Commodity Aesthetics of Privacy Across Darknets

When distributed subjectivity is considered, consumption is an essential factor that determines our relationships to various innovations. Darknet users are prominently participating in the process of redesigning the consumption field, as is the world wide web which harbors various forms of darknets. A recently published paper claimed that darknet users represent examples of not only the de-massification of various internet audiences, but also the reshaping of mass consumer identity focused on darknet commodity aesthetics. The author of the paper argues that darknet privacy is not a reality, but rather a commodity aesthetics that is only perceived by their audience!

The consumption and redesign of the relationships of darknet users with commodity aesthetics reflect the recognition and estrangement of the reflexive awareness of user needs. Within the context of darknets, such needs branch through the user’s simplest curiosities, to political points of view, to our perception of illicit and illegal activities, all the way through to these activities themselves. The identification and alienation of the user’s needs resembles creating the identity qua the quasi-object which represents, in most cases, the user’s alienated identities. This process yields the capacity to identify the values across darknets as capital itself, such as the values that exist in the relationship with the capital materiality which is presented within the context of darknets. Given the diversity of users across darknets, the paper analyzed how various users create and recreate darknets, not only as a capital materiality, but also as a capital idea.

Basically speaking, the author’s analysis resisted the idea of exceptionalism and criminality presented by most media discussions of darknets. He justified his approach by that even though criminal behavior exists, the wider range of capital across darknets is centered on information provision, secure knowledge sharing and creation of economic value. To sum up, the author argued that representing the materialistic and non-materialistic aspects of darknet capital sets up a wild consumption zone which allows users to be reconstituted along with the awareness of a broader horizon.

Darknets and Relevant Conceptual Entities:

The author of the paper included darknets, dark webs and other similar peer-to-peer networks in his analysis. He presented them primarily in the form of constituted capital due to the fact that they are contiguous with our everyday life along with other forms of capital. Darknets include a unique group of things, ideas and practices that are different from what happens on the surface web.

Examples include Tor network, I2P network, Freenet and various forms of encrypted peer-to-peer networks. People use darknets for a myriad of reasons but mainly due to avoidance of surveillance, security, privacy and economic value, which all stem from the capitalized value and trust of users of these networks. The concept of perceived commoditized value represents a significant motivator across a capitalist society, but apart from that it is a rather complicated issue because the tension between possible failures vs. privacy can repel many users.

Privacy as Commodity Aesthetics On Darknets:

Representing privacy as commodity aesthetics across darknets is related to knowledge and resisting surveillance, in addition to more laborious endeavors. Darknets represent a part of the current global information system. No one can argue that they are vital parts of the system, due to the fact that they offer individuals the chance to choose whether to be the same as certain kinds of individuals, or to be different from other kinds of individuals. When making this choice, these individuals have chosen to consume “privacy”. Such choice will definitely expose them to various types of information that they might not want to get exposed to, or oppositely, they might expose information that they might not want to share with others. When privacy is consumed, users will have a sense of their subjectivity, their unique knowledge, and own skills and expertise. These subjectivity transformations are re-formulated in correlation with darknets. The various modes of existence of darknet subjectivities will greatly depend on their reformulated commodity aesthetics. Such aesthetics can be envisioned as true or natural privacy choices, yet again are also reshaping various darknet users. Even if darknet users behave illegally, throughout these online environments, they are still producing the darknet consummativities of that illegal activity.