Telenoia

Definition (digital)

Telenoia is a term used to describe the idea that somewhere out there, someone is clicking on your profile, viewing your images and videos, and learning about your life. This is closely related to issues of Privacy.

One's physiological response extends further than their actual body. When one drives a vehicle, their perception extends to the edges of that vehicle. It is the same on the web. A poke on Facebook feels like one psychologically feels as if one has physically touched another. Viewing one's personal blog entries, while public, still makes one feel as if they've been stripped bare. Telenoia is a word to describe that feeling without knowing.

History

According to CAiiA-STAR, the word Telenoia is a suggested replacement term for paranoia. "Telenoia suggests a move away from anxiety and fear in the face of the increasing integration of corporate information technologies with the human body. Ascott instead advocates an attempt to create new artistic models for consciousness and social organization in a environment of surveillance and control".