ABSTRACT
In Chapter 8, ‘New technology, intimacy and work’, we examine new media technology and its impact on intimacy, its impacts on everyday life and how it influences the work-life balance. This chapter looks at Facebook and other social networking platforms to assess what impact this has on everyday life and intimacies. Melissa Gregg’s work has been ground-breaking in this regard, and considers the relationship between new media technologies and intimacy in relation to people’s homes. This chapter also examines the relationship between technology, intimacy and transnational families, as outlined in the work of Francisco. In addition, the chapter examines other cultural contexts in relation to intimacy and technology, as shown in the interesting work of Dinah Hannaford on Senegalese transnational marriages, which includes ‘intimate surveillance’. Additionally, Rachel Parrenas raises the issue of ‘long-distance intimacy’ and examines the constitution of intimacy in the use of communication technology in Filipino transnational families.
