Affect, People, and Digital Social Networks

What constitutes an affect cycle in digital networks? How is it enacted and what are the conse- quences for individuals, for digital data and for the society that comprises both? Further, what is the relationship between affect and emotion, and what is their relationship with digital networks? Is it possible for an affect cycle to be established between people and digital networks, between peo- ple via digital networks and between digital networks themselves? By examining recent affect theo- ry in combination with Simondon's theories of technical evolution and other theories of interaction and knowledge, I will define the nature of affect as it emerges through the cycle of interaction be- tween people and digital networks. I trace these cycles through and between the overdetermined, underexamined sites of interaction across digital networks in order to identify who and what are participating in the capture and escape of affect. I also show how this is facilitated and what is changed during, and as a result of, these affective interactions. Using a deep understanding of the technical workings of digital networks, combined with receptiveness to the affective potential of emotional agency in our digital world, I situate human affective practice in the uneasy environment of algorithmic digital corporate networks