Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.62.3.6
Rethinking Solitude – Media and the Commodification of Digital Isolation
Lucija Mihaljević
; Hrvatsko katoličko sveučilište, Odjel za komunikologiju, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
This paper examines the cultural representations and symbolic meanings of solitude
in contemporary digital environments. Grounded in a cultural anthropological framework,
the study approaches solitude not as an individual emotional deficit but as a socially
coded and mediatized identity position. The theoretical background draws on the concepts
such as symbolic distinction, digital performativity, and the dispositif, while the methodological
design integrates phenomenological interpretation, visual ethnography, and thematic
content analysis. Empirical examples are drawn from four media domains: film (Her, Nomadland),
television (episodes of Black Mirror), social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok),
and mindfulness applications (Calm, Headspace, Balance). The analysis shows that solitude
in digital culture is being reconceptualized and increasingly constructed as a form of cultural
capital — visually aestheticized, algorithmically guided, and symbolically valued. Rather than
signaling exclusion, digital solitude functions as a stylized mode of self-regulation, affective
competence, and identity performance. The study argues that solitude today can present not
a retreat from social life but a culturally sanctioned, media-mediated modality of presence,
shaped by contemporary regimes of digital culture representation and emotional economies.
Ključne riječi
digital solitude; mediatization; identity; visual culture; affective economy; introspection; media anthropology; social networks; apps
Hrčak ID:
332075
URI
Datum izdavanja:
27.3.2025.
Posjeta: 1.353 *