“The digital and new media sage Lev Manovich argues that interactivity is a new form of narcissism – just a more active one. We don’t see our picture in the water (which is passive), but we see the reaction to our initial action on screen. The new form of narcissism is a more active form of seeing how potent we are. The screen becomes a mirror for our activities; the cursor moves with us, things change when we press buttons: we are in control – or we feel like we are. And we like it. However, the truth is that people are controlled while acting under the illusion of choice: «With the help of mass communication, the phrase “interactive games” has entered everyday speech. However, strict reciprocity is not found in such games since the user – regardless of how many options he is presented with – is always captive to the programmer who prepared the system». The critical point is that users are invited to make choices that a programmer has mapped out for them already. The decisions become pseudo-decisions. The really burning issues might have been let on”
—Martin Kornberger (2010), Innovation
Le punte degli iceberg
Month
