Profilicity

= "how others judge our posts and interactions is always present" [1]

Description

Herald of the Octopus:

"Interactivity and multilateral communication give rise to the most profound characteristic of the Internet: the sense of being witnessed by others. The public nature of communication online adds an (imagined) audience to any interaction.

Second-order observation reigns supreme online.

The consideration of how others judge our posts and interactions is always present, and we carefully curate our profiles accordingly. Hans-Georg Moeller describes this as “profilicity”, a new paradigm of identity after sincerity (fixed social roles) and authenticity (individual expression)."

(https://octopusyarn.substack.com/p/how-the-internet-broke-the-self-57d)

Discussion

"Profilicity explains the omnipresent swarm of smartphones that pop up at any happening (compare the photos of the same performance at Disneyland from 2010 and 2017 that Moeller presented). It explains why today’s tourists seem to care about sights only insofar as they provide a background for their selfies. In many ways, our online personae have become primary. Why enjoy the view from a mountaintop, an experience that will wane just moments later, if you can snap a selfie and immortalize it on your profile? “Picture or it didn’t happen”. Seemingly escaping the confines of time and space, the proud serenity on your sweaty grimace can be admired days later by your followers on the other side of the world. “I was here, I climbed this mountain,” says the selfie. Three likes on Instagram validate that self-revelation."

(https://octopusyarn.substack.com/p/how-the-internet-broke-the-self-57d)