The Role of New Media in the
Formation of Identities
Esra Ercan

In the new global context, the transnational flow of information has deep impact on national and cultural identities. The transnational flow of information is realised through the new broadcasting system, which is based on the satellite technology on the one hand; and through Internet which interconnects people by the informational super highway constructed of fibre optic cables, on the other. Until recently, broadcasting was organised on a national basis. However, new communication technologies do not recognise national frontiers and they have such a power that they may call into question the national public culture, empowering local communities and marginal groups. Thus, cultural globalisation is bringing about convergence and homogenisation in world culture, but at the same time reinforces diversity of particular cultures and identities¹.

Manuel Castells defines identity as ‘the process by which a social actor recognises itself and constructs meaning primarily on the basis of a given cultural attribute or set of attributes, to the exclusion of a broader reference to other structures’¹. The crucial point here is the idea that identity is something that is to be constructed. Moreover, such a meaning may be re-constructed in cases where social determinations change. On the other hand, Kobena Mercer points out that, identity becomes an issue when it is in crisis². According to Mercer, ‘identity is a problem only when it is depressed, when something that is assumed to be statical, consistent and balanced is replaced by suspicion and a process of ambiguity’. From this point of view, we may argue that the very confusions of the existing “international” economy and the existing “nation” state put identity into a depression. Therefore in the new world order, we are in need for spacial reconstructurings, which means new definitions of identity. Media industries and communication technologies that are the vehicles of both cultural exchange and ideological influences have such power that they can shape the definitions of identity.

The effects of new information technologies on identity definitions may not be examined without understanding the concept of ‘global economy’. By global economy Manuel Castells means ‘an economy that works as a unit in real time on a planetary scale. It is an economy where capital flows, labour markets, commodity markets, information, raw materials, management and organisation are internationalised and fully interdependent throughout the planet’³. The most important point here is that, this global transformation is closely linked to the growing significance of knowledge and information in the changing world economy. As Castells puts it, ‘information becomes the critical raw material of which all social processes and social organisations are made’; what is critical in all economic activities is now ‘the capacity to retrieve, store, process and generate information and knowledge.’ Economic organisations thereby have a new basis for flexibility and mobility. Thus, the development of information and communications technology in a global context is a crucial factor in the transnational organisation of the post-industrial economy. Furthermore, because the flexible mode of production is based less on local natural resources and labour, the conflicts of information society can no more be explained around the problem of production.

As Mercer puts it, the ambiguity of identity, within this context, forces us to accept the existence of some new social actors whose demands do not fit to the traditional dichotomy of Left/Right⁴. The classical Marxist belief on the industrial working class to be the sole factor of the revolutionist historical change became invalid today by several social movements, which are feminism, ethnic struggles, national salvation, radical religious, anti-nuclear and environmentalist movements and so on. All these new movements are reinforcing the concepts of ‘otherness’ or ‘difference’.

In order to see how information technologies are giving way to new social movements within the new spaces of global media, we will examine the identity definitions first of all around the idea of television without frontiers; and then around the communities in the cyberspace. Our motivation behind this is that people are actively involved in the construction of meaning around the media they consume.

The two crucial developments related to the broadcasting are commercialism and transnationalism. First, since 1980’s, the neo-liberal policy applications all around the world had great impacts on commercialisation of broadcasting. Because of this, the national public service broadcasting systems are mostly replaced by broadcasting as a profitable business in the international market. Furthermore, through the establishment of new commercial stations, broadcasters, with commercial motives resulting from audience sovereignty over program scheduling, have been forced to recognise the cultural diversity that exists within the nation. In other words, television had a role in re-drawing the “cultural map”⁵, providing spaces for the expression of ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity within the nation. This diversity has had already gained acceleration in the new social conjuncture of the century, because of the reasons that we have mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Thus, it is easy to claim that the new commercial structure of television and the cultural developments in global scale have resulted as multicultural broadcasting policies. Secondly, the new technological substructure based on satellite, opened way to transnational broadcasting. It has actually become possible for minority audiences to receive programming from their countries. The best example to this is the case of Turkish community living in Germany. Two million Turks have begun to receive Turkish television channels with their satellite dishes. On the other hand, with satellite technology it has also become possible for some ethnic groups to reach the programming of the channels that are not given permission within the frontiers of the nation state. For example, Turkish State could not forbid the reception of the programming of the Kurdish MED TV. Thus, the satellite technology provides an opportunity for both the representation and recreation of the ethnic and linguistic diversity, and national control mechanisms can not interfere in the violation of neither the national boundaries, nor the official policies.

Within the context of the new media order, there occur some questions related to the “public interest” or “public culture”. Robins, Cornford and Aksoy argue that there is a need ‘to manage a balance between the recognition of difference and diversity, on the one hand, and the maintenance of shared and common cultural elements on the other’⁶. According to them, ‘if there is a need to recognise the cultural rights of ethnic minorities and cultural groups, there is also a pressing requirement to assume cultural responsibilities’. A crucial factor while discussing the issue of “public culture” is the social and cultural fragmentation resulting from the channel specialisation which leads to loss of common social meanings. The presence of satellite channels provides alternative materials of programming for target audiences stratified by race, age, gender and sexual identities. Such segmented audiences have begun to emerge as the main coordinates of commercial interest but consequently, satellite TV appears as a new mechanism for cultural democracy. Thus, the new broadcasting order means a trend toward homogenisation or democratisation against the previous state monopoly. The most important point here is the possibility of the new technologies to change the terms on which political communities are constituted and functioning. New public spaces are developing uprooting public life from its old attachment to territory.

