Digital self-promotion is singularization, distinct from biographical individualization
Evidence
If we make a clear distinction between ‘individualization’ – i.e. the distinctiveness a person acquires through her life history – and ‘singularization’ – i.e. the visibility and gain in distinction she can achieve through spontaneous contributions on the internet – then the ‘promise of singularization’ may be the correct term for influencers who court the approval of followers for their own programme and reputation. — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 43
Categorization
- DEFINE: Precisely distinguishes individualization (earned distinctiveness) from singularization (performative visibility), via Reckwitz — a useful vocabulary for platform criticism.
- XREF: Connects to Adorno’s analysis of the culture industry’s narcissistic compensation — Reckwitz’s singularization is a contemporary version of that mechanism. — connects to: Silicon Valley grants status through affiliation or self-proclaimed blogging legitimacy rather than credentials — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 480; Blatant self-promotion on social media signals low status — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 516; Everyday life itself gets reframed as raw material for self-promotion. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 440 (+1 more)
Related
- Showing oneself as a self online begins the manufacturing of the self as commodity (similarity 0.81)
- Everyday life itself gets reframed as raw material for self-promotion. (similarity 0.80)
- Blatant self-promotion on social media signals low status (similarity 0.79)
- Social media promotes an ideal of privatizing the self into corporate form (similarity 0.78)