Analysis of Jeffery Rosen's: The Naked Crowd

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Analysis of Jeffery Rosen’s: The Naked Crowd Rosen portrays our society as completely exposed, giving up all privacy to join, and fit in with the “naked crowd”. Rosen claims that we willing give up all power of privacy in order to fit in with society and be accepted as someone that can be trusted through exposure. He claims that image is the key to establishing trust, not through a relationship or conversation. His thesis presents his views on the subject, “has led us to value exposure over privacy? Why, in short, are we so eager to become members of the Naked Crowd, in which we have the illusion of belonging only when we are exposed?”(Rosen) he states that we value exposure over privacy, and will give away privacy to fit in. Rosen makes the argument that people surrender all privacy through “self-revelation” (Rosen), they destroy their privacy to fit in with society and to join the naked crowd. Rosen defines social media as a place where people surrender privacy to “achieve trust through self-exposure” (Rosen). In his eyes, people are simply giving away privacy to become transparent within society. I believe that people are actually exchanging one type of power for another. Foucault’s complex analysis of power can be simplified into “Power is everywhere” (Foucault). People exchange the power of privacy for the power of connection. The author of the journal article agrees with the exchange of power, “Trust is indeed achieved within Facebook in the way Rosen argues; however, this trust is the product of an exchange of power.” (Brittany). Social media allows us to connect instantly with people all over the world. As with any situation, humans assess the risk factors and the benefits of any decision they have to make, they will... ... middle of paper ... ...gs and doesn’t accept or give due credit towards the fact that trust can be established online from something other than image. His article is a bit outdated to current social media technology, however many of his points are still relevant to our society and social media today. I believe that people exchange some privacy for the power of social media, it is a transaction rather than a sacrifice. Works Cited Brittany. "Uncovering The Naked Crowd." Web log post. Colorwise Magazine. Colorwise Magazine, 9 Apr. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2014 Cole, David. "Uncle Sam Is Watching You." The New York Review Of Books 51.18 (2004): n. pag. Pols.edu. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Foucault, Michel (1998) The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge, London, Penguin. Rosen, Jeffrey. The Naked Crowd: Reclaiming Security and Freedom in an Anxious Age. New York: Random House, 2004. Print.

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