8 - Language as Symbolic Power in the Digital Age

Summary

This chapter continues our exploration of language as symbolic power in the digital age. It explains first what the digital revolution is about and what Vaidhyanathan meant by the phrase “the googlization of everything.” We then consider the nature and the role of Facebook and Twitter in providing platforms for the exercise of symbolic power. How are we to conceive of social media and the Internet as symbolic systems? I discuss the importance of taking into account algorithms and the algorithmic control of information and knowledge as we use the Internet to teach language and language-mediated knowledge. The digital revolution is also clearly a social and cultural revolution. I discuss the current spread of what Rieffel has called “connected individualism” and the hunger for attention that accompanies the pressure to participate on social media. Finally, I reflect on the current phenomena of post-truth and disinformation in the information age, and on the potential and risks involved in Google Translate.