Mindy Seu's 'A Sexual History of the Internet' Turns Instagram into a Collective Incantation

Artist and technologist Mindy Seu presented her lecture performance 'A Sexual History of the Internet' at Section80 Bar in Milan, Italy, on September 20, 2025, as part of a tour spanning Europe, the US, and Asia through Fall/Winter 2026. The performance uses Instagram stories as a script for group readings, exploring the entanglement of sex, desire, and power with internet infrastructure. Seu, a former fellow at the Internet Archive, developed the format with former student Julio Correa, initially proposed during a 2023 Yale course. The work evolved from her earlier 'Cyberfeminism Index,' which used a bespoke augmented reality system. Seu notes that different audiences react differently: timid in Antwerp and Tokyo, raucous in New York. The performance syncs participants' phones, turning off notifications, and creates a 'religious' atmosphere through recitation. Seu and Correa beta-tested the performance between 2024 and 2025, navigating Instagram's opaque community guidelines by using fake accounts and temporary posts. The knowledge is also crystallized in a 700-page 'little black book' of the same title, designed by Laura Coombs and edited by Meg Miller. After the Milan performance, organizer Elisa Carassai led a talk, and attendees flocked to buy the book. Seu deletes Instagram from her phone after each performance to avoid doomscrolling.