media should go over revolution that would lead to new model of communication, based on objective information and trust. But it can only be achieved by a change in the model of integration. Note about the author Rev. PhD Rafał Pastwa (born. 1980) - journalist, theologian, editor-in-chief of the ‘Gość Niedzielny’ in Lublin. A graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin. Author of three literary publications, two scientific books and educational and preventive books for children. Winner of the ‘Angelus lubelski’ award in the field of media culture for 2016. He conducts research in the field of media science, focusing, inter alia, on the problems of modern journalism, the relationship between the media, culture, theology and politics.

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Social Media – a New Communication Way or a Path Following Enslavement

Katarzyna Sacharczuk Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Faculty of Social Sciences

Social Media – a New Communication Way or a Path Following Enslavement Introduction A number of social media users is increasing with each year. Initially, such network sites were primarily addressed to young people and their aim was to ease communication and to conceive a possibility of sharing photos, reflections, experiences, ect. A decade or more ago1, presumably, hardly anyone realized how much social media would change the way of perceiving communication and network sites functioning in general. In the meantime, the amount of their users belonging to each social group (from children to pensioners) is increasing in number. At the top of the most popular social network sites are platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat. Over recent years, social media has entered permanently into many persons’ everyday lives. A statement will not be a misuse that social network sites surround us everywhere, and frequent references to them can be found in traditional media. The aim of this

1

The biggest currently social network site Facebook was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg as a tool of inner communication of the students of Harvard University 205

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article is indicating communicative capability of social media through the presentation of the results of original research realized by the author in 2017. The author, through the studies, has endeavour to obtain the answer whether social media provides a certain type of enslavement for young persons or is possibly a new space of social communication. Social Media as a new way of communication The report Digital in 2017 Global Overview, prepared by We AreSocial and Hootsuite, states that the number of social network sites active users totalled 2.27 mld in 2017.In relation to 2016, there was observed an increase of 21%. It shows that persons using this type of services has amounted currently to 37% of total global population 2. According to the quoted studies, an average user spends on social network sites approximately 2 hours and 19 minutes every day. At the top of this ranking are people from the Philippines who use this social media for 4 hours and 17 minutes every day. It is also worth to add that 2.55 mld of all users enter the sites of social portals by means of mobile devices 3. It is therefore considered that in recent years not only a new communication channel appeared, but also the tools,by which we connect with other people, have changed. The reflections on the social media subject should begin with the attempt to define it. A word – media – is associated with traditional channels of the information transfer which are: television, radio, press as well as the Internet that is increasingly classified to this group. The basic function of media is the informational one. Nevertheless, it can also get the receivers involved in a transmitted

2https://wearesocial.com/special-reports/digital-in-2017-global-overview, 3

(Access: 18.01.2018.) Ibidem.

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message, or even connect them with groups corresponding to their concerns. It can therefore be concluded that by means of media there are built informal communities that concentrate around particular issues 4. As E. Paprzycka and Z. Izdebski observe, “the Internet entails incomparable changes on the availability of other persons as well as the possibility of establishment and maintenance relations with them, thus providing an additional space of people-to-people contacts” 5. Social network sites added an additional and incredibly significant value to the traditional properties of media. It allowed a free dialogue between individual users and groups. In the case of television, radio or press, the role of receivers was limited to the passive receiving a message. Although there was a possibility of a response to it, it was straitened and time-absorbing (the reaction usually did not happen in real time with the exception of a live broadcast). Accordingly, hardly anyone chose such an action. Social media therefore has contributed to communication a completely new quality. Every user due to it can share own opinion and rapidly receive an answer to it. A dialogue feature, in the framework of social media, is the lack of a stranglehold. Apparently, the standard are actions that depend on erasing unfavourable comments and opinions. Nevertheless, it cannot be totally prevailed what the Internet users publish on. A hierarchy is, likewise, irrelevant. A view can be shared by an average John Doe. Opinions are not created merely by experts, but by ordinary persons that have such an unfettered opportunity for expressing own views. It can be, therefore, attempted to define social media that make attention on actions and behavior of

4L.

