The Electronic Double: A Postmodern Nightmare

by Marc G. Wardle

"For more than twenty years, the United States Government has lacked a consistent commitment to protect the privacy of its citizens. There are many explanations for this sorry state of affairs, from the overwhelming influence of business in politics to the lack of a seminal event for the public to rally around. Many political scientists trace Europe's strong interest in privacy back to the excesses of hitler, who used personal records to locate, round up, and execute Jews, liberals, and political enemies. The U.S., fortunately, has not experienced a similar event." - Simson Garfinkel, "Database Nation"

Within postmodernity, the issue of privacy is a top concern. Due to the fact that we live in a digital/binary structured/technologically advanced age, what one once conceived to be private information is now, absurdly enough, public domain. If someone has the knowledge to hack into a computer system, then one retains the power to view the private information of others.

As a result of our identities being electronicically duplicated in the realm of hyper-text, we are left with dual identities. Of course, the original versions are our sacred entites, but the electronic doubles (i.e. - credit reports, medical records, etc.) are pasted in hyper-text for the entire world to consume. In essence, this double becomes a commodity to be traded on the open market

In a postmodern context, this mode of thought constitutes a lack of originality. Basically, our identities, which can be summed up from the aggregate of our individual credit reports, are nothing but reproductions of the real. Reality becomes a "simulation." As Jean Baudrillard asserts, "the simulation is more real than the real."

Instead of digitalization being a godsend or a dream, in my mind it takes the form of a horrible nightmare that is propelled by various economic systems, especially capitalism.

The "simulation is no longer that of territory, a referential being or substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal" (Poster 169) Hence, within the arena of the hyperreal, the subject is put to death. In other words, the object (The Electronic Double or simulation) becomes more real than the subject. The original or real is replaced by the imaginary or simulated.

Technology is the agent that is creating the dilemma of the real. With the "hyperreal" being "more real than the real," society may witness the complete death of the subject, the death of the intellectual, the death of reality and the birth of the artificial.

"To dissimulate is to feign not to have what one has. To simulate is to feign to have what one hasn't. One implies a presence, the other an absense. But the matter is more complicated, since to simulate is not simply to feign. 'Someone who feigns an illness can simply go to bed and pretend he is ill. Someone who simulates an illness produces in himself some of the symptoms" (Poster, 171).

It appears that Jean Baudrillard, a prominent postmodern theorist, implies that logic and reason are no longer a prevalent means of discovering truth, reality and meaning. He suggests that this is an era that is controlled by the "simulation," or in the broader sense, the "code of the simulacra." In other words, the economy has shifted from a mode of production, seen in the industrial epoch, to a mode of consumption, demonstrated in the age of the "simulation." In essence, the masses are influenced to follow a "code."

At this point, due to the use of electronic "cookies" and other tracking devices, corporations and governments alike trace what you buy and/or whether you are a threat to government. An "electronic double" is generated with your name on it. Of course, this wonderful innovation is brought to us by the simple technology of binary code. Moreover, through the production of our new electronic identities, we become cogs in the mechanism of ideological representation.

Although advances in technology are vital to the economic growth of society, there are problems in the inherent nature of design and utilization of such technologies. Along these lines, I agree that with limited regulations in place to protect the privacy of individuals and groups alike, these advances will defeat the purpose for which they were produced.

In my mind, it is imperative that people are able to maintain a private life. Without a private sense of security, people will feel invaded and consequently, may become angry and revolt against authority in order to regain their sense of independence. Further, more technology (i.e. - software) needs to be produced that protects privacy in hyper- space. More resources should be devoted to preventing identity theft. If this does not happen, then society will indubitably become corrupt and everyone will be stealing from each other. Of course, this notion fits perfectly into the postmodern assumption of plagarism.

At first glance, technological advances may indeed seem to be a lucid dream, but with further investigation and analysis, it is clear that such innovation is a horrific nightmare.

"Privacy advocates suggest turning personal information into a property right, I think, because they hope the increased transaction cost of tracking personal information would bring the practice to a halt" (Garfinkel 183)

"Between 1992 and 1997, there was a 16-fold increase in the incidence of identity theft in the United States. In the years since then, the frequency of this crime has skyrocketed even further. By the end of the year 2000, there will be 700,000 victims of identity theft" (Garfinkel 281)