MMCC2141 WK 4 Social Media and Identity: An In-Depth Exploration

Introduction

  • Speaker: Ron Tolok
  • Topic: Intersection of social media and data, focusing on identity, privacy, and control.
    • Key questions:
    • Who has access to our information?
    • What is done with our information?
    • How does this shape identity and engagement in cyber cultural spaces?
  • Purpose: To encourage reflection on how identity is formed and expressed through engagement with social networks and media technologies.

Lecture Format

  • Theoretical approach, includes complex ideas that will be explored further in tutorials.
  • Importance of grappling with dense theories to foster understanding of identity.

Concept of Identity

Historical Perspective

  • Focus on the historical and philosophical notion of identity and subjectivity.
    • Subjectivity: Refers to the notion of the individual as a subject (the question of 'I').
  • Discussion of:
    • Cohesive individuals vs. fragmented subjectivities.
    • The identity problem in early social media and how it relates to fragmented identities.

Sherry Turkle's Contributions

  • Sherry Turkle: Influential theorist on online interactions and communities.
    • Key points from Turkle:
    • Individuals possess multiple identities based on roles (e.g., student, employee, friend).
    • Online personas should be regarded as legitimate expressions of identity rather than secondary or inauthentic.

Contextual Nature of Identity

  • Postmodernism's influence:
    • Shift from a singular identity (modernity) to contextual, fragmented identities (postmodernity).
    • Identity perceived as fluid, context-dependent, and performative in various situations.
Discourses of Authenticity
  • Rise of authenticity discourse alongside social media.
    • Social media emphasizes the need for presenting a singular, "true" identity.
    • Issues with reductive concepts of authenticity, which often assume a static notion of identity.
    • Recommended reading: Alan Taylor's "Authenticity as Performativity on Social Media."

Evolution of Identity on the Internet

Early Internet Culture

  • Early platforms allowed for identity experimentation and anonymity (e.g., bulletin boards, Usenet).
  • Users could present varied identities without real-world constraints.

Facebook and the Identity Problem

Sean Parker's Perspective
  • Sean Parker: Co-founder of Facebook.
    • Facebook's goal: Connect real lives with virtual identities.
    • Identity Problem: How to facilitate social networking when users were not using real names?
    • Commercial implications: fragmented identities lead to decreased accountability and challenging advertising targeting.
  • Facebook's Solution: Single Profile Creation
    • Required users to register with real names, initially via college emails to ensure authenticity.
    • Enforced the idea of a singular, cohesive identity in contrast to pre-existing online freedoms.
Implications of a Coherent Identity
  • Facebook's model established norms for subsequent social media platforms.
  • Debate regarding whether this is a regression to modernist identity notions or a step towards improved accountability.

Power Dynamics in Social Identity

Foucault's Framework

  • Introduction to Foucault's notion of power and societal functions:
    • Sovereign Society: Absolute power invested in a sovereign (king/queen) where individuals lack agency.
    • Disciplinary Society: Power established through institutional norms and self-regulation, emphasizing societal norms.
    • Control Society: Shifting towards managing individuals' data and electronic surveillance.

Mechanics of Disciplinary Society

  1. Surveillance: Ongoing observation of individuals leads to self-regulation.
  2. Normalizing Judgements: Establishment of behavioral norms resulting in societal rewards/punishments.
  3. Examination: Systems assessing adherence to norms, impacting societal progress and personal agency.

The Panopticon Metaphor

  • Panopticon: Metaphor introduced by Foucault to symbolize constant surveillance and self-regulation.
    • Design allows prisoners to feel observed without knowing when.
    • Encourages individuals to behave in accordance with societal norms.

Transition to Control Society

Definitions

  • Dividual: Conceptual shift from individual identity (cohesive self) to a multitude of data points defining a 'dividual'.
  • Control Society: Focus on data management rather than individual behavior or identity.

Deleuze's Contributions

  • Jacques Deleuze: Philosophy that underpins the concept of control society;
    • Individuals represented as data sets rather than singular identities.
    • Society's power structures increasingly reliant on data rather than human judgment.
Mechanism of Thresholds
  • Threshold Mechanism: Individual data checked against preset criteria for access.
    • Example: Algorithms processing loan approvals rather than personal evaluations by bank personnel.

Conclusion: The Shift from Individual to Dividual

  • Social media revolutionizes user interaction by emphasizing the dividualism of identity.
  • Importance of data is emphasized over qualitative identity measures.
  • Key takeaway: The success of social media lies in its ability to treat users as data sets for targeted advertising rather than recognizing complex individual identities.