postmodernism and digital communication

Baudrillard

• the hyperreal world

• according to baud, we now inhabit a hyperreal world , where stimulations and representations have replaced genuine experiences and realities

• social media platforms serve as breeding grounds for this hyperreality, where our lives are often meticulously curated and constructed to fit the idealised mages we present to the world

• Instagram filters , carefully crafted captions , and virtual personas contribute to the creation of hyperreal identities

• this is seen as a negative impact on dc

bjrorklund

• in a postmodern world, people take a different view of defining the self ( where as in the past people used autobiographies to describe their lives towards the end of their lives in books)

• digital communication now allows for an on-going autobiography which individuals can continuously manipulate and edit for example Facebook

• this is seen as a way that dc affects identities

case

• this can be a challenge to adolescents who have two personas (online an offline)

• she says that the nature of social media makes it harder to remove mistakes due to every interaction being visible

• case also uses the same concept of cyborgs as caraway to present the idea that we are all cyborgs now

• due to peoples technology use becoming so embedded into daily lives , we are becoming cyborgs

• she argues that they way people interact with technology affects their identities - we re now in a post modern era where we are more able to select and develop different aspects of identity in a global context ( not a local context)

• this can be beneficial however, there are dangers of digital communication where it leads to a trail of information about individuals which is hard to remove or erase (e.g. mistakes where teenagers say or act inappropriately online is recorded through digital media whereas in the past, these errors were not recorded)

• so case offers both optimistic and pessimistic views

case 2

• in online settings, (eg. social network sites, chat rooms, discussion groups) identity processes are complicated because identity cues (eg. gender, age) are masked

• they can also be selectively shared/withheld/misinterpreted

• here identity is constructed by the user

• Ellison argues that this means individuals have the opportunity to adopt multiple online personalities and online activities leave traces which can be captured/ tracked / packaged/shared

• also peoples online identities can continue to develop offline - this can have both positive and negative effects (e.g. Paris brown UK crime commissioner resigned after investigations into her tweets when she was 14-16, which are now considered racist and homophobic)

hart

• individuals today write and re-write their autobiographies which reflect their own values on a daily basis

• therefore identity is now created both online and offline

• for example, posting a photo on social media shows the construction of the self and social networks are developed by finding friends who have similar interests

• despite other perspectives viewing social media posts as trivial/superficial (taking a traditional approach) they can be seen as culturally significant due to reflecting individuals feelings and actions , which shows how digital communication explores complex way identity is created

Elliot

• pessimistic about the fragmentation of identity

• examples of conflict caused by this fragmentation might be Facebook personal family person vs online dating apps

polemus : the supermarket of style

• in his 1994 work , the supermarket of style, sociologist ted polemus examines the increasing fluidity and diversity of youth subcultures in contemporary society

• polemus argues that youth identity and style have become more fragmented and less fixed compared to earlier generations

• this shift reflect broader cultural changes , including the rise of consumerism , the influence of mass media , and the breaking down of traditional social boundaries

• polemus introduces the concept of the supermarket of style to explain how young people today have access to a vast array of cultural influences, symbols and fashions , much like consumers in a supermarket choosing from a variety of products

• rather that adhering to the distinct and rigid subcultures of the past (such as punks ,mods or skinheads) , youth today are able to pick and mix elements from a wide range of styles , creating individualised and fluid identities

• this is facilitated by the media , which offers an abundance of images and reference to young people can incorporate into their personal style an identity

conclusion of polemus

• whilst polemus did not focus only on the digital world, this study clearly ca be used to show how the digital world allows peoples choices over their identities which can be seen positively

Collins

• suggest that to understand society, the chains of interaction between people must must be understood

• he suggest that by looking closely at how individuals construct their identity through social network sites such as Facebook , using a micro sociological approach, it ma be possible to learn about how people see the world around them

• its also interesting to consider the differences in peoples on and off lives

• e.g. catfish a tv shows, follow the lives of online couples who have never seen each other in person - filled with surprises and mystery as one partner discovers differences between online and offline lives