In the new global order, the relationship between public culture and questions of space and place is even more complex when we consider the Internet. The Internet provides a technological infrastructure for computer-mediated communication across both time and space. The conceptual space in which this communication occurs is referred to as cyberspace. Although face-to-face communication is impossible, we may talk of the formation of virtual communities within the cyberspace.

Computer mediated communication is realised through discussion groups, bulletin boards, e-mail and personal homepages all of which necessitate a written text. The public discussion groups and the bulletin boards of the Internet have various topics ranging from movies to environmental issues. The specific views presented in the messages are based on personal experience and they are for public presentation. The cyberspace may then be appreciated as a new “public sphere” quite similar to the definition of Habermas. Habermas explains his notion of “public sphere” as follows: ‘By the “public sphere” we mean first of all a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed. Access is guaranteed to all citizens. A portion of the public sphere comes into being in every conversation in which private individuals assemble to form a public body’⁷. In this sense we may argue that Internet provides an interactive environment in which public opinion can be formed. Furthermore, the public sphere that is formed within Internet goes beyond the borders of the nation state, and the access is provided to the “digital citizens”⁸ from all over the world. Although access is not guaranteed to all yet this interactive public sphere offers an opportunity for the formation of virtual communities around common identities and ideas. Additionally, in many sources about the relationship between identity and Internet, we face a common view about the fact that on the Internet, individuals construct their identities in relation to ongoing dialogues, not as acts of pure consciousness. On the other hand, the crucial characteristic of Internet is that it decentralises the apparatuses of cultural production, because on the Internet there is no difference between the producer and the consumer. As Daniel Chandler puts it, ‘the Internet represents a radical departure from previous modes for the presentation of self in everyday life’⁹. Therefore, some questions may occur resulting from the virtuality of cyberspace. In Internet culture, especially while chatting or writing mail messages, individuals have possibility to see and represent themselves not necessarily with their truthful or real identities. This situation leads to ambiguity of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, age and so on. On the other hand, personal homepages are of great importance in terms of construction of identity. Thomas Erickson notes that ‘personal homepages are not being used to “publish information”; they are being used to construct identity. Individuals can construct portrayals of themselves using information rather than consumer goods as their palette’¹⁰.

Obviously, the Internet provides individuals the possibility to define themselves both personally and within a community. While some individuals may personally exist within Internet seeking to express their identities through personal home pages, some others may seek to construct their identities around the discussion topics. In both cases, Internet provides individuals a sense of belonging and an opportunity for self-expression.

In conclusion, the developments that are related to both the structural and technological changes in communication force us to think from a global perspective. In this paper, while trying to understand the construction of meaning in the age of information, I have recognised that the new media have great role in providing people the apparatuses of self-expression and identity construction. This role of new media results from the transnational and commercial structure of satellite broadcasting on the one hand and global and interactive feature of the Internet on the other. Thus, because new communication technologies have the ability to de-construct the spatial limitations of nation states, the global mass media can interact with local networks and therefore radically effect meanings in different cultural settings.

 

1 Manuel Castells, The Power of Identity, Blackwell Pub., Oxford, 1997, p. 6

2 Kobena Mercer, '1968: Periodizing Politics and Identity', Cultural Studies, Routledge, 1992

3 Manuel Castells, 'European cities, the informational society, and the global economy', New Left Review, 204, p.21, in Paul du Gay, Production of Culture/Cultures of Production, Sage Pub., 1997,p.24

4Kobena Mercer, '1968: Periodizing Politics and Identity', Cultural Studies, Routledge, 1992

5 The term is used by K. Robins, J. Cornford, A. Aksoy, 'Overview: From Cuturel Rights to Cultural Responsabilities', United Nations World TV Forum, New York, 19-21 November 1997, Report represented by RAI

6 K. Robins, J. Cornford, A. Aksoy, 'Overview: From Cuturel Rights to Cultural Responsabilities', United Nations World TV Forum, New York, 19-21 November 1997, Report represented by RAI

7 Jurgen Habermas, 'The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article', in Derek Foster, Internet Culture, ed. David Porter, Routledge, 1997, p. 28

8 Term used by Jon Kartz, 'The Digital Citizen', Wired ,December 1997

9 Daniel Chandler, 'Personal Home Pages and the Construction of Identities on the Web', www.aber.ac.uk/~dgc/webident.html, 05.05.1999

10 Thomas Erickson, 'The World Wide Web as Social Hypertext', 1996, in Daniel Chandler, 'Personal Home Pages and the Construction of Identities on the Web', www.aber.ac.uk/~dgc/webident.html, 05.05.1999