Internet Ethnography with Owen Cyclops (#024)

Send us a text

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

Subscribe and support the show directly:
https://brendonmarotta.com/show/

Support the show