With technological innovation and the introduction of me-centric online worlds (e.g., blogs, youtube channels, and social networking sites), more than ever before, we have the opportunity to carefully craft a public personality and hope for a measure of celebrity. Many have commented on how this might affect kids who grow up enveloped in these technologies and learn to value, or take-for-granted, the kind of life that they facilitate.
In addition to the fact that mistakes, easily chocked up to immaturity, are now often irrevocable, even viral… some are concerned with rising rates of narcissism, which is correlated with high rates of depression when an unrealistic sense of self comes face-to-face with reality.
Jay Smooth, reflecting on Michael Jackson’s life, beautifully articulates pretty damn profound concerns:
If you don’t follow Jay Smooth, I can’t recommend him enough.
More Jay on SocImages here, here, here, and here.
And here’s his website, Ill Doctrine.
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Comments 5
Quick Hit « Luftschloss — July 19, 2009
[...] Veröffentlicht in Erleben um 4:56 von deadra I <3 Jay Smooth. [...]
Sue — July 19, 2009
It was interesting, but not persuasive. Maybe if the woman at the Apollo who wanted to pay homage to Jackson really wanted privacy she should have done her memorial dance at home.
I'm of the camp that thinks Michael Jackson was sui generis. He had terrible demons. Some celebrities do manage to carve out a private life for themselves and they don't court the camera the way he did.
This is a real issue only if you're a a celebrity, an exhibitionist, or extremely good looking.
Morgiana — July 19, 2009
"This is a real issue only if you’re a a celebrity, an exhibitionist, or extremely good looking"
I don't know about this. This can also be said for the many people whose whole lives are in Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, webcam channels, etc.
"In addition to the fact that mistakes, easily chocked up to immaturity, are now often irrevocable, even viral… some are concerned with rising rates of narcissism, which is correlated with high rates of depression when an unrealistic sense of self comes face-to-face with reality."
Interesting comment on today's society. Lives are less privatized, whether through Internet blunders, web snooping or paparazzi prying in celebrity life (Chris Crocker and celebrity scandals, for example).
Jay — July 19, 2009
I think it can be an issue for anyone who is a *creative person* or an *artist*, which are different in meaningful ways from "celebrity" and "exhibitionist", though these categories have become muddled and intertwined, and that's part of what the video's about. And part of why IMO that dancer's ambivalence wasn't about wanting *privacy* per se, but about seeking a *balance* between the public and personal aspects of creative expression.
And it can also be an issue for journalists, for anyone who seeks to serve the public as an activist, or as an elected official...and so on. And as Morgiana points out, in this internet age it's increasingly becoming a tightrope everyone has to navigate, regardless of whether their chosen profession injects them into the public sphere.. nowadays anyone with a computer is born into it, and we ignore that at our children's peril.
Guest Post: Children by the Millions Mourn Online » Sociological Images — March 18, 2010
[...] communal identities. For a somewhat different example, see Jay Smooth’s discussion of people mourning Michael Jackson’s death. var addthis_language = 'en'; Leave a Comment Tags: art, celebrity, discourse/language, [...]