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PERSONAL INFORMATION AND SOCIAL LIFE *
Author(s) -
Zerubavel Eviatar
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.1982.5.1.97
Subject(s) - tact , sociology , scope (computer science) , perspective (graphical) , confidentiality , discretion , power (physics) , personally identifiable information , epistemology , social psychology , psychology , computer science , law , political science , philosophy , physics , psychotherapist , programming language , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence
This paper revolves around the informational aspect of social relationships, attempting to identify the fundamental social patterning of personal information and to establish the basic conceptual framework necessary for analyzing this topic from a sociological perspective. The paper explores the major parameters of personal information (amount, scope, and depth), relating them to sociological variables such as social distance, social power, privacy, and intimacy. It then examines the “information preserve”, a quasi‐spatial territory of the self, discussing various forms of defending it (such as discretion, concealment, and fabrication), as well as ways in which it is protected by others (with a particular emphasis on confidentiality and tact).