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One thing I particularly love about Freud is that he just doesn't care if he says ridiculous things, such as his comparison of a bar of soap with "an actual yardstick of civilization" (Freud, 67). And though we roll our eyes, shake our head, and sigh *Freud,* we understand his point. Freud believed that civilization came about as a reflection of our anal fixation; our desire for order, cleanliness, and control. The internet does nothing if it does not provide us with a sense of order and control. The superego clings to these ideals that created civilization, for Freud. The superego is an internalization of all of these values, and I believe that the internet has become the externalization of all of these values. Facebook allows me to control what I see and when I see it, and there is a sense of extreme order and categorization in the deep recesses of the Twitter-sphere. The internet requires us to act in a socially appropriate manner, just as the superego would. I mean, you can't just go Id all over Facebook. What would girls in other sororities say? What would our potential interviewers say? What would our grandma / mom / daughter / students / professors think?? Just as the superego demands control, order, cultural conscience, perfection, so do social media websites.
Freud also argued that society comes about with our "first attempt to regulate ... social relationships" (Freud, 67). And regulating our social relationships is what the internet does best. With Facebook I am in control of who I am friends with, I can adjust my privacy settings, I can control what images I portray of myself to my "friends," I can label certain friends as "favorites," or even block certain friends. You get the idea. In consistency with Freud's theories about the social world, Facebook prohibits the "arbitrary will of the individual" from governing social networks (Freud, 67). Facebook, therefore, can be seen as a manifestation of our superegos in that it has become an outward projection of the societal norms that we had previously internalized.
The use of the internet in such immense proportions begs to ask another question - perhaps it is not merely a manifestation of our superego and civilization, but perhaps it is something else. Many people use the internet as a means of channeling their frustrations (I mean geeze, just look at any Youtube or Reddit comment string - people have a lot of anger). The internet can also be used to escape everyday stress triggers, to create our own worlds, or to simply look at pictures of cute animals to make us feel better. Freud presented us with the idea that many modern humans found misery and disappointment in the society we had constructed by the turn of the 19th century. Freud presents the discovery that "a person becomes neurotic because he cannot tolerate the amount of frustration which society imposes upon him" (Freud, 64). Freud finds it difficult to come to a definite answer to this discussion, but he does much to illuminate the current dissatisfaction with civilization.
So, my final thought for the evening is this: is the internet a projection of our superego and our desire for order, structure and regulation, or is it a means to escape our intense civilization that has made us miserable and neurotic?
PS - I created the image at the top on Microsoft Publisher and it is not affiliated with Facebook. I hope this isn't copyright infringement.
With the revolution of technology and it being an integral part of our current society, I do agree that the Internet reflects the manifestation of the human psyche though I am not sure if I agree that it is the superego. While yes, on sites such as Facebook you can limit, filter, and edit everything that you see and permit others to see as well. The superego could be reflected by these actions when trying to filter what the user deems appropriate for the public. Though as you mentioned, a large majority of people utilize the anonymity of the internet to let out aggression and tension built up inside. The ability to lash out on impulse with little consequences is what seems to keep the internet thriving. More often than not, I would blame the Id for the actions of people on the internet. It is a few strokes of keys and the click of the mouse to make a funny or rude comment of a youtube video or like a photo on facebook, the brain registering the act after the matter. Even more than that, some could argue that people let their Id take control of their actions for the attraction it could garner on the internet. The Internet has had a tremendous impact on the human psyche (there are definitely countless studies to support this notion) and this discussion could easily be argued among kids and adults alike.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Alex’s post, I’d like to expand upon her final question of whether the internet is a manifestation of our superego and desire for rules and regulation. Good points are made about Facebook which I have not thought about before, for example how Facebook helps to “regulate…social relationships” (Freud, 67), as well as give you extensive control over what you see. This, I agree, would exemplify the superego since it aids in the more anal tendencies.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have always thought that the internet, with its propensity for free speech and anonymity, have lent itself more so to people for expressing their “id” tendencies, which are the wild impulses. Elizabeth makes this point as well in her retort as well. Alex makes a point in her later paragraph that perhaps the internet is not the superego, but actually a means of channeling frustrations. I think that while some areas of the internet definitely lean more towards sustaining this “superego”, a large portion of the internet is an area for the “id” to be projected.
My reasoning for this is that there are many places on the internet where users are anonymous, such as various message boards and communities. Many of these internet message boards do not have very much moderation or much in the way of limiting what people say, or identifying the person behind the keyboard. Some such websites are 4chan, and to a certain extent, reddit and twitter.
