As vulnerability is relational—experienced vis-à-vis others (Goodin, 1985, pp. 109–113)—this effective power has pronounced sociopolitical aspects. Further, it is well-established that identity markers profoundly affect the distribution of social, political, and economic power, and that https://lovefortreview.com/customer-support/ structural inequalities faced by certain sociodemographic cohorts are extended into the digital sphere (Robinson et al., 2020). Owing to these conceptual and empirical linkages, it would be plausible to use identity as a starting point for identifying vulnerabilities—also in participatory digital spaces.
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Secondly, I look into digital democratic subjectivity in these digital democracy positions, whereby democratic subjectivity is viewed as a type of agency which comes into being through institutional, social and communicative processes (see Tully, 2008; Isin, 2002). Respectively, it is posited that, under this second conception of democratic subjectivity, vulnerability may limit or support the agency exercised by digital citizens. In this sub-section, vulnerability reasoning has been used to shed light on the malleability of some of the principal assumed dispositions, capacities and commitments of the digital democratic subject in the liberal-individualist and deliberative positions on digital democracy. Simultaneously, some of those assumed attributes, such as autonomy and a normative orientation towards the ‘common good’, have been shown to be contingent on vulnerability for their formation. This is also true of the capacity for empathy and a commitment to justice, which define the counter-publics digital subject.
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- By contrast, the narrow take is in danger of pathologising vulnerabilities and overlooking the reality that fragility is central to being human and that not all vulnerabilities are deleterious or unjust (Formosa, 2014, pp. 90–92; Scully, 2014, p. 204).
- In theorising when and how vulnerability gives rise to moral and political duties, thinkers have employed different premises.
- Teenagers’ self-acceptance and the development of healthy online behaviors depend on an understanding of these relationships.
- Therefore, intervention in digital markets ought to learn from already existing responses and essential services must address vulnerabilities created by digital environments.
- Diverse schools of thought in multiple disciplines have examined vulnerability or mobilised it as an analytical construct in theoretical and empirical research.
The asymmetries in lived vulnerabilities have led several authors to argue that vulnerability exists in degrees (see Anderson, 2014, p. 135; Rogers, 2014, p. 75). Fineman (2008, p. 10) points out that, due to its contextual nature, individual vulnerability differs in both ‘magnitude and potential’. The present paper builds upon this approach and further refines its analytical capacity by suggesting that it would be more precise to conceptualise vulnerability as unfolding across a spectrum. I discuss this conception specifically with respect to digital democracy, but it could also be employed in the vulnerability literature. Selfless love, as the act of willing the good of another person, encompasses a profound sense of altruism and care that goes beyond mere words. Embodying selfless love in challenging conversations requires a deep level of self-awareness.
Reflecting in large part along the lines of essential services, Graham considers the successes and failures of regulatory action. While some progress has been made, systemic vulnerabilities still fail those who are in fact digitally excluded. Therefore, intervention in digital markets ought to learn from already existing responses and essential services must address vulnerabilities created by digital environments. In this light, one may reflect on the limitations of “outsourcing” the catering for vulnerability to industry, a model that the European Commission has very much replicated when it comes to its regulation of platform content. Critical considerations concerning the relationship between technology, mental health, and social standards are brought up by the growing problem of teen social media addiction. Social media platforms are meant to encourage connection, but they can also create circumstances that promote obsessive habits, especially in young people who are more vulnerable.
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This example suggests that differences in definitions may, in part, stem from divergent understandings of democracy as a governance model (Simon et al., 2017, p. 11). In this article, I adopt a minimalist definition of digital democracy as ‘the pursuit and the practice of democracy in whatever view using digital media in online and offline political communication’ (van Dijk, 2012, pp. 50–51). A thin definition effectively underpins my main argument as it establishes a broad analytical structure within which the main theoretical positions on digital democracy identified by Dahlberg (2011) can be situated and examined. As noted in the Introduction, it is striking that digital democracy theory, which shares with vulnerability studies an emphasis on substantive citizenship, has largely overlooked both academic, as well as legal and policy analyses of vulnerability. Importantly, in both views susceptibility to harm is of normative importance in that it gives rise to moral or political duties towards those identified as vulnerable. In distinguishing between dispositional (potential) and occurrent (actual) states of vulnerability, Mackenzie et al. (2014, pp. 7–8) stress that these states entail different duties.
While the concept of vulnerability is not considered by Dahlberg, both ontological and situational susceptibility to harm is presumed in his reconstruction of this position. In counter-publics, the democratic subject is constituted through their involvement in agonistic groups, counter-discourses, activism and contestation (Dahlberg, 2011, pp. 860–861). Notably, Dahlberg (2011, p. 860) highlights that, in comparison to the first two positions, the digital citizen here is ‘more affective’ and driven towards engagement in political action by ‘a perception of systemic exclusion and injustice’. In a similar vein to the constitution of moral agency discussed above, shared ontological vulnerability in the counter-publics stance enables empathy in principle.
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Through influence from their peers, many teenagers have to conform their interests and behaviors to those of their social circles. Valkenburg and Peter emphasize that this peer pressure is particularly evident in digital environments, where the pursuit of validation can lead to increased social media usage, often negatively impacting mental health 4. Disconcertingly, global governance discourses tend to treat vulnerability as a self-explanatory or neutral term (Rogers, 2014, p. 62). Additionally, vulnerability is viewed as a generalised condition affecting certain sociodemographic cohorts referred to as ‘vulnerable populations’ (Ståsett, 2007, p. 51). Those imprecisions are also evident in the digital democracy project DRIVE, for instance (Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), 2022). The observed overall conceptual ambiguity may in part stem from a transposition into policy frameworks and initiatives, across domains, of notions of vulnerability explicated in human rights praxis, without those being tailored to policy contexts.
The reward pathways in the brain can be triggered by an expectation of achieving social approval 3. As agentic AI systems expand their attack surface through autonomous capabilities, the vulnerabilities they introduce are outpacing traditional security frameworks like CVE tracking, leaving organizations exposed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.
Infinite scrolling makes it simple for users to lose track of time and engage in prolonged platform sessions by doing away with natural stopping points like page breaks 1,12. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0., which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. In 2026, AI adoption will force organizations to make their observability strategies more intelligent, cost-effective and compatible with open standards. Replacing human agents with chatbots that can’t resolve issues leaves customers frustrated and unsupported.
When delivering difficult messages that may be met with resistance or discomfort, it is advisable to be direct and concise in your communication. By clearly articulating your message and offering to discuss it further at a later time, you allow the other person the opportunity to process the information at their own pace. This approach enables them to engage with the message both intellectually and emotionally, fostering a more constructive and empathetic exchange of ideas.