The darker turn of intimate machines: dark webs and (post)social media

Abstract

ABSTRACT Newly emerging technologies for digital communication facilitate rapid data collection, storage and processing whereby subsequent interactions can be unpredictable. This creates a ‘darker turn’ in neo-communicative practices. That which is 'dark' is understood as communication that has either limited distribution, is not open to all users – closed groups by way of example – or is veiled. Dark social spaces are, however, indistinct requiring further study. This is giving rise to new work in what I call ‘dark social studies’. To further explore the nature and use of dark social spaces, a digital (auto)ethnographic study of ‘dark’ social connection was undertaken. The analysis specifically focused on Mastodon, Galaxy3 and 8Kun’s ‘.onion’ available over Tor (The Onion Router). This article concludes that for a number, virtual ‘dark’ spaces provide affirmative, intimate and vital zones of connection to others and peer collaboration. Further, the interconnected and interactive capacity of dark social spaces facilitates user expectations for dark connection while exposing simultaneously the limitations of our intimate machines.