Safko, D.K. Brake, The Social Media Bible: tactics, tools, and strategies for business success, John Wiley & Sons Inc, New Jersey 2009, p. 3. 5 E. Paprzycka, Z. Izdebski, Single i singielki. Difin: Warszawa 2016, p. 216. 207


particular community which by means of connection with themselves share information, knowledge and views 6. The possibility of a rapid action for a receiving message is described as a definition of an interactivity. A social network sites user has an opportunity of a direct impact on the accessed contents and their modification. Thereby, the role of a receiver is not limited to be a perceiver or a reader, but it leaves a space for viable input into virtual reality. T. Cantelmini i L. G. Grifo indicate that the possibility to influence a receiving message gives an area for creating information that corresponds to the recipient’s wish and demand 7. An active receiver, so-called a prosumer, is nowadays a basic element of interactive communication that has been developed and enabled with social media. In recent years there can be observed the transitions from one-way to two-way communication. The way of participating in communicative processes is also changing. It is particularly seen on the examples of marketing activities. To date, the consumers have not had such wide opportunities for expressing own opinions about products and services conveying to them. For this reason, the producers faced a huge challenge – having to learn how to appropriately respond to both favorable as well as negative comments of their clients. Communication between a producer and a consumer is not only set in a closed personal space (explaining problems by means of complaints or during a conversation with a manager) but has transferred to a public space. There any potential client may decide what to purchase on the basis of an earlier seen opinion 8.

Ibidem, p.5. Cantelmi, L. G. Grifo, Wirtualny umysł. Fascynująca pajęczyna Internetu, Pub. Bratni Zew, Kraków 2003, p. 46 – 47 8 Ibidem, p. 47. 6

7T.

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The concept of H. M. McLuhan becomes particularly meaningful in terms of social media. The author in ‘The Gutenberg Galaxy’, written in 1962, describes a phenomenon of i.e. global village. McLuhan compared the world to an ordinary village where inhabitants live close to each other, know their opinions, share their problems and do not hold any secrets between them. Communities in small villages are integrated with each other and hiding something from a neighbor is extremely difficult. In the middle of the 20th century, McLuhan said that a modern global society will have many features of such a village. From today’s perspective, it is difficult not to agree with the author. Informative society may be defined as village society. Modern technology allows for an immediate connection to almost any human being at any place. Barriers such as space or time are not nowadays relevant obstacles. The world diminished to the size of McLuhan’s village where it is increasingly difficult to keep any privacy or a secret 9. The Internet, and a little later social media, contributed a completely new quality in the area of interpersonal communication.10 Many critics reject contemporary ways of conveying information (noticeable particularly in the connection between young persons) and regard them as less valuable than direct conversations face to face. Meanwhile, though consideration should be taken whether the need to adapt to the new reality is not a necessary condition for functioning in the today’s world. At every stage of development communities faced with such challenges but every time they had different nature. Nowadays we live in the See: H.M. McLuhan, Galaktyka Gutenberga, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Warszawa 2017. 10 See: M.Podkowińska, Pośrednie i bezpośrednie formy komunikacji rodzicielskiej, (in:) Dziecko w mediach, (ed.) M. Butkiewicz, A. Gralczyk, K. Marcyński, Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA, Warszawa 2016. 9

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epoch of digital reality and new technologies qualified constant changes. The world speeds up and we, as its inhabitants, have to keep up with a rapid pace. Many of us have a lack of time for meetings with families and friends therefore a solution in the form of a contact through technology seems to be appropriate. It is worth mentioning here that initially a mobile phone was widely criticized as a tool, through which people would shun direct contacts. To come back to the subject of social media, in the world, where there is no time for caring close relations with other persons, the contact mediated by this type of service brings a huge value. Addictions to the Internet Over one third of population declares that is an active user of social network sites. It indicates that such services assist the representatives of this group every day. Some of the users definitely begin and finish a day checking or browsing a portal. Many of them make available their photos, reflections as well as they share own lives and interact with other persons. Generally, enslavement is frequently regarded as an addiction in the context of social media and the Internet. However, I would like to attempt a slightly wider approach to the phenomena of enslaving. The issue of an addiction to the Internet is a subject discussed by the researches of various fields of studies, primarily psychology, medicine and sociology. K. Goldberg describes this problem as ‘a way of using the Internet that leads to unequivocal behavior disorders’11. The researchers investigating an addiction to a network, observe in it conditions that are appropriate also for other types of such addictions. They are frequently compared to addictions to alcohol and drugs. In this case the Internet is a stimulus without which an

11A.

Wołpiuk – Mochocińska, Uzależnienie od Internetu – przybliżenie zjawiska, „Studia z psychologii w KUL t. 13”, KUL, Lublin 2006, p. 107.

