I watched a recently-made documentary the other day about a village in Laos and the dynamic of tourists going there because it was still 'authentic' and the vil

I watched a recently-made documentary the other day about a village in Laos and the dynamic of tourists going there because it was still 'authentic' and the village rapidly modernizing (electricity, tour guides, etc.). Two scenes stood out to me. The first was of a young, city-educated shop owner who had a laptop and internet. Some of the other villagers came over as he showed them pictures of 'nice ladies' and played music for them. Ever the businessman he offered to download ten tracks for them in exchange for some meat. The other scene was a merchant passing through and selling plastic bowls and such, but also 'dumb' cellphones. Cue a scene of three guys excitedly comparing ringtones. What amazed me was not just the rapid technological progress in this village, but how different individuals made extremely different jumps. One guy was excited about phones with fancy ringtones, but the other, in that same small village was already 'facebooking' with a Chinese girl on his laptop. What strikes me is that the way 'we' think about something like facebook is very different from this villager (and I suppose the other villagers in due time). For many of us, Facebook is a product that developed over time and one that exists in an ecosystem of social platforms and has a dynamic with its users. We remember older, often national social networks, fondly or otherwise, we discuss the pro's and cons of current social networks, we have already invested time and content into these social networks, and these products have shaped us and vice versa. But for places like this village, Facebook is a brand-new thing that just appeared with no history or context. They might have no knowledge at all of how Facebook 'should' be used (although I suspect this knowledge travels quickly). Hell, even many of those who grew up with Facebook have that one older family member who somehow thinks each of your posts is meant for them and they respond and like them all! It's a bit like the difference between dating someone you grew up with and a 'mail-order bride (groom?)' from a different culture. The dynamic is entirely different, and I find this fascinating. I wonder if any research is being done into this. I guess this is all just a really long-winded way of basically repeating what you said. But it's early and I'm having a coffee and I don't want to start working yet... Apologies!