The Cult of Digitized Memories: Understanding Identity on Social Media

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The Cult of Digitized Memories:

Understanding Identity on Social Media

Master of Arts Media Studies: New Media and Digital Culture Graduate School of Humanities

University of Amsterdam 26 June 2015

Author: María Belén Muñoz Román Student Number: 10848673

Name of Supervisor: Erin La Cour Name of Second Reader: Sabrina Sauer

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Chapter One: Introduction

It is easier now for people to revel in the past, and more accurate than ever before. In the digital age, especially since the advent of social media platforms, our personal memories are just one click away, right at our fingertips. We do not have to search to find boxes that contain our old pictures, or check our agendas or personal diaries to rediscover what our life was like years ago. Social networks do that for us; they preserve our past and let us access it anytime we want. They also help us to feel closer and more connected to the people we care about; they guide us in our daily interactions with others, which eventually end up becoming a part of our personal collection of past experiences. Nowadays, it seems easy to recognize how people have developed a sort of dependent relationship with their personal social media accounts. They check platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram several times per day to be sure that they are not missing important events, news from their friends, and so on. More active users also make sure that they keep up with the rhythm of each platform by posting an image or tweeting about their daily life experiences they deem worthy of being remembered and shared with others. In these ways, users are constantly engaging in a series of digital practices without really noticing the implications that they might have on their lives, on their memories and, ultimately, on their identities.

Curiously, these implications or consequences might be even more related to one's personal expectations than we can imagine. This fact can remind us—social media users—of certain situations experienced within social networking sites over the past few years. For instance, one may have observed the diverse reactions to recent features presented by Facebook, Twitter and Intagram; more specifically, users' engagement and responses to particular features comprised by a collection of their own digitized memories. Some of these popular features or projects were designed to focus more on images or text, while others chose videos as the main instrument. In this way, one can recognize some current examples within social media sites, such as the projects known as On This Day, in the case of Facebook; #YearOnTwitter; and Instagram's Throwback

Thursday. These features which, in one way or another, highlighted users' personal

memories and experiences, were launched with the purpose of surprising users by resurrecting memories from their rapidly accumulating online past. Consequently, users from each one of these platforms may have accessed those features to relive important moments from months or years ago. However, occasionally one would talk to friends or

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family and discover how many of them were not surprisingly happy with their results, despite the initial purposes of these type of features. In fact, some users might have had a series of negative experiences when accessing these diverse collection of online personal memories. For instance, while some users may have encountered pictures of ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends, others may have been reminded of an old written post referring to the death of a loved one. One may have even heard about a friend complaining for being shown how boring or empty his life was, according to these social media platforms. Despite these examples of not so positive results, deep inside users know that their lives are still constituted by meaningful moments and experiences. Nevertheless, these first innocent reactions triggered by social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, can at least shed light on the role that these digital practices may be playing in our lives and, most importantly, in how they define our conception of who we are. This research will focus on the analysis of these particular digital practices that are being deployed within social media platforms nowadays, in close relation to the processes of memory construction, articulation of identity and communication among users. More specifically, it will investigate how these practices have proved to constitute the ultimate tool for telling the stories of our lives within the digital space. Despite the variety of topics that will be addressed in this paper, the core of this thesis is comprised by one single term: 'memories'. Besides, the current technological improvements of the digital age will be taken into account, as our memories are being presented in the form of digitized memories. On this matter, it is worth noting that memories are often recalled as mental images, a fact that may have an influence on the current presence of digital images within social networking sites. In this sense, one can observe that a significant amount of personal memories are being shared and stored within social media platforms in the form of digital images; which may lead one to perceive images as "the preferred idiom in mediated communication practices" (Dijck, Digital photography 3).

In close relation to this, it seems pertinent to reflect upon some notions concerning the invention of the art of memory, described by English author Frances Yates in her revolutionary book The Art of Memory. Yates addresses the vital importance of images as "the sense of sight is the strongest of all the senses," but also the significance of "order for memory" (4). Moreover, she describes a series of mnemonic techniques while explaining which steps an orator has to follow in order to master this specific art, for instance, by first imprinting on the memory a sequence of

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places and forming "mental images of the things they wish to remember," and then storing "those images in the places" (2). Yates stresses the crucial importance of those places forming a series and being memorized following an order (7). As observed these days, one can understand the importance of images being present in social networks and the way in which they are being distributed online. In this sense, we choose to create and store certain images, the ones we wish to remember, within the digital space of social media platforms. It is within these platforms that our personal images are being organized following a specific order or structure; a fact that, according to Yates, may facilitate the retrieval of our memories (7). Therefore, one can consider images as valuable instruments that enable the translation of our mental images into digitized images, hence digitized memories.

In this sense, digital photos have proved to be a valuable tool for users, as they allow them to constantly capture, store and share their personal experiences within social networks. The more experiences they share, the more digitized memories they accumulate—a fact that enables new ways of autobiographical remembering but also of telling stories. In relation to this, if one thinks about autobiography as a literary genre, viewing it as Professor Paul John Eakin claims as "an integral part of a lifelong process of identity formation," then one could even think about social media sites as a new unique medium for autobiographic narratives to develop (34). In a way, platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offer users a tempting set of digital tools to help them construct their life stories every day; they allow them to perform a quotidian identity narration. In a sense, every single experience that we decide to share, or every interaction that we decide to make within social networks can be already considered as an "autobiography in the making," because these acts are precisely what determine how we are (Eakin 13). Consequently, one can assert that the digital practices performed within social media platforms are, as well as autobiography, always considered as acts of self-determination since our actions, behaviors and discourses online are also "performative" in that they serve to define our identity (Butler 145). After all, creating self-hood constitutes an "existential imperative" for us all (Eakin 86). As a consequence, nowadays one can observe how users have become the ultimate narrators of their own lives, being empowered by digital means which provide them with the necessary evidence they need to show.