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addicted person cannot imagine day-to-day functioning. And with the passage of time, such a person is putting more and more effort into using it. In extreme cases it can cause a health deterioration or even a death as a result of a body attrition. Persons, who are strongly addicted to the Internet, lose the sense of time and do not satisfy basic needs as sleep or food 12. An addiction to social network sites is a relatively new phenomena because such services are so popular for only several years. In the researches 13 there attention is mainly paid to a Facebook addiction because it is unquestionably the biggest social medium used by the representatives of all groups in the society. For many users, it became a main source of contacts with acquaintances or a space in which they build their social relations. This involves primarily young persons growing up in the world where the access to the Internet is common. As it is in the case of the Internet addiction, similarly in general it is with social network sites addictions that can be compared to other types of it. A major role is played by dopamine which is released during the connections to the publish content on portals. Especially it occurs when it is positive and concerns ourselves (also persons close to us or content corresponding with our interests). It is easy to addict to such positive emotions and then checking Facebook becomes a daily habit 14. One of the major advantage of social network sites is the possibility of creating own image that can be frequently diverged from the actual state. To a large extend, we decide on our own what Ibidem, p. 107. Barker V., Older adolescents’ motivations for social network site use: the influence of gender, group identity, and collective self-esteem, „Cyberpsychol. Behav” no. 12/2, 2009. 14 A. Fiedorowicz, Facebook Addiction Disorder. Kim są ludzie uzależnieni od mediów społecznościowych?[online:] http://www.focus.pl/artykul/ lajkoholicy-kim-sa-ludzie-uzaleznieni-od-mediow-spolecznosciowych? page=2, (Access: 19.01.2018.) 12 13

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and how we want to show, also which photo we want to present as well as what reflections we want to share with acquaintances. Socalled likes raises self-esteem. A vast amount of them on our photo results in a feeling of social acceptance. Among the users of social network sites, there appears a rivalry and a struggle for the biggest number of likes. This digital acclamation has most frequently little in common with who we are actually 15. Even the users, who can abstain from the everyday contact with Facebook, claim that a vast amount of likes on their online activity triggers their well-being and, on the other side – underestimating a photo or a listing by acquaintances results in thoughts of a lack of acceptance. Another dimension of enslavement relates to the fact that nowadays social network sites – first and foremost Facebook – are commonly regarded and used as a communication tool, also in formal issues. The examples are the profiles of various companies by means of which users can rapidly contact with customer service. In certain cases this form of communication is even more preferable. We do not know whether this tendency will develop more conceiving a kind of necessity to use such services in an active way 16. As it was mentioned, the understanding of an enslavement concept may be very broad. It is most frequently identified as an addiction and involves restrictions on someone’s freedom by the factor which enslaves. In the context of social media, this subject is in so as interesting as it concerns many of our everyday lives. As it was signified earlier, in today’s world it is more and more difficult to function and not be registered on such a portal. And in the future it may happen that life without it will be impossible. Making a comparison with other technologies easing everyday functioning: do the presence of land-line phones and them mobile

15 16

Ibidem. Ibidem.

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phones can be considered as enslavement through telephonic communication? Research methods The criticism of social media is based on i.a. a statement that the prolonged use of it may result in abandonment of maintaining traditional and direct interpersonal relations/contacts. Most vulnerable to this risk is a group of young persons that is first generation that was brought in a reality with common access to the Internet. The subject of this research is the phenomena of the presence of young persons in social media. The aim was to attempt to answer i.a. (inter alia) the question whether willingness to share own experiences and to monitor other persons’ lives is for young persons only a way of expressing themselves and a kind of entertainment, or it results from a constraint. A diagnostic survey was chosen as a research method. For a technique there was used a poll in a form of an electric questionnaire aimed at the Internet users. A research sample involved 100 people. The biggest group of the survey formed persons at the age from 18 to 25 (79%), 16% of respondents were between 26 and 30 years old, 4% were persons at the age from 31-35, and only 1% of respondents were between 36 and 40 years old. The vast majority of them (97%) uses mainly Facebook every Day, 3% chose Instagram. Research Results The conducted research confirmed included in the theoretical part of the article thesis involving an observation that the vast majority of the social network sites’ users connects with the service through mobile devices.

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Pie Chart No. 1 What sort of device do you use the most frequently during logging into the social network site? Laptop/comp uter 23%

Tablet 1%

Smartfon 76%

Source: own elaboration. As much as 76% of respondents the most frequently use a smartphone for this purpose. Almost one fourth are persons using a computer or a laptop, and 1% of respondents choose a tablet. One of several questions referred to the issue connected with enslavement. The answers are presented in the chart No. 2. The question was: Could you definitely claim that you can function/exist/live without social network sites?

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Pie Chart No. 2 Could you definitely claim that you can function/exist/live without social network sites?

Hard to say 29%

Yes 36%

No 35%

Source: own elaboration. For such a question only 36% of respondents said ‘Yes’, but most of them said that they are not sure whether they could live without such portals (35% said ‘No’, and 19% ‘Hard To Say’). The next question concerned the need for sharing experiences through social network sites.

