Creating and Negotiating Social Networks Through Video Sharing
Posting text comments and video responses to videos enacts Rouse’s (1991) concept
of media circuits that illustrates particular social network patterns. For example, an
aunt of two boys that I interviewed posted a comment on one of their videos. Living
several states away, the boys rarely see her. But by viewing her nephews’ videos and
posting comments, she re-affirms her position in a familial social network. When the
boys read her posted comments, they complete a media circuit that began with an
experience that was encoded in video, displayed, and commented upon by their aunt,
who participated from afar. In this case, the media circuit helps maintain a social
network that already exists. Media circuits take different forms and not only help
maintain, but can also help create connections and negotiate relationship changes, as
described below.