Reality
or beyond - Google+
Week 4
Western belief, such as the theory from Emile Durkheim, suggests there is the profane and the sacred. The world that is interacted with every day and experienced as either comprehensive or known is profane. It can be thought of as reality, state of things which exist, and irreverent towards things known to be sacred. This leaves sacred to be everything else that is unknown and beyond the limitations of human abilities. The topic to be addressed discusses how sacred and profane translates to the virtual network of Google+.
The virtual network can be thought of as a space of its own entity however being an extension of reality. Within Google+ people use it as an extension of reality by uploading their identities on to the virtual network. Although the user feels their identity is their own 'in a virtual network, you are not the only person constructing your identity.'(Virtual self narratives,2013) Upon signing up on Google+ there are controlled information questions that shape your identity. The user’s selection on circles (interest groups) shapes the perception of how you, as the user, would like to be portrayed. The user’s identity becomes legitimised when friends request an invitation to become your virtual friend. Within the virtual network then becomes a profane space as information resonates with reality of what is happening in everyday life. On the other hand sacred places can also exist on the virtual network.
Western belief, such as the theory from Emile Durkheim, suggests there is the profane and the sacred. The world that is interacted with every day and experienced as either comprehensive or known is profane. It can be thought of as reality, state of things which exist, and irreverent towards things known to be sacred. This leaves sacred to be everything else that is unknown and beyond the limitations of human abilities. The topic to be addressed discusses how sacred and profane translates to the virtual network of Google+.
The virtual network can be thought of as a space of its own entity however being an extension of reality. Within Google+ people use it as an extension of reality by uploading their identities on to the virtual network. Although the user feels their identity is their own 'in a virtual network, you are not the only person constructing your identity.'(Virtual self narratives,2013) Upon signing up on Google+ there are controlled information questions that shape your identity. The user’s selection on circles (interest groups) shapes the perception of how you, as the user, would like to be portrayed. The user’s identity becomes legitimised when friends request an invitation to become your virtual friend. Within the virtual network then becomes a profane space as information resonates with reality of what is happening in everyday life. On the other hand sacred places can also exist on the virtual network.
 |
| Identity shaping. |
Narratives, such as
those passed on from the Aboriginal song lines, are sacred which
encompasses all that is beyond everyday life and can be passed on through the
means of virtual communities. 'The world should be left untouched: as it
was in the dreamtime when the Ancestors sang the world into existence.'(Chatwin & Beryl Phillips Indigenous, 1998) This is an example of a message that can be passed on a
virtual network from any numinous person expressing sacred beliefs. As a result
numinous people are able to create a sacred space on Google+'s circle groups where veneration can be pursued in
religion, deities, beliefs and so on.
References
Chatwin, B., & Beryl Phillips Indigenous, C. (1998). The songlines. London: Vintage.
BA1002. Networked Narratives.Virtual Self Narratives.Podcast retrieved from:
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