Media Ecology Commentary: Week 4

Jacob Blakeney
Sep 9, 2018 · 2 min read

Connection and Disconnection

It has become necessary in the media industry to have a ‘life’ online. Incoming news, outgoing leaks, live feeds of rumour, all need the internet to thrive in the way that we’ve come to expect. What is difficult, is separating one’s online life from their offline life. — Their ‘real’ life, if you will. -

The more developments that are made, the harder it gets to get away from online. It’s not just on a computer anymore. It’s on phones, televisions, watches, etc. and it’s only proving to be increasingly present and convenient to access. Social media in particular has spawned this desire for quantifiable reach. For companies’ marketing teams, this is a good thing. Is my business getting more online success than that of my competitors? If yes, good. If no, why not? How can we fix this?

But for individuals, it can be quite unhealthy. Nathan Jurgenson remarked in 2013 about the pre-internet world; “Without Klout-like metrics quantifying our worth, identity did not have to be oriented toward seeming successful or scheming for attention.” This resonates even more so now, with the rise of “internet celebrities” whose fame has been spawned through websites like instagram and youtube. Videos and images are being shared by these celebrities multiple times a day, in the search for more followers, likes and shares. It seems now, more than ever, that people need to have everything about themselves approved by the general public in order to feel good about themselves.

This is where the idea of a “digital detox” comes from. The concept of removing social media and internet-available devices from one’s life for a set, short period of time, in order to calm down and “rediscover” themselves (deBoer, 2014). The need to feel validated by everyone who sees your online profile creates an immense pressure, which can be detrimental to the person offline. By disconnecting from the internet, one is able to reconnect with reality.

deBoer, F. (2014) ‘Digital Breaks, or “Breaks”’, The Dish

Jurgenson, N. (2013) ‘The Disconnectionists’, The New Inquiry: http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/the-disconnectionists