Internet Culture as a Nomadic model: representation of the Unconscious

Lavrova Elena Nikolaevna ORCID: 0000-0001-8299-5061 Postgraduate student of the Department of Theory and History of Culture at the GITR Film and Television School 125284, Russia, Moscow, Khoroshevskoe highway, 32a elena_478@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Problem statement. The key turning point in the development of modern media culture is the spread of the Internet. Initially located almost on the same line with mobile telephony, it not only took shape as an independent method of communication, but also became a platform for new media genres, surpassing television and radio in data transmission speed. Moreover, the Internet has laid the foundation for the development of convergent media. Thus, today almost every major media structure is a conglomerate of a television channel, radio, its own website, as well as a special phenomenon - additional channels on social networks. Note that in each channel, the information is not duplicated, but is designed into an independent genre with a set of specific features.

With the advent of a new tool, existing ones find themselves in crisis and structures, undoubtedly consisting of people, are gripped by the fear of extinction, abolition. Let's recall the conflicts in cinema that occurred with the possibility of using sound and color. The crises are also illustrated by the catch phrase from the famous film ^[1] by V. Menshov that "in 20 years there will be no cinema, no theater, no books – only one continuous television." As we can see, these concerns are not confirmed, but they certainly form new trends in culture.

The viewership of Internet content. The analysis of this phenomenon should begin with the question of the audience. VTSIOM data show the following: "Interest in television remains high among Russians over 45 years old (45-59 years old — 46%, over 60 years old — 70% vs. 9-12% in the group under 35 years old). The youth audience prefers a global network to receive news. Moreover, social networks are in the lead in this group, albeit by a small margin (25% in the group under 25 years old and 28% in the group 25-34 years old). Young people also view messengers more often (23% and 19%)" ^[6]. As we can see, representatives of the younger generation prefer to receive news from the Internet.

If we turn to the "theory of generations" ^[3], developed by W. Strauss and N. Howe, we can conclude that generations X, Y and Z not only have different value systems, but also perceive the visual series differently. This concept, developed by foreign scientists, with some edits, can also be applied to domestic viewers, as evidenced by the research of the "Russian school of Generational Theory" ^[2]. It is worth noting that Generation Z was born already in the heyday of mobile devices and the Internet, and did not make a conscious transition from analog to digital media as representatives of older generations did. Taking into account the peculiarities of viewer perception, Internet content implements strategies for quickly capturing attention: accelerated frame changes, pronounced musical accompaniment, relevant topics. In addition, there is an opposite tendency to slow down and simplify the visual series as much as possible. Since the main characteristic of modern society, experiencing a series of political and social crises, is anxiety, visual products aimed at meditativeness and relaxation turn out to be relevant. These can be so-called "sticky" videos on social networks (demonstration of loose substances, symmetrical cutting of multicolored soap, short videos about animal life, etc.), as well as two- to three-hour interview programs, streams.

It is worth considering the technical differences between the TV and Internet translator systems themselves. If television news is more often consumed through a large screen, then a small smartphone turns out to be the medium between Internet content and the viewer. The presence of subtitles that include a running line, the subject of the plot and the country in which the action takes place on a small screen becomes meaningless, while on a large television screen they are necessary. The need is caused by the frequent practice of watching news channels without audio accompaniment: in offices, shopping malls, as well as apartments.

Thus, we see a significant difference between the viewer of television and the viewer of Internet content. The Internet viewer is provided with more opportunities for their own content moderation. He is like a "flanker" moving through the Internet space, often not pursuing goals, but enjoying a meditative immersion in the addictive process. This is how we see the image of the viewer-a nomad or nomadic subject, according to the term J. Deleuze, who plunges into the waves of the boundless information space, eventually risks losing his own identity.

Roland Barthes introduces the concept of a "structural person" ^[4], who, in the process of perception, divides and installs the "object". By dividing the primary information into separate fragments, an internal rethinking and reassembly of the general meaning takes place. At the same time, media culturologist John Fisk calls this phenomenon "semiotic democracy" - meaning "delegating the production of meanings and pleasures to viewers" ^[1]. Fisk's research proves that often the viewer got a different meaning in watching a TV product that was different from the one originally laid down by the authors. Here we see the conflict of constructing reality in the media space: strictly verified sign systems, mythological functions with inherent meaning, are discredited by the principles of deconstruction. From here comes the nomadic model of Internet culture, the basis of which is the rhizome.

