Regarding the Digital Luddites and Rand’s Devotees

Essena O’Neill’s sudden and unexpected departure from the sphere of social media sent shock waves through her online adherents, back in 2015, when she announced she was dissatisfied with the feigned representation of herself within the cyber world. Telling us that see wanted “to prove that social media is not real life” – as if the rest of us were confused.  In her defense, as a young woman it is not unreasonable to assume she became overwhelmed by the constant requirement to keep the digital in sync with the real – or make it appear so. She was now dead to the digital universe; or was she?  The neoliberal principles of individual worth being paramount, when held against the measurement and clout of capitalism, provides an interesting backdrop which to consider her actions. For philosopher Ayn Rand, one has a responsibility only to themselves, and should reap the complete benefits of their labour. By dropping out she was only increasing awareness of her brand, and dragging her digital devotees into her ‘real’ life, independent of the confines of the digital – a sort of digital-organic diaspora of sorts. She appeared to retire but her image remained, and in fact so did she. Her income dropped of course, and hence she continued to surface; and is now planning to produce a text about being an online person that went offline – published online of course. Before you consider her actions noble, consider Ayn Rand’s position that worth comes from producing within the neoliberal framework; precisely what she is doing. Her image remains and she continues to evolve within the realm of the digital, perhaps a new offshoot of the digital in this case. Yes, she appears ‘dead’ but she is very much alive and kicking out in the ‘cyber-sphere’ -- buttressed by this generation’s neoliberalist philosophy. She wants us to believe she has eschewed technology in a luddite manner and returned to the realm of the natural.  Speaking about the emergent digital ethos within the domain of social media, Jose Van Dijk notes that its principles are “firmly rooted in an ideology of …. a winner take all mindset” (21). Precisely the rub; O’Neill in fact went nowhere with her reported death premature; she is alive and well and in fact represents the new Ayn Rand offspring. With apologies to Seinfeld “Not that there is anything wrong with that”. She is working the system and sticking it to her digital devotees. She is the neo-neoliberal in a way – setting up her booth and hanging up her shingle in the digital marketplace. Buyer beware however. If you think she represents a new independence and has broken free of the digital handcuffs, you might find that she simply slipped the cuffs on you while you weren’t looking. Hey, the Wizard of Oz didn’t want us looking behind the curtain and neither does she. In other words, the real neoliberal principle, as noted by P.T. Barnum, is that “There’s a sucker born every minute”. If you think O’Neill is no longer the social media Phenom she once was, then you, I’m afraid, are the sucker.

References

Dijck, José Van. The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.

McCluskey, Megan. "Instagram Star Essena O'Neill Breaks Her Silence On Quitting Social Media." Time. Time, 5 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.