2018_10_17_ICS_malagrino

"The concept of privacy has changed because we now live in the public sphere, in the era of social networks and technology," said Ilaria Malagrinò, a philosopher and expert in bioethics at the University of Roma Tre. She is at the University of Navarra for a three-month stay at the project 'Emotional culture and identity' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS).

During this time he will develop a study on the concepts of shame, stigma, modesty and privacy around the topic of intimacy. His research consists of three stages: a philosophical and psychoanalytical approach, a sociological approach and finally a project of Education for high school students.

One of the important issues he will focus on is the differentiation between privacy and intimacy, concepts that he believes are confused today. "Now intimacy is understood as privacy", it seems that the important thing is not to share and disseminate data, he said. "But, in the data do we have a whole person with their intimacy? -he wonders. I don't think so."

From agreement with Malagrinò, intimacy has changed a lot. She recalls that in the past people lived in the private sphere and decided what to "show" to others. For her, now it is the opposite status , "we live in the public sphere, in the era of social networks and new technologies and we decide what not to show".

According to him, intimacy itself is no longer a feature of the relationship with others; now it seems to belong to the subject himself, who is the only one capable of establishing relationships characterized by "narcissism".The tendency to expose the body seems to make traditional categories, such as intimacy, obsolete," he said.

Understanding the new models

The specialist, who is part of the department of Education of her academic center, calls for more training for young people on these issues. In her opinion, many of the difficulties they have in matters of affectivity and sexuality are closely linked to the way they view intimacy.

She says that in her country, Italy, as in many others, they are having problems of abuse and dissemination of content without consent, including images of a sexual nature. The researcher believes that recording and disseminating abuse also worsens the scourge of bullying.

In her research she also studies how people narrate on social networks, "how young people talk and what they say about themselves, especially on Instagram", she explained. The expert is committed to studying these new attitudes "to understand the new models".