The Transformation of Autonomy: Challenges to Democratic Values in the Age of Social Media

Emerging technologies and Western democracies exist in a dynamic relationship, each shaping and being shaped by the other, prompting critical questions about their implications for upholding democratic values. This paper addresses these concerns by focusing on the concept of autonomy within the context of social media, rejecting techno-determinist frameworks. To this end, autonomy is conceived of as a societal norm of what it means to be capable of acting − constituted in the productive yet non-determining field of governing and conducting power relations of contemporary social media platforms. Moving beyond narratives of the erosion of autonomy in the age of social media, this paper examines its transformation through the politicised use of social media affordances in the context of neoliberal and algorithmic governmentality. It introduces the concept of hyper-autonomy: a contemporary norm of self-determination based on trivialised authenticity and identity that prioritises individual self-interest over collective solidarity and compromise. Key to this transformation is what I call trivialised authenticity 2.0, a neoliberal value reinforced by social media algorithms that amplify relatable content. On social media, algorithms activate the competitive and transparent neoliberal self to project a semblance of authenticity for affective and personal connections with their followers' authentic and unique identities. As Taylor (1991) has shown, the moral value of authenticity indeed has the potential to promote convivial solidarity, tolerance and acceptance of diversity. However, Taylor has also emphasised that within the late-modern and neoliberal culture of self-realisation, this value has been significantly trivialised. Social relations, associations and communities are increasingly reduced to instrumental roles, serving a 'purely personal understanding of self-fulfilment' (p. 43). With the politicisation of social media content, the value of trivialised authenticity 2.0 has become central for political self-determination. In this context, the paper argues that progressive actors struggle to build a political collective due to the dominance of authenticity-driven communication strategies, favouring what Jäger (2022) calls ‘the collaging of identities’. In contrast, far-right networks capitalise on a regressive collectivity, uniting individuals through mutual validation, authorisation and reinforcement of their trivialised authenticity. These include social underdogs and countercultural rebels (Lewis, 2019) who seek liberation from liberal values and the demands of compromise and solidarity, particularly during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the climate crisis. The paper concludes that hyper-autonomy fosters authoritarian tendencies, challenges the democratic values of freedom with equality, and strengthens the exclusionary worldview of the far right.