The Embodied Computer/User

by Deborah Lupton
From The Cybercultures Reader
ed David Bell and Barbara Kennedy 2001

Lupton suggests an emotional attachment between computer and user 'which usually makes itself overtly known when something goes wrong.'

• The computer/user relationship becomes blurred as the role of the computer moves from an inanimate object to an extension of the body - typing has become faster and more natural than handwriting - 'an almost seamless transition of thought to word on the screen.' This shows an embodied relationship with the computer
  
• A disembodied model is also offered; the computer is a means of escaping the human body. This is exemplified by such sites as Second Life which allow the user to build their own avatar and interact with other virtual versions of other people.
• A challenge to the model of the disembodied computer user is the computer 'hacker'. Affected physically by their hacking addictions, their appearance contrasts their online profile.
  
• Lupton also analyzes the human/computer relationship in terms of anthropomorphism. Human qualities are applied to the computer. The computer goes through a life: it is born, it sleeps, it gets sick (viruses), it thinks, it has a language and it longs to be thin. Computer marketing frequently draws on an analogy between computers and humans to reduce computerphobia.