Abstrack:
The use of internet as a part of Indonesian?s daily life has been tremendous. Businessmen, professionals, housewives, teens and even small kids use internet as a media of communication and a part of modern lifestyle through cell phones and personal computers. Other persons in different place now can be reached in no time and internet also opens new opportunities. However, family member now realize that new technology does not always bring happiness. More and more family connection and social relationship has loosened and more kids become internet-addicted. Children skip school, neglect their daily duties, have less contact with other family members and enter a new world under their own control. How does the new technology shape a new social change in Indonesia? How do people create interaction and interpret meanings through the internet? Will it lead to joint action? New technology has advantages and disadvantages. As long as the benefit is beyond the expense, there is no reason to be resistant to new change in life. With internet, people can expand their horizon and create meaningful actions. Despite its disadvantages, internet has formed a new kind of society that is different with the conventional society based on geographical boundaries. Symbolic interactionism theory from GH Mead is used to analyze this phenomenon. Since this theory was developed before the emergence of internet, it is necessary to modify and exercise different method. According to Mead and written by Blumer (1969:2), there are three premises in the theory: first premise is that human being act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them. The second premise is that the meanings of such thing is derived from or arise out of the social interaction that one has followed. The third premise is that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by person in dealing with the things. Preliminary analysis on this research shows that internet has enhanced the social interaction and joint action among its users. At the same time, some others still argue that the internet has widened the gap among family members.
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