The mystery of the internet is phenomenal, the truths and lies behind the ‘facts’ and ‘rumors’ of the world and its people. There is a vague line between virtuality and reality and the power in which each aspect holds.
Facebook for example, gives any one person the ability to portray multiple identities. You can be ‘friends’ with anyone anywhere in the world at the click of a button. My concerns with this relates to an experience of Ray’s, where “the issue of power and access” and “being able to connect with people who would otherwise be inaccessible” (cited Turlke,1995,p.247) is discussed. Turkle also mentions that the computer network has created a whole new space for power and that electronic communities undermine or question the traditional forms of organisation. (1995) This directly relates to Facebook and the way in which people abuse the power of hidden identities through cyber bullying and a new age term “Catfishing”. Catfishing has become so common that MTV have created “Catfish the TV show”. Although this concept of catfishing is amusing to watch on TV it is quite confronting in terms of virtuality and reality. Each can be so easily distorted in order to create an identity through simple technology such as ‘copy and paste’ or Photoshop. Facebook doesn't protect your identity, it doesn't automatically give you privacy either. Without the correct settings YOU have to set, anyone, anywhere doing anything can find you and pry into your somewhat personal life and copy it. Which to me, is a serious worry!
 |
| Source: www.goodpixgallery.com |
As discussed by Dr Kuttainen there is a field of research for scholars to study the networks in order to “understand social identities and to understand how information or influence is exerted.” (2015) Although this may not directly refer to individuals in terms of identities but the 'catfishers' of the world have a social identity. This creates a thought in my mind that there is such an unknown capacity to the internet’s users that may never be discovered. This leaves you thinking, who are these already ‘familiar’ strangers behind the names and the faces you’ve come to know on your social media.
References
Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Lecture 2: Power: The Panopticon. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Catfish. (2015). In urban dictionary. Retrieved from http://urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Catfish
MTV. (2015). Catfish: The TV show. Retrieved from http://mtv.com.au/catfish-the-tv-show
Image Reference
Good Pix Gallery (2015) Retrieved from http://goodpixgallery.com/old-man-on-computer-photos/
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Lecture 2: Power: The Panopticon. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Catfish. (2015). In urban dictionary. Retrieved from http://urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Catfish
MTV. (2015). Catfish: The TV show. Retrieved from http://mtv.com.au/catfish-the-tv-show
Image Reference
Good Pix Gallery (2015) Retrieved from http://goodpixgallery.com/old-man-on-computer-photos/
I agree with the argument towards Internet privacy that is presented, especially the use of ‘catfishing’ as an example, particularly as it highlights the trust placed when providing information on the internet. This links with the self-surveillance concept of Jeremy Bentham’s 1787 panopticon, which induced a behavioural technique where the prisoner was forced to be constantly vigilant. Turkle (1995, pg. 248) entertains the idea of “a vastly extended panopticon that could include the Internet”, take for example, the case of the NSA (National Security Agency) in America, who breached privacy rules a multitude of times, unknown to any of the users who were being watched. (Gellman, 2013) The panopticon in this case was the NSA, but who is to say that there isn’t another large corporation who is monitoring every movement people make while using the Internet, so, maybe the ensuing paranoia that inmates would experience from the panopticon is reasonable, as we never know who’s watching.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster
Gellman, B. (2013). NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times, audit finds. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-broke-privacy-rules-thousands-of-times-per-year-audit-finds/2013/08/15/3310e554-05ca-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html.