Social media is the furnace of individualization
When Facebook CEO Zuckerberg said "people don't want privacy," he was not merely referring to company policies but to a deeper facet of human nature (Matyszczyk 2010). As humans we are constantly being driven subconsciously to share and express ourselves. Controversially, social media companies take advantage of our human nature as prosumers for monetary gain. But inevitably, our innate desires for self expression and socialization push us to live an ever-growing proportion of our lives on social media. It is important to consider the technological-deterministic facets of this trend - there is no denying that social media use changes us, and we are spending continuously more time on these platforms. In a sense, the real threat to privacy comes not from the companies or the government, but from our peers. Writer Dianne Martin argues that “the more we allow our lives to be visible, that is, to be lived online, the more our lives are open for inspection,” not only from the gatekeepers (such as the government) but mostly from our peers (Martin 2013). Media blogger Tim Rayner builds off French philosopher Foucault’s ideas, showing how the internet is like a “virtual Panopticion.”
In this "virtual Panopticon," we tailor our behavior “on the chance that we are being watched” (Rayner 2012). In a postmodern sense, the internet gives power to the masses by allowing everybody to post on the web. Sharing something on the internet empowers you but at the same time exposes you to judgement from your peers. This in turn encourages you to tailor your online identity in a way that you think is more favorable to your peers. Sharing something on social media like Twitter or Facebook implies that you affirm it, are trying to pass the word on, or that you like it and hence latches on to a small part of your identity which builds over time. Since whatever you post online is a reflection of your identity, social media has a very important and real function as a “vehicle for identity formation” and “creative self-development” (Rayner 2012). This concept of different social arenas leading to exploration and development of identity is not new - Foucault refers to it as "subjectivation." The concept of subjectivation has useful applications in social media, which is the ultimate
When Facebook CEO Zuckerberg said "people don't want privacy," he was not merely referring to company policies but to a deeper facet of human nature (Matyszczyk 2010). As humans we are constantly being driven subconsciously to share and express ourselves. Controversially, social media companies take advantage of our human nature as prosumers for monetary gain. But inevitably, our innate desires for self expression and socialization push us to live an ever-growing proportion of our lives on social media. It is important to consider the technological-deterministic facets of this trend - there is no denying that social media use changes us, and we are spending continuously more time on these platforms. In a sense, the real threat to privacy comes not from the companies or the government, but from our peers. Writer Dianne Martin argues that “the more we allow our lives to be visible, that is, to be lived online, the more our lives are open for inspection,” not only from the gatekeepers (such as the government) but mostly from our peers (Martin 2013). Media blogger Tim Rayner builds off French philosopher Foucault’s ideas, showing how the internet is like a “virtual Panopticion.”
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| The Panopticon is a circular prison with a central guard tower where one or just a few guards can keep an eye on all of the prisoners. |
In this "virtual Panopticon," we tailor our behavior “on the chance that we are being watched” (Rayner 2012). In a postmodern sense, the internet gives power to the masses by allowing everybody to post on the web. Sharing something on the internet empowers you but at the same time exposes you to judgement from your peers. This in turn encourages you to tailor your online identity in a way that you think is more favorable to your peers. Sharing something on social media like Twitter or Facebook implies that you affirm it, are trying to pass the word on, or that you like it and hence latches on to a small part of your identity which builds over time. Since whatever you post online is a reflection of your identity, social media has a very important and real function as a “vehicle for identity formation” and “creative self-development” (Rayner 2012). This concept of different social arenas leading to exploration and development of identity is not new - Foucault refers to it as "subjectivation." The concept of subjectivation has useful applications in social media, which is the ultimate
As internet users, we are often concerned about privacy online. Most of these apprehensions stem from fears of government surveillance. The public outcry to the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) legislation in 2011 resulted in mass website “blackouts” in protest, illustrating concerns over privacy and freedom over the internet. Most surveillance, however, comes not from corporations or the government, but rather our social media peers. Social media allows everybody to be “seen” online, much like a Panopticion, where one guard in a tower can see everybody 360o around the radius. Like an actor who knows he is being watched on stage, social media users will try to put their best foot forward and put on a show for the audience. I think I probably seem“cooler” on social media than in person, and “the virtual Panopticion explains why people tend to be larger than life on social media” (Rayner 2012). You shape your Twitter feed because you chose what to post on it, but conversely, the Twitter feed shapes you because you know your followers will judge you on what you say so you tailor it. This leads us to a potentially deleterious effect of social media use – if there is insufficient common ground between your virtual identity and your “real” identity, this can cause psychological stress and incongruity. This ties in the George Ritzer’s ideas on cyborgology, where making “phony” identities on the internet can rupture our personalities until our virtual worlds become more “real” than actual worlds. Eventually we become cyborgs, like Obi Wan says “more machine than man.”
