Phatic technologies in modern society

A phatic technology’s purpose is to establish, develop and maintain personal and social relationships. The invention and development of phatic technologies, and their influence on human society, have been accelerating rapidly in the past decade, exemplified by the growth of social networking technologies based on the Internet. To understand this acceleration we propose to analyse the phenomenon of phatic technologies with the aid of sociological concepts of the nature of contemporary society. Specifically, in this paper, we use some key notions in Giddens’ theory of modernity as analytical tools to support and facilitate our argument that certain abstract social conditions that are characteristic of modernity amplify significantly the human need for, and thus the development of, phatic technologies.

► Phatic technologies are technologies for relationships. ► We analyse the rise and necessity of Internet-based phatic technologies using sociological theories of modernity. ► Phatic technological habituation explains individuals’ trust in technologies for relationships across distances. ► Phatic technologies feed our need for personal and social processes that are highly reflexive.