Week 8 : Specular Economy

Everytime we post something on our facebook, instagram or twitter account we have to think twice about it. Everything we are posting prints a digital footprint online which can be accessed by anyone as private as we may think our accounts are. This concept relates to the specular economy where the way we present ourselves online is the way in which we would like to be viewed by others online. According to Marshal (2010, p. 498) the specular economy is “a two way mirror projection on to the screen, and the circulation of and interaction with those images and texts into the wider world.”

So think about this. As an everyday citizen, our social network comprises of our friends and family within the hundreds. But as a celebrity they have a massive social network, some with around millions of followers or ‘friends’. Everything they do online can be viewed and monitored by anyone and everyone who wishes to do so. A well known and developed specular economy exists within the celebrity culture, which comes with the emerging comfortability of a society of surveillance.

These new forms of media have allowed celebrities to create online public personas through their social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Their accounts now affords and privileges the interaction and exchange between and among users. This allows fans to go beyond simply writing a ‘fan letter’, as they can now attempt to create a relationship through social media interactions with the celebrity.

Not only has social media changed celebrities but it has also changed the way in which we perceive celebrities. Social media allows individuals to present ourselves online in whatever way that we desire, and according the a large majority of the public, some celebrities are creating ‘negative’ images of themselves.

An example of a celebrity who has created a negative online presence is Miley Cyrus. She started her career as a role model for young girls however she has recently spiraled out of control in her attempt to shift her image to an ‘adult star’ rather than ‘teen star’.

Miley Cyrus tweeted this image of her getting her furry on.

Miley Cyrus used her social media accounts as a way of transitioning from Hannah Montana to an adult. Although raunchy social media posts have sparked much negative attention from the public, she has used social media to create a new persona.