The Digital Self: the Construction of Self and Social Recognition in the Global Digital Society

The use of digital technologies in contemporary global society has brought about a genuine anthropological and anthropotechnical transformation of the individual, on three interconnected levels: 1) the level of everyday behaviour; 2) the level of cognitive processes; 3) the symbolic level. In this paper, I will analyse these transformations in relation to a specific phenomenon of digital technology which falls within the range of practices of the quantified self, namely the phenomenon of lifelogging. The phenomenon will be analysed on three levels: 1) Processes of subjectification. Why are such data collected? The purpose of lifelogging is no longer "self-knowledge" – as in the modern and contemporary philosophical and cultural tradition – but rather self-motivation and self-optimisation. In terms of processes of subjectification, these practices may be understood as digital technologies of the self, to quote Michel Foucault, which is to say as modes of controlling and transforming one’s self by acting upon one’s body. 2) Social recognition. The data collected are also shared on social media platforms in order to receive comments and feedback through which to reinforce the construction of self. Can we describe this virtual community as a digital form of social belonging? And what are the implications of this for traditional forms of social recognition? 3) Business. The phenomenon of lifelogging includes not just lifeloggers but also the developers of lifelogging apps, devices, and software. Lifelogs (i.e. databases about individual physical performances) are widespread in many fields, such as those of fitness, healthcare, and education. Given the highly integrated level of the phenomenon and the risks it entails (particularly in terms of privacy policies), a pressing need has emerged to fill a gap in academic knowledge by investigating lifelogging within the context of the global digital society.