When borrowing another's power is the right course.

Image 1. Get the facts: Drinkwise.org.au (Drinkwise.org, 2014)

There comes a point in many drinker’s careers when they think “Never again.” We’ve all been there. I was there over a year ago now. A friend of mine suggested I check out Hello Sunday Morning (HSM). HSM had been given a write up in the weekend paper in conjunction with Dry July. I quickly joined up and within days was persuaded by the other users of the site to take up a 3-month abstinence HSM. 

Here on this site with its older style ‘post and response’ format the power of the Panopticon is at play. Users document and diarise their days, their struggles and their successes (McNeill, 2012). Users are encouraged explicitly to adopt avatars that are not their own faces and nom de plume, or a pen name if you will, to protect their anonymity. 

When users first appear on the site they are often fragile, sheepish and lost. Some users take it on themselves to guide these new individuals. As stated by Victoria ”when you know the narrative a space it makes it into place” (Kuttainen, 2016). That is, through advice and encouragement from mentors in this online community soon becomes a haven. 

The users watch each other. They are supporting each other and pulling each other into line. Much like what a synthesis of Bentham's Panopticon and Foucault's internalising of social conventions and rituals, albeit in a more benign fashion (Turkel, 1995).   

I wanted to stop the cycle of weekly weekend binges. Others want to stop daily intoxication. This community is brought together by their desire for sobriety and to experience joy in life without alcohol. Though they live in places remote to each other, here in cyberspace, users have proximity and connection, while maintaining anonymity (Allen, 2003). 

Allen, J. (2003). Lost geographies of power. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 

Drinkwise.org.au [Get the facts]. (2014). Retrieved from https://drinkwise-production-assets.storage.googleapis.com/Contributor-portal.jpg 

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Space and identitiy: genre and transformation, week 3 lecture 

Raine, C. [TEDxBrisbane] (Nov 8, 2011). TEDxBrisbane 2011 - Chris Raine.mov. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhgZ_hXUVH4

 

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.