Snapchat is reportedly funding a site called “Real Life” on which chatter related to humans, as social animals living in a postmodern society, and their interaction with and by social media and technology will be published. The site, currently headed by “social media theorist” and Snapchat researcher Nathan Jurgenson, will be expected to post one article a day on various topics, but those articles will not cover app reviews or hot takes on the latest web drama.
Jurgenson, in an introductory post explaining the mission, structure and conflicts of interest the endeavor comprises, writes, popular discourse on technology has sustained the idea that there is a digital space apart from the social world rather than intrinsic to it. I’ve argued that ‘online’ and ‘offline,’ like ‘body’ and ‘mind,’ aren’t like two positions on a light switch — a perspective I’ve called digital dualism. Instead, all social life is made of both information and material; it’s technological and human, virtual and real.
The site is expected to launch on June 27, and if one is interested in the scene that the editors are promoting, one can make their way to the showing of Cronenberg’s “Videodrome” in Manhattan that night. That should give one an idea of what to expect. Whether the magazine will prove to be insightful and critical or simply pop philosophy is hard to say at the moment. Jurgenson also notes in the intro post that Snapchat is funding the whole thing, just like the company funds a conference that he chairs, and even some of his research. He also adds that editorial independence is guaranteed.