As author Paul De Man explains, "autobiography seems to depend on actual and potentially verifiable events in a less ambivalent way than fiction does" (68). Yet if

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"autobiography depends on reference," how can one be completely sure that the personal stories that are being shared nowadays in social media sites are really a part of reliable autobiographies, rather than personal fictions (De Man 69)? One may argue that active users, understood as a sort of digital self-narrators, may be (re)creating or dictating how they want their lives to be or how they want to be perceived, leading us to question if "whatever the writer does is in fact governed by the technical demands of self-portraiture and thus determined, in all its aspects, by the resources of his medium" (De Man 69). While this matter concerning autobiography and fiction may remain for some as an undecidable distinction, some may agree on the assumption that this 'embodiment' of the self into a collection of digitized personal memories and experiences may be helping to restore one's humanness "to the precise extent that it [...] deprives and disfigures" it (De Man 81). Nevertheless, what seems evident is who the ones expected to validate the accuracy or reliability of the shared stories are: the other users, in the same way that "the reader becomes the judge" (De Man 71).

One can assume that the success of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is due to the way they facilitate instant communication among users, but also because they seem to enable users to feel more connected and closer to each other, to feel like they still belong within a certain group. In a way, users seem to have this need of documenting their life experiences and sharing those memories with the people they care as a way to feel safe and to stay in touch; a fact that can lead one to assert that social media sites are a clear "symptom of a need: for identity, for memory, for stories and for connectedness" (Garde-Hansen 148). One can observe how social networks offer a wide variety of tools to help users fulfill these needs, such as the 'Like', 'Share' and 'Retweet' buttons. In this way, users who are constantly engaging in these digital practices within platforms end up getting used to these acts or behaviors of today's digital culture. As a result, they inevitably take part in a very distinctive ritual: the 'cult' of digitized memories. As I addressed in one of my previous papers, Memory, Identity

and Social Media: The Cult of Digitized Memories in 'Facebook Society', within this

thesis I will also refer to these recurrent practices as an integral part of the 'cult' of digitized memories – the word 'cult' being understood as a "social group with socially deviant or novel beliefs and practices" – (Stark 124). The specific dynamics of this 'cult' will be addressed and analyzed within the scope of this paper, a fact that will provide a valuable insight on the undeniable transformation of the relation between personal/collective memories, shared experiences and identity formation. Moreover, a

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series of digital practices deployed within three specific social media platforms, namely Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, will be analyzed to discover in which ways they may have an impact on the construction of our memories, hence the articulation of our identities, as these sites "are enabling us to change what we remember, by allowing us to choose how to remember" (Muñoz 3).

To further specify my research focus, I have formulated three precise research questions:

I) What are the implications of digital social media practices on the construction of human being's memories, hence on shaping our conception of who we are?

II) What is the correlation between the current practice of 'sharing' online and the 'cult' of digitized memories?

III) What role does digital photography play in enabling new forms of social remembrance and identity formation?

This thesis is constituted by four chapters, and the third one presents three additional sections. The first part consists of an introduction of the topics that are being discussed within this paper, and also includes the methodology of this research. The second chapter focuses on the analysis of a specific theoretical framework which comprises a body of theories in relation to the three main topics of this research: memory studies, photography, and archives. Addressing these theories will enable me to build upon what has already being covered in those fields, connecting particular concepts or approaches between theories in order to develop my own views regarding the research topic of this thesis. The third chapter presents the case study of this paper, which is comprised by an initial analysis of common and dissimilar aspects between three main social media platforms in relation to the theories discussed above, followed by three distinct sections that focus on a more specific formal analysis of each platform. The first section, which offers a formal analysis of Facebook, includes an examination of four specific projects:

Look Back, Say Thanks, Year in Review, and On This Day. The second section formally

analyzes Twitter and investigates a series of features lunched by this platform:

#yearinreview, #YearOnTwitter, and #FirstTweet. The last section of this chapter offers

a formal analysis of Instagram, along with a series of initiatives related to this platform, including #TBT (ThrowBackThursday), and the innovative features presented by

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conclusion and discussion of the main findings and issues that have arisen from the abovementioned case studies, while answering the three research questions.

The formal analysis of each one of these social media platforms, including their interfaces and the series of digital practices performed within them, will certainly provide a valuable insight into the dynamics observed within this current 'cult' of digitized memories. In this sense, this research aims to make a contribution to the field of memory studies by enabling an understanding of modern mechanisms of remembering, along with the contemporary processes of identity formation in our digital era. It will also contribute to the analysis of a diverse form of autobiographical narration that is being promoted by the variety of digital practices deployed within social media platforms and undertaken by its users. This research focuses on a specific area of study which deserves a closer consideration due to the increasing technological developments that are being constantly introduced within social networking sites and, as an inevitable consequence, end up transforming the interactions between humans. Furthermore, this research undertakes a necessary analysis on the role that digital photography plays on these modern digital practices. In so doing, this research aims to enable a better understanding of how these new forms of interaction may alter perceptions among users, and ultimately change the processes of identity formation and hence human interaction.

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Chapter Two: Theoretical Frame

Memory Studies, Photography and Archive

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the relationship between literature on memory, photography, and the archive. The beginning of this section provides an overview of the main theories concerning personal and collective memory, along with a discussion regarding the distinction between communicative and cultural frames of memory. It then analyzes notions about the remediation of memories by digital means, together with a special focus on digital photography, to have a better comprehension of how the construction of memories and the articulation of identities work, especially within social media platforms. The last part of this chapter will address relevant notions introduced by authors Wolfgang Ernst and Jacques Derrida concerning both digital memory and the archive, concepts that will shed light on the dynamics of the current 'cult' of digitized memories.

