MC: Ramón Reichert: The Image-Related Self-Thematization in Social Media (GCSC)

The image-related self-thematization using digital communication technologies is a central cultural pattern of postmodern society. While the presentation of self from face-to-face interaction belongs, according to Goffman, to the universal qualities of human activity (Goffman, 1959, 1967), the reflexive changes on self-presentation – the self-thematization – demonstrate a distinct cultural feature of the digital communication society. Considering these assumptions, this project raises the question whether and in what way practices of identity construction are changing, as part of the development of new digital and interactive media. The continuous change in media, society and Technology in present visual cultures has led to the perception, that images should be seen as an essential contribution to the formation of society and subjectivity. By the increased development of both technology and the media of the visual cultural procedures are producing fluid ways of producing image and personal information, which are characterized by a smooth transition between media, technical procedures, social relations, discourses and visual styles. New forms of social network as well as new interactive media publics emerged with the deployment of technical images and the increased generalization of visual skills, which led to the arrival of a wide autodidactic activity in digital image culture.

// Prof. Dr. Ramón Reichert (University of Vienna, Austria)