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Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

derekthompson.org

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Re: Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

#11

Post by pphysch »

This is an interesting perspective on the concept of "atomization of the individual", which the interview interestingly does not refer to. Both atomization and the "uni-context" arise from the destruction of an individual's local contexts, like family and community, leaving them an individual in a global, maximally-large pool of individuals, the so-called uni-context.

Atomization has clear motivations: increasing the individual consumer base (no, you shouldn't share your car or lawnmower with your block, you need your own), suppressing democracy, and generally making a population more predictable and easy to manage.

Re: Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

#12

Post by cortesoft »

jubilanti wrote: post #9

They cite "context collapse" and say this "uni-context" is deeper, but I still don't see how this "uni-context" is all that different than "context collapse", extensively studied since the 2000s. And which Goffman in the 1960s was writing about in the context of big mixed social gatherings like weddings, that bring together people who know you in quite different contexts.

Yeah, the context collapsed into a uni-context

Re: Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

#13

Post by cwmoore »

shipman05 wrote: post #10
est wrote: post #2

> If you post something to social media, it will be simultaneously visible to your boss, your parents, your ex, and total strangers Isn't that what G Wave/ G+ trying to solve? I think a better option would be: don't tie your IRL identity for online communications.

I think many social sites have tried to solve it, but in a world where anything is easily saved or screenshotted, it's still effectively a "universal room". Not to mention that properly implementing a form of role-based access control is a big ask for a lot users. Not tying your IRL identity to online communications only solves one side of the problem. You can't use your anon accounts to communicate as yourself to fa…

Don’t forget the agents of corporate persons have their “voice” too.

Re: Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

#16

Post by sorokod »

"How do informational norms change when we’re all living in the same universal room?"

I different interesting question: why would we want to inhabit this universal room in the first place? The post mentions the idea of being "bigger than yourself" but to me the context collapse achieves the opposite - a sort of carboard caricature of oneself.

Re: Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

#17

Post by bensyverson »

sorokod wrote: post #16

"How do informational norms change when we’re all living in the same universal room?" I different interesting question: why would we want to inhabit this universal room in the first place? The post mentions the idea of being "bigger than yourself" but to me the context collapse achieves the opposite - a sort of carboard caricature of oneself.

From what I’ve observed, people are increasingly checking out of social media (or turning their profiles private), because it’s just unappealing unless you’re actively promoting something.

Re: Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

#18

Post by DaveZale »

I've been watching both the corporate media, and social media, rot completely over the past 30 years.

A large part of that was that early adopters tended to be more educated, played nicely, and were not involved in attention-seeking, sychophancy, and often, escapism.

Another factor is the bright colors, moving videos and other eye candy, and psychological hacks like the emojis for "liking" and gaining "followers" which produce addictive feedback loops.

Of course, this interview touches on valid points, but is not the whole picture. "Bad news travels fast" and gets more clicks. That helps explain the rot of the news media.

Maybe I am oversimplifying too, however. Factors like sophisticated persuasion campaigns by various organizations, for example, cannot be discarded. Likewise with the advertisers.

Re: Agnes Callard’s theory of the uni-context

#19

Post by DaveZale »

uwagar wrote: post #15

basically, u gotta unplug and go offline and live by moving about in the world and interacting with everything with your own senses.

Yup. Get outside. Screens are increasingly addictive by design. I am going outside now. Enjoy your days. Use the internet and your phone as tools, not separate realities.
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