Are We Just Numbers Under The Blue Light Of The Cyber-Sun?

We live in accelerationist times (Mackay and Avanessian), when our attention is measured in numbers of clicks, while our compulsive image production and dissemination is hindering our social relations: we have 1000 friends on social media, however we feel alone. When our social relations are digital...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:CAP - Public Art Journal Jg. 5; H. 1; S. 59
1. Verfasser: Moraru, Cristina
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: AP2 01.12.2023
Schlagworte:
ISSN:2184-6197, 2184-8157
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Abstract We live in accelerationist times (Mackay and Avanessian), when our attention is measured in numbers of clicks, while our compulsive image production and dissemination is hindering our social relations: we have 1000 friends on social media, however we feel alone. When our social relations are digitally mediated, our social connections becomes visible, and our friendship becomes measurable and searchable (Trottier and Lyon). Even if it might seem that we are having control over this situation – since we voluntarily share online content to a chosen number of friends from our networks of like-minded acquaintances – our social media bubble structures our vision, modulating visibility and invisibility in a regime that no longer needs to interpellate us (Louis Althusser) – since we voluntary provide all the necessary data – however, it needs to reconfigure our space according to what is to be seen within that space (Jacques Rancière).  The increased number of online platforms competing for our attentions jeopardize our self-validation mechanisms and compromising our freedom. The need for validation and instant gratification has made us expose our life disregarding the dangers hidden behind this new manner of shaping communities in ‘surveillance capitalism’ (Shoshana Zuboff). Especially in times of crisis, as in our current Corona-virus pandemic, we yearn for co-belonging and solidarity, but we should ask ourselves, is cyberspace a place for solidarity? In our post-political times, when normalization happens trough visualization (Irit Rogoff), are we using the right means of approaching each other, are we able to truly engage in a cyber-community, or community, in itself, is something to be feared of, as the Corona-virus? (Jean-Luc Nancy) Under the cyber-sun, visuality becomes an instrument of capitalist power, and our vision is being structured according to an increased number of commercial and political interests. Perceived as a commodity of the cyberspace, our vision is sold to different advertisers, for whom a possible correlation between our ‘surfing’ data and our activity on social media provide a deep understanding of our consumer profile (David Lyon). On the other hand, as content providers, we deliberately offer our creativity – since social media platforms are operating a total commodification of human creativity (Christian Fuchs). Even more problematic than commodifying our vision and our creativity, is exercising a multifaceted surveillance. Each time we share images, beliefs or preferences online, we are voluntarily constructing an identity – an identity to which a number of peers, or network friends, are contributing by adding complementary information. A voluntary engagement, together with a structured – and collectively constituted – identity of ourselves, could lead to a participatory surveillance. If the images that we post on social media are contributing to a participatory surveillance, while our vision and our creativity are commodified, if we are normalized trough visualization and our cyber-friends are fluid, if our cyber-reality is liquefied, our visibility and invisibility is strategically modulated, we should we ask ourselves who we are under the blue light of the cyber-sun, can we truly be ourselves in the cyberspace? Is there a real sense of community inside the cyberspace? Is there any freedom, or are we just numbers under the cyber-sun?   Key words: cyberspace, numbers, participatory surveillance, visuality, creativity, cyber-community, cyber-sun  
AbstractList We live in accelerationist times (Mackay and Avanessian), when our attention is measured in numbers of clicks, while our compulsive image production and dissemination is hindering our social relations: we have 1000 friends on social media, however we feel alone. When our social relations are digitally mediated, our social connections becomes visible, and our friendship becomes measurable and searchable (Trottier and Lyon). Even if it might seem that we are having control over this situation – since we voluntarily share online content to a chosen number of friends from our networks of like-minded acquaintances – our social media bubble structures our vision, modulating visibility and invisibility in a regime that no longer needs to interpellate us (Louis Althusser) – since we voluntary provide all the necessary data – however, it needs to reconfigure our space according to what is to be seen within that space (Jacques Rancière).  