An analysis of the main notions comprised within the field of Memory Studies will allow a better understanding of how the production of digitized memories is crucially intertwined with the practices deployed on social media platforms. First of all, it is important to address French philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs' unique contribution on this particular matter. As one of the forerunners in acknowledging the fact that memories of the past can be understood as an interpretative process, he argues that memory is rebuilt and thus constituted in the present. This process, which comprises both the past that is being remembered and the acts of remembering per se, can be defined as memory work. He writes, "it is in society that people normally acquire their memories. It is also in society that they recall, recognize, and localize their memories," by which he means that it is only within a collective context that human memory can function properly (38). In this way, people are continually reproducing their memories because "a sense of our identity is perpetuated" through them (Halbwachs 47). Memories thereby have the power to generate various forms of behavior depending on the different collective memories comprised within diverse groups of people. Thus, according to Halbwachs, "collective memory" is always selective. In other words, it is mainly within society that humans are capable of developing their own selves in a proper way, as they learn how to interact and behave with each other; this enables the construction of specific identities, along with specific

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personal and collective memories which, at the same time, continue to reproduce certain cultural behaviors.

Although Halbwachs mentions the mediating functions that "social frames" have on the acts of remembering, he does not believe that they act as material conveyors of memory; indeed, he does not elaborate on the crucial role that media plays on memory processes. It is therefore interesting to add to Halbwachs the work of German egyptologist Jan Assmann to better understand how it is within such social frames where the material for "memory work" is continually being stored and transmitted by the diverse kinds of interactions that occur between groups of people. Assmann's point that media plays a double role concerning memory is well argued in that not only does media record and provide material for the aforementioned "memory work," but also it serves as a place for the act of remembering itself. Moreover, Assmann goes further to stress the importance of media on the configuration of "cultural memory," understood as a collection of the different media (rituals, images and texts) that belongs to specific societies and epochs, and "whose 'cultivation' serves to stabilize and convey that society's self-image" (New German Critique 132). In this sense, it is upon that "collective knowledge" that "each group bases its awareness of unity and particularity" (ibid.). In this way, this particular notion of memory is created by the practices deployed within a society, which at the same time direct "behavior and experience in (its) interactive framework" (ibid. 126). Consequently, this collective knowledge is transmitted through generations. As a result, it can be inferred that media, on the one hand, is capable of shaping cultural memory, and on the other hand, it can also be assumed that media enables the formation of identity or self-image. As explained by Assmann, time and memory, along with the idea of the "self" or one's identity share a close connection with the collective (social and cultural) and the personal (inner) level, because "identity, in its turn, is related to time. This synthesis of time and identity is effectuated by memory" (Cultural Memory Studies 109). In this way, as memory is configured through time – life experiences –, so it is one's identity, which is articulated by both collective and personal knowledge. In other words, one can understand identity as a product of memory, and memory as a product of time.

Assmann's perspective is more nuanced than Halbwachs' in that he delineates the limits of "collective memory;" by examining "collective memory" in terms of content and organization, Assmann divides the "collective" into "cultural" and "communicative" frames of memory. According to him, communicative memory has a limited time depth

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as it "is non- institutional; it lives in everyday interaction and communication" (Cultural

Memory Studies 110). Consequently, the permanence of the social frames or bonds

between humans will determine the permanence of memories; a fact that clearly differs from what may happen to memories stored within social media platforms, as nowadays the dynamics observed on these sites enable the permanence of both frames of memory regardless the continuity of interactions between users. In addition, it is also worth mentioning how the notion of the "floating gap" introduced by Belgian historian and anthropologist Jan Vansina, may cast a light on trying to understand how communicative (social) memory differs from cultural memory (23). The transition between both frames of memory was termed the "floating gap" because the recent past that is expressed in interactive communication recedes more and more into the background while the information becomes scarcer. Or as Assmann puts it, this gap between "the informal generational memory referring to the recent past and the formal cultural memory which refers to the remote past [...] shifts with the succession of generations" (Cultural Memory Studies 112). In this sense, the permanence of recent communicative memories would last approximately throughout three generations, and after that this information would eventually vanish and become scarcer, creating sorts of memory gaps between generations, between memories of the recent past (social or communicative memory) and the remote past (cultural memory). Of course this concept was established long before the advent of social media platforms and the constitution of digital media as an intrinsic part of our everyday lives. Nowadays, it can be said that the gradual fixing of the "floating gap" could eventually happen due to the fact that both frames of memory are simultaneously and constantly being stored within the World Wide Web. If one assumes that communicative memories, which are those shared between individuals, and cultural memories, which are those based on fixed points in the past, can increasingly be preserved by means of digital media, such as social media or online platforms, it seems possible to reach back in this new global-online place for memory and reclaim that past as 'ours'. Even though memory's relationship to 'forgetting' is more complex than storage technologies, within digital social media platforms the idea that "memory involves forgetting" lays at the core of these platforms' digital practices. In this sense, users can choose to preserve as much as they want to – depending of course on the technical affordances of a specific platform – because, as explained by Assmann, the identity function can be performed "only by forgetting what lies outside the horizon of the relevant" (Cultural Memory Studies 113). Nevertheless,

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one may argue that even if people try to preserve as many meaningful experiences as possible within social networking sites in order to avoid forgetting what they might consider their most relevant memories, there is a chance that they will end up allowing themselves a personal forgetting of their own stored memories, as they know they can have access to them anytime. In this sense, social media platforms allow users to ensure their identities and preserve their memories by letting them store what they believe is worth remembering, but on the other hand, these platforms also act as mnemonic devices, aiding information retention for its users, who may end up failing to remember by themselves.

