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Csikszentmihalyi's What Is The Self

1184 Words5 Pages

Technology and media have been a vital part of the modern society; many cannot imagine life without technology. In "What is The Self" by Csikszentmihalyi, the author discusses the evolution of the ideal self by utilizing examples of people, objects and advancements from different time periods, environments, cultures and societies. On the other hand, the author of "Who Am We" Sherry Turkle expresses on the effects of the internet and cyber world on components of the self, life and society. She discusses how technology has revolutionized the nature of human thinking, feeling, ideas and identity. Even though technology and media fragments the reality of the self, it is an integral part of constructing the self as it preserves the identity from …show more content…

Primarily, technological advancements have been an important element of preserving the self from the past. In fact, Csikszentmihalyi discusses the externalization of knowledge and images of the self in books, photographs and paintings (268). These technological advancements such as photographs are very special because they not only remind owners of their family and past experiences, but also who they used to be. Similarly, in "Social Memories" by Zerubavel, the author mentions that "the self-conscious effort to preserve the past for posterity is manifested even more poignantly in the statues, portraits, stamps, coins, and paper memory we produce as a social memory" (227). He further discusses how this technology reminds one of the past as well as how it emphasizes the "attempt to...'freeze' time" (227). The various technologies and medias the authors discuss allows the images of the self in the past to be preserved which emphasizes the value of them. The visual representation or ability to "freeze time" in photographs and even video technology as Zerubavel …show more content…

Ultimately, in "Who Am We" by Turkle, the author compares the self to windows (technology wise). She remarks that the self is like windows as it exists in many worlds and it "plays many roles at the same time" (676). Additionally, she discusses MUDs and how their anonymity allows players to experiment with their identity and discover multiple or different facets of their self (Turkle 678). Secondly, Csikszentmihalyi discusses the different identities one has that arise from personal objects, household objects, as well as collective representations. He mentions that different people and cultures carry around or have specialized objects. These objects can be technological advancements such as cell phones, pens or pocket calculators that are carried in order to represent a different dimension of the self (Csikszentmihalyi 270). This author further explores how personal objects emphasizes the personal quality of the self and can project a different sense of the self than household objects which epitomize a self that is coherent to the selves of family members (Csikszentmihalyi 271). Furthermore, Csikszentmihalyi discusses the self that surfaces from being a part of different groups; this kind of self can also be represented by technology such as "'molimo' trumpets used by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in Africa"

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