Exposed and doubly watched: the case of Facebook

Abstract

With the emergence of Facebook, as with most technological achievements, opinions have emerged ranging from the most exaggerated optimism to tremendous skepticism. The fact that its appearance is closely associated with exhibitionism and voyeurism, has been a fertile field for the development of prejudices that make it difficult to unravel its complexity. The purpose of this article is to provide a portrait of Facebook, more precisely the sketch of a portrait, depicting the values, goals, and interests that are at the origin of its development along with the social surveillance that this technological tool has made possible, and to do so in a broad way that challenges theses that point to the total novelty of this network and to the homogeneity of its uses.