Abstract
This essay reflects upon applying auto-ethnography to the study of networked emotions and identities. I argue that the use of this method to approach how the online self is constructed and confronted with other networked selves leads to develo** an attitude of ‘empathic criticism’ combining critical theory with feminist ethics of empathy, compassion, and care. I build on the ‘field work’ conducted in Spring 2019 with my ‘Selfies and Beyond’ class at John Cabot University, and reflect on the students’ auto-ethnographic pieces, trying to deconstruct the structure of feeling of networked times and what lies underneath the anxiety, fear, and boredom that generation Z seems to be increasingly affected by. I strongly maintain that these feelings, however, are not exclusive and limited to a specific age group, but widely shared across the age spectrum. Through examples and case studies from popular culture, media texts, and heated social media discussions, I show how these feelings are machine-generated and constitute an inherent part of the affective mechanisms of today’s networked emotional capitalism.
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Ratta, D.D. (2021). Reflecting on the Online Self Through the Looking-Glass: From Auto-Ethnography to Empathic Criticism. In: Della Ratta, D., Lovink, G., Numerico, T., Sarram, P. (eds) The Aesthetics and Politics of the Online Self. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65497-9_14
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