The Glass Screen

Abstract

This paper seeks to contribute to an ongoing discussion of those social relations that are mediated entirely through computer networks. It begins by pointing to the problems associated with the slippery binary of embodiment and disembodiment, and reminds the reader of the non-material relational and semiotic significance of the body. This non-material relational and semiotic mode of being is also available to us through electronic information and communications media, however, it is asserted that these electronic mediations are of a different kind to those which are face to face, and it is argued that they orient us to the lifeworld in particular ways. The metaphors 'glass', 'screen' and 'monitor' are used to explore the orientation offered by electronic mediation.

Keywords:

• Body
• Communication
• Computer Mediated Communication
• Social Networks
• Social Relations
• Virtual Community