为什么是脸书?——论元宇宙与当代社交媒体的相关性

Why Facebook?——On the Relevance of Metaverse to Contemporary Social Media

本文以社交媒体的“真-伪之辨”为基础,试图探讨脸书等当代社交媒体公司积极主动介入元宇宙的根源。就其根本而言,社交媒体其实不能被视为“虚拟”的赛博空间,人们在社交媒体中发布“状态”也并不是粉饰真实日常的“表演”,社交媒体其实依赖于不断提取真实生活作为其“养料”,本就是基于真实和虚拟的两相融合而运作。相较之下,元宇宙虽然被其拥护者标榜创新能力,实际也同样是依赖于真实和虚拟的融合。正是因为这一隐秘的共同根源,社交媒体公司主动向“元宇宙”靠拢实属必然。元宇宙因而也绝不会发展成为一个光鲜的技术胜境,而只能是一次针对真实世界和人类身体的更为彻底的“内殖民”。

This paper starts with the debate over ‘real-virtual’ social media, and explores the underlying reasons why contemporary social media such as Facebook actively involve in the metaverse. Social media, in essence, cannot be viewed as a ‘virtual’ cyberspace, nor could the ‘status’ on someone’s social media be regarded as a beguiling ‘performance.’ Social media are actually reliant on constantly drawing raw material from real liferesource, and this act itself is operated by blending ‘the real’ and ‘the virtual.’ Although advocates of metaverse advertise its innovative potential, metaverse also operates on the convergence of ‘the real’ and ‘the virtual.’ It is this shared underlying trait that draws social media naturally toward metaverse. Therefore, metaverse will not become a technological paradise, but instead a more aggressive ‘inner colonization’ of the real and the human body.