From having to appearing : identity, abstraction, and commodification in online social networking sites

The purpose of the present study is to explore the effects of social networking/'sticky' sites, such as MySpace.com. on traditionally held conceptions of subculure. Having been initially limited to text, the now ubiquitous setting of social networking sites allows us to digitally reconstruct ourselves through a pastiche-like approach. Through the abstractive processes outlined by Guy Debord, the modern online subcultural subject is able to create a digital 'self' th[r]ough a series of pictorial, textual, and multi-media (music, and video) based inclusions. In doing so, these inclusions become abstracted into 'spectacular' representations of self, where mere appearance becomes key. In presenting the processes that take place in the MySpace setting to abstract subcultural identity, it will be shown that the interconnected and instantaneous nature of the modern communicative landscape negates the possiblity of online subcultural groups in their traditional form.