Aesthetics of the self : digital mediations

The aesthetic of social network sites is based on a balance of constraint, normativity and innovation that Ann will very likely continue to be engaged with, using similar media and forms of expression, in common with groups of like-minded peers, for the rest of her life. From theories of the 'network society' to networked individualism, one of the fundamental questions of the digital age revolves around the extent to which new media and technology contributes to increasing connectedness, or to the fragmentation and atomization of society. Just as the social network sites provide structures, and in turn, constraints upon the way the self is formed and re-formed online, ordering in homes and dorm rooms are also carried out within tight constraints.