See also
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41282-022-00314-z
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Uconscious-Nervous-Systems-Predictions/dp/1570273871
What does digital unconscious mean? (ChatGPT, 2024-6-28)
The term "digital unconscious" refers to the hidden, often unacknowledged, and automated processes and effects of digital technologies on individuals and society. It draws an analogy to the concept of the unconscious mind in psychology, which encompasses thoughts, memories, and desires that influence behavior without being consciously perceived. The digital unconscious involves the underlying, invisible operations of digital systems that shape our behaviors, perceptions, and social interactions in significant ways. Here are some key aspects of the digital unconscious:
### 1. **Data Collection and Surveillance**
- **Invisibility of Data Flows**: Digital technologies continuously collect data about users’ behaviors, preferences, and interactions, often without their explicit awareness. This includes tracking online activities, location data, and even biometric information.
- **Surveillance Capitalism**: Companies and governments use this data to monitor, predict, and influence behaviors. The term "surveillance capitalism" refers to the economic model that extracts and monetizes this data, often without users' conscious consent.
### 2. **Algorithmic Influence**
- **Personalization Algorithms**: Algorithms personalize content, such as news feeds, advertisements, and recommendations, based on collected data. This shaping of digital experiences happens automatically, guiding user behavior in ways that users may not be consciously aware of.
- **Bias and Manipulation**: Algorithms can reinforce biases and create echo chambers by filtering information in ways that align with users' existing beliefs and preferences, potentially manipulating opinions and decisions unconsciously.
### 3. **Behavioral Modification**
- **Nudging and Persuasive Design**: Digital platforms use techniques from behavioral psychology to "nudge" users towards certain actions, such as clicking on ads, making purchases, or engaging with content. These techniques operate on a subconscious level, leveraging users’ cognitive biases.
- **Addictive Design**: Features such as infinite scroll, notifications, and gamification are designed to maximize user engagement and can lead to addictive behaviors, often without the user's conscious realization.
### 4. **Cultural and Social Impacts**
- **Norms and Habits**: The digital unconscious shapes cultural norms and personal habits by dictating how people interact with technology and each other. Social media, for instance, influences how people present themselves, communicate, and perceive social reality.
- **Identity Formation**: Digital technologies affect the formation of identity by creating digital personas and histories that might diverge from an individual's conscious self-perception.
### 5. **Psychological Effects**
- **Attention and Cognitive Load**: Constant exposure to digital stimuli affects attention spans, memory, and cognitive load, often in ways users do not consciously register. The omnipresence of digital devices and notifications can fragment attention and reduce deep focus.
- **Mental Health**: The impact of digital interactions on mental health, including issues like anxiety, depression, and social comparison, can often be attributed to the unseen influence of digital systems.
### 6. **Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives**
- **Digital Phenomenology**: Scholars like Bernard Stiegler and others explore how digital technologies shape human experience and consciousness. The digital unconscious involves understanding how these technologies alter the phenomenology of everyday life.
- **Technological Mediation**: Theories of technological mediation examine how digital tools and platforms mediate human experience and perception, often in ways that are not immediately apparent to users.
### Conclusion
The digital unconscious represents the hidden, automated, and often unperceived dimensions of digital technologies that influence individual behaviors, societal norms, and cultural practices. It encompasses the vast and complex processes of data collection, algorithmic influence, behavioral modification, and psychological impact that operate beneath the surface of conscious awareness. Understanding the digital unconscious involves critically examining these processes and their implications for privacy, autonomy, and well-being in a digitally mediated world.
