The keyword this week I felt effectively integrated almost all of the keywords discussed thus far in terms of summarizing how the internet, and older media formats, relies on user interaction as capital. I found the phrase, “empty software shells” particularly relevant as it demonstrates what these non-human aspects of technology would be without participation. However, something I had not thought of prior to this reading is that even lack of activity contributes to flow. For example, we discussed in class the concept of gaming and the psychological components of losing and continuing to want to play. While the infrastructure of the game tracks how much time you play, it also tracks your lack of play to find ways to increase play time as a whole. Thus, there is never a moment in which you are not contributing to the overall flow of data analysis and the production of information across media platforms as our activity is always being surveilled and utilized. While user interaction is necessary, it is also an inevitable part of our existence under the digital infrastructure we currently have. Components of our ID nodes such as our SSN and our credit card information are necessities for survival and those who go “off the grid” are very rare and live outside the protections of the state.
Mapping identity as a node in the global information network (Dr. Daniel Hocutt (11/16/21))