In any case, whether both communicative and cultural memory frames can be understood as extreme opposite points or just as two different states on a continuum remains debatable. Regarding this aspect, it seems relevant to consider the notion of "duration" introduced by French philosopher Henri Bergson in An Introduction to

Metaphysics, in which both ideas of multiplicity and unity are synthesized within the

concept. Bergson argues that it is within this one single duration or reality that "our own consciousness habitually works" (14) and which we all "seize from within, by intuition and not by simple analysis" (3). Bergson's idea of duration as a "continuous flux" denies any notion of multiple states; rather our perception of states is faulty in that each "announces that which precedes it" (3). What this allows for is an understanding of the process of "becoming" (Bergson 11). If one thinks about memory frames or the idea of the self, it can be said that there are no extreme opposite points, just different, shifting states that are part of one single duration which is constantly in the making, as "the state, taken in itself, is a perpetual becoming" (Bergson 11). In order to understand Bergson's notion of inner duration, it is important to clarify two aspects. First, memory is the inevitable consequence of consciousness, and therefore consciousness can never experience two identical moments. Second, when a state expands in this continuous flux, the memories of past experiences are automatically added to the present feeling or experience. In this sense, as Bergson puts it, "inner duration is the continuous life of a memory which prolongs the past into the present [...] without this survival of the past into the present there would be no duration, but only instantaneity" (11). In addition, he understood that inner life could not be represented by abstract concepts or images, as it consists of the sum of a "variety of qualities, the continuity of progress, and the unity of direction" (4). However, it can be agreed that although images cannot reproduce exactly the original feeling derived from consciousness or "replace the intuition of duration," in

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some cases the convergence of different images may be capable of directing consciousness "to the precise point where there is a certain intuition to be seized" (Bergson 4). This is exactly why a special emphasis on the role of images or pictures (particularly digital ones) has to be taken into account and be analyzed when discussing memory and identity, as they have the power to indirectly suggest an intuition of our inner duration. In this way, an "absolute knowledge of the duration of the self by the self is possible" (Bergson 6). This being said, one can assume that both communicative and cultural frames of memory cannot be considered as extreme points; there is no need to explain a transition between them, as Assmann and Vansina intended. These memory frames can be considered as part of one's single inner duration, which is constantly in a state of becoming. Although one may also encounter some memory gaps in this "continuous flux," the permanence of memories can be assured as they inevitably prolong themselves from the past to the present, being able to be seized again by intuition.

Before delving into images, it is important to first focus on the impact of media on memory in general. It is common knowledge that media has played a crucial role in the history of humanity, as it has been in charge of modeling our personal memories and forging our collective cultural memories by serving as a valuable instrument to preserve – in the form of texts, sounds, objects and images – life experiences that conform our collective and personal knowledge. With the advent of digital networked media, social interactions have become more mediated than ever before. In this way, social memories – hence, cultural memories too – have also developed an even closer relation with media in the sense that these memories are being increasingly accomplished through digital means. One can say these mediated memories are constructed or shaped by media, but a more accurate term would be "remediated," as the German author Astrid Erll explains that "there is no mediation without remediation when remediation is understood as the replication of memorable events presented in different media" (392). In this sense, one can assert the fact that people are allowed to choose the way in which they prefer to shape their memories, by choosing how to remediate or replicate certain experiences of everyday life, such as recording videos or taking photos with digital or non-digital devices to retain and store certain memories. The remediation of personal and collective memories by digital means can enable their storage in multiple platforms or artifacts; moreover, digital media can also give people the possibility to decide how they want to reflect (replicate) their identity towards others in order to be perceived in a

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certain way. As a result, this creates a sort of digital network which comprises a series of individual memories that often intertwine and end up shaping a collective memory. In this sense, a "collaborative manufacture" (Kitchin and Dodge 80) between identities enables the production of the digital space, as a place to save and perpetuate personal and shared collective memories. More specifically, taking into consideration the possibilities brought by digital social media platforms, these provide the means to distribute those memories and, moreover, create the appropriate space to perform the practice of remembering and forgetting among users. Nevertheless, one must acknowledge the fact that within this particular type of digital environment, the constant entanglement between communicative and cultural frames of memory makes it difficult to draw a clear distinction. On the one hand, memories of the recent past (communicative or social) eventually end up becoming part of memories of the remote past (cultural); on the other hand, cultural memories may become once again memories of everyday interaction between users, as both frames of memories have become more accessible once stored within the digital space of social media platforms.

Along the same line of thought, Dutch author José van Dijck also addressed the potentiality of media in shaping our processes of remembering, hence also the process of interpreting our personal experiences. In Mediated Memories in the Digital Age she asserts that one cannot conceive of media and memory as separate from each other, as personal memories are constantly being enhanced, expanded, replaced or even corrupted by media, thus "warranting the term 'mediation'" (16). Once again, one can relate the idea of 'forgetting' to this 'mediation' of our personal memories, and more specifically, to the practices that allow us to change, shape or edit our own memories in order to keep only those aspects or experiences worthy of being preserved; corrupting, in a sense, our initial remembrances. However, it would not be completely accurate to believe that there exists a non-mediated 'pure memory' which is later being corrupted by diverse factors since "media and memory transform each other" (van Dijck, Mediated

Memories 21). In fact, nowadays is even easier to observe how media constantly adapts

to memory processes, and vice versa. For instance, if one examines the current features that are increasingly being developed and offered by social networking platforms, one can see how they promote the transformation of personal/cultural memories, allowing us to create and re-create "a sense of past, present, and future of ourselves in relation to others" (van Dijck, Mediated Memories 21). An example of this would be such platforms' ability to add filters to photographs or to create a personalized collection of

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photographs. According to van Dijck, there are two main entities that constitute the process of mediated memories, namely the "acts of memory (construing a relational identity etched in dimensions of time) and memory products (personal memory objects as sites where individual minds and collective cultures meet)" (Mediated

Memories 22). A certainly relevant point here is that identities are, in a sense, being

shaped as people inevitably engage in both acts and products of memory. Therefore, only by "situating themselves in time and place" and interacting with others' lives will they be able to "fall into place," making their own lives coherent (van Dijck, Mediated

Memories 6). If we take into consideration the above mentioned points, we can assume

that the way in which users decide to remediate their own experiences within specific social media sites, for instance by uploading images or videos and updating their online status, allows them at the same time to dictate how others will perceive them. Thus, individuals are constantly – and consciously – shaping their own crafted identities (who they think they are or want to be), as they choose how and which memories will be stored within the digital space. At this point, one might start wondering whether these digital practices are actually helping us or just misleading us in the task of sharing with others who we are.

