From Cyber Companions to Virtuous Citizens: Cultural Policy as Social Control
It is difficult to precisely determine when virtual idols began to occupy an important position in the cultural domain of young people. From the birth of early virtual idols like Hatsune Miku to the recent phenomenon of games like ‘Love and Deepspace’ , virtual idols have been constantly performing on the screen, while the young people enthusiastically clicked on the screen, showing extreme enthusiasm and passion towards them. They were even willing to spend a lot of money to purchase virtual goods. The essence of virtual idols is an intangible and electronic existence, structurally aligning well with the definition of religious deities. People investing money and pouring their inner emotions onto the screen essentially engage in a behavior of deification and faith projection in the era of the internet. More fundamentally, this collective act of escape has triggered a governance crisis. When the emotional energy of a generation is completely controlled by unregulated virtual algorithms, the traditional civic order may collapse. It is obvious that what we love is not a string of codes or a talkative AI, but the “ideal self” and “perfect partner” that materialized by data. Since we cannot find the ideal self and the ideal partner, we start to search for the perfect image in the virtual world. Games like “Love and Deepspace” precisely capture the loneliness of contemporary young people today and offer a risk-free and high-return emotional refuge.
From the lonely creature in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” in 1818, who desperately begged for a companion, to the cyber boyfriend in “Love and Deepspace” that provides us with round-the-clock emotional value today, two hundred years have passed. The projection of human beings onto artificial life has shifted from fear to extreme dependence. Just as Mary said in her book, the most terrifying thing is not ugliness, but extreme loneliness.
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As referenced in The Birth of the Museum, Foucault’s theory of governmentality involves a form of surveillance and control ‘as attentive as that of a family head over his household and goods.’ Applying this logic, one can conclude that extreme loneliness and addiction to virtual idols are essentially an escape from citizenship. The virtual space created by capital makes young people feel tired of real life and break away from the disciplinary network of the real society. However, cultural policy should not be regarded merely as the protection of art, but rather as a means of social management. Drawing on Tony Bennett’s analysis in “The Birth of the Museum”, cultural spaces have historically been designed to regulate society. Bennett argues that 19th-century museums were not just for displaying artifacts; they were a civilizing technology aimed at transforming unruly working-class crowds into self-regulating, orderly citizens. Today, the unruly groups no longer appear on the streets but are scattered across the digital realm. This explains the rationale behind recent state interventions. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS), in collaboration with institutions such as the Arts Council England, has jointly promoted the initiative through Social Prescribing Link Workers, guiding individuals with psychological needs or feelings of loneliness to community cultural and artistic activities. Additionally, the South Korean government has not only introduced policies to restrict excessive gaming but also launched offline intervention projects funded by multiple departments, aiming to replace young people’s internet addiction and worship of virtual idols with real cultural, natural, and social activities.
Being addicted to virtual idols is merely an act of consuming emotions. In this light, cultural policy acts less as an arts funding mechanism and more as a modern disciplinary tool. It attempts to bring isolated individuals back into the real world and reshape them into friendly and sociable citizens. Modern cultural policymakers have finally understood the meaning of what that monster said to Dr. Frankenstein at that time. The government provides funds for genuine cultural activities, as if to say: “Look, I have provided you with a space that truly can make you happy. Now, it’s time for you to become virtuous citizens again.”
