Facebook Democracy ─ The Architect of Disclosure and the Threat to Public Life

Calling out Facebook as the quintessential example, Marchal (California Lutheran U., US) argues that the hyperconnectivity of today's information society social networking has made it "increasingly difficult to develop a contingent self that embraces and exhibits doubt, flexibility and uncertainty about the world around us." Facebook in particular has created an "architecture of disclosure" that may connect us more but makes us more rigid and intransigent in our self-construct. Furthermore, it's harmful to democracy because it encourages the development of passive subjects, unduly privileges voice over listening as a democratic virtue, emphasizes the performance of political identity over other forms of communication, undermines privacy, and creates the damaging impression that political figures should be "friends." Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

JosAc Marichal is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at California Lutheran University, USA.