In her article "Social Media Memory," author Courtney Hopf addresses van Dijck's 'memory objects' and suggests a development of this term into the notion of 'social media memory'. As Hopf puts it, this type of memory can be considered as both individual and collective because "it is shared amongst networks that may not have any unifying cultural or political factors, and [...] it is a curation of individual identity" (2012). By claiming this, she defies the classical distinction within memory studies regarding individual/personal and cultural/collective memory, declaring that "the socially-mediated identities of the twenty-first century preclude the possibility of such a distinction" (2012). Moreover, Hopf's concept of social media memory comprises two interconnected matters: the curation of identities and the construction of memories. Both depend on three factors: first, the decision of the user, who chooses whether or not to accept the conditions under which his or her identity will unfold on a particular digital platform; second, the cultural practices within the user's social environment because, as noticed by Halbwachs, "each individual composes a memory which [...] is socially mediated and relates to a group;" third, the format of the platform, which mediates the way users produce, store, and (re)create personal memories (Assmann,

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"determined by the digital artifacts shared amongst a network of people, and which artifacts are chosen for display in the first place is determined by a desire to exhibit a particular identity to that network" (2012). And in fact, the practice of shaping one's identity within a specific digital social network is, according to her, "a process of preemptive memory-creation" as users are – usually – aware of how easily their personal data can be rapidly distributed nowadays (2012).

For a better understanding of how the construction of identities work in social networking sites it seems relevant to clarify and analyze two specific points. For instance, if one considers a) memories as the raw material of identity, and b) that mediated memories comprise both performances and objects of memory, or as van Dijck puts it, "narratives as well as artifacts," then one can assert that identities are also somehow narrativized while they are being digitally performed and (re)shaped (Mediated Memories 169). The online development and constitution of an individual's identity, a seemingly unstoppable process in the digital era, does come with strings attached. Let us be clear and define that the main purpose of this ritual or 'cult' of enhancing and (re)creating one's personal identity, hence also one's memory, is basically that of belonging. At this point it seems pertinent to recall one of Halbwachs' central claims regarding the 'affective ties' which clearly intensify memories; he declares that "remembering is a realization of belonging, even a social obligation" (114). What is this if not a humble confession of our desperate need of connectedness in order to feel safe? Ultimately, our relation with others makes us who we are—we are made of shared memories. In this way, being forgotten by those we care about would mean that in the end we have failed, as social individuals, to fulfill the humans' need of belonging. This is precisely why technical images play such an important role in the process of remembering, "for there is a general desire to be endlessly remembered and endlessly repeatable" (Flusser 20). In his book Towards a Philosophy of Photography, Czech-born philosopher Vilém Flusser points to photographs’ irresistible power over humans; his work addresses our desire of becoming immortal in other people's memories, which we enact by providing others with information about ourselves, with concepts in the form of endlessly repeatable images. Such behavior may sound familiar today, especially if one thinks about the general dynamics performed within digital social media sites, where users are constantly capturing their personal experiences and sharing them in the form of videos, texts and (mainly) digital photographs, or, in Flusser's words, "concepts encoded as states of things" (Flusser 48). In this sense, one

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can understand photographs as images that represent concepts that have been taken automatically from the world and, through specific technicalities, reflected upon a photograph's surface. In this light, one can assert that images carry memories; therefore, these images or "cultural objectivations," which are a way of materializing the human consciousness or, in other words, can be understood as externalized products of human activity used to describe or to show a particular behavior, seem to be the preferred element—a sort of valuable ally—for undertaking the digital curation of identities and construction of memories (Assmann, Cultural Memory Studies 110).

At this point, if we want to start analyzing the complex implications of digital photography, first we need to have a better understanding of analogue photography and its role in human lives. It seems pertinent to address the eminent French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who was the first to introduce the notion of a cult of unity and cultivated differences in relation to photography. In his essay Photography: A

Middle-brow Art, he explains how the function of photographic practices shares a close relation

with family integration as a "rite of solemnization" (19). The immortalization of certain events of the collective life was a way of reinforcing the integration between family members, creating and increasing its unity. In this sense, photographs have a social function which needs to be internalized; family photographs are needed as a crucial element of the ritual of the "domestic cult in which the family is both subject and object," giving expression to a collective memory and consecrating social identity (roles) while celebrating leisure (Bourdieu 19). The same dynamics can be observed these days, but with the difference that photography has gone beyond the rituals of the domestic cult, or at least our concept of "domestic" has widened to comprise a variety of social groups as new subjects and objects of this cult. Now the social integration of groups is being promoted by recording the "souvenirs" of festive events and people, and even objects; for example, a photo of the presents and the group of people at a birthday party. As a result, photographs revitalize and recreate the group. Moreover, even if Bourdieu understood photography as an ordinary cultural practice, cheap to produce and easy to learn, he claimed it was not formally encouraged. As a matter of fact, he believed there was no formal aesthetic to photography because of it being accessible and cheap, unlike painting for example; as a consequence, photography did not hold the same value as other forms of art. Over the past few decades with the proliferation of digital photography, it can be agreed that this 'middle-brow art' has progressively increased in popularity—up to the level in which most people who own a mobile phone

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also have a camera. Nevertheless, both in present and previous times one could see how this "technology for the reiteration of the party" had to follow certain rules; for instance, people were allowed to take photographs only of certain behaviors: those which were socially approved and deserved being immortalized (Bourdieu 27). This leads to Bourdieu's assumption that "nothing may be photographed apart from that which must be photographed," meaning that it is only worth capturing what is outside of the everyday routine, which must be photographed to materialize the image of how the group wants to be perceived by themselves and others (23). If one reflects upon his assumption, one can notice how nowadays everything seems to be worthy of being captured, or at least individuals seem to try harder to make events photographable. Somehow today's everyday environment constantly gives rise to photographs, a process that, nevertheless, continues to be subordinated to popular aesthetics and keeps on offering us a unique way of "understanding the aesthetics that dominate the discourse and the practices of different classes" (Bourdieu 77). In other words, by observing the increasing amount of photographs that are being uploaded every day to social media platforms, one can have a better insight of which digital practices are the most accepted or popular within different groups. Also, the content chosen to be uploaded by users can be a factor to determine whether they belong, for instance, to an occidental or oriental culture, or if they are part of upper, middle or lower classes.