The nomadic model of Internet culture. The essence of television is the accumulation of a large amount of information, which is initially attracted to one center. It is no coincidence that the visual symbol of television is the tower, while the network is depicted as a kind of mushroom bowl – invisible threads that permeate the globe. Moreover, the Internet culture meets the characteristics of the rhizome. Let's recall electronic encyclopedias in which one article has links to others and represents an open circuit with an infinite number of references. The same pattern can be traced in many information telegram channels: "Channel One. News", "RBC", "Bloody lady", Mash, "Mir 24. The first Eurasian", etc., which contains references to previous mentions of the topic. There is a certain sequence here, but if the reader turns to different channels, paying attention to comments – a separate type of Internet communication, then he becomes a participant in the rhizomatic process, the specific structures and properties of which are not traceable. When viewing the news feed, the reader sees a single canvas consisting of short messages, often unrelated in meaning, but having a common plane – there is no sequence of elements. In this case, the semantic gap does not lead to the destruction of the entire chain, but to the growth/ continuation of the rhizome. Thus, we come to the conclusion that there are common characteristics in the description of the rhizome and the Internet environment.

As is known, Deleuze and Guattari divided the plurality of rhizomes into 2 types. Extensive (molar) sets are divisible, they can be ordered and combined. We find this type when clicking on links within the same news. The second type is intense (molecular) sets, which cannot be separated or completed without changing their nature, we find when viewing the entire tape, when one message can emotionally affect the perception of the next one. This can happen chaotically or as a result of a strict plan by the moderator of the channel to intentionally create a certain context.

3 types of Zh synthesis. Deleuze. As we can see, there is a large amount of information in the Internet environment, which moves in various streams. Based on this, the issue of interpreting the received message becomes more complicated. J. Deleuze formulates three types of synthesis of experience, which are also reflected in Internet reality. The first synthesis - connective (if... then ...) – is a linear structure. We can interpret it as an information ticker. The production of pure information based on specific actions, appealing directly to feelings.

The disjunctive synthesis of registration (or... or...) is of the nature of an impact: "he imposes on them the ideal of a certain use, limiting or excluding." In this case, a medium – a body without organs – can act as a separate telegram channel, which fills many different messages, where there is a correlation of many independent alternatives and the distribution of divergent series.

The third synthesis of the conjunction of consumption (and) is mobile, it "has no permanent identity, it is always decentered, being derived from the states through which it passes." At this stage, the process of gathering facts and forming an idea of the situation takes place. In the context of the study of Internet culture, we see clearly that "the product of the production of syntheses is reality."

Modern scientist Alexander Galloway presents the media network as a chaotic swarm of furies: "this is communication in its multiplicity, this is a tangle in which the communicative infrastructure multiplies or expands by itself..." ^{[7, p. 42]}.

Endless streams of information have no common basis and are often unrelated. At the same time, returning to the issues of reliability, according to VTSIOM, it is the Internet that many viewers consider to be a more reliable source: "During the measurements, the perception of TV as an objective source of information gradually decreased (2016 — 46%, 2017 — 43%, 2018 — 34%, 2019 — 30%), while social networks, on the contrary, grew (2016 — 10%, 2017 — 13%, 2018 — 18%, 2019 — 15%)" (2023) ^[6].

Representation of the unconscious. In the new world of Internet culture, which is still undergoing a formative stage, other norms of language, ethics are being formed and the very concept of reality is being revised. S. Zizek introduces the term "virtual reality", rejecting the concept of virtual reality, which only reproduces real experience in digital format. The philosopher wonders about the expansion of the concept of reality itself. His formula "ignorance of knowledge" (we don't know what we know) appeals to the unconscious. The Internet environment is a kind of medium for its expression or a "body without organs" according to the term J. Deleuze. Moreover, of the three types proposed by the scientist, we see that the Internet works like a "cancer" system, endlessly producing copies of the same template.

Footage from the scene, filmed by eyewitnesses and posted on the Internet in the first minutes of the incident, ceases to be rare. In the spring of 2024, a bus with passengers fell into the Moika River. In many TG news channels, we have seen footage of assistance to the victims. In this case, the eyewitnesses are filming the video while being safe. During the terrorist attack that took place in Crocus City Hall (2024), the video was recorded by eyewitnesses who themselves are participants in the event: they run out of the room engulfed in fire. At a critical moment, remembering about the phone and the need to record video is a property of the modern viewer–the author of the Internet. In this case, the physical presence of the author's video in the media environment can be equated to a phenomenon - the life of a virtual double in the information environment. Thus, there is an internal expansion of a person into the Internet space, as M. McLuhan wrote ^[13].

In addition, through comments, value judgments, the process of meaning the subject takes place anew. Cultural critic V. Mazin, interpreting Lacan's triad (imaginary – symbolic - real), notes: "The human subject has not yet been born, his imaginary body has not yet come together, and others are already prescribing the future attitude towards him. Already in the hospital there are phrases about body weight, about what kind of eyes and ears he has. Much later, they will talk about what a "big heart" a person has, what a "thinking brain" he has, that he has a liver and kidneys — in general, the body machine will begin to fill with invisible internal details. The body is no longer without organs, it acquires gender, race and other social meanings. A symbolic, software firmware of the body is being performed" ^[12]. A person leaves the Internet space as a ready-made subject.

