Abstract
This chapter explores contemporary social network(ing)1 applications as a space for the performance of a ludic self and the carnivalesque. Although digital media are also used for serious, information-focused communication, many interactions appear to follow the broad conversational maxim of ‘keep it light/fun’, and as such these media have become a vehicle for what the philosopher Jos de Mul (2005) has called ‘ludic self-construction’, that is, they provide a space in which we relate to ourselves and others in a playful manner.
Cyberspace is often anarchic, playful and even carnivalesque.
Brenda Danet, Cyberpl@y (2001, p. 8)
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© 2014 Ana Deumert
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Deumert, A. (2014). The performance of a ludic self on social network(ing) sites. In: Seargeant, P., Tagg, C. (eds) The Language of Social Media. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137029317_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137029317_2
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