The advent of digital photography, along with the development of new techniques to manipulate or doctor our pictures, has certainly influenced the way in which people articulate their identities, as they not only have become "interactive producers" but also "consumers of culture" (van Dijck, Digital Photography 7). In this sense, users are expected to learn how to 'play the game' concerning the use of digital pictures within the digital space of social networking sites. They not only must produce content, but also 'play' with it and share it with others; they must influence others (as producers) and let others influence them too (as consumers). The dynamics observed in social media platforms confirm van Dijck's notions, as users share their personal moments and experiences, while at the same time interacting and commenting on other users' activities. These ongoing processes keep on repeating the same patterns of behavior over and over again, constantly producing and consuming content, and ultimately trading memories and identities. Nowadays we are experiencing a substantial transformation in many aspects of our lives, on a socio-cultural and technological level, in which "the self becomes the center of a virtual universe made up of informational and

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spatial flows" (van Dijck, Digital Photography 7). In this light, one can already infer the fact that digital photographs are no longer limited to the task of merely documenting one's life. In fact, their value as a visual language on social media platforms is boosted as the "general significance of visual communication augments," meaning that digital photography's value to communicate experiences to others is being channeled by these specific platforms (van Dijck, Digital Photography 7). Thus, users' pictures are still considered personal memory objects but, in van Dijck's words, their photos "gain value as ‘moments,’ while losing value as mementos" (Digital Photography 7). In other words, even if photographs can still be understood as carriers of memories, van Dijck goes a little further and highlights how nowadays our photos can be also considered as carriers of personal experiences or moments. In this way, he address the importance of photographs being associated with a more personal, unique or specific meaning, rather than just with the concept of mementos.

In the digital age, new standards of autobiographical remembering are being established. Nowadays, what users are trading through social media are not just simple memories, but also unique experiences. A trip to the mountains, for example, may seem a worthy experience to capture with a smartphone and post on a social media account. However, if one manages to make the picture look unique or aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it will definitely appeal more to friends, who will end up giving more 'likes.' It is an unspoken rule: the rarer, the better. In this way, each individual is expected to accumulate a variety of experiences throughout the years, not just fixed memories of the past; taking photographs is intended to mean more than that. This recollection of experiences in the form of digital photographs allows users to be able to review and reflect upon them, analyze them from the present perspective, and keep on shaping how they want their future past to be. However, if one takes into account the impact that digital photography, in conjunction with memory, is having on the articulation of identity, one may start thinking about the implications of the current manipulability of personal memories. These digital practices give us the possibility to choose how we want to remember and, inevitably, they end up shaping our idea of who we are. Therefore, they constitute an integral part in the production of our 'digitized memories,' which have become the ultimate tool to show others how we want them to perceive us. In fact, the reason why this paper will refer to a current cult of 'digitized memories' instead of 'remediated memories' is because, in this way, it will be possible to narrow the scope of the subject and be more accurate by focusing only on digital media

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practices performed within social media platforms. If one follows van Dijck's notion of mediated memories, one can assert that personal memories have always been remediated by different kinds of media, especially by photographs as "retouching and manipulation have always been inherent to the dynamics of photography" (van Dijck,

Digital Photography 11). The main difference from analogue photography is that now

the possibilities of manipulating one's pictures have effectively increased due to the amount of new features that digital media presents these days. First of all, now we can instantly check the pictures we take on our camera's screen and decide whether to repeat the shot or change the angle. Later, we can check them again on our computers. Is at this point of the process where one can clearly identify one of the main steps that are usually followed to complete this ritual or cult: retouching before sharing. Thus, memories and photographs are mutually transformed, both "adapting to contemporary expectations and prevailing norms" (van Dijck, Digital Photography 16).

Even if one believes that our personal memories can avoid being manipulated by digital means, one has to acknowledge the fact that the memory that initially one meant to capture is already manipulated from the moment it is photographed. Truth be told, of course, photographs can never capture reality as a whole; they can only manage to grasp one aspect of it, one single perspective, as it is ultimately "the result of an arbitrary selection, and, consequently, of a transcription" (Bourdieu 73). In any case, we tend to see images when we are remembering something, and these images can be sometimes a kind of hybrid between our own imagination and photographic images. On this matter, the scholar Marita Sturken claims that "memory appears to reside within the photographic image, to tell its story in response to our gaze," meaning that if an individual reflects on certain images, it would assist him or her in (re)forming personal memories, and hence reinforcing identity (19). Somehow, recording our personal events in the form of photographs gives us the impression that the experience was even more real due to the fact that physical evidence of it has been produced, and at the same time, this physical evidence can function as a personal reminder to avoid forgetting. Consequently, one can argue that people take pictures holding the notion that, later on, they will help them to immediately revive their memories; thus, pictures can be considered as mnemonic devices as they can be capable of assisting one's memory. In this light, one could assume that photographs can be a part of memory itself. In her collection of essays titled On Photography, American writer Susan Sontag addresses this matter by describing photographs as "not so much an instrument of memory as an

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invention of it or a replacement" (165), while author Catherine Keenan argues that a photograph "becomes a site of memory because it is a present object that determines how the past is remembered" (63). Certainly, it can be agreed that photographs show a clear correlation with remembrance, and they can serve as a sort of replacement or even extension of memory, but they also act as a trigger of memory, as an ultimate ally for the production of memories. In a sense, our personal pictures give us the opportunity to imprint a permanent image on our memory, but also these same pictures can somehow cast a shadow on the original memories that we tried to preserve as they can "imprint [themselves] on our memories again and again, without any diminution of its vividness" (Keenan 62). In this sense, when looking to old pictures of a vacation with friends in the beach, one would probably remember more accurately the activities or moments that were captured in an image, unlike the ones that were not photographed. Consequently, one would have a specific set of images that would represent such holidays in a more accurate and vivid way, like the set that was taken while playing in the sand, for example, rather than the moments playing in the sea without a camera.

