Modern Flâneur : Where’s your Monocle?

Modern Flâneur : Where’s your Monocle? 

Figure 1. Resurrecting the Cyberflaneur (Stengali, 2014).

A ‘Flâneur’ is a rather curious term which dates back to the 17^th century and literally translates to “stroller”. Gaylene Barnes refers to the flâneur as “an explorer who finds their identity among the realisations of the city” (Gaylene Barnes, 1997). It is fundamentally a person who saunters around, observing society.

Flâneur is a relatively old term. But, have you ever thought about what a modern flâneur is? Well, there is a term known as ‘cyberflâneur’; which is essentially the same idea, but accomplished through anonymity (or lack thereof) within the internet. Last week I wrote about the online image board website, 4chan and deliberated various aspects of the network, including hidden identities and power.
Continuing on from this, it is definite that 4chan is a website that is plagued with cyberflâneurs; particularly when you take the prodigious sense of anonymity into consideration. Due to users not having to create an account, and having full access to each category, they often find themselves strolling through content, hiding behind an online mask. These cyberflâneurs are substantially conscious of their online presence as they continue to navigate their way through cyberspace, just like a map. Maren Hartmann, in her book describes cyberflâneurs as “a 21^st century figure, which or who roams the abstract spheres of cyberspace today” (2004). Her statement is still highly prevalent within the 4chan community today, as users enter new and exciting networks after each click.

And finally, the 4chan cyberflâneurs are effortlessly able to attract exceptional attention to themselves, just like the typical 19^th Parisian flâneur, by relinquishing remarkable and innovative ideas for others to experience. Furthermore, the cyberflâneurs draw attention to themselves whilst outputting only what they intend for others to hear (Prouty,2009). Remarkably, as technology evolves and advances, we can expect to witness exciting changes in the cyberflâneurs found within it.

Reference List

Barnes, G. (1997). Passages of the Cyber Flaneur. Otago University. Retrieved from: http://www.raynbird.com/essays/Passage_Flaneur.html

Hendel, J. (2012, February 08). The Life of the Cyberflâneur. Retrieved from The Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/the-life-of-the-cyberfl-neur/252687/

White, E. (2001). The Flaneur (p. 6). Ohio, USA: Bloomsbury.

Prouty, R (2009, October 28). A Turtle on a Leash. [Web log post] Retrieved from: http://www.onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle-on-a-leash.html

Hartmann, M. (2004). Technologies and Utopias (18th ed.). Verlag Reinhard Fischer.

Image Credit

Stengali, M. (2014). Resurrecting the Cyberflaneur. Retrieved from http://stengali.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/resurrecting-cyberflaneur.html