May 31, 2003
Digital Genres V

Micah Jackson - Soul of the Machine : Self Psychology and the development of the online personality.

The self changes with environment - consider the change when one moves from HS to College. Older friends no longer identify, perhaps.

Self Psychology - originally a way to deal with personality disorders, like antisocial or narcisitic personalities.

Kohut as progentor. Narcisism as a misunderstanding of self, for example. A healthy narcisism can exist.

Selfobjects as items encountered that are perceived as constituative of oneself. Help to understand who one is. Idealised and mirroring self objects.

Idealised as those striven for (parent, teacher, hero, 10 commandments, a concept like democracy, etc). Some unhealthy options, like asocial behavers (Jesse James).

Mirroring selfobjects. Hot or cold game (tell one whether you are attaining that you strive for or not). Audience, for example (as audience nods, sense of communicative speaker).

Electronic selfobjects - electronic objects which function as selfobjects OR are other selfobjects which are mediated electronically.

Idealised electronic selfobjects are those you strive for. The promote selfcohesion and selfesteem. Examples - computers show accuracy, reliability/uptime, logical processing of input.

Electronic mirroring selfobject - those giving feedback. Failure to compile is negative feedback

Electronically mediated idealised selfobjects - more conceptual. Individuals known online (blog, email, etc). Idealised places on television, electronic community, etc.

Electronically mediated mirroring selfobjects - commentary, feedback, chat, etc.

Some people may be able to segment their online from offline lives - they take different selfobjects. Others integrate the two, and reflect the same selfobjects in both locales.

[curiousity in transcription of using geographic word of place again]

Posted by esinclai at May 31, 2003 03:12 PM |