MANTI TE'O, PRESENCE, AND THE LONG CON 2.0: WHERE IS "THERE" ANYMORE?

Presence: the condition, state or fact of being present, as with others in a place; immediate vicinity; proximity.

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​After getting home from a long day at the office, perhaps like many of you, I turned on ESPN. I was hoping to catch some of the tennis coverage.  While I was tuned in, there was a “breaking news alert” about Notre Dame’s celebrated football star, Manti Te’o. For those not following the saga that is Manti’s life, he was a standout linebacker for the Fighting Irish, won almost every conceivable defensive award, was second in the Heisman voting, and led his team to an undefeated regular season.  But, the larger and, to some, the more meaningful narrative revolves around his personal struggles: the loss of his grandmother and girlfriend on the same day.  Deadspin.com, the same outlet responsible for breaking the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger scandal, released a story (Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax) that claimed Manti’s girlfriend didn’t actually exist.  Wait, what? 

Since there is still so much we don’t know about the facts of this shocking story, I won’t spend any time speculating whether or not Manti Te’o was the victim of a cruel hoax or complicit in an elaborate plot that deceived millions.  The question I am concerned with here is the how: How could something like this happen?

For those of you 40 and above, it may seem utterly implausible that anyone could develop a meaningful relationship over the internet.  The research, dating all the way back to the early 90’s, demonstrates that it is actually quite easy.  Over the past 20 years, technology has been engineered in ways that shape social norms and changing social norms have re-shaped the kinds of communication technologies that we find useful.  

Young people today are immersed in overlapping virtual environments, use multiple social media platforms that allow them to create multiple discursive identities.  The whole idea of a fixed identity—a one physical version of me—is something that is being challenged on a daily basis.  Think about the way we speak and how speaking about something changes the way we think about it; it’s a circular process.  The internet, in particular, offers us some keen insight into this communication phenomenon.  I won’t get into the argument about whether there is any “there there” (materiality) within this network of networks that forms the World Wide Web.  Some have though, and it is an interesting debate.  For our purposes, I’m going to take a very rudimentary example and expound on it.

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