Authenticity—or, as one popular T-shirt puts it, “f*ck the norm and be yourself”—is often a false feeling of uniqueness that is generated by an algorithm.
When describing media, being normal is almost always seen as a negative, a sense that a mass audience has lost a sense of individuality and given up their capacity for judgment. This concern is a long-standing one: “They all surrender to American tastes, they conform, they become uniform,” wrote one German publisher in 1926 about the effects of the American film industry on German audiences.
Because “normal” explains how the individual fits into the broader public, it does important work in digital culture. In an earlier era of mass media, television shows supplied scripts and narratives for living, such as homeownership or a nuclear family, that many audiences recognized as comfortingly close to their own, “normal” lives.
Some websites try to resolve this confusion by conjuring the ghostly traces of others nearby. A travel website such as Expedia, for example, will inform you that “10 other people are looking at this hotel,” even though it is almost impossible to ensure those 10 other people are really online and looking at the same thing at the same time.
Mostly, though, personalization tries to be more subtle. It attempts to recognize and situate you within the larger context of others who share your interests so that you never feel out of place.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The new normal: Let’s make well-being endemic in our post-pandemic world - San Francisco Business TimesAs paces are picking back up and our new normal is starting to feel a bit like our old normal, how will businesses continue to elevate mental health?
Read more »
Can the Way You Feel About Aging Affect How You Age?Rethinking your ideas about aging could be just the remedy you need to start to feel more comfortable in your skin—even if that skin is a little more wrinkly than it used to be, writes swhitbo
Read more »
The Weekly Pull: Once & Future, Dark Crisis: Green Arrow, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and MoreIt's almost another new comic book day, which means new releases hitting stores and digital [...]
Read more »
Worried You're Raising A Regina George? How To Nip Mean Girl Behavior In The BudIf it's been said once, it's been said 100 times: Mean girls are the worst. Here's how not to raise one, according to experts.
Read more »
Local Opinion: It was a mistake for the UA to continue business as usualOPINION: 'I cannot help feeling that by allowing business to go on as usual, the leadership of my university is asking me to accept this killing as normal,' Victor Braitberg, a professor of practice at the UA.
Read more »
Reimagine Mining | October 12, 2022 - The Northern Miner SymposiumsHave you registered yet for tomorrow's Reimagine Mining online symposium? Leaders from Sandvik_Mining , AlamosGoldInc, TeckResources, OsiskoDev and others will shed light on key industry topics. Don't miss it.
Read more »