Locked-Down, log-in and slog-on: A technocratic dystopia?

Ellis, Darren

Abstract

This chapter discusses how some relationships with technology throughout the pandemic were radically enhanced because of social (physical) distancing. It has been said that several years of technological evolution were condensed into a few months. To think about some of the consequences of this for the psychosocial subject, Gilbert Simondon’s views of the relationships of humans and machines in the workplace are drawn upon. According to him these relationships either enhance processes related to alienation or individuation. Experiences of both technological enslavement and liberation are discussed in the light of a locked-down academic.

Citation

Ellis, D. (2021). Locked-Down, log-in and slog-on: A technocratic dystopia?. In D. Ellis, & A. Voela (Eds.), After Lockdown, Opening Up: Psychosocial Transformation in the Wake of COVID-19 (111-127). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80278-3_6

• Online Publication Date: Nov 21, 2021
• Publication Date: Nov 21, 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 7, 2023
• Publisher: Springer
• Pages: 111-127
• Series Title: Studies in the Psychosocial
• Series ISSN: 2662-2629; 2662-2637
• Book Title: After Lockdown, Opening Up: Psychosocial Transformation in the Wake of COVID-19
• Chapter Number: 6
• ISBN: 9783030802776
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80278-3_6
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10337022
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-80278-3_6
• Related Public URLs: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-80278-3