The Uncanny in the act of Communication: the relation between identity and otherness on the BritishLogic Twitter

Abstract

This text outlines some aspects of the relationship between identity and otherness as it is presented on the British Logic (@BritishLogic) account on Twitter. Grounded on Freud’s concept of ‘the uncanny’, all posts from posts from December 2015 to May 2016 have been analyzed to understand how the posts highlights the ‘strangeness’ while describing particularly trivial activities of everyday life. Main findings include three major aspects: (a) everyday practices are seen from a distant point of view, as if the most trivial of actions encompasses a great deal of doubt and strangeness; (b) social interactions are portrayed as an endless game of not displaying real feelings; (c) any sort of social awkwardness is immediately repressed in order not to disturb – and not be disturbed by – anyone, but at a cost of inner dissatisfaction.