Despite the potential to rupture your identity leading to distress, I think I have done a relatively good job of maintaining the psychological integrity of my identity. This is partly due to my less use of social media compared to others – I usually do not share that often, but more importantly I only tend to share things that are deeply rooted and resonate very well with my physical, real identity. I have noticed, however, that I am somewhat bolder online. For instance, I have stage fright and become anxious when playing piano in front of a crowd, but taking a video of me playing by myself and posting it on Instagram is no problem for me. I always follow posting-etiquitte and will usually refrain from posting more than once a day, particularly on Instagram where this is more concrete of a de-facto rule. I will never share anything religious or political on any social media outlet, though I will often read articles, forming my own opinions and taking interest but always being reluctant to share anything. This more or less reflects my own personality which is usually more introspective than outgoing. Some articles that I am sometimes tempted in sharing (because of their satirical nature, which I think makes it easier to share) are articles from The Onion. For instance, I thought this satirical article about Syria was interesting, but I still did not share it despite it being a joke.
One article that I did share on LinkedIn quite some time ago was about how 80% of Americans support labeling any food that contains DNA. When I do share posts on social media, I often share different types of things on different platforms. On Facebook and Instagram I mostly share photos and occasionally videos, but on LinkedIn, I only share scientific posts, related to research or some recent development in the science community.
It is important
to try to use social media as a positive tool for exploring your
personality and expressing yourself. You must compose your identity
without going off the rails and being phony and fragmenting yourself,
driving yourself to psychological instability and losing all
integrity. Ultimately, identity involves “negotiating between the
virtual and physical [worlds]” (Rayner 2012), and Foucault’s view
of the internet as Panopticion encourages us to use social media in a
positive way to spur development and maturity of our identities.
References:
Martin, Dianne. "The internet as a reverse panopticon." 2013.
https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/association-for-computing-machinery/the-internet-as-a-reverse-panopticon-RQfKE2XX1L.
Matyszczyk, Chris. "Zuckerberg CEO: I know that people don't want privacy." 2010.
https://www.cnet.com/news/zuckerberg-i-know-that-people-dont-want-privacy/.
https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/association-for-computing-machinery/the-internet-as-a-reverse-panopticon-RQfKE2XX1L.
Matyszczyk, Chris. "Zuckerberg CEO: I know that people don't want privacy." 2010.
https://www.cnet.com/news/zuckerberg-i-know-that-people-dont-want-privacy/.
Panopticon image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrnJnfmY9qGZum-wbYW4Nj3Ehzb3AOYrwn95Y0ab7smuoN08pFLnVAg8lz2YNJojDVnRN0-xT_Q4swxJvZccfOQY7mwes0bBXsiQtaz_wHeZOC3lDTOG25Lntzbvbp0RNQEI6ahXBHhBY/s1600/panopticon++pointsdactu-dot-org.jpg
Rayner, Tim. "Foucault and social media: life in a virtual panopticon." 2012.
https://philosophyforchange.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/foucault-and-social-media-life-in-a-virtual-panopticon/.
Rayner, Tim. "Foucault and social media: life in a virtual panopticon." 2012.
https://philosophyforchange.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/foucault-and-social-media-life-in-a-virtual-panopticon/.
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