After reading the articles by McNeil, Losse, and Kessler, I was left thinking predominantly about notions of control, as well as my own agency (power) in both my ability to choose who I present myself to be on the web, and how I am surveilled and manipulated throughout that process. Like most things, I feel as though the applications of network surveillance technology and online identity creation are locked in somewhat of a dialectical battle between positive and negative uses, with a gradation of in between, grey spaces throughout the middle.
In her article, McNeil asserts that the formation of online personas that are not necessarily in dialogue with “real world” identities of users may actually be a positive thing. Using Oscar Wilde to support her claims, she states how “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Through the veil of networked media, McNeil argues that users are able to play, to iterate, and to bend potential versions of their own selves into new representations, thus becoming freer through the web and asserting control over who they portray themselves to be digitally, and perhaps even who they are in actuality.
Losse’s article really got me thinking about notions of control the most out of the three, and how the web in many ways is a direct mirror of long-standing cultural and social relationships between females and males that have existed for thousands of years. I was disturbed by how much examples and opinions Losse presented in the article resonated with my own experiences using social media sites like Facebook. Losse states how “a man who doesn’t post is cool and privacy-savvy; a woman who doesn’t post much is considered weird and antisocial.” On many occasions I have derived satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment by posting photos of myself and my life, sometimes through a more sexualized or stylized lens. Laura Mulvey's notions of a "male gaze" are still very much present, simply translated into digital spaces.
Finally, I read Kessler's article, and was both disturbed and amused. I think the potential for tracking tech such as RFID tags has a lot of useful applicaitons, however being in a world where every item is tracked and people don't even have the agency to commit petty crimes is super disturbing to me. I believe people should make a choice to follow the laws of the society that they are a part of, not be forced to entirely by a networked system.