4chan probably typifies what the “id” would be, as I’m sure anyone who has visited can attest, there are some things there considered shocking in terms of what people write and the images people post when they have no fear of punishment. Reddit, although it has some ways of regulating what people say in terms of “upvoting” and “downvoting” comments based on what people agree with, does have some aspects of anonymity since unlimited new accounts can be created. Twitter is also somewhat of a free speech area, as new accounts can be made and your real identity need not be revealed. Of course, if you do connect these forms of media with your identity, societal constraints still apply to what you say.
All things considered, despite the more shocking areas of the Internet, I think that Freud might say that it is necessary to have these places for the “id” to be expressed, as it would help to quell the neuroticism that infect people when they can no longer tolerate the frustration of societal pressures. I also think Freud would agree that these unmoderated sites are a kind of antithesis to civilization, since he defines of civilization as imposing restrictions upon people.
Freud also mentions that the urge for freedom is very real in the human community, and that people will always assert their individual freedoms. He writes: “a good part of the struggles of mankind centre round the single task of finding an expedient accommodation…between this claim of the individual and the cultural claims of the group…” (Freud, 68). Freud was unsure that this point of accommodation could ever be found within civilization. However, Freud might say that these places on the internet are areas of freedom from the rules of society found on the internet could possibly be a way to reconcile the individual and the group.
Overall, I think that the internet is probably a mixture of Freud’s ideas about the structure of the human psyche. Freud would probably think that the internet is some way to assuage the desires of people, depending on what each individual needs. Some people, who lean more towards the “superego”, would revel in Facebook with its image control, options for privacy, and endless regulation. Others, who perhaps have trouble controlling their “id” side, need a way to express this in a society where one could be shunned and looked badly upon for expressing wild emotion in real life. Anonymous online message boards provide this outlet. Ultimately, I think the internet would be a playground for Freud and his research, had he been alive to witness it.
I agree with the points that Elizabeth made, though that doesn't mean that I disagree with those made by Alex. I think that you can find aspects of both the Id and Superego in the structure and use of the internet (and both pointed out wonderful examples). But personally I feel like you see much more id than superego online. To expand, one of the most commonly heard arguments (at least for me) revolves around the anonymity of the internet, specifically related to the comment threads of YouTube. Anonymity is the key to these comments, and one could argue that anonymity is the entire (modern) basis of the internet. I am one of those people who spends way too much time on the internet (or related systems, specifically Xbox Live for me) and it is absurd the lengths to which people will go just because there are no real repercussions. You can pick pretty much any video on YouTube and find people attacking each other because "they can't use grammar properly" or "they're from a different country" or "I flat out don't like your opinions." This is just unnecessary hatred that is generated by people who know that they can get away with hurtful or even racist remarks because nobody knows who they are.
ReplyDeleteI'll just say one more thing that I think is pretty much the perfect example of the Id in use on the internet: trolls. This term basically means somebody who posts/responds/acts in certain ways to illicit responses of anger just for fun. If that isn't the Id in us, I'm not sure what is.
Alex, I think you’ve really got something here! The internet and Freud have some fantastic similarities that I did not think of. I always considered the internet to be disorganized, uncensored, dangerous, and mindboggling. It was far from what I would have pegged as one’s “conscious.” It is whatever you want it to be: countercultural; vulgar; mainstream; fiction; innocent; fun; and so on, I am sure you see where I am going with this…But your specific connection to social media, such as Facebook, I find fascinating. I think it totally can be! You’re right, your Facebook page is created by you, therefore giving you the power over your virtual you (there were a lot of ‘you’s in there but hopefully my point still held meaning). What I am saying is that one has complete control on one’s profile; one’s cyber-self. This means that, as you said, one can make a “friendship” official or deem it nonexistent. One can edit what the public can see and what it cannot; one holds the power to alter reality. So the question is: is it your superego, or the opportunity to be it? Some see the internet and Facebook, like those Reddit and YouTube users, as a place to unleash frustration and hate, without fear of repercussion; or they simply care not how they are portrayed through their comments/conversations or tagged pictures, even by those potential employers, family members, and so on. Some people do choose to Id out like there’s no tomorrow. But do you?—(rhetorical)—I certainly don’t! I am right there with you making my Facebook-self appealing and respectful to others. They say that things on the internet last forever, and in life they may only last a split second, so where do you think I am going to strive to be more careful, controlled, organized, and “perfect”? My Facebook definitely holds elements of my superego.
ReplyDeleteI really like all of the things you guys said about the Internet also being a manifestation of our Id as well. I was struggling to place my finger on either argument exactly, and you guys pointed out everything that I was thinking about the Id. After reading the comments I do see the internet and our use of the internet in more likeness to the Id than the Superego. Especially as Jacob said, the trolls. And things like Reddit or StumbleUpon where we can move on to the next page in an instant. Perhaps it is a combination of the two, and really just projections of our Ego? :)
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