Digital society: The Power of the Individual
Self-expression and Growing a Platform:
Growing a platform has never been as easier than in the 21st century. Through the use of platforms such as Spotify, TikTok, and Youtube, we have seen a huge increase in the accessibility and gamification of interpersonal communication through digital means. With this, the traditional definition of a “celebrity” has evolved alongside these platforms, transcending the conventional bounds of the word.
A large facilitating factor in this has been the development of platforms such as TikTok, which has created numerous over-night celebrities as a result of its tactful understanding of the millennial attention span. Personally, I have witnessed this process with individuals such as Khaby Lame, starting TikTok in 2021 and since amassing 137 million followers , representing the power of modern digital media. Khaby emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic as the 2nd largest account on the platform, through the creation of highly engaging yet simplistic videos that appealed to a digital audience.
Not only does this speak on matters of self expression, but also a reverent development in our modern understanding of social mobility through the role of influencers, and how digital platforms can facilitate this.
Problems of Self-expression:
With the growth of individual platforms comes the issue of free-speech, and how this can be applied to mediums that are not fully understood, or regulated, by authoritative bodies.
Whilst it has never been easier to make an impression on an online audience, this impression can have both a positive or negative effect, as they may disagree, or take offence from the content they are exposed to. From this emerges a difficult question: is it the individual prerogative of the content creator to be un-inflammatory, or should social media sites enforce the views of their users and apply sanctions on those who overstep their mark?
Modern commentators have used the metaphor of if sites such as Twitter should act like a phone company; providing a service and not monitoring its users, or if they should take a more authoritative role; punishing its users for violating the terms of its service. The latter can be observed in the case of Trump being removed from Twitter in January 2021 for example.
One could argue that this represents the beginning of a larger issue surrounding individual expression on social media, as the Silicon Valley giants try their hand at regulating what they deem to be appropriate morals and ethics in a digital society. This poses the question as to how far their vision of what is acceptable will change, and whether this could put free-speech at risk as their platforms grow.
Right to Privacy and Cancel Culture:
The power of individuals to report or highlight the content they disagree with has also introduced the question of to what extent do we have the right to privacy, and the right to be forgotten in a digital society. This implication emerges as a result of numerous high profile individuals receiving public backlash for content, or opinions, that they had made part of their online presence in the past. This has ranged from posts from when people were adolescents, to content creators saying slurs on live, unedited, interactions with their viewerbase.
There is certainly a question to be asked as to whether the embarrassing actions of individuals in the past should be able to impact their online presence in the future, especially as they may not have had such a platform at the time. The difficulty that this can create for modern commentators is the fact that there is a blurry line between social awareness and witch-hunt culture in our digital society. This is a result of the politicisation of interpersonal disagreements that has emerged alongside the growth of social media platforms, with audiences being encouraged by algorithms to form groups fuelled by tribalism .
The implication of this in a digital society is that a disagreement or embarrassing part of an individuals past can destroy their platform, which is something that has never been so easy to observe than in the modern day. I believe that whilst this culture can be dangerous, it is a necessary evil within our digital society, as it facilitates the empowerment of the individual voice in a range of issues. For example, minority groups that may struggle to vocalise their opinions through traditional means finally have a medium to do so in our digital society. This is not only invaluable for those groups, but also for the power of the digital individual, and their right to self expression reaching an extent that has arguably never been seen before.
My Judgement:
My judgement of the implications of living in a digital society observed in this post is one of cautious optimism.
As outlined in this post, our digital society is one which has revolutionised ideas of communication, social mobility, and self expression. As a result of these changes, it has never been easier to build a platform and build an audience. Alongside this mass digitisation however, a certain cancel culture has developed, making it easier than ever before to destroy a platform just as quick as it grew to fame. Whilst this is sometimes highly appropriate, it can also be fuelled by the politicisation of social media, resulting in an uncomfortable question of whose job it is to carry out and enforce this censorship.
To conclude, as our ability to grow a platform and reach stardom becomes greater than ever, we must be cautious of evolving ideas of social justice and appropriate conduct in our digital society, as it is one that never forgets.
Personal Reflection:
In reflection, this course has been an eye opening experience, and has introduced me to the intricacies and implications of living in a digital society. As an ancient historian, it has been refreshing to look at the salient issues and opportunities facing our modern society, and I feel as though the topics we have studied has put me in a far more advantageous position for approaching them. I took this course with the intention of gaining a better understanding of the humanities in a digital context, and have since been introduced to issues that far transcend this initial curiosity.
A challenging part of the course for me was the format of the assessments as blog posts, taking me out of my comfort zone as I departed from the usual rigid structure of an essay. In doing so, I believe to have discovered a new medium in which to express my voice. In the process of writing these posts, I enjoyed critically analysing the performance of industry moving individuals and organisations; such as Joe Rogan and Meta in their respective fields, gaining an understanding for how they have reached such an advantageous position in our society. Moreover, I was invited to practice an introspective version of this with regards to my consumption of digital media, as well as how I present myself on the internet to not only my peers, but also future employers.
These ideas were conflated during my analysis of Joe Rogan’s media presence as part of my first blog post for Digital Society, in which a prominent part involved the repeated controversies during his career. My analysis went on to conclude that his inappropriate media presence in the past resulted in a diminishing of his respectability especially in the eyes of a younger, more socially aware, audience. This critical analysis of what media which we usually take at face value was something that I had never previously attempted, but thoroughly enjoyed, and has definitely informed my opinions on those who are not responsible with their platforms.
In conclusion, the Digital Society course unit has been a welcomed new direction in my study of the humanities, with the workload and topics being not only engaging, but also facilitating. The aforementioned comment on blog posts has also been compounded throughout the course through the use of Medium as a social network. The use of Medium as the workspace for this course has almost taken the feeling of “work” out of each module and assignment, with its easy to use formatting and interactive nature allowing me to easily air my opinion in a professional looking manner. The assignments have undeniably distilled confidence in me to take the role of a commentator and put my views out to the public. This is something that I would like to continue to do moving on after the course, and will only be made easier by my newfound awareness of how to build, and maintain, an online presence in a digital society.
