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| http://www.specialsol.com/surveillance.htm |
Surveillance… According to the
Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2013) the act of surveillance involves “a close
watch over someone or something.” I don’t know about you, but the thought of
someone keeping a close watch over me outside the premise of a security camera
is creepy to say the least. However Marshall (2010) argues the foundations of
the specular economy “are derived from the much longer tradition of
celebrity culture and whose repercussions relate to an emerging comfortability
with a society of surveillance” (p. 498).
According to Marshall (2010) ‘we are moving into … the “specular economy” where
collectively we are becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves and how
others perceive us and this change is migrating to the epicenter of our knowledge
economy’ (p. 499). I know speaking for myself I spend an enormous portion of
the day on social media networks, mostly just keeping up to date on my peers,
but also the movements of celebrities.
I
believe Social Networking has allowed myself to develop and mould an identity
based on values, beliefs and characteristics. Creating a facebook profile, for example, lets
individuals display information such as religious views, interests,
experiences, sexual orientation, education and work. This is important for the
positive development of self-concept as the view of an individual from their
peers can leave a great impression on how they view themselves (Adler &
Rodman, 2009). With around 700,000 people becoming new members
each day (Time Magazine, 2010), facebook has clearly proved to have a positive
impact on self-concept. Members are able to remain socially active, through the
combined use of a profile, display picture and status to communicate
information surrounding their identities to their friendship network.
Media in the social division is the
combination of tradition media forms such as television, film and speech and
new generational interactive consumer devises such as computers and the
Internet. There are many aspects that help to
shape an individuals philosophy with the media being a major actor. The media
have the ability to shape not only the way an individual thinks, but also the
essence of who that individual is.
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| http://pinkhotsauce.com/2012/12/profile-pic-vs-tagged-pic/ |
Networking sites such as Facebook
create a virtual landscape for users to create their own concepts and ideas
about their personal social experiences, and communication of such ideas is
instantaneous and available. The way we communicate is affected by our
self-esteem, which is shaped by the way we view ourselves (Adler & Rodman,
2009). This type of comprehensive
identity development is particularly important amongst young people, as
Facebook creates a space where youths can share information about themselves to
an extent that they feel comfortable.
The juxtaposition of freedom of choice
and privacy control is clearly defined through the use of social networking,
especially among potentially naive users. After
completing a study on how young people interact on Facebook, Taraszow et al.
concluded, “males are more likely than females
to disclose mobile phone number, home address and instant messaging (IM) screen
names” (p. 82).
Social networking sites have recently become
superior in popularity to email (Shu-Chuan & Yoojung, p 48) as unlike
emailing, Facebook allows users to chat casually with friends, in a similar
forum to texting or talking on the phone. Social Networking is increasingly
being embraced by brands and companies as they are “an emerging venue for consumer-to-
consumer conversations, namely brand-related word-of-mouth” (Shu-Chuan
&
Yoojung, p 48). With the development of Social Networking, Clients have readily
accessible information on potential investment opportunities. This allows for
rapid expansion of business as networking sites can grasp the client’s activity
and keep track of their interests (Trusov, Bucklin & Pauwels, p. 90). Thus
companies can target these clients and their network of friends and family
through the site.
The question of privacy in social media brings me back
to the notion of surveillance. Are we as a society becoming too comfortable
with disclosing personal information and pictures? In an era where identity
theft is on the rise you would think we would be trying to protect ourselves.
Has the glimmer of celebrity lifestyle, where privacy has become an impossible
feat, lead us normal people to strive for a more open community?
Marshall (2010) argues that the specular economy is
responsible for shaping the individual self, through the process of “interactivity that serve[s] to organize and shape our
lives” (p. 499). The exposure that
we have been given to celebrity culture has ultimately created a sense of
altered reality, where the individual is striving to be more alike to their
idolized self. Reeves, Baker & Truluek (2012) describe this type of
‘celebrity worship’ as being ‘significantly related to lower self-concept clarity
and to lower levels of well-being’ (p. 674).
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| http://www.hudsonhorizons.com/blog/ facebook-stalking-the-latest-internet-trend.htm |
Now I’m sure we’ve all been guilty
of the odd facebook stalk here and there, but what really intrigues me about
social media and celebrity profiles is we get given an incredibly intimate
picture of their lives, but the security of distance means we don’t get accused
of being ‘stalkers’. I know for myself I follow a handful of celebrities on
Twitter and Instagram, who would have thought watching a complete strangers
daily activities could be so incredibly interesting… maybe I’m just intrigued
by their ridiculous lifestyles.