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Pie Chart No. 3 Do you have a need for sharing experiences through social network sites?

Hard to Say 27%

Yes 35%

No 38%

Source: own elaboration. The responses here were also divided. 38% of respondents do not feel the need to share experiences with acquaintances, but 35% of them evince such a desire, and 27% of respondents have no opinion on that. A state of addiction to a particular substance or activity appears frequently through the occurrence of concern in the case of the difficult access to it. The issue of the feeling appearing in the situations, where there is a lack of possibilities to use the portal for a longer period of time, seems to be a good standard of an enslavement level. The next question referred to this issue (Pie Chart No. 4).

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Pie Chart No.4 What do you feel when for a longer period of time you have no chance of using social network site? Pleasure/con temptment 7%

IOther 1%

Aggrivation/ discomfort Inner 4% concern 16%

indifference 72%

Source: own elaboration. The vast majority of the tested users of such portals has indifferent feelings in a situation in which they cannot use social network for a longer period of time (72%). Only 16% of them feel inner concern, and 4% feel aggravation. 7% of the respondents are pleased with such a situation. One person wrote own response to this question that it evokes a feeling of curiosity. The answers to this question allows to conclude that it is difficult to talk about enslavement and addiction to social media if in most cases do not appear negative feelings in a situation without contact with portals. On the other hand, divergence of opinions related to the issue of these social network sites daily use as well as

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willingness to share personal experiences indicate ambiguity in the problem. Furthermore, it is worth to notice that these are the opinions of the respondents and their self-esteem that not always has to reflect the factual situation. (tu miałaś ‘do rozważenia’) In the analysis of the problem concerning what are social network sites for young persons, it is also worth to check what benefits come from the daily use of portals. (Pic Chart No 5). Pic Chart No 5. What benefits are from using Social Network Sites? 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Source: own elaboration.

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In this question the respondents had an opportunity of a multiple-choice answer. Three of four the most frequent chosen options concerned communication. For the respondents, the most significant advantage of social Network sites is a chance for maintaining contacts with friends (83%). 70% of answers concerned an opportunity of keeping up with friends’ lives (within the meaning of observing their activity and publishing content). According to the respondents, social Network sites are also helpful in ‘passing’ time (65%) as well as they allow the users to make contacts with old friends (57%). A similar number of chosen answers (about 50%) concerned also enabling the users to be active in the groups that are related to their interests/hobbies. Much less relevant are matters connected with creating own image (22%) as well as sharing own experiences (11%). The use of social Network sites is associated also with the knowledge connected with the dangers to which the users are vulnerable. The level of realizing these aspects may be helpful in concluding as much as the representants of a tested group are aware.

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Pic Chart No. 6 What are the biggest dangers connected with the use of social Network sites? Other 2% Addiction 28% Disclosure of data 69% Mocking 1%

Source: own elaboration. According to the respondents, the two basic dangers are the risk of disclosure of private data and a possibility of addiction. 69% of the persons participacing in the research seemed that the disclosure of personal information is the most serious risk. One of third of the respondents are afraid of addiction and only 1% is scared of being mocked. Discussion Although the research was done in a relatively small group (100 persons), it presents a certain view of a young social Network user. A first conclusion is a certain divergence between the respondents’

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answers. Although a vast majority claimed that does not show negative emotions during the long period of not having contact with a portal, 35% of them could not definitely say that would be able to live without daily logging in social network sites. Additionally, 29% of the respondents could not clearly answer that question. Besides 35% of the respondents feel the need for sharing own experiences with acquaintances. It is thus fair to conclude that it is difficult for the respondents to clearly respond on their feelings related to social media. On the one hand social network sites are not such an important part of their life to feel aggravation in a situation where there is a lack of contact with them. On the other hand social media has become a permanent part of everydayness and using it can be compared to a habit. The need for showing acquaintances own experiences is also worth consideration. It correspond with the reflections connected with the opportunity of creating own image and deciding on what information will go public. Such an option helps in the creation of a well-planned self-image. Vaguely on the contrary with the conclusion above is the fact that the social Network sites are for the respondents primarily a way of easing communications with acquaintances. Issues of creating selfimage as well as sharing own experiences became much less significative than the advantages of such portals that the general idea of interpersonal communications consists of. For the respondents, the main benefit of analyzed social Network sites is the possibility of keeping abreast up with friends, networking with old friends as well as just passing time. An interesting function of social media is a chance of joining groups of similar interests and being active there. It can be most certainly claimed that the respondents are aware of the dangers connected with using social Network sites. The biggest is the risk of personal data disclosure. We live in the times when it is more and more difficult to keep privacy therefore the 221


