The Social Dilemma - Social media and the (mal)formation of identity

Last night our family sat down to watch the new Netflix documentary, 'The Social Dilemma'. It is well worth watching, and even more important to do so as a family!

One of the points that struck me was the claim that only 2 contemporary industries refer to their clients as users - drug dealers, and social media platforms! I'm sure there are more, but the point is well taken.

As many of you know, I focussed on cognitive neuroscience and identity formation in my first PhD. I have always been fascinated by the ways in which social interactions (intersubjectivity is a basic human need) shapes our identity through desire, fear, and aspiration.

Last year I wrote chapter on this topic entitled:

Forster, D.A. 2019. Social identity, social media, and society: A call for public theological engagement. in Theologische Medienethik im digitalen Zeitalter [Theological Media Ethics in a Digital Age] G. Ulshöfer (ed.). Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer G. Ulshöfer (ed.). 85–106.

You can download my chapter here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/w6bywl220exq2qp/13.%20Forster_Theologische%20Medienethik_2019.pdf?dl=0

In fact I recommend the whole book, which you can get here: https://amzn.to/2RcU3