The increased number of online platforms competing for our attentions jeopardize our self-validation mechanisms and compromising our freedom. The need for validation and instant gratification has made us expose our life disregarding the dangers hidden behind this new manner of shaping communities in ‘surveillance capitalism’ (Shoshana Zuboff). Especially in times of crisis, as in our current Corona-virus pandemic, we yearn for co-belonging and solidarity, but we should ask ourselves, is cyberspace a place for solidarity? In our post-political times, when normalization happens trough visualization (Irit Rogoff), are we using the right means of approaching each other, are we able to truly engage in a cyber-community, or community, in itself, is something to be feared of, as the Corona-virus? (Jean-Luc Nancy) Under the cyber-sun, visuality becomes an instrument of capitalist power, and our vision is being structured according to an increased number of commercial and political interests. Perceived as a commodity of the cyberspace, our vision is sold to different advertisers, for whom a possible correlation between our ‘surfing’ data and our activity on social media provide a deep understanding of our consumer profile (David Lyon). On the other hand, as content providers, we deliberately offer our creativity – since social media platforms are operating a total commodification of human creativity (Christian Fuchs). Even more problematic than commodifying our vision and our creativity, is exercising a multifaceted surveillance. Each time we share images, beliefs or preferences online, we are voluntarily constructing an identity – an identity to which a number of peers, or network friends, are contributing by adding complementary information. A voluntary engagement, together with a structured – and collectively constituted – identity of ourselves, could lead to a participatory surveillance. If the images that we post on social media are contributing to a participatory surveillance, while our vision and our creativity are commodified, if we are normalized trough visualization and our cyber-friends are fluid, if our cyber-reality is liquefied, our visibility and invisibility is strategically modulated, we should we ask ourselves who we are under the blue light of the cyber-sun, can we truly be ourselves in the cyberspace? Is there a real sense of community inside the cyberspace? Is there any freedom, or are we just numbers under the cyber-sun?   Key words: cyberspace, numbers, participatory surveillance, visuality, creativity, cyber-community, cyber-sun  
Audience Academic
Author Moraru, Cristina
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  fullname: Moraru, Cristina
BookMark eNotkMtOwkAUhicGExFZup8XaJ1bZzpuDBIvmEYWQlw2c4Ux0JJpa8LbOwI5i3Pyny_f4r8Fo6ZtHAD3GOWs5Fg-GHXIf4uAc8HwFRgTXLKsxIUYXe7EiBsw7bqgUYEEkYKJMXicRQe_HfwYuh5-DnvtYgfXjXURrrYOPu8GB6uw2fZw6U_J_JiQ7Gtonu7AtVe7zk0vewLWry-r-XtWLd8W81mVWYwKmalCcOGx8LYwnklPSk0dJopYpv9_1HtlNPaIc2yo0YZIJi3hpXDUklLSCVicvbZVP_Uhhr2Kx7pVoT4FbdzUKvbB7FzNicOKcsEMRYxJpBnFXEkkmNbcapJc-dm1UQkPjW_7qEwa6_bBpEZ9SPlMSEQlJlzSP63lZiM
ContentType Journal Article
Copyright COPYRIGHT 2023 AP2
Copyright_xml – notice: COPYRIGHT 2023 AP2
DBID DOA
DOI 10.48619/cap.v5i1.741
DatabaseName DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
DatabaseTitleList
Database_xml – sequence: 1
  dbid: DOA
  name: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  url: https://www.doaj.org/
  sourceTypes: Open Website
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline Statistics
Visual Arts
EISSN 2184-8157
ExternalDocumentID oai_doaj_org_article_62e1a3674c304490b4316a9074bb6db2
A790391269
GroupedDBID ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
M~E
ABDHV
GROUPED_DOAJ
IAO
IFM
ITC
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-d1059-a5767f17fd5cf49f28b3e12a2d4ba5763ffacb1f0661c3cbc2949d2687e3d2893
IEDL.DBID DOA
ISSN 2184-6197
IngestDate Fri Oct 03 12:29:29 EDT 2025
Tue Nov 12 23:41:47 EST 2024
IsDoiOpenAccess true
IsOpenAccess true
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Issue 1
Language English
LinkModel DirectLink
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-d1059-a5767f17fd5cf49f28b3e12a2d4ba5763ffacb1f0661c3cbc2949d2687e3d2893
OpenAccessLink https://doaj.org/article/62e1a3674c304490b4316a9074bb6db2
ParticipantIDs doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_62e1a3674c304490b4316a9074bb6db2
gale_infotracacademiconefile_A790391269
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2023-12-01
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2023-12-01
PublicationDate_xml – month: 12
  year: 2023
  text: 2023-12-01
  day: 01
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationTitle CAP - Public Art Journal
PublicationYear 2023
Publisher AP2
Publisher_xml – name: AP2
SSID ssib050729747
ssj0002909117
Score 2.2396924
Snippet We live in accelerationist times (Mackay and Avanessian), when our attention is measured in numbers of clicks, while our compulsive image production and...
