For this blog I interviewed my friend Anna. Following is the transcript:
S: Hi Anna, can you share with me a bit about the social media platforms and apps you’ve used in the past?
A: Sure, I started using social media when MySpace was around, so I’d say somewhere around 2002. That didn’t last long. Then I switched over to Facebook and created accounts on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.I also have apps like Shazam, FX and Netflix which I use to watch movies and TV shows on my long commute to and from home.
S: So.. on these platforms, do you use your real name or do you use aliases? And if you do, tell me why?
A: Yes, I did have an alias. The reason being I was too young and my parents didn’t want us to use our real names for safety reasons. Now I have my real name on some accounts and keep some accounts unidentifiable. I also disable the function which allows people to Google me.
S: Can you elaborate how you use each of these platforms? Do you portray the same persona or are they different?
A: I use Facebook for sharing articles I think are interesting. Share some of my thoughts but nothing too personal on there. Although I have a twitter account I don’t like using it because I haven’t found it to be an effective way to communicate for me. I use Instagram as a platform for creativity, to share pictures of art that I like and some of my music. Typically I’m more shy in real life but on Instagram I feel like I can express my personality. You wouldn’t see that side of me in real life. I don’t like talking about me.
S: Do the digital personas they construct help them cope with the problems they face or do they create new problems? In what ways?
A: For me, I don’t see social media as a way to cope with problems. As far as the issue of creating problems goes. In some ways it’s disconcerting to know that people are looking into my life. On one hand you may seem fine but you may be far from fine. Everyone seems fake and it seems like everybody’s lying.
“You can’t hug a like and a like won’t put its arm around you when the cold wind blows”
The above video had nothing to do with the topic, its sole purpose was to entertain you.
I really do like likes.. and as funny as it may seem, i think it’s pretty sad that a lot of us are so sucked into the web version of ourselves that we don’t know how to be in the present anymore. Our interactions with people right in front of us has become a virtual interaction where the body is present but the mind is elsewhere. Conducting the interview gave me a different perspective of how people reveal different facets of their personalities. The person we may meet in real life could be a totally different person than expected.
Hearing Anna talk about her online presence made me think of an idea mentioned in Athique’s Chapter 7 ” We continuously adopt different roles to adopt different social contexts during our social lives” (Goffman,pg 99)
Anna’s interaction over Facebook was merely from a thought sharing platform, whereas her instagram feed was a more intimate part of who she is. Another friend of mine is a world class texter but in real life, his experience is a lot stressful. In his case the phone acts as an extension of self, kind of like a cocoon that protects our vulnerability.
Over the years I’ve been really amazed by the interactions on Facebook. People that you barely know might pop up and try to give you unsolicited advise. Anna briefly shares how vulnerable she feels knowing that a random person could be viewing her without her knowledge. As shared by Athique in Chapter 7, “In the context of SnS private individuals seeking to serve both audiences simultaneously must take great care of their self presentation of their public figures” ( Pg,104) Its evident that nobody likes their lives to be on public display.
My question to you is:
1)How much of yourself, your ideas and thoughts are you open to reveal on social media?
2) When have you felt the most connected to another human, was it online or in person?