Digital Theory Journals

Rina Chen’s living notebook on digital craft and design.

“After the Social Media Hype: Dealing with Information Overload” (e-flux Journal, 2013)
and
“What Is the Social in Social Media?” (e-flux Journal, 2012)
https://www.e-flux.com/journal/45/60109/after-the-social-media-hype-dealing-with-information-overload

So Google still can’t be evil. Suspicion about the business model of internet start-ups will not and cannot arise. We use technology, they say, in order to “thrive.” In this positivist view, our will is strong enough to “bend” the machines in such a way that they will eventually start working for us—and not the other way around. If we as conscious citizen-consumers flock together, the business community will follow suit. There is no Facebook conspiracy (for instance their collaboration with the CIA) as we are Facebook. We are its employees, investors, first adopters, app developers, social media marketers—in short, propagandists of a cause we do not understand.

The user is too busy “thriving” with the constant streams of tweets, status updates, pings, and emails, until it is time for the next gadget.

Summary

Myth of benevolent technology: The dominant narrative claims we can “bend” machines to serve human needs. This belief masks the structural asymmetry between users and platforms.
Illusion of participation: There is “no Facebook conspiracy” because we are Facebook: as users, marketers, and developers, we collectively sustain its operations and ideology.
Self-optimization and distraction: The user’s drive to “thrive” through constant connectivity produces exhaustion rather than empowerment, trapping individuals in cycles of self-improvement mediated by technological consumption.
Philosophical framing: Drawing on Sloterdijk and Sennett, Lovink points to the need for discipline and reflection—daily exercises of attention and self-awareness—to resist the fragmentation caused by real-time information flows.

The public conversation has moved away from concerns about social media’s psychological side effects toward a Foucauldian question of how individuals can ethically manage their own lives under conditions of constant digital stimulation.

“The ‘social media’ debate is moving away from presumed side effects… to the ethical design question of how to manage our busy lives.”
“This Foucauldian turn… refers… to the later Foucault… the ethical care of the self. How do we practice the ‘art of living’ with so much going on simultaneously?”

Social media no longer inspires optimism. Instead, mainstream discourse has become cynical, annoyed by endless online noise, polarization, and performative debates.

“Mainstream internet discourse has turned sour.”
“Twitter is a vast confusion of vows, wishes, edicts… complaints, grievances.”
“Where is the stoic calm in this sea of populist outrage?”

The Key Problem Is Not Technology Itself but How to Cope with Information Overload

The issue is no longer the potential social impact of new media but the problem of coping with constant digital stimuli in everyday life. The question becomes how to cultivate practices that reduce domination and maintain well-being.

“The question no longer concerns the potential… but how to cope with them.”
“What bothers us is our own survival. Which techniques are effective in reducing the social noise and permanent data floods?”
“There is no ultimate solution. We will need to constantly train ourselves to focus…”

Distraction Is Both Evolutionary and Inescapable

Human distraction has biological roots and is not easily overridden; however, it might also help in multitasking. Completely ignoring digital stimuli is unrealistic for most people.

“The sovereign attitude of ignoring the constant stimuli… is not available to everyone.”
“Distraction is… inscribed deep in our human system.”
“But could it also be a gift that helps focus on multiple tasks simultaneously?”

Continual migration across platforms creates restlessness and contributes to a wider sense of emptiness. Social media content is too fluid to be archived meaningfully—neither memorable nor forgettable.

“The constant migration… increases the collective feeling of restlessness.”
“Western citizens are struggling with a chronic feeling of emptiness.”
“There is nothing to remember in Facebook—nothing but accidents… merely a traffic flow.”
“Because of its ‘tyranny of informality,’ social media… can also not be forgotten.”

New Age Positivity About Technology Has Collapsed

The techno-utopian optimism of the 1990s has faded. The belief that users can “bend” technology to their will is naïve; users often become unwitting propagandists for corporate platforms.

“The New Age tendency… has lost supremacy.”
“Those who unwittingly support the malignant social media cause… are kept busy thinking they have signed up for a self-improvement course.”
“We are Facebook… propagandists of a cause we do not understand.”

Self-Help “Information Diet” Approaches Frame Overload as a Willpower Problem

Writers like Clay Johnson argue that information overload is not a real phenomenon; rather, individuals must train their willpower to consume information rationally, like dieting.

“Information obesity arises… when consensus… over what is truth… diminishes.”
“There’s no such thing as information overload… It’s all a matter of conscious consumption.”
“The info-vegan way out would be to work on the will power.”

Sloterdijk: Training and Repetition Are Central to Surviving the Digital Environment

Self-improvement must be approached as continuous training, not linear problem-solving. The solution is not quitting technology entirely but developing disciplined routines.

“Training is key… the anthropotechnic approach… is cyclical, not linear.”
“Self-improvement will have to come from inside, in the gym.”
“Average users need… a trigger to instigate the process of forgetting the gadget world.”

[!NOTE] Relation to the idea of care Can we say it is a negative care that for better or for worse we are forced to do?

Rheingold: Develop “Internal Discipline” and Digital Literacy, Not Withdrawal

Howard Rheingold argues for teaching skills of “infotention,” “crap detection,” and mindful curation. Withdrawal is unrealistic; instead, users need literacy and tactical detachment to regain control.

“He believes in ‘internal discipline, not ascetic withdrawal.’”
“Self-control… needs to be taught.”
“Rheingold calls it ‘infotention’… ‘synchronizing your attentional habits with your information tools.’”
“The best part of Net Smart deals with ‘crap detection.’”

Tom Chatfield Rejects Self-Help Solutions and Argues for Political, Collective Responses

Chatfield sees the answer to digital overload not in better habits but in politicizing digital life through collective movements such as Occupy, Wikileaks, and Anonymous.

“Chatfield’s way out is to politicize the field in the spirit of the Arab Spring, Occupy, Wikileaks, Anonymous…”
“Offline romanticism as a lifestyle solution is a dead horse.”
“Through protests and other collective experiences, we find ourselves dragged into events… that make us forget the yelling emails…”

[!NOTE] Relevant political events

Arab Spring: A series of pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (starting in 2010–2011), driven by popular anger at authoritarianism, corruption, and lack of freedoms — social media played a key role in organizing and spreading protests. cases.open.ubc.ca+3HISTORY+3Over The Horizon Journal+3

Occupy: A global protest movement (peaking in 2011) against economic inequality, corporate influence over government, and the power of big finance, exemplified by Occupy Wall Street. ウィキペディア

WikiLeaks: A non-profit media organization founded by Julian Assange that publishes leaked documents — often classified or censored — to expose government and corporate wrongdoing. Encyclopedia Britannica

Anonymous: A decentralized, leaderless hacktivist collective (originating on 4chan) that engages in cyber-activism (e.g., DDoS attacks) for causes like internet freedom, social justice, and transparency. ウィキペディア+2Al Jazeera+2

The Underlying Question: How to Create Technologies of the Self Without Submitting to Domination

Lovink’s deeper argument is that we must learn to practice freedom within digital systems that continually attempt to capture attention and shape behaviors. The challenge is inventing new “technologies of the self” that reduce domination.

Lovink draws from late Foucault, where the emphasis is on ethical self-care, training, attention management, and deliberate rituals that help us shape our relationship to technology. It is about minimizing domination by developing one’s own mental, emotional, and behavioral routines, a conscious “art of living” with digital media.

Technologies of the self = techniques to minimize domination and regain agency

“The question… is—following Foucault—how to minimize domination and shape new technologies of the self.”
“Which techniques are effective in reducing the social noise…?”