Projective Divergence in Digital Visibility Architectures - (English-Spanish)
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This essay proposes a conceptual model to describe the dynamics of identity maintenance in high-visibility digital environments. The construct of Projective Divergence (PD) is introduced as the pattern of relationship between an individual's subjective operational base and their self-presentation effort on digital platforms. Two response regimes are distinguished: expansive divergence (PD-E), oriented toward growth, and defensive divergence (PD-D), oriented toward protection. The model integrates traditions from social psychology (Goffman, Hochschild), psychology of the self (Jung, Winnicott), and critical technology theory (Baudrillard, Stiegler) to describe how three structural variables—forced synchronicity, quantification of validation, and algorithmic prosthetic memory—qualitatively transform a pre-existing identity tension into an emerging psychosocial phenomenon. A descriptive phenomenology of both regimes is offered, and empirical hypotheses are derived for future research. The text does not present clinical interventions or validated instruments; its purpose is to map a phenomenon in order to foster theoretical discussion and the design of future empirical studies.
Author: Buiras, Lucas
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7162203801
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