Chen, Q. Becoming Neoliberal Subjects: “Morning Routine” Vlogging and Everyday Life (2021)

Chen, Q.
Becoming Neoliberal Subjects: “Morning Routine” Vlogging and Everyday Life
(2021) 8th European Conference on Social Media, ECSM 2021, pp. 50-57.

DOI: 10.34190/ESM.21.016

Abstract
Neoliberalism, originally concerned within political field, has obtained a wide range of connotations in social sciences studies. The heavy emphasis on free and private markets has led to a shifted focus on individual responsibilities of one’s life and creations of neoliberal subjects. A video blog, shortened as vlog, is a digital form of blog that utilizes video as the medium. The past few years have witnessed the growing popularity of vlogging, as it has become one of the most commonly used method for recording everyday life. Living in a media era where our everyday experiences are very much based on social networking sites, self-presentations are very often structured by different employment of media.

This paper selects six “Morning Routine” vloggings on YouTube and attempt the answer the research question of how these morning routines vloggers perform and construct their neoliberal selves on a daily basis, employing Michel Foucault’s concepts on governmentality and biopolitics. Discourse analysis is used to investigate how these Youtubers present themselves through languages and non-verbal communications. Transcripts of six vloggings are collected as qualitative data and three themes are found after two rounds of coding. A clean space is strongly desired by these YouTubers because a clean and organized environment stimulates a clean mind which can generate more productivity on personal performance. Self-discipline is practiced through building of a healthy and fit body with physical exercise and nutritional and balanced diet. While simple and natural life philosophy is advocated when it comes to using daily care products, consumption is further strengthened through sponsorship and celebrity influence. The findings suggest that these “morning routine” activities are vivid manifestations on how these YouTubers construct their identities as neoliberal subjects as they present themselves as organized, self-disciplined and motivated subjects who are aware of personal responsibilities in making life better and achieving greater success. © 8th European Conference on Social Media, ECSM 2021.

Author Keywords
biopolitics; governmentality; neoliberal subjects; neoliberalism; technologies of self; vlogging

Index Keywords
Behavioral research, Nutrition; Biopolitic, Digital forms, Governmentality, Neoliberal subject, Neoliberalism, Science studies, Social-networking, Technology of self, Video blog, Vlogging; Social networking (online)