Open AccessDigital Exhibitionism: The Age of Exposure
Author(s) -
Ana María Munar
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
culture unbound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2000-1525
DOI - 10.3384/cu.2000.1525.10223401
Subject(s) - exhibitionism , netnography , reflexivity , constructive , pleasure , sociology , social media , realisation , digital media , digital culture , media studies , psychology , social psychology , social science , computer science , world wide web , process (computing) , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , operating system
Web 2.0 has expanded the possibilities of digital creative production by individu-als and enabled the digitalisation of private life experiences. This study analyses how social media contributes to the making of personal biographies and discusses the shift towards a culture of digital exposure. This study uses netnography and a constructive approach to examine online communities and social networks. The findings illustrate that these new technological platforms are mediating in the con-struction of late modern biographies, which are expanding the complexity of to-day’s socio-technical systems. The paper discusses the power of these technolo-gies as agents of socio-cultural change and suggests that, besides providing indi-vidual realisation and mediated pleasure, these technologies encourage exhibitio-nistic and voyeuristic behaviour, elude reflexivity, and display authoritative ten-dencies and new possibilities for social control