There has been an increasing focus on the role that social media plays in mediating sexual relationships between individuals. With the rise of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, it is becoming easier for people to share their sexual experiences online, whether they are positive or negative. This trend has given rise to what some have termed "mediatization of intimacy", which refers to how technology can shape and alter our perceptions of intimate relationships. One consequence of this trend is that small mistakes made during sexual encounters can quickly become public spectacles, resulting in moral panic and political purification campaigns. This essay will explore the ways in which mediatization transforms sexual missteps into public spectacles, ritual shaming, and political purification campaigns.
Mediated Intimacy
The digital age has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people sharing their personal lives online through social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. These platforms offer users the opportunity to connect with others around the world and share their lives in real time.
They also create new forms of interpersonal interaction based on the dynamics of surveillance, visibility, and control. By allowing users to post photos and videos of themselves engaged in various activities, including sex, these sites invite us to construct ourselves as public figures whose private acts may be broadcast without consent. As a result, we are more likely to consider our sexual behaviors from a public standpoint rather than a private one.
Moral Panics and Political Purification Campaigns
As our sexuality becomes increasingly mediated by social media, minor transgressions can take on a disproportionate level of significance. When someone posts an image of themselves engaging in sexual activity that does not meet expectations or violates cultural norms, it can spark a moral panic among viewers who feel compelled to respond.
When a college student posted a video of himself masturbating at his desk, he was swiftly condemned for his actions, leading to his suspension from school. In another case, a woman's selfie taken during a threesome went viral, prompting her employer to fire her. Such cases illustrate how even small mistakes can lead to public shaming campaigns designed to purify political discourse around sexual behavior.
Ritual Shame and Social Control
While moral panics can have serious consequences for individuals involved, they also reflect broader social anxieties about sexual morality. The emphasis placed on punishing those who do not conform to traditional sexual norms serves as a ritualized form of shame designed to reinforce cultural values. In this context, the spectacle of public shaming allows society to maintain control over sexual expression while presenting itself as justified and reasonable. By casting those who break these rules as deviant or immoral, dominant groups can justify their own authority and exert power over subordinate ones. This dynamic is especially evident in cases where women are targeted for expressing their sexual agency, such as when a high-profile celebrity had nude photos leaked online without her consent.
The mediatization of intimacy has transformed our understanding of sex and relationships by making them increasingly visible and accessible online.
It has also created new forms of interpersonal interaction based on surveillance, visibility, and control. As a result, minor transgressions that would once have remained private now become public spectacles, subject to moral panic and political purification campaigns. These campaigns serve both individual and collective interests, allowing us to police each other's sexual behaviors and reinforce social hierarchies based on gender, race, and class.
How does the mediatization of intimacy transform sexual missteps into public spectacles of moral punishment, ritual shame, and political purification?
The social media platforms have become a space for people's private affairs. Everyone is trying hard to keep their privacy but it seems impossible as any embarrassing post can go viral within minutes. The mediatization of intimacy has transformed sexual missteps into public spectacles of moral punishment, ritual shame, and political purification. Mediatization refers to the process of making something visible by means of communication technology and mass media (McCracken 2016).