To be honest I found it hard to read anything for this weeks blog, coming back from the break and its still 28 degrees and sunny, who wants to be inside on the computer?
Well for some people, online interaction is a lot more important than it is for me. I mean I use Facebook just like anyone, but I'm not one to be blogging, tweeting or browsing online forums in my spare time.
The internet has definitely changed how humans interact with one another, there is no way an assignment would have to be done online even 5-10 years ago, and here we are interacting over the medium of a blog.
But is the internet letting people become more connected with each other, or is it isolating individuals to their bedrooms and computer screens?
It would seem that greater access to other people, through mediums such as the internet, would lead to a sense of community, but there is strong evidence that extended use of the internet can actually lead to isolation from the social sphere (Tom, R 2002).
I was sitting at the beach with a few friends and the above idea happened right then and there, whilst we are all sitting together, two out of the three people were on their iPhone, on Facebook? or Instagram? because everyone needs to know how nice today is....
What really interests me is the idea of people changing their identity when they log on to the internet. Their username, picture, bio, everything, is changed to fit someone they are not. This 'performance' of the self is separate to day to day life in the social world. I don't think there could be many benefits from pretending you are someone else though so why do so many people do it?
I think the internet is a useful tool for use in work, education and social relations to a certain point, however i think authenticity within interactions can only be found in face to face interaction. The internet should be used in conjunction with other interactions, not solely relied upon.
References
Tom R, Tyler. (2002) Is the internet changing social life? It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Journal of social issues Vol 58, No 1, New York University
Ross, Drew. 2007. “Backstage with the Knowledge Boys and Girls: Goffman and Distributed
Agency in an Organic Online Community.” Organization Studies vol. 28, no. 03: pp. 307–325
I think that the internet has in a way allowed us to become more connected to one another, but then raises questions of oversharing information. My best friend and I find ourselves checking our phones even when we're out at lunch or we're updating our profiles to let people know where we are.
ReplyDeleteWhile it allows us to connect to one another, it is in some ways hindering our relationships face to face
The idea you raise about the ‘performance’ of the self in the online world is also what sparks my interest on this week’s topic. You say you don’t feel that people would benefit from pretending they are someone else, and question the reasons behind why people engage in creating false online identities.
ReplyDeleteThis question lies at the forefront of the increasingly vital debate that is emerging over how people represent themselves online in the age of new media. The majority of sources focus on the negative aspects of being able to create false identities online; forty year old men posing as teenagers in order to meet young girls on social networking sites is the prime example.
But would there really be no consequences if every single person put forward their authentic identity online? I thought of a few factors that defend a persons right to NOT reveal their true identity to the online world:
1. We live in a material world: Internet users are already leaving “an exponentially growing digital footprint” according Forrester Research. Revealing our true identities is enabling companies to obtain our personal data and use this information to target us as consumers.
2. The power of politics: Sharing our real life identities online could have political consequences. For example activists may use social networking sites such as Facebook to promote uprisings, if done anonymously the online world offers an effective platform for people to fight for causes they believe in, but if authentic names are used the real life activists could be located and even punished for their actions. If this started happening activists could be deterred from using online communication completely.
3. Stranger danger: There are two sides to every story. Predators use false identities to target young/ vulnerable people online, this is an obvious negative. But false identities can also be used to protect these young/ vulnerable people. Although they may still be communicating with someone they shouldn’t be, if they do not disclose their true identities and real information they will at least remain safe in their real world.
I know there are a number of other reasons why people create false identities online (simply pretending to be someone you are not I will never understand), but in a way everything we do online is a performance, so where do we draw the line? I guess what I am trying to say is this new media communication is complicated, and there may be some benefits that come from creating false identities online.
I really enjoyed reading your blog post this week Josh, I feel the same way about a lot of the issues you raised. I think the internet has obviously brought great advancements to the modern world, in terms of faster communication, education, entertainment etc, however I believe the greater access to other people through social media has not necessarily been a positive way forward. Like you mentioned, the greater access to other people through social medium has actually led to people feeling isolated. Some may wonder why isolated when you probably have at least 50 friends online that you could chat to? But people are more isolated when they see that others are out there enjoying life, eating at fancy restaurants, staying in nice hotels, doing fun activities-they make out that they lead these perfect lives, so when you constantly have that popping up in your Facebook newsfeed you probably compare your own life and wonder why yours isn't as good.
