Social Ritual Theory

“Ritual” remains one of most interesting social concepts and attracts many sociologists’ attention. To Durkheim, rituals are ‘collective representations’ that are enacted in front of the assembled group. He exemplified the correlation between ritual behaviors and social orders in his observation of Australian tribal community. He argues that ritual, centered around sacred objects and cultic practice, is the fundamental source of the “collective consciousness” that provides each member with meaning and sense of rightness in adhering to that group. Furthermore, these rituals convey the experience of social integration. People who live without these experiences are more likely to find that their existence is isolating and sometime lack of …show more content…
The mobile phone is a tool that we use in our private interactions. It is used to coordinate our daily lives. We use it to keep in touch with our friend and family. Such communication technologies allow us to interact with others regardless of their geographic location. At the same time, social distances and geographical distance are tightly intertwined. In that sense, cell phone allows us to reach more individuals at the distant and to form social groups without regional constraints. It is clear that in most cases, we still nurture our social contacts in face-to-face interaction. We still primarily utilize those devices to connect our close family members and friends. We are able extend the form of interaction via the use of mobile communication. We can tell jokes, gossip and can use various forms of slang in mediated interaction. In the use of these devices, we are fulfilling the notion of ritual described here. When successful, these mediated forms of interaction engage the individuals and provide us with a forum in which we can engage in our ritual interaction. There is the sense of mutual engagement and the development of a common mood. Thus, I assert that we can look at mobile communication as a technology that supports and even helps to develop social cohesion. To the degree of changes been brought however, I think it will take a long while for technological intermediaries to become the primary avenue through which we develop and cultivate our social