Public Sphere, the Virtual Subject and Ethics of Social Media

Abstract

Analysis of the public sphere is currently used as a foundation for the creation of a public discourse, democratic governance and the institution of a public space dictated by the power of the better argument. Classically, the analysis of the public sphere was seen as part and parcel of the project of enlightenment and is founded on the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas’ work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeoisie Society. Here, the activities of individuals in forming a public space where all individuals have an equal voice regardless of their societal status and backgrounds were emphasized. Analysis of social media as a public sphere ranges from its impact on classical conceptions of the self, and its role in societal engagements and activism to how it contributes to the process of democratization. One theme emphasized here is the virtual subject as the individual found in the world of social media, sharply contrasted to the real subject involved in the concrete world of contradictions and human interactions. Drawing on current studies into social media and the virtual subject, in this paper, I will argue that the analysis of social media in today’s world must closely pay attention to moral dilemmas in such a public sphere made possible by social media. One must as such explore the impact of social media on the cultivation of moral excellence and upholding of basic human relationships involving trust, friendship and confidentiality.