ReplyDeleteBut all of this comes down to 'online identity' and like Goffman would argue people put on a performance to appear a certain way. Like you said Josh, people change their identity, their username, picture, bio everything to fit into something they are not- and i also wonder if there are any benefits from pretending you are someone else (the image you give off with your online identity)? In the long term, no i don't think there are any benefits, i think if you know yourself and are true to yourself then only will you be happy, but I think most people think in terms of now and what everyone else is doing around them, so they think by taking pictures of their daily doings will get them more likes on instagram and therefore they will be happier? I think in moderation, online social networks are great, but unfortunately I think we (most of us) have lost our sense of what 'moderation' actually is.
Yeah exactly, if people are changing their identities online then it all comes down to the 'performance' being put on by the individual. I think that most of the interaction that goes on in on the internet is 'backstage' interaction, the answers to questions online or even responding to online conversation always allows the individual time to tailor their response. Therefore this type of interaction is quite a bit different from face to face interaction and a lot of people actually feel safer and more protected using the internet as a way of communicating.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with a great majority of what you're saying in this blog Josh.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to using the Internet for assignments, I definitely feel that as a society we have become so reliant on the Internet for our information that without it, assignments would be impossible to complete. The time periods we are given to do assignments allow us (as a society) to complete them using a wide and large variety of sources. Completing the assignment and their submission over the Internet is a whole other aspect of how greatly the Internet as effected our lives in regards to education.
In relation to the question you posed (But is the internet letting people become more connected with each other, or is it isolating individuals to their bedrooms and computer screens?) I feel that there is a great mixture of both. If we look at social networking sites, they are a fantastic source for connecting with people and organisations, to keep updating on what is going on with them. It allows us to reconnect with people we might have lost contact with over time or people that have moved away. Events can be created which doesn’t require you finding out their address and sending them a written invitation. Social networking sites do have many positive attributes yet whilst saying this, there are many negative ones that need to be addressed. The ability to be anonymous (whilst can be a good thing) is something that is negative about social networking sites as you can never be completely sure that a person (unless you have physically met them before adding them) is the person that they say they are. You only have to look at the amount of sexual predators using social networking sites as a means of grooming young teenage girls to know that that in itself is a negative aspect.
People are also loosing the ability to interact face-to-face or over the phone due to social networking sites. To have the ability to hide behind a screen (whether it be your computer or Smartphone) allows you the time to think and respond to a question or comment posed by the person your interacting with. This then allows you to think of your response in order to save face. Offensive and crude comments can also be a means of saving face through the internet as, a fake alias can be created to express your opinion, without others knowing it is actually you saying these comments.
As a whole there are positive and negative aspects in relation to the Internet and interaction. As long as the internet doesn’t take interaction over completely and people still know how to interact with each other (without the internet) then I think have these two forms of communication together can work as a positive aspect.
Personally I completely agree with Josh’s view on social media/internet in regards to the authenticity found in face to face interactions, and the usefulness of the internet in education, work and social relations. I also think that social media is extremely useful for maintaining social relationships and for me has been extremely useful in my university work. However as Josh points out, it is fundamental that social networks do not become the sole way of social interaction. According to our group presentation this week, younger people spend more time talking to friends on Facebook than they do in real life (or something like that!). Scary huh!
ReplyDeleteJosh also points out that the manifestation of the online self or identity is a performance of self, or a front stage performance according to Goffman’s theory. This is also pointed out in Robinson’s reading where she writes ‘users do not seek to transcend the most fundamental aspects of themselves’ (2007). Instead they ‘transcend’ aspects that they want to create in their front stage identity. Our Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/this blog I am writing, are all outputs of our desired identity.
I began to think of exceptions to this idealised, front stage self. Although social media is probably one of the easiest ways to present an idealised front stage self, it also exists as a platform to expose the back stage self in certain cases, and hence, in certain cases could be argued as a source to expose parts of person’s backstage persona, which is normally not desired. In these cases, I’m referring to things like tagged photos, publicised private messages etc. I know I have untagged myself from countless photos, because they are embarrassing, unflattering, and basically not part of my ‘front stage’ self. Facebook’s recent glitch involved publishing private messages from the years 2007-2009, which are not intended for public view. Cases like this separate and distinguish social media from other representations of front stage persona’s in that unintended backstage performances can easily become front stage.
Reference: Robinson, Laura. 2007. “The cyberself: the self-ing project goes online, symbolic interaction in the digitalage.” New Media and Society, vol. 9, no. 1: pp. 93-110.