The Faceless Generation (Final Project)

I choose to do a photo series detailing the way in which the younger generation interacts with digital media and gadgets on a daily basis, as well as in public settings. I based the conception of this photo series off of Lanier’s idea that "Technologies are extensions of ourselves” (6). I wanted to set out to not only prove this idea of Lanier but also to extrapolate upon it. I wanted to capture how technology is not only an extension of ourselves, but has become something more than that. I wanted to prove how in some cases that extension of our technological selves blocks the reality of the physical person we are. Therefore this extension of ourselves through technology sometimes leaves our physical self as nothing more than an out-of-focus blank face with nothing but our technological extension in focus.

I wanted to focus on the younger generations because they are the generation that has grown up with and has always been surrounded by digital culture; they have never known a completely analogue reality. From my personal experiences of having a 12 year old sister and a 10 year old brother, I have come to know that it is harder for those in the younger generations to separate from their devices then it is for someone my age to do so (even though I myself do sometimes have a hard time disconnecting from digital reality). By focusing on a younger age group I hoped to express how this idea that technology has become and extension of ourselves is something that is going to continue to grow and expand much like the younger generation who is currently practicing this technological extension of self. I also wanted to focus on younger subjects because there is an inherent sense of hope in youth, a hope that I wanted to incorporate a bit of because I do not believe society is completely lost to their technological self.

Technology has become such a large part of out day to day lives that the new technologies that are constantly being developed are in order to become “extensions to [our] being, like remote eyes and ears (web-cams and mobile phones) and expanded memory (the world of details you can search for online). These become the structures by which [we] connect to the world and other people.” (Lanier 7) This is important because in a world where you spend more time interacting online than in person that digital presence does become a large part of who you and how you identify yourself. This digital presence can therefore become more influential than your physical self. I wanted to capture the essence of this digital presence as best as I could with photography. Since this presence is entirely separate from our own physical being I wanted to emphasize the lack of physicality of my subjects. This choice was not an attempt to de-humanize my subjects, but to “de-physicalize” and place the emphasis of their nature and essence on there digital selves rather than there physical form. I chose to not to show their physical faces and instead focused on their devises as they way of showing what they look like to those they are interacting with through digital media and gadgets. The inspiration of this particular framing came from being at at thanksgiving with my younger cousins (some of the subjects of this series). Despite being physically with them during the evening I saw them as nothing more than a blank face because I knew the persona they presented while they were texting in front of me was much different than the physical body that was directly in the same room as me.

The photograph of the red headed child playing video games is of my brother. This photograph is significant because not only does it not show his face as a way to express that the technology (not his own physicality) is the example of who he is, but also because the game he is playing is important as well. He is playing a NHL game on the Xbox which is important because he plays hockey in real life, in this sense his digital presence is similar to his physical existence, yet his skills in the digital hockey game are by no means an equal comparison to his skills in life. Therefore those who only know him in digital reality do not get the full understanding of who he is as a physical hockey player. This difference in skill can also lead to difference in the way he presents himself, for example being better at the video game would cause him to have a more confident and cocky personality then perhaps his more timid personality on the physical ice where his skills do not quite match his achievements in the game.

The photograph of the two teenagers on the couch sitting apart with each of their faces hidden is meant to express the digital distance between the two, even thought they are physically near each other. While they may be physical close in age and location they are in completely different places on their gadgets, which is why it is important that that small amount of space exists between them in real life. Their faces are hidden because me, as the photographer, would not be accurately able to photograph their faces because the person presented to the camera is not the same person presented over the phone. As children who present themselves on digital media for the majority of the time it only seems reasonable that there digital-self would be more sincere than there physical self since that is the location they have had the most social experience in and has therefore become a more accurate extension of who they are as a physical person.

The image of the girl with the very blurry and over exposed face being illuminated by her phone screen was my attempt to show the distortion digital presence can exert on physical presence especially if the two are not the same personality. Her face is completely consumed by the light of the phone as a way to show how absolutely immersed she is in her digital life. This light however does not make her face more clear, instead it over exposes her face, which is out of focus to begin with. This lack of focus is highlighted by the light of the phone as a way to show that she is fully immersed in her digital presence, which cannot illuminate her physical presence since the digital presence is an extension of the physical presence that has been altered by the opportunities that are available to her in the digital world that are not in the physical world. Therefore allowing her to create a digital presence that leaves her physical presence nothing but a blurred form.

In order to best present my idea that digital life is taking over as the dominant face of what the younger generation presents, I composed the photograph of the girl looking into the iPad to the refection of her self. This image presents two compatible, but different interpretations. The first is that the reflection of her face is not her real face, only an interpretation. This reflection of her physical reality can be seen as the interpretation of her real self that she gives over digital media. It is through the filter and digital extension of herself that she no longer has a real face but only a reflection of her true self since it is only her digital self that the gadget can capture and never her whole physical presence. The other interpretation is that the digital media has become the face she presents and therefore her image is seen not on her physical face but instead on the iPad, since that is the device she chooses to become the representation and extension of who she actually is the majority of the time.

I knew I did not want my project to be entirely cynical about the way youth interacts with technology because I know that there are still many benefits to offset those that I see as the downsides to digital media. The quote I chose to use as my motivational cause for optimism is by Kelly. He states: “To my immense surprise, I found that these high-tech computer networks were not deadening the souls of early users like me; they were filling our souls.” (12 Kelly) This idea was also important while I was developing this project because despite its many downsides the constant use of technology does have some very inspiring and uplifting possibilities. Because of technology we are now able to communicate with far more people that we may have previously never had the opportunity to meet or have extended relationships with. I know I am able to have a better relationship with my sister since she got a phone this past summer because she is able to keep me up to date with texts, phone calls and pictures she shares with me.

The photograph of the girl on her cell phone is important because this is the image in the series the displays the most hope. This is the only photo in the series that displays the actual un-reflected face of any of my subjects. It is only a side profile, because despite the optimism I am trying ot convey, she is still on her device and therefore is still at least only partially not all physically there since some of herself is still her digital presence. This photo was composed to show how there are still members of the younger generation who are able to balance there digital and physical presence. My sister, while she is constantly on her phone, also spends a large amount of her time physically spending time with friends, or when she is not physically with someone she FaceTime’s them so that she can at least see their faces and have more of a personalized interaction then the faceless interaction texting or other forms of communication presents.

The irony of this entire series is of course that in order to capture these images I had to surround myself with digital media through use of a digital camera. It was only through the lens of a gadget that I even saw any of these events or composed any of these images. In this sense, I am just as guilty of having a blank face. In this series I do not even have a body to extend to the image because my presence is solely the technological digital extension of self that I portray though the images in this series.

Works Cited:

• Kelly, Kevin. What Technology Wants. New York: Viking, 2010. Print.

• Lanier, Jaron. You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto. , 2011. Print.