The lurkers of Facebook: The Modern Flâneur.

The lurkers of Facebook: The Modern Flâneur.




 
Image 1: The Flaneur. Retrived from https://procrastinationoxford.org/2014/05/09/the-flaneur/


Facebook can be considered a map, which is both a mirror and shaper of our digital place and space, reflecting how we see our world, informing how we act and conceptualize Facebook with the place and space we have made for it (Kuttainen,V. 2016. Power Point slide 6). “Space has to be conceptualized in order to be experienced and understood, our ‘sites’ are informed by the predisposed character of our ‘sight’ (Barnes, G. 1997. pp.1).” There two main components in the Facebook community; The Posters and the “Flâneurs”/ Observers. In any social media site there are many “Flâneurs”, the ones that lurk on the news feed, never usually posting anything, always observing the friends and acquaintances that they have on their pages. Facebook allows the anonymity of “Flâneur” to watch and scroll through pages and profiles without anyone paying any attention to their actions (Prouty, R. 2009. pp.1). Although sometimes they feel the need to draw attention to themselves through the posts’, they post gaining them likes and status, and should they not engage in the responses they receive may result in them further gaining more likes (Dewall, C. N. Buffardi, L. E. Bonser, I. Campbell, W. K. 2011. pp.58.) making themselves exceptional spectacles of display, most celebrities like Kylie Jenner can be thought of as a modern day “Flâneur”. More on gaining likes and status can be found on http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.592.6468&rep=rep1&type=pdf (Personality and Individual Differences). On Facebook “It is almost impossible to summon and maintain good moral character in a thickly massed population where each individual, unbeknownst to all others, hides in the [online] crowd, so to speak, and blushes before the eyes of no one” (Prouty, R. 2009. pp.1). 
Reference list:

Image 1: The Flaneur. 2014. Retrived from https://procrastinationoxford.org/2014/05/09/the-flaneur/ 

Barnes, G. 1997. BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of the Place. Week 4 weekly readings. Passages of the Cyber-Flaneur. Retrived from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_2298415_1&displayName=Barnes%2C+G.+%27Passage+of+the+flaneur%27&course_id=_76323_1&navItem=content&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.raynbird.com%2Fessays%2FPassage_Flaneur.html&cR2XilcGYOo=KPOV9tgIdSSXUsAYkoSE49gSTtUHe6W%2BLGh8HkEklvE%3D

Prouty, R. 2009. BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of the Place. Week 4 weekly readings. One-Way Street; A Turtle on a Leash. Retrived from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_2298411_1&displayName=Prouty%2C+R.+%27A+turtle+on+a+leash%27+%28blog+site%29&course_id=_76323_1&navItem=content&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onewaystreet.typepad.com%2Fone_way_street%2F2009%2F10%2Fa-turtle-on-a-leash.html&cR2XilcGYOo=bY4n5Abv%2FTfS5Mbyj3A9wgnMLeUk8hbYq4kXj1HzGIc%3D

Dewall, C. N. Buffardi, L. E. Bonser, I. Campbell, W. K. 2011. Narcissism and implicit attention seeking: Evidence from linguistic analyses of social networking and online presentation. Personality and Individual Differences. Volume 51. Issue 1. Ppp. 57-62. Retrived from  http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.592.6468&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Prouty, R. 2009. BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of the Place. Week 4 weekly readings. One-Way Street; A Turtle on a Leash. Retrived from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_2298411_1&displayName=Prouty%2C+R.+%27A+turtle+on+a+leash%27+%28blog+site%29&course_id=_76323_1&navItem=content&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onewaystreet.typepad.com%2Fone_way_street%2F2009%2F10%2Fa-turtle-on-a-leash.html&cR2XilcGYOo=bY4n5Abv%2FTfS5Mbyj3A9wgnMLeUk8hbYq4kXj1HzGIc%3D

Kuttainen, V. 2016. BA1002; Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of the Place. Lecture week 4. Power Point Slides. Retrived from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au