[Air-l] Re: New Theoretical Approaches to the Self in Cyber-Culture

[noci]

> Not sure what you mean by semi-independent selves in light of what
follows:

>> i've talked to constructs who were acting on their own behalf. sure, they
were
>> once spawned by a physical self, but as soon as they started
differentiating
>> between online and offline space, they became semi-independent beings
--[snip]--

> Sounds like we're talking about two different things. You're talking about
> different self-presentations by one physical being (which I don't see as
at all
> independent of their producer), while I'm talking about self-presentations
that
> aren't (simply) the product of one being [...]

i don't consider the "semi-independent selves" as mere self-presentations.
if that was true, both the presented and the actual self would share one
core-belief concerning the assessment of reality- which they don't.
instead, their behaviour is slightly schizophrenic, and the "two" selves
stop existing in the same considered reality.
but still, with the connection between "real" and "virtual" temporarily (or
finally)
severed, the online self doesn't die off like a fallen leaf.
it continues acting on its own behalf, its behaviour partially generated
and assessed by the social (online) demands.

> (again, self-presentations by robots
> created as much by programs as by those who utilize these programmed
robots for
> their own uses)

you're right, i wasn't talking about robots.
in the quote, you imply that the bots are partially responsible for
the quality of the generated self-presentations.

in my example, the acting robot is replaced by the shaping force of the
online social constructs.
if a self's behaviour is "partially generated [...] by the social (online)
demands",
those constructs become unpredictable manipulators, especially if
they are self-dependent and not aligned with "reality" anymore
(because the selves differentiate between realities).

thus, the resulting selves exist in a remote realm, acting according to its
(arbitrary) rules.
that's why you might consider them as "semi-independent"...
please tell me what you think.

max