We choose only the best pictures of us to put as our main pictures online. The one in which we are wearing a cool outfit, our hair is done, our smile is nice, or one showing off an exotic place we've been to. We untag the "ugly" pictures of us where we were caught off guard, or ones that are embarrassing to us.
People choose what they post online as well, and it's always "the best". For example, if you are going on vacation, your class got cancelled, or anything cool that you can brag about, it makes a good status. Even if we are bored, but in a cool location, "OMG Arizona is soo much fun! Never want to go back to cold Wisconsin!" When in reality you can't stand hanging out with your grandparents in old people land for another minute and going home to see your friends would be really nice.
I guess the point of what I'm getting at is, most peoples' identities online are false representations. They might not be who you really are, but rather an awesome, "perfect" representation of whom you'd like to be perceived as. And this is because Facebook and Twitter and other social networks changed the world of first impressions. No longer may your first impression be in person, it might be on a computer screen of a stranger you have no knowledge of. So, we show off our best, whether it's a picture of us at our "best", or a post bragging about our "best" moments.
I just made this post to start conversation and get other peoples' thoughts on this idea of online identities. What are you opinions and concerns of this?
-Zaquisha
My friend and I were just talking about this like a week ago. No matter how much true information we put on our profiles, there is always at least a little bit of stuff that is kind of crap. Good post.
ReplyDeleteWoey
I agree with this, but I also agree that each person can portray themselves however they want on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Some people represent themselves as extremely false representations, but I think others represent themselves well and accurate. For the most part though, I think it's hard to figure out a person from what they post on their social media sites. This was interesting! Thanks Zaquisha!
ReplyDelete-Wrianna Besely
This is awesome because it's something most people do not really think about at all. A lot of individuals make incredibly rash judgements of other people based on their social network profiles. So in return, people feel as though they need to glamorize their lives so that if they are judged they can be judged as being 'cool','hip', or 'insightful'. Both modes of thinking are wrong and people should just be real with themselves and not worry too much about what strangers think. Great post.
ReplyDelete