The special position of the viewer in the Internet environment turns out to be the main feature of the entire structure, since other media did not have the technical capability for such a vivid manifestation of interactivity. In the Internet environment, the viewer is endowed with special rights and acquires the status of the author himself. The viewer-author forms his own information field, and in a new status, comes into contact with major information channels.

The specificity of the Internet environment lies in the apparent lack of verification of authors, relative censorship and confirmation of the authenticity of published materials. We see a discussion of topics that cannot be presented in full on television, but arouse increased interest from viewers.

In the preface to the book "Capitalism and Schizophrenia", Deleuze and Guattari write: "We wrote the Anti-Oedipus together. Since there are several of us, there was a whole crowd of us."^[9] This image, reflecting the essence of schizoanalysis, can be applied to the audience in an online environment in which the consumer of content is also the author, whose virtual image can be radically different from the real one.

In the course of our research, it is necessary to correlate the stage of J. Lacan's mirror ^[11], which forms the "I" function with the act of human interaction with the screen, by which the "I" is created as a "virtual double" in the Internet environment. The image of a person in the real world can be radically different from his embodiment in social networks. This is facilitated not only by improving photos through special platforms or sampling information published about yourself, but also by strategies of behavior in a new society that works according to different rules. Often we can observe a lot of negative comments, aggression, rude or cruel statements that in reality might not have been voiced.

The archetype of adaptive social role, designated by K. Jung as a Mask, turns out to be opposed to the Shadow of personality ^[20]. In the Internet space, we can observe the process of creating a virtual image that does not need social approval and can both consciously and unconsciously freely manifest the negative sides of the personality. The connection or awareness of the boundaries of the images of I-virtual and I-real is the main criterion for deciphering the surrounding reality.

V. P. Rudnev, in a scientific article studying the issue of interaction between the viewer and the television screen, comes to the conclusion that a conditional dialogue between them is possible: "Then the announcer looks at him (the viewer. — E. L.), then the man from the laundry detergent advertisement says: "Now we're coming to you," then a family showdown takes place in an idiotic series. That's probably what he's going to watch, because it's like his life. Why does he prefer TV to talking to his wife or daughter? Because he's probably tired of talking at work. A person wants to be schizophrenic. This means that any layman needs culture, that is, a system of strange objects" ^{[16, pp. 141-149]}.

In relation to Internet genres, this phenomenon can occur at the time of watching streams or so-called "reviews". Consider the video presented on the Belka channel^[2]. The screen is divided into two parts: on the left there is a recording of a television show, on the right the blogger comments on what is happening. He expresses his opinion, vividly expresses emotions, is silent – there are pauses. Thus, we are faced with the process of remote joint viewing of a television program. There is an effect of belonging to what is happening, an active connection between the screen and the viewer.

The ability to receive information about events in society through short messages in messengers and social networks reduces the viewer's need for information video programs. Thanks to this, analytical and entertainment genres are developing. On Internet platforms for posting videos, their own information blocks are being formed: how to improve the quality of life in various fields, parenting, and so on. Hours-long interviews prevail.

In addition, communities are being formed in the Internet space-interest groups: fans of TV series, sports, lovers of needlework, cooking, philosophical statements or psychology. In this case, we see the phenomenon of virtual communication, which in real life cannot always find a similar form of expression. The feeling of belonging, of uniting in such a virtual community may be relevant to feelings of friendship in the real world as a manifestation of fantasy.

Analyzing the perception of information through the Internet, we recall the thesis from the scientific book "Anti-Oedipus": "The unconscious does not work like a theater, but like a factory." Guattari emphasizes that, in contrast to the theory of structuralism: "Subjectivity is not generated by language and communication. At a certain level, it is produced collectively, like energy, electricity and aluminum."^[8] Thus, the Internet appears to us as a platform for the endless ocean of the unconscious.

Based on the above concepts, let's consider the first issue of the program "Caution: News" (11/13/2020), released on the Internet platform. From the first words, the presenter denotes the style of broadcasting: "subjectively, sharply and in the case of the main news of the week. The issue contains only what seems important and interesting to me – Ksenia Sobchak"^[3]. At this stage, we see the first difference between this information program and classic TV news channels: the presenter does not just present information as an announcer, the presence of the Author is openly indicated here. Thus, the objective information style turns out to be opposed to the subjective analytical genre, which is more in demand on Internet platforms, due to the fact that the viewer learns brief facts faster from the TG channel and news feed.

