New media cycles repeatedly exaggerate the internet’s power to transcend ordinary social forces
Evidence
Web 2.0 discourse demonstrates what is called “digital exceptionalism,” the idea that the internet is different from other forms of communication and therefore not bound by the same legal and market forces. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 58
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines ‘digital exceptionalism’ and ‘disembodiment hypothesis’ as foundational vocabulary for the influencer/media-studies field.
- XREF: Connects to the broader tech-skeptic tradition (Wu, boyd); pairs with reader’s other media-critique sources like Loewenstein’s ‘Digital Degrowth’. — connects to: The internet amplifies existing political power rather than transforming it — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 489; Critics of internet utopianism can overcorrect and dismiss legitimate net activism — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 787; Social media’s novelty is the speed, reach, and medium of disinformation, not its existence — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 326 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Internet communication reflects rather than transcends offline power relations
#corroborates(0.90) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 58 - The internet amplifies existing political power rather than transforming it
#corroborates(0.85) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 489 - Social media’s novelty is the speed, reach, and medium of disinformation, not its existence
#expands(0.75) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 326 - Social media amplifies timeless misinformation tactics rather than inventing them
#expands(0.75) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 361 - Critics of internet utopianism can overcorrect and dismiss legitimate net activism
#qualifies(0.72) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 787 - Social media platforms simulate a public sphere they now merely exploit.
#corroborates(0.72) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 580