Within the current digital era, it is mentionable that even though people are aware of the fact that manipulation of digital photographs is not hard to accomplish, they still consider pictures as strong evidence of how reality looks and, therefore, they think they reliably capture the past. There is no denying the fact that pictures constitute a powerful source of influence on our memory, which can also mean that they are capable of distorting it, inevitably producing a change in our perception of who we are and on how others perceive us. In this way, one can think that "doctored photos can doctor memory too" (Garry and Gerrie 321). As previous research on false memory implantation has shown, "both doctored and true photographs can cultivate false memories for personal experiences" (Garry and Gerrie 321). When it comes to digital photography, this certainly is a fact that can raise numerous questions concerning the impact that digital practices may have on the articulation of memories and identities within social media platforms. Considering this, one can claim that pictures that have been manipulated or enhanced, and later uploaded to social networking sites, can trigger false assumptions or conceptions of one's life, hence imprinting a permanent false image on memory. Moreover, even though this particular research has also shown that photographs "are not necessarily as powerful as narrative" (Garry and Gerrie 321), when it comes to eliciting memories, because, in certain cases, they might as well constrain imagination, some might argue that photographs may allow individuals to

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generate feelings, thoughts and even further images more easily than with written or oral narratives. In this sense, there could be a possibility that some people would more likely remember an experience if they could see a photograph of it. However, Garry and Gerrie’s assertion is problematic in that it does not address several facts: that photographs may allow individuals to generate very strong feelings, albeit perhaps in a different manner than written narrative; that photography is narrative, as Bourdieu clearly demonstrates; nor that images are more universally understandable as they are not bound to a particular oral or textual language system. Nevertheless, it seems pertinent to clarify the fact that both image and narrative combine, especially in social media platforms, where users always 'read' pictures as narratives anyway. Therefore, digital photographs matter when it comes to social networking sites, as they not only may enhance the credibility of what is being shared by its users, depending, of course, on the extent to which photographs have been manipulated as they might as well stamp false images on one's memory; but also they may help to imprint the shared content on other users' memories, shaping identities at the same time.

With respect to social media, both photography and narrative intertwine and become an integral element within the technical affordances of each platform. One may wonder how exactly narrative can be performed within digital media these days, especially if one takes into account that narrative and database can be considered as natural enemies, since database is known for "refusing order" while narrative "insist[s] upon it" (Manovich 225). In relation to this, it seems pertinent to draw attention towards Lev Manovich's concept of spatial montage. According to Manovich, the screens of computers spatialize time over their surface, and serve the purpose of preserving an evidence of memory. In this sense, social media platforms can function as digital archives of personal and collective memories, as the technical aspects of each site are inevitably connected with the dynamics comprised within spatial montage, in which "nothing need be forgotten, nothing is erased," meaning that it "can accumulate events and images as it progresses through its narrative" (Manovich 325). One may assume that these kinds of platforms seem to unite, in a way, database and narrative, as the latter manages to make sense out of the former through specific technicalities. However, one may want to be reminded of the fact that even if these digital media objects appear to us as both databases and linear or interactive narratives, "underneath, on the level of material organization, they are all databases" (Manovich 228). Indeed, the mechanics of remaining in the digital age will always follow the technical structure of a specific

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platform—or archive—, which, as a matter of fact, will also determine the content's structure, as it has to be suitable for being archived within it. Hence, according to Jacques Derrida, "the archivization produces as much as it records the event" (17).

In this light, one may wonder if it is even possible to succeed in articulating a unique identity within social networking sites due to these technical restrictions that apply to all users. The truth is that the moment one decides to open a personal account on a social media site, he or she is automatically adopting a pre-established identity. Thus, users end up accepting the variety of options and customization offered by the platform, as well as engaging with all forms of interactivity within it, which proves how social media platforms make them participate in, as Manovich puts it, "the 'changing collage of personal whims and fancies' mapped out and coded into software by the companies" (129). This fact can make it difficult to shape a unique identity on a specific platform, and it can also restrict the structure of personal memories and conceptions from the users. Ultimately, a user's main ally to articulate his or her one-of-a-kind identity consists, for the most part, of personal images and written narratives, which are the crucial digital elements that one seeks to archive and preserve nowadays. In relation to this, German theorist Wolfgang Ernst addresses the technicalities that govern the discursive surface of media in his collection of essays titled Digital Memory and the

Archive. He understands the archive as an existential status for media technologies that

record and shape society at the same time, instead of being just a storage place for memory. Moreover, Ernst applies his ideas to digital computers and the world wide web, claiming that digital media's archival function resides in algorithms, codes or protocols, but not necessarily in the contents of a platform or in computer storage. In analyzing the hypertextual basis of the Internet, he asserts that "unlike traditional archive repertoires, they are not passive but themselves constitute a logistical document containing links to the pertinent data records—a finding aid in the documents themselves, a self-referential archive" (84). In this sense, one can draw some correlations between these notions and the technical affordances that exert agency on social media platforms, especially if one considers the hyperlinks masked as buttons distributed all over these sites, acting as self-referential archives for users to find specific content within sections of a platform, such as the News Feed or the Profile on Facebook. These sections are not archives within another archive, but just algorithms and protocols that firmly function aside from the discursive interface (what we see on our monitors). Basically, the Internet—and along with it social media platforms—

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operates by means of user activity, a fact that transforms archives into sort of "cybernetic systems" since "repositories are no longer final destinations but turn into frequently accessed sites" (Ernst 99). The constant interaction of its online users promotes the continuous reconfiguration of the archives in order to keep them flowing; as a result, one can assert that "the real archive of the Internet [...] is its system of technological protocols" (Ernst 85).

