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Who Are We Online? The Ethical, Religious & Political Futures of Socially-Mediated Selves
Charles Ess, PhD
Professor of Philosophy & Religion, Drury University
Thursday, November 1, 11 a.m.
Clara Thompson Hall
Today’s social media are perfectly engineered to foster a self who is focused on “impression management.” Many feel social media are facilitating a turn in our society from an emphasis on the individual toward a selfhood based on relationships and emotions.
Dr. Ess presents research from both Western and Eastern cultures showing online behaviors in the areas of consumption versus the “prosumer,” plus democratic and antidemocratic processes, and religious responses to Web technologies. These fascinating findings argue that Western selves are generally moving away from democracy and equality, while non-Western selves are moving toward it.
Dr. Charles Ess has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and scholarship. Emphasizing cross-cultural perspectives, he has published extensively in information and computing ethics, with collaborations including Digital Media Ethics; Trust and Virtual Worlds: Contemporary Perspectives; The Handbook of Internet Studies and Digital Religion, Social Media and Culture: Perspectives, Practices and Futures.
Twitter: @charles_ess
