In Conceptualizing the Self: A Critical Analysis of the Self as a Discursive Trend in Human-Computer Interaction Research, Hunrik Ahman described and analyzed the assumptions regarding the human as the self that informs HCI research. He first presented the results of a literature analysis on how the self is described in HCI research papers. There are four main approaches to the self, which are the instrumental self, the communicative self, the emotional self and the playful self. The four selves have important characteristics in common: stability, coherence, and individuality. Nevertheless, several philosophers during the last century have questioned these assumption, and Hunrik drew on Taylor’s critical approach to the self and suggest that “the self should be understood as radically relational, which means that interaction is an existential constitution process and interactive technology is an existential arena”.

I liked what Hunrik mentioned in the introduction part. Traditionally, the human in HCI has been discussed in terms of the user, while since the turn of the millennium, the use of word self has increased significantly in areas of the HCI community, which indicates a possible shift in the way the human is understood and talked about with in the HCI field. Hunrik also applied a chart in demonstrating the result of literature analysis, which clearly showed the key labels, main themes, and categories. Finally, I also agreed with Taylor’s view, that the idea of separating oneself from others in order to establish identity is fundamentally flawed and only leads to loss of identity.

In all, the purpose of the paper is to contribute to a discussion on what the self might be by presenting a number of theoretical positions that can function as resources with which a researcher can engage in an ongoing reevaluation of the self in HCI. The paper revealed blind spots in the discourse and led to the identification of new fields of research and alternative interpretations of the motivations underlying people’s interaction with technology.