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poet. designer.
Desire & Technology
2018Medium: Presentations, Written Paper
Co-authors: D Hwang, Tina Qi, A Maalouf
Role: Ethnographer, Writer
Keywords: research, poetics, writing
Research Paper: “How is desire experienced in today’s technological environment?”
How does technology mediate desire human relationships today? What kind of desires emerge as a result? How do we discern and make sense of our desires in an environment where technology becomes extensions to our being? This research was conducted as part of the graduate level course titled ‘A New Theory of Technology’ co-taught by Prof. Simon Critchley of The New School of Social Research and Christian Madsjberg of ReD Associates. Over a period of 4 months, my research group investigated the relationships between desire and technology. Research Methods included semi-structured interviews, phenomenology, ethnographic research, narative analysis, coding for patterns and design thinking.
How does technology mediate desire human relationships today? What kind of desires emerge as a result? How do we discern and make sense of our desires in an environment where technology becomes extensions to our being? This research was conducted as part of the graduate level course titled ‘A New Theory of Technology’ co-taught by Prof. Simon Critchley of The New School of Social Research and Christian Madsjberg of ReD Associates. Over a period of 4 months, my research group investigated the relationships between desire and technology. Research Methods included semi-structured interviews, phenomenology, ethnographic research, narative analysis, coding for patterns and design thinking.
Video introduction to the project:
The following excerpt is the section of the paper that I authored, which focused on the “manipulation of desire with technology” later became the lyrics for the song “Cryptograph” by the band Critchley & Simmons.
Manipulating: their environment to their advantage. It appears to be primarily an exercise in repositioning, one that has occured from the coming to light of a recently reconstructed desire. They carefully and regularly recraft Tinder descriptions and Seeking Arrangement personas so as to match with the most algorithmically accurate partners. Partners that are assuredly of the ‘desired outcome’, but that also, court curiosity and bring with them the element of surprise, and they commit to follow through, at least for the pleasure of their voyeur, if not their own, the voyeur that they , perhaps, hope to have a future with.
Manipulation seems to bring with it the satisfaction of a result, the comfort of curiosity and myriad options and the thrill of risk. It allows them to flirt with the idea of being with a man they meet regularly at the gym and password protect stolen, throwaway texts, while living with the one they deeply care about and made vows with.
Constantly and consciously, they upgrade their tools of sexual pleasure, throughout their teenage years into adulthood from nude art photography magazines to pornography to advanced sex toys, all the while being on a somewhat secretive, personal quest of finding ‘the one’ who can someday make them quit their ‘coca-cola’ addiction.
Sometimes, this manipulation is conscious, where technology becomes the tool, the weapon to strategically win wars for your desires. Other times, they feel inadequate and debilitated when their significant other dissolves a long-distance relationship on a phone call from across the ocean.
It is more subconscious, an ever-present lurk in the background that passively haunts and beeps through sidewalks, walls and pockets, quietly erasing from their minds its presence as technology, filtering into ‘let me just return this’s, endless scrolls and obligatory double taps. The incessant and careful maintenance, the seeming need for omnipresent regulation that allowed for the creation of their well-structured illusion of power blurs, shifts and becomes heavy, until the beeps begin to talk like you, and gently take over your burdens of being human.
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