SourceID doaj
gale
SourceType Open Website
Aggregation Database
StartPage 59
SubjectTerms Social aspects
Social media
Statistics
Title Are We Just Numbers Under The Blue Light Of The Cyber-Sun?
URI https://doaj.org/article/62e1a3674c304490b4316a9074bb6db2
Volume 5
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
journalDatabaseRights – providerCode: PRVAON
  databaseName: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 2184-8157
  dateEnd: 99991231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0002909117
  issn: 2184-6197
  databaseCode: DOA
  dateStart: 20190101
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://www.doaj.org/
  providerName: Directory of Open Access Journals
– providerCode: PRVHPJ
  databaseName: ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 2184-8157
  dateEnd: 99991231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssib050729747
  issn: 2184-6197
  databaseCode: M~E
  dateStart: 20190101
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://road.issn.org
  providerName: ISSN International Centre
link http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV1LS8NAEF6keNCD-MQ3exA8pU2ym2zWi7SlxYNWwVdvYZ9QkFqSpuDF3-5MEqE3L15CmASymZnMzgeT7yPkCsAa5EGoA5GqLOAqCQNtoBhKaSxTMmFeN2ITYjLJplP5tCb1hTNhDT1w47heGrtIsVRwA8Cby1Djv9sKIZ3WqIWE1Re6njUwBZmUIB_2b6OMNTmWsC_W8rsIaQAvSdEQbvIMzntGLbqrZBZ1BSrD1-T9bYle22zGu2Sn7RJpv1ndHtlw832y_TYrq8ZaHpCbfuHou6Mox0Unta5HSWsVIwqhp4OPytF7RN700deW4RfcEjxX89tD8joevQzvglYIIbDY_gQKQIHwkfA2MZ5LH2eauShWseUarzHvldGRh_YhMsxoE0subZxmwjELiIodkc78c-6OCbWpVJkFzOV8yiMDnrRaeC2N404xHZ6QAb59vmi4LnJkn64NEJO8jUn-V0xOyDX6LsdvZFkoo9pRf1gCsk3lfSGRmD5O5el_PO6MbKEIfDNkck46y6JyF2TTrJazsrisEwOOD9-jH-P-t-0
linkProvider Directory of Open Access Journals
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Are+We+Just+Numbers+Under+The+Blue+Light+Of+The+Cyber-Sun%3F&rft.jtitle=CAP+-+Public+Art+Journal&rft.au=Moraru%2C+Cristina&rft.date=2023-12-01&rft.pub=AP2&rft.issn=2184-6197&rft.volume=5&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=59&rft_id=info:doi/10.48619%2Fcap.v5i1.741&rft.externalDocID=A790391269
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=2184-6197&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=2184-6197&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=2184-6197&client=summon