DWA #13

In Jeffrey Rosen's The Naked Crowd, Rosen touches on multiple aspects of our society that reveal a lot about our time. In "Exposing Ourselves," Rosen shows the lack of privacy in our society in order to gain acceptance and trust. He says, "Today, by contrast, intimacy and trust are are increasingly obtained not by shared experiences or fixed social status but by self-revelation: people try to show their trustworthiness by revealing details of their personal lives to prove that they have nothing to hide before a crowd whose gaze is turned increasingly on all the individuals that compose it". He uses the example of online dating and how people reveal personal information in hopes of gaining the trust of a compatible partner. In "Sincerity to Authenticity," Rosen points out how image is becoming more important than reality. Politicians who seem sincere, genuine, and enthusiastic will gain approval. Image is gaining importance in our society. In "Personal Branding," Rosen touches on the idea of people being sold as products. People seem to have to sell themselves to strangers by carrying themselves in a way that is suitable for emotional connections and being favored by the crowd. This encourages spectators to look from the inside out instead of the outside in. This allows the people to grasp the authenticity of the individual. In "The Comfort of Strangers," Rosen points out that there is not such thing as public intimacy. It seems impossible to make emotional connections with strangers who know nothing about us. However, there is a therapeutic feeling for some who reveal personal information about fears and anxieties. If they receive positive feedback and acceptance from strangers, these people are left with less anxiety and fear. Our technological world is making it easier for people to expose personal information to strangers around the world. Is this a good thing? Yes connections can be made, however, it makes us wonder the substance behind these relationships. They are based on information that one chooses to reveal, not the true character of the person.