2 Forgetting: In a Digital Glasshouse

Abstract

In the past, it was primarily famous people who found themselves in the so-called “glasshouse”. These individuals were exposed to the gaze of the public and had to accept that information about them would be exploited by the media or even in other ways. In the context of the digital world, the glasshouse has become bigger. Many more individuals are now on display in the glasshouse, and much more information about these individuals is readily accessible for a much larger “public”. This new situation raises a number of questions, not only with regard to greater transparency but also with respect to the sensible differentiation between important and unimportant information, and also, in particular, questions concerning the use and significance of forms of forgetting and concealing of stored material. In the following chapter I will explore the phenomenon of forgetting in the digital age from three different perspectives. Although each of the three perspectives is quite distinctive, they are all shaped by the digital environment.