Watching from Behind the Scenes

Watching from Behind the Scenes

Jessica Bell.

Self and Community identity is accumulated in many ways within a social network, from the content a person chooses to post, to the topics they choose to engage in, and this allows a person to create a profile unique to them. As Kuttainen discussed in this week’s lecture, an identity can be created through different forms of place and how it is experienced. There are many types of people that use social networks, including those that dominate with posts or those that are just there to view, and one of the main ones is the flaneur. A flaneur is ‘an adrogynous spectator of virtual spaces… who wanders anonymously within the boundaries of virtual space, developing a virtual identity while connected’ (Barnes, 1997). They are able to view the aspects of the social network, without having to participate or engage in them, remaining hidden to the rest of the users.

Within snapchat, it is easy for a flaneur to create a virtual identity and explore through the app while remaining hidden. When the app is first opened, the camera appears, encouraging the user to take a photo to post. However, rather than posting a photo for their followers to see, a flaneur stays behind the scenes by viewing others photos and remaining concealed. No one will know the flaneur is using the app. In the app, if you swipe to the left you can view all of the stories people have posted that day. Several user’s names appear in which you can click on it to view their story. This is the main aspect of Snapchat in which a flaneur explores the app, as it allows them to view people’s daily posts while remaining behind the scenes. They are able to see what their friends have been doing that day while keeping their daily life to themselves. This creates a ‘pedestrian’ identity for them as they can ‘anonymously embrace the glittering spectacles of modern life without necessarily having to participate in them’ (Barnes, 1997).

Image One: Snapchat Stories
(Carson, B. 2016).

The growth of snapchat in today’s society makes it even easier for the flaneur to anonymously move though the app. This is because more people are using the app and posting more stories, therefore there is more for the flaneur to view. Also, when a person posts a story that gets numerous views each day, it allows the flaneur to become even more hidden; with more people viewing your story, you are less likely to notice the specific people watching it. Prouty described this in an example of large crowds allowing people to become camouflage within a city and move freely without being noticed. ‘The urban masses provided camouflage for the flaneur… the masses freed him to move about without anyone paying any undue attention to him’ (Prouty, 2009).

The modern day flaneurs of social networks are increasingly are more easily able to explore through networks without being noticed, especially in Snapchat. They are able to view other user’s stories while keeping their own lives to themselves. With more people using the app and posting, the flaneur becomes even more hidden as they blend in with the hundreds of other people using the app.

Jessica Bell.

References

Barnes. G. (1997). Passages of the Cyber Flaneur. Retrieved from http://www.raynbird.com/essays/Passage_Flaneur.html 

Carson. B (2016). Snapchat Stories. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-redesigns-stories-discover-2016-6/?r=AU&IR=T 

Hendel. J. (2012). The Life of the Cyberflaneur. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/the-life-of-the-cyberfl-neur/252687/

Kuttainen. V.  (2017). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place lecture four: Maps. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au 

Prouty. R. (2009). A Turtle on a Leash. Retrieved from http://www.onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle-on-a-leash.html