UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Living the Information Revolution: Digital Online Culture, Identity & Schooling in the 21st Century Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8gw4p6jq Author Rosenfeld, Kimberly Nicole Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Living the Information Revolution: Digital Online Culture, Identity & Schooling in the 21st Century A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Kimberly Nicole Rosenfeld 2013 LIVING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION COPYRIGHT PAGE © Copyright by Kimberly N. Rosenfeld 2013 LIVING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Living the Information Revolution: Digital Online Culture, Identity & Schooling in the 21st Century by Kimberly Nicole Rosenfeld Doctor of Philosophy in Education University of California, Los Angeles, 2013 Professor Douglas Kellner, Chair There is a great debate among scholars on the virtues of digital online culture, yet as people spend more time in cyberspace, little attention is being paid to understanding the forces at play within these contexts as well as their impact on identities. Education is critical to protect and equip the citizenry in this new environment; however, perspectives have not shifted to include meaningful theorizing in how to live the information revolution. This dissertation draws on the work of scholars across the disciplines of cultural studies, education, communication, and philosophy to provide a cultural, ideological critique of identity construction in the context of virtualization and to draw some conclusions for schooling in light of the analysis. Subsequently, each chapter represents a different facet of the real-virtual and human-machine lines to help deconstruct the ontological distinction between these realms of being. This is accomplished by using a ii LIVING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION multiperspectival approach employing the theoretical frameworks of constructivist psychology, critical theory, symbolic interactionism, and sociocultural identity theory. Organized in five chapters, the first initially identifies technological agents of change that have generated shifts in personal identity. The second critically engages the work of Sherry Turkle, a pioneer researcher of digital online culture. The third chapter historicizes identity formation and the cultural transformations that have occurred since the Internet’s inception. The fourth unravels neoliberal and high-tech capitalist forms of manufactured consciousness followed by mapping today’s new forms of resistance. The fifth and concluding chapter demonstrates how education is implicated in the current hegemonic movement and the role it could play to guide the citizenry through this area of complex interactions. This dissertation highlights the personal and cultural changes occurring as a result of increasing reliance on online environments. Additionally, it proposes a new perspective on education’s role in this evolution and advocates for schooling to take a stance in the face of the current digital, globalized world. This work is intended to benefit educators, social scientists, critical theorists and scholars currently struggling to identify the individual and societal changes underway as it proposes meaningful and original strategies to address contemporary challenges to schooling’s normative ideal. iii LIVING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION The dissertation of Kimberly Nicole Rosenfeld is approved. Carlos A. Torres Leah A. Lievrouw Noel Enyedy Douglas M. Kellner, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2013 iv LIVING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION DEDICATION PAGE I dedicate this dissertation to my husband Eric and son Alexander. I owe more credit to Eric than I can adequately outline for helping me to maintain perspective, hold fast, and carry on, and for that, I am forever thankful. Through his encouragement, intellectual curiosity and our reciprocal dialogue, I came to know him as a collaborator and tremendous life partner. I am looking forward to many more life adventures with him. I also dedicate this dissertation to my son Alexander, who accompanied me through my proposal defense and comprehensive exams and was subsequently born shortly after I advanced to candidacy. As I write this, he is two years old, and has shown me just how rich life can be. The new and magical dimension he brought to my world not only serves as my inspiration but also reminds me why I work so hard for a better future. These two men make it all so very worth it and for this, and a myriad of other reasons, that I dedicate this dissertation to them. v LIVING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE Virtualization and Digital Online Culture ...................................................................... 1 Cyberspace and the Virtual.........................................................................................................................................4 The Process of Virtualization, Simulation, and Digital Online Culture ....................................................9 Identity Flow.................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Contemporary Technology Perspectives........................................................................................................... 22 This Dissertation .......................................................................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER TWO A Case Study: Sherry Turkle and the Psychological Role of Computers..........................32 The Second Self: A Burgeoning Human-Machine Relationship................................................................. 34 Life on the Screen: Utopia in the Making ............................................................................................................ 41 Simulation and Its Discontents: The Onset of Disenchantment ................................................................ 46 Alone Together: Approaching Dystopia .............................................................................................................. 50 Mapping Identity.......................................................................................................................................................... 55 Authenticity and Digital Conformity.................................................................................................................... 59 Surveillance and Self-Censorship.......................................................................................................................... 61 Limits on Gender, Race and Class.......................................................................................................................... 63 Empowerment Through Schooling ...................................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER THREE Down the Rabbit Hole: Identity and Societal Mutation.........................................................71 Identity: A Definition .................................................................................................................................................. 71 Digital Online Culture and the Establishment of the “Self”........................................................................ 73 New Tools, New Lens ................................................................................................................................................. 78 Portability, Fragmentation and Hybridization................................................................................................ 84 From Multiplicity to Parallelity.............................................................................................................................. 87 vi LIVING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION Hyperreality and Virtualization: A New Culture in the Making............................................................... 90 Critiquing Identity ....................................................................................................................................................... 96 Movement toward the Technomensch .............................................................................................................102 CHAPTER FOUR Manufactured Consciousness and Social Domination........................................................ 106 Friction in the Cloud .................................................................................................................................................108 Data Movement......................................................................................................................113 Depersonalization and Repersonalization.................................................................118 Surveillance, Politics, and Political Economy.................................................................................................124 Counter Surveillance ................................................................................................................................................130 Corporate Journalism and New Media..............................................................................................................134