Internet Ethnography with Owen Cyclops (#024)

Mystic Christian illustrator Owen Cyclops joins me to discuss internet ethnography and examine online culture. This is our longest episode yet, and also our deepest.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• [02:30] What internet ethnography means

• [07:04] How the culture of the internet became a real life

• [16:10] The internet’s social implications

• [32:04] Why institutions are losing people’s trust

• [37:15] Creating a story on social media

• [48:00] Consuming social media information

• [52:55] How the internet flattens power and social status

• [57:32] Origin of the internet memes

• [01:00:10] Lack of positive repercussions on the internet

• [01:01:49] Online anonymous honesty

• [01:05:50] How the previous internet felt more private

• [01:07:24] Taking responsibility on social media posts

• [01:10:37] The superiority of the internet forums

• [01:14:51] Catering for the internet audience

• [01:17:22] Threading on forums

• [01:25:45] The need for niche spaces on social media

• [01:28:11] Meeting with someone online

• [01:30:10] Social Media and vlogging

• [01:40:20] Using pseudo accounts vs real identity online

• [01:44:00] Separating your real life from online life

• [01:47:07] Why do people go insane online

• [01:54:18] Keeping a balance between your image and what you post online

• [01:59:13] Coming back to center and becoming yourself again

• [02:04:11] Creating character social media accounts

• [02:15:50] Why do people make up posts on the internet

• [02:17:52] Pranking vs. Scam

• [02:20:20] Distinguishing between what’s real and what’s fake online

• [02:28:10] Social media moderation

• [02:53:05] Simulacra and Simulation

• [03:03:55] Standard definition of Postmodernism

• [03:09:00] Metanarratives of the future

• [03:13:45] Accepting that we’re living in different realities

• [03:19:05] Constructing narratives through fiction

• [03:25:56] Being aware of one’s metanarrative about you

• [03:28:17] Challenging people’s metanarratives about others

• [03:33:49] Academics and science metanarratives

• [03:37:40] How humans are wired to view life

• [03:48:58] Connect with Owen Cyclops 

Resources

• Owen Cyclop's Website

• Owen Cyclops on Twitter / Instagram

• The Intactivist Guidebook by Brendon Marotta

• The Art Of Getting Over by Stephen Powers

• Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology and Lost Futures by Mark Fisher

• Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China by Robert Jay Lifton

• Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard

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