Socratic Dialogue: The empty resume

Scene: [Library interior] Jenkins is alone at a desk, typing on his laptop in frustration. Fuchs approaches.

Fuchs: Hello Jenkins! May I ask what it is you are working on today?

Jenkins: I’m composing a resume but I’m having trouble listing a comprehensive list of the hobbies in which I participate.

F: May I read what you have written thus far?

J: Certainly!

(Jenkins hands his laptop to Fuchs and waits eagerly as he reads)

F: Well it seems all you have listed are social media websites.

J: Yes, I spend a great deal of my time participating in sites such as Facebook and YouTube.

F: do you understand the meaning of participation?

J: Yes, of course! I know that cultural expressions are expressions of participation so it would stand to reason that participation is the sharing of ideas amongst individuals in an arena where all participants are equal.

F: Would you assert that all participants get to express their voices?

J: Yes.

F: Would you also say that everyone’s voice is heard?

J: Yes, I would.

F: Would you then conclude that all voices could not possibly be of equal volume for less no one could hear each other over the sounds of everyone else?

J: Yes I would agree.

F: In what facet would you assert that these participants voice their opinions and content?

J: Well, contemporary social media outlets such as Facebook and YouTube are great examples.

F: Would you say that these are platforms for equal participation?

J: Yes, social media allows for everyone to share their voice.

F: Media corporations can buy larger visibility, is this not so?

J: That is true.

F: Did you know that of the top ten most viewed YouTube videos of all time as of 2013, only one video was privately owned?

J: No, I did not know this. I would have assumed that all of YouTube’s participants shared in equal viewership.

F: Let us revisit the definition of participation. It is true that equality is major factor in this notion. But, what of governance?

J: Do you mean to ask who controls the participants?

F: Yes. In an equal participation scenario, it would stand to reason that all participants share I the governance of each other and themselves.

J: Yes, we are all in control of our own voice and content.

F: So, wouldn’t you conclude participation means that humans have the right and reality to be part of decisions and to govern and control the structures that affect them?

J: I would indeed conclude thusly.

F: Who then do you suppose is I charge of the decision making for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube?

J: The people whom own and govern the corporation I suppose.

F: So, since we the “participants” do not participate in the decision making, can we be considered participants at all?

J: No, I would suppose not.  But what of the companies that establish strong ties to its consumers? The consumers assert their own demand. Do we not have influence and shape the content and thus participate in its distribution?

F: Yes, but focus on the thought of distribution. Once the material is uploaded, who do you suppose regulates it thereafter?

J: The corporations that own the websites.

F: So would you agree that distribution is also a concept held at the executive level?

J: Yes I would agree, but is not the participation of the corporation still participation? Are the employees not participants?

F: Participation is universal not particular, my dear friend.

J: I do not follow your logic, please explain.

F: Would you say a dictatorship is a form of democracy?

J: No, I would not.

F: But, by your definition of participation, there are participant if only a few.

J: Yes this is true.

F: I argue that this is not a democracy for the lack of universality of participation. Just because ruling elite is participating doesn’t mean a dictatorship is participatory democracy

J: I understand.

F: Further, an internet that is dominated by corporations can never be participatory.

J: But you neglect that these corporations are supported by user-generated content. We users are certainly in charge of our own content. Do we not hold power in this?

F: Not quite. A website where “consumers hold the power” is an ideology that large corporations want its users to adopt. It serves corporate interest if users are active creators.

J: How so?

F: User-generated content is transaction data. The happier we are as users, the more material we upload.

J: If users like it then what is the problem with this?

F: A labor of love is no less labor.

J: Do you mean to say users gain nothing by uploading their content to social media websites?

F: I only mean to say users do not gain the universal commodity that matters…money. Do you understand the meaning of a participatory culture?

J: Yes, of course! Participatory culture is a structure that allows consumers to freely participate in the production and distribution of cultural goods.

F: Contemporary social media are not included in this category because large companies that centralize attention and generate profit dominate them. Thus platforms such as Facebook and YouTube are not participatory.

J: So you mean to tell me I have no true hobbies to place on my resume?

F: Well I suppose you do not!