Besides the technical point of view on this matter, when one mentions archives, the word "memory" inevitably pops up. French philosopher Jacques Derrida noticed the necessity of this relationship, which he addressed in his book Archive Fever: A

Freudian Impression. For Derrida, it is natural to associate the archive with the act of

repetition, which is usually applied in order to reaffirm events, as well as to draw a connection between repetition and the past—a term that inevitably leads us to again mention memory; repetition is a means of preserving the past. In this sense, memory and archive have always been the two sides of the same coin. Both can be understood as a sort of obligation, a need for self-repetition in which one engages in order to affirm , and thus precisely "what ties in depth the injunction of memory with the anticipation of the future to come" (Derrida 51). Without doubt, this practice of repetition—and firstly self-repetition—constitutes the foundation of every single social media platform, which has as its main aim encouraging its users in this practice as a way to affirm themselves within the online digital environment, and to somehow preserve their present actions for the sake of their future pasts. Although the world as we know it now differs from the time in which Derrida first published his work, it seems we are still experiencing the same symptoms produced by what Derrida calls "archive fever;" we still experience en

mal d'archive, as we are in need of archives, a disorder that Derrida describes as the

"compulsive, repetitive, and nostalgic desire for the archive, an irrepressible desire to return to the origin, a homesickness, a nostalgia for the return to the most archaic place of absolute commencement" (57). As he further explains, this fever or need of archives is a consequence of the movement of "originary finitude and expropriation" that lies beneath its very concept, as one can inscribe "at the heart of the future to come" both acts of repetition and "the death drive, the violence of forgetting, superrepression (suppression and repression), the anarchive;" in other words, the archive is only possible due to its own originary death drive, from which the logic of repetition and memory cannot be dissociated (51-59). So to speak, this omnipresent and inevitable destruction drive that lies within every archive, which can be found in a physical or psychic form

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(human memory), is the very reason why one feels the irrepressible need to fight it; one seeks to avoid the process of forgetting in order to reaffirm oneself. Moreover, it can be said that we are indeed still experiencing an archive fever, a disorder that resides deep inside each one of us, as we constantly struggle to preserve only those memories that we consider adequate to represent who we think we are.

This section has reviewed some key aspects in relation to memory, photography, the archive, and social media. The advent of social media platforms has meant not only an advance in online human interaction, but it also has introduced a personal and collective digital archive which function is to record and shape society at the same time, rather than being just meant to store memories. One could assert that both individual and collective memories are being represented within these digital spaces. In addition, the frames that constitute collective memory, namely the communicative and cultural frames, are in a constant state of becoming in the online space, as part of a single inner duration. Moreover, they have become more intertwined and accessible within social networks; a fact that makes it difficult to draw a clear distinction between both frames of memory. Adding to this, theories of memory remediation allowed an understanding of the fact that identities are being constantly shaped by digital means within social media as people inevitably engage in both acts and products of memory by choosing how and which memories will be stored within the digital space. In this sense, these platforms not only allow users to ensure their identities and preserve their memories, but they also act as mnemonic devices helping users to recall their memories in an easier way; however, social media platforms can also be seen as playing an important role in letting users fail to remember by themselves. To sum up, it is important to specify that the articulation of identities and the construction of memories on social networking sites depend on three interconnected factors: the user's decision, the cultural practices within the user's social environment, and the technical affordances of the platform. All of them equally important to promote the continuous reconfiguration of the archives, and to enable the existence and development of the 'cult' of digitized memories within the digital space of social media platforms. A 'cult' that relies mainly on the use of digital photography to enable the trading of experiences among users; on a series of steps to fulfill users' desperate need of belonging, from which the step of "retouching before sharing" any digital content remains as the most influential one; and driven by users' archive fever that leads them to constantly perform the practice of repetition—mainly self-repetition. All in all, the combination of these factors and

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practices, performed within the aforementioned 'cult', allow the current narrativization of personal and collective digital memories within social media sites; a fact that translates into an inevitable reshaping of users' identities.

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Chapter Three: Case Study

The Cult of Digitized Memories on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

This chapter addresses the case study of the thesis, which focuses on the analysis of a series of digital practices performed within three specific social media platforms, namely Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In order to understand the dynamics of this current 'cult' of digitized memories, it is important to reflect upon the main differences and similarities than can be found within the most popular social media sites. In this way, the technical affordances and interface of each platform will be presented, as well as a description of the phatic/affective elements comprised within them. The possibilities of identity curation offered on each one of the aforementioned platforms will be analyzed, a factor that will lead to discuss the ethical implications of these digital practices. On top of that, the collection of specific features created to highlight users' memories on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be analyzed in order to give a better insight of the role that both digital photography and the need of belonging plays on this 'cult' of digitized memories.

As explained earlier in this paper, with the advent of digital media technologies people gained access to a new relatively cheap way of preserving and retrieving their data, a fact that led them to increasingly engage in practices that somehow enabled them to digitize and store their life experiences and memories. Furthermore, the emergence of social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, dramatically changed the way in which people interacted with each other, as they introduced a series of fundamental practices that would have an inevitable repercussion on how people perceived each other and, most importantly, how people saw themselves. These particular practices, which can be described mainly as the uploading and sharing of content – in the form of images, sounds and text – with friends and family, simultaneously engages users not only in multiple interactions with others, but in a bigger process which is the articulation of identities as well as the construction of personal and collective memories. In this sense, the practices deployed within social media platforms have become an integral part of this new 'cult' of digitized memories, which consists in the continuous capture, storage and retrieval of experiences and memories in order to avoid forgetting and being forgotten. This 'cult' performed by each user within Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, enables the creation of a sort of social media culture, built upon the collection of public (collective) and private (personal)

The Cult of Digitized Memories: Understanding Identity on Social Media