To see or not to see – Constructed realities and the rise of the Posthuman perspective

  

(Facebook and you, 2017) (Al Jazeera, 2017)

There are several problems that arise from our increasing immersion in the Facebook reality. These problems stem from the horde of profitable personal information we allow to be used and manipulated, and are exacerbated by the design of the virtual space itself which functions with the explicit goal of creating a quasi-normative environment for the user. The results of which leave the user with a warped perspective on the world and very little chance to even realise their perspective is being altered.

McNeill, (2012) puts forward the idea that the humanist perspective has been so integrated and influenced by the online virtual world that it has given way to an increasingly posthuman point of view. Nowhere is that best seen than in the Facebook reality. Through the manipulation of data, the users interaction with the site is inherently a constructed reality built to best interest the particular user. Following this, if we accept the premise that social media has become this generation's version of the “coffee house” public sphere (Kuttainen, 2017) what then is the impact on the function of the public sphere when it is individually created to represent what the user already shows interest in. This posthuman public sphere, influenced by both the human user as well as the constructed algorithmic reality of the site, tends towards a gross misrepresentation of the true tone of the public sphere as it creates space where opposing views or opinions that may be unfavorable to the user are simply filtered out.

It is once again, the deliberate tailoring and targeting of relevent content that can have major impacts on the wider society. An example of how this is can be highly impactful can be seen in the area of political thought. Through targeted content, a political party has the ability to apear as though the issues which see them in a favourable light are much more dominent in their digital footprint than those issues which may paint them in a more negative way. This filtering of information gives rise to a new sort of public sphere, where people are blissfully unaware of why they see the content they see and dangerously unaware of the content they don’t see.

One more positive thing arising through the facebook reality is the emergence of a more constructive participatory media environment. This week, one of the major global news services; Al Jazeera made the decision to disable commenting ability on their website, citing “users hiding behind pseudonyms spewing vitriol, bigotry, racism and sectarianism” (Al Jazeera, 2017) As the reasons for moving the bulk of their audience interactions to social media. In this context facebook provides a forum where users identities are much more reliable as they are subject to the validation of the network. The benefits of this space when used appropriately bridge the gaps in the ‘coffee house’ version of the public sphere and allow for a decentralising of the media. Which, in turn, produces a much more healthy and relevant space to be devoted to public debate and the like.

It seems the Postmodern world is increasingly a world based online. A world where virtual social networks like Facebook dominate and set the standards for what is and is not propper within this construsted geography. It is imperative that when navigating these spaces, the user is aware of the constructed nature of the environment and the rules governing what is filtered. This knowledge better equips the user to identify the major power disparity within sites like Facebook and allows them, to use this posthuman perspective to benefit themselves rather than the corporation sitting at the head of the table.

By Adam Brown

Reference List

Al Jazeera. (2017, 8 30). Why we’re disabling comments on aljazeera.com. Retrieved from Medium: https://medium.com/@AJEnglish/why-were-disabling-comments-on-aljazeera-com-a9ffbac61f10

Facebook and You [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from https://trickumlegis.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/another-facebook-reality/

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Networked Narritives. week 6 notes [PowerPoint sildes]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

McNeill, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. Biography, 35, 65-82.