According to Reeves, Baker &
Truluek (2012), boredom is a major factor in the formation of our celebrity obsessions
(p. 674). I think for myself its less boredom, as I never seem to have any time
on my hands, being a full time student and a full time employee, but more about
procrastination. Who hasn’t left starting an essay to the day its due? I know I
hardly ever have an assignment finished the day before it’s due, it’s the last
minute pressure that gets my mind into gear. However I always find myself
coming back to the ‘I didn’t have time’ excuse. Can that really be an excuse,
when I’ve spent many hours in the last week stalking celebrities and liking
photos on Instagram?
While the media
is constantly transforming and new ideas are brought forth on a plethora of
platforms, there remains an overpowering function in the media that ultimately
transforms society into a herd. Although the Internet is far reaching and gives
us the power to overcome messages of propaganda and manipulation in the media
often it is far too comfortable to ‘follow the herd’ than to be the black
sheep. However creditability in the media is constantly being challenged,
according to Curran & Gurevitch (p. 282) “despite the best efforts of US
public diplomacy and private media, there appears to be a general discontent…
with the media’s role in covering conflicts, leading to a crisis of credibility
within the media.” This idea of ‘following the herd’ is closely related to the
specular economy, as we as a society are changing the way we perceive and are
perceived to meet the requirements of an on-line persona.
In terms of the global economy,
interactive celebrity profiles allow us to remain connected to each other
through the spread of somewhat futile information. Websites such as Perez
Hilton and TMZ create an interactive network for us ‘regular’ people to suffice
the demand for celebrity awareness. Marshall (2010) argues that the emergence
of such new media has “in some ways, in this democratization of public
personal revelation, it has changed the inherent value of celebrity discourse”
(p. 500).
Did you know that ‘twerk’ has just
been added to the oxford dictionary? Miley Cyrus has managed to single handedly
revolutionize the way the English language is developed. Discourse acts as a representation of the habitus when
an individual is communicating. According to Barker (2008), “discourse ‘unites’
both power and language” by “[providing] ways of talking about a particular
topic with repeated motifs or clusters of ideas, practices and forms of
knowledge across a range of sites of activity” (p. 90). In other words it’s a
way of communicating, and depending on which group or industry an individual
belongs to will determine the way they will communicate about a certain topic.
This is a perfect example of how
celebrity culture interconnects civilization. Through the process of
globalization diverse social communities throughout the world are brought
together by the notion of “a two- way mirror of projection … and the circulation
of and interaction with those images and texts into the wider world” (Marshall,
2010, p. 498).
Social media and the specular
economy have created a new era, which shapes the way we identify ourselves.
Celebrity culture allows the global economy to remain interconnected through
the device of sharing intimate details of our personal lives.
REFERENCE:
Adler, R.B. and Rodman, G., Understanding
Human Communication, 10th edn,
Oxford University Press, New York, 2009, ch. 2, pp. 31 – 65
Barker, C. (2008). Foucault: discourse, practice and power. Cultural studies: Theory and practice, 3rd Edn,
London, Sage, pp. 90–94.
J. Curran & M. Gurevitch (Eds.), Mass media and society, 4th ed. London: Hodder Arnold, pp. 271–284.
Marshall, PP 2010, 'The
Specular Economy', Society, 47, 6, pp. 498-502, SPORTDiscus with Full Text,
EBSCOhost
Shu-Chuan,
C, & Yoojung, K 2011, 'Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic
word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites', International Journal of
Advertising, 30, 1, pp. 47-75, Communication & Mass Media Complete
Taraszow, T, Aristodemou, E,
Shitta, G, Laouris, Y, & Arsoy, A 2010, 'Disclosure
of personal and contact information by young people in social networking sites:
An analysis using Facebook™ profiles as an example', International Journal
of Media & Cultural Politics, 6, 1, pp. 81-101, Communication & Mass
Media Complete
Trusov,
M, Bucklin, R, & Pauwels, K 2009, 'Effects of Word-of-Mouth Versus
Traditional Marketing: Findings from an Internet Social Networking Site',
Journal of Marketing, 73, 5, pp. 90-102, Communication & Mass Media
Complete
Reeves, R, Baker, G, & Truluek, C 2012, 'Celebrity
Worship, Materialism, Compulsive Buying, and the Empty Self', Psychology &
Marketing, 29, 9, pp. 674-679, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost
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