From media to machines: A machinic perspective on the evolution and crises of Facebook

Abstract

This article diagrams Facebook as a megamachine, arguing that this diagram helps scholars better understand technological evolution and the production of subjectivity. The article contrasts a medium-based approach to Facebook, which emphasizes how Facebook enables neo-liberal subjectivity, with a machinic approach, which illustrates how Facebook also produces the affected subject. The affected subject often conflicts with the imperatives of the neo-liberal subject, and this tension motors the evolution of Facebook’s algorithm, interface and moderation policies, as illustrated through the examination of changes to Facebook resultant from problems that emerged in the course of its history, including too much information, becoming swamped with sponsored viral content, lack of expressivity in the like button, hate speech and disinformation. Such tensions, part of a more general crisis faced by contemporary capitalism, will shape the future of subjectivity and media evolution alike.