Social Networking Sites (SNS) and the ‘Narcissistic Turn': The Politics of Self-Exposure

The advent of the Internet hailed the ability of users to transform their identity and expression and articulation of the ‘self’ through their digital interactions. The Internet in its early days enabled the user to re-define identity through the text-based environment of the internet without declaring their offline persona or identity. In comparison new social software like Facebook have brought about a narcissistic turn where private details are placed on a global arena for public spectacle creating new ways of connecting and gazing into the lives of the others. It raises new social issues for societies including the rise of identity fraud, infringement of privacy, the seeking of private pleasures through public spectacle as well as the validation of one’s identity through peer recognition and consumption. INtrODUctION The Internet in its early days signified the rebirthing of the individual and most prominently the ‘self’ as technology enabled the user to remediate identity through a text-based environment. Anonymity and virtuality constituted a form of ‘avatarism’ where individuals could re-invent their presence online without declaring their offline persona or identity (See Donath 1998; Froomkin 1995). In comparison, new social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook, signify a ‘narcissistic turn’ where offline identities are publicized online and constructed through a multimedia platform to create new forms of self-expression, gaze, spectacle, and sociabilities. Equally, social networking is embedded within a new economy of sharing and exchanging personal information between friends and strangers. The sharing and communication of personal details have reached unprecedented levels with the proliferation of ecommerce and social networking sites in recent years (See Szomsor et al. 2008; Geyer et al. 2008; Strater & Richter 2007; Stefanone 2008; Lampe et al. 2006; Joinson 2008). DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-727-0.ch006