Branding the Teleself

the long version

"Branding the Teleself is a discourse on the social scientific study of media effects with the purpose of revealing changes in how our selves have been reconceived in its study, how the discourse generated further important changes in the self, and how our everyday selves shape and are shaped by social, economic, and political structures. It uncovers a self that has developed through various stages to become a new self that Ernest A. Hakanen dubs the "teleself," one that knowingly delivers itself to the media for the sake of the global market place. The teleself is a brand; this identity is a product that can be differentiated (to a degree) from other products, and the self is mere packaging that gives the illusion of product differentiation, illustrating the illusory power of names and naming."--BOOK JACKET.