The presenter stands in a black space and talks about what is interesting to her, thereby giving the impression of openness, authenticity, sincerity.

The world of the program is divided into two spaces: the presenter in the frame in the black room and video installations: quotes from other programs or footage from the scene. There are no classic news reports. Here we can see a sign of the mythological model: a pronounced axis of the earth – Olympus, headed by a leading one. There is an advertisement between the plots, which is not formed into a separate plot, but is a continuation of the action: the presenter turns to another camera and leaves the frame, informally addressing the person behind the camera: "you have cool sneakers, Zhen. Discounts are...".

In addition to video citations, the visual series is filled with a large amount of graphics, creating the feeling of a collage typical for an electronic wall newspaper. At the end of the program spiegel, there is an animated screensaver. The camera moves into the mouth of the animal, inside which the world unfolds. The dog grows in size over a tiny megalopolis and throws the Ostankino TV Tower to the ground – a visual symbol of the opposition of this program to classical television and an appeal to the inner world. In the dog's mouth are the emblems of the program - a newspaper. The symbol of the old media turns out to be clearly suppressed by the digital genre. We have before us the image of a nomad who defies the system.

In the lead-up to the plot, the text of the presenter contains profanity as a manifestation of counter-culture and informality of communication. The topics of the program are of an acute political nature, but they do not have a common core idea and can be arbitrarily connected to each other.

Many Internet platforms allow you to leave comments on this program, they are open as of 06/5/2024. Their number is 2,569, which indicates that viewers actively participate in the discussion of topics that are typical for the Internet environment. The description of the video contains timecodes and hyperlinks as a sign of rhizome.

Of course, we cannot call the format of this program new. It contains signs of information and analytical programs, TV magazines, including the Soviet TV magazine "International Panorama"^[4] and "International Sawmill" with Tigran Keosayan^[5], etc. However, the simultaneous combination of key features inherent in Internet content takes the program to a new level. Here is an example of the dispersion of information, devoid of boundaries, going beyond one program and one channel as evidence of the nomadic model of the program "Caution: News".

The modern Internet space is also saturated with a variety of programs built in a similar way. In early 2024, the show "Without a Prompter" was released^[6], in which blogger Ksenia Dukalis discusses the news of show business, society and culture. The presenter identifies the topic and the main facts of what happened, and then expresses her own opinion, warning the audience about it. The name of the program also indicates a subjective view.

Of course, these programs, based on their genre structure, are more entertainment than informational. However, the key characteristics of information media such as efficiency, reliability, and impartiality are irrelevant in this format, where the presenter conducts an analytical review. Such a combination can lead to the creation of pseudo-credibility, in which the viewer is trapped in the worldview of the author of the program.

Conclusion. So, in this article, an analysis of information programs in the Internet environment was carried out. The nomadic model manifests itself through the rhizome structure of the network, a feature of the technical capabilities of Internet platforms that allows you to create an image of the viewer-author. The analysis of the program "Caution: News" showed the presence of appropriate characteristics, as well as the similarity of this program with television programs. In this connection, it can be concluded that the main difference between television and Internet information programs lies in different broadcasting mediums. Technical characteristics allow for a faster transition between texts and channels, showing a rhizome essence. The high interactivity of the Internet environment allows you to form an image of the viewer-author. Due to the unique technical possibility of creating a "virtual double" by the viewer, the possibility of representing hidden feelings and emotions of a person is manifested. Thus, the hypothesis is confirmed: the peculiarity of the device of Internet networks, expressed through the nomadic model, creates a platform for the realization of the unconscious viewer.

^[1] film "Moscow does not believe in tears", directed by V. Menshov, screenwriter V. Chernykh, composer S. Nikitin, 1979.

^[2] Belka Internet channel, issue "The most powerful Pastry Chef issue" // youtube.com [Electronic resource] URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgp19ua9x74 Date of application (06/5/2024).

^[3] The Internet program "Caution: news" from 11/13/2020 // youtube.com [Electronic resource] URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWAflz0kbhM&list=PLU-o6He-_ED4r-WDpgGsGfpyWHARo5Yhg&index=145 Date of application (5.06.2024).

^[4] The program "International Panorama" (broadcast 07/17/1976) // youtube.com [Electronic resource] URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnIKL21C0So Date of application (06/5/2024).

^[5] The International Sawmill program with Tigran Keosayan (03/11/2017) // ntv.ru [Electronic resource] URL: https://www.ntv.ru/peredacha/pilorama/m55820/o622196 Date of application (06/5/2024).

^[6] Internet program "Without prompter" (broadcast on 02/13/2024) // youtube.com [Electronic resource] URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSN9sV__NlI Date of application (06/5/2024).