Azimuth VII (2019), nr. 14. Subjectivity and Digital Culture – Soggettività e cultura digitale

Book excerpt: What role does subjectivity play in digital culture? While the 19th century was characterized by print culture and the 20th century by broadcasting culture, we are now experiencing a new paradigm shift: digital technology has radically changed the way we produce (and consume) information, goods, values, social relationships, institutional bonds, etc. Subjects living in such a digital environment are ‘digitalizing’ themselves as well: the label ‘digital Self’ can help understand this change by establishing a parallel between subject and culture based on their common feature of being ‘digital’. Nevertheless, significant differences in this ‘being digital’ on both sides are at play, which should not be overlooked if we are to critically understand not only what a ‘digital Self’ and a ‘digital culture’ are, but also their dark sides and most problematic aspects. With this issue, our aim is to provide an interdisciplinary overview of the most problematic features of digital culture and the digital self according to contemporary debate, which might suggest new directions for future research and collaborative work.