Digital Prehistory of a Human Being

D1g1tal Preh1st0ry 0f a Human Be1ng

Archaeology in the 1960’s very curiously underwent a major paradigmatic shift. Instead of focusing specifically on how societies functioned in the past the new focus shifted to how those past societies relate to their modern day ancestors. How did the material remains of some ancient tribe influence the now disillusioned inheritors of their genealogy? From this example I began to ask myself some of these similar questions.

When someone wants to know what you were like how will they find the material remains to study you? How will our grandchildren and great-grandchildren come to understand those of us who live now? The answer, as we are so fond of being reminded, is in “The Cloud.” Our digital archive. The floating electronic monolith that looms over all of us will now be the first place archaeologists start digging.

Amazon transactions. Tumblr photos. Tweets. Google+ email accounts. Downloaded MP3s. YouTube videos watched. Google Searches. Browser histories. The porn you watched when you were going through a phase. That library of music you left behind. Maybe you kept all your school assignments on an online storage site. Let’s not forget the Facebook, Myspace, and Xanga pages you constantly updated on your Safari, Firefox, or Google Chrome browser. After they’d combed through all those crumbs of information maybe then they’d check your physical remains.

Imagine: our whole lives, on one resource. It seems such a simple answer. If any one computer should fail there is always another to take it’s place.

Is it enough? If a picture captures a thousand words then surely one thousand profile pictures guarantees one million words. All of your private conversations can be tracked. All of your ramblings, complaints, political alliances can be recorded. I have, for a long time, desired to create a biography about someone of no historical significance and recreate their lives by investigating their internet ghost-self.

Perhaps this ghost is more elusive than we believe. Like Hamlet I question if what I saw was real. Can you truly understand a person with those digital imprints? While I ponder the ability of true empathy I can ultimately agree digital media might be the most insincere form of public-self. Who picks the pictures that go online? Who writes the statuses that ten people like? Who publishes what music they’re listening to at the moment? We do.

Social Media is a platform designed to improve first impressions and overall create a slightly distorted self. It’s our chance for new people to see us in a way we want to be seen. The rate at which these media are adapting and changing are indicative of how much a person cares what initial impressions they create.