concern about a leak of personal information is fully justified. Although social media gives an opportunity of own decisions about when and which information about us will be published, there is a possibility that some of it should stay only in our proprietary collection. Vaguely less than one third of the respondents paid also attention to a possibility of an addiction to social Network sites. Clearly it is visible that also this danger is present in the users’ awareness, but the fear of personal data disclosure is stronger. Summarizing, I consider that nowadays social media is not a factor that can completely enslave young people. However, it should be admitted that social Network sites are becoming a more and more significant element of our everydayness. Surely should be noted the fact that such portals have become not only a tool of communication, but also a whole space where it occurs on a variety of areas: between acquaintances, among members of groups of common interests, among brands and customers ect. Moreover, through social media the user may hold many conversations in the same time which gives a totally different insights on a foregoing concept of communication. Conclusion The answer to a question from the article’s title is very difficult. Using new devices, which surround us in the modern world, requires plenty of rationality and prudence because, as all human achievements, they can be an amazing tool facilitating daily lives as well as a way following enslavement of an individual. Once again I will use a statement that social media are nowadays very significant in social communication and the importance of it is increasing. Not only particular individuals, who search entertainment and the possibility of dissociation from reality, use social media. Also its potential is used by different companies and institutions from various areas of social life. 222


It seems to me that using social media is just the determinant of our times, the same as using mobile phones or watching television.17 The importance of social network sites in our lives depends on ourselves: the level of our awareness and the ability of putting boundaries. I do not consider that social Network sites are danger for traditional ways of communication. And on the contrary, it is worth to think whether in a situation of a permanent lack of time for longer meetings with close persons is not helpful with maintaining interpersonal relations.

Bibliography Cantelmi T., Grifo L.G., Wirtualny umysł. Fascynująca pajęczyna Internetu, Pub. Bratni Zew, Kraków 2003. Fiedorowicz A., Facebook Addiction Disorder. Kim są ludzie uzależnieni od mediów społecznościowych? [online:] http://www.focus.pl/artykul/lajkoholicy-kim-sa-ludzieuzaleznieni-od-mediow-spolecznosciowych?page=2, (Access 19.01.2018.) https://wearesocial.com/special-reports/digital-in-2017-globaloverview, dostęp: 18-01-2018. McLuhan H.M. Galaktyka Gutenberga, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Warszawa 2017. Paprzycka E., Izdebski Z., Single i singielki. Difin: Warszawa 2016. Podkowińska M., Internet i telewizja w komunikacji rodzicielskiej, (in:) Nowe media, ale nowe czy stare problemy? (ed.) J.

See: M. Podkowińska, Internet i telewizja w komunikacji rodzicielskiej, (in:) Nowe media, ale nowe czy stare problemy? (ed.) J. Hajdasz, Wyższa Szkoła Umiejętności Społecznych w Poznaniu, Poznań 2011. 17

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Hajdasz, Wyższa Szkoła Umiejętności Społecznych w Poznaniu, Poznań 2011. Podkowińska M., Pośrednie i bezpośrednie formy komunikacji rodzicielskiej, (in:) Dziecko w mediach, (ed.) M. Butkiewicz, A. Gralczyk, K. Marcyński, Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA, Warszawa 2016. Safko L, Brake D.K., The Social Media Bible: tactics, tools, and strategies for business success, John Wiley & Sons Inc, New Jersey 2009. Wołpiuk – Mochocińska A., Uzależnienie od Internetu – przybliżenie zjawiska, „Studia z psychologii w KUL t. 13”, KUL, Lublin 2006. Abstract The article consists of two parts. In the theoretical part there was made an attempt to define a concept of social media and also there were included consideration connected with the importance of such social network sites in the modern world as well as their functions in the area of interpersonal communication. There was also asked a question whether social media is a way following enslavement of persons who use them every day. Second part of this article includes the results of research which was done by the author. This research concerns feelings about social Network sites, the respondents belonged to a group of daily users of such portals. The main aim of this research was to check whether it can be claimed that modern humans are enslaved by such type of services or they offer a new tool that is helpful in the process of communication and maintaining relations. Key word Social media, Social Network sites, Portals, The Internet, Network, Communication, Enslavement.

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Note about the author MSc Katarzyna Sacharczuk - The author is the graduate student of Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW. In 2016 she got a masters degree of sociology with specialty training in social communication. She concentrates her study interests on the issue of modern methods of communication as well as a wider role of women in the old and modern society.

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