(Psycho)Social media

Dick, M.-D. and McLaughlan, R. (2020) (Psycho)Social media. In: Late Capitalist Freud in Literary, Cultural, and Political Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 63-91. ISBN 9783030471934 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-47194-1_3)

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Abstract

‘(Psycho) Social Media’ follows the rise of Silicon Valley, showing how digital social networks and so-called disruptive technologies are underpinned by a psychoanalytic understanding of the lives of users, enabling a fusion of the digital and the logic of the market. Increasingly, and as demonstrated by the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, their operations are seen to accelerate beyond the law and to be outside of national jurisdictions. This chapter discusses the influence of social media, arguing that our online presence on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook constitutes an evolution of the Freudian superego that we term the cyber superego. We propose that social networks manifest the psychoanalytic importance of the role of desire within contemporary life and demonstrate how it can be manipulated in the pursuit of power.

Item Type:Book Sections
Additional Information:Online ISBN: 9783030471941.
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:McLaughlan, Mr Robert and Dick, Dr Maria-Daniella
Authors: Dick, M.-D., and McLaughlan, R.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
Publisher:Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN:9783030471934

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