Chapter 1 - Affect, People, and Digital Social Networks

Abstract

What constitutes an affect cycle in the medium of digital data, how it is enacted, and what are the consequences for individuals, for digital data, and for the society that comprises both individuals and digital data? Guided by contemporary theories of both affect and digital networks, this chapter traces cycles of affect through and between the overdetermined and underexamined sites constituted by digital networks. Examining interactions across social networks and other multiuser virtual environments, an attempt is made to identify who and what are participating in the capture and escape of affect, how this is facilitated, and what is changed during, and as a result of, these affective interactions. Combining a deep understanding of the technical workings of digital networks with a keen receptiveness to the affective potential of emotional and artistic agency in our digital world, this chapter situates human affective practice in the uneasy environment of algorithmic digital corporate networks.