Johanssen, J. 2018. Gaming-playing on social media: using the psychoanalytic concept of ‘playing’ to theorize user labour on Facebook. Information, Communication & Society. 21 (9), pp. 1204-1218. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1450433
| Title | Gaming-playing on social media: using the psychoanalytic concept of ‘playing’ to theorize user labour on Facebook |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Johanssen, J. |
| Abstract | Political economists have argued that user activity on corporate social media is regarded as labour that appears playful and fun but is exploited and sold to advertisers for profit maximization. This article begins with the working assumption that such user labour on social media constitutes a form of playing. It is theorized through a psychoanalytic perspective on the term as developed by D. W. Winnicott and André Green. The notion of gaming–playing is put forward to account for set interface structures on Facebook that resemble a game as well as free-flowing dimensions more akin to playing. Some user discourses on Facebook are analysed through this prism. A psychoanalytic conceptualization of user labour as playing allows one to analyse both positive discourses that emphasize Facebook as a space for creativity, exploration and the unknown, as well as negative |
| Keywords | Playing, gaming, labour, psychoanalysis, D. W. Winnicott, social media |
| Journal | Information, Communication & Society |
| Journal citation | 21 (9), pp. 1204-1218 |
| ISSN | 1369-118X |
| Year | 2018 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Accepted author manuscript | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1450433 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published online | 03 May 2018 |
| Published | 03 May 2018 |