“Death of the Private self” written by John Harris of The Guardian argues about the evolution of the culture of social media, specifically Facebook. Harris believes that since the birth of Facebook, the social media platform has diminished the barrier between our public and private life, claiming that “performing never stops”, with social media. He supports his argument by looking at people of the mid-20s. According to Harris, “…you desperately want to meet all the requirements of whichever code of cool is holding sway, and avoid mockery at all costs. Looks are at their peak of importance. So are clothes.”  He means many people of this age group are sensitive about themselves and feels the need to fit in with the “norms” presented on social media. Examples he gave included how one looks, the way one dresses and more. By explaining how the youth are at the height of their sensitivity and image, he links a correlation with the amount of time people spend on social media. When one becomes more attached to social media, he can argue that the barrier between the public and private life becomes smaller.

Growing up with the rise of social media has had a significant effect on my life. I was too young to know what life was like before social media and don’t what life is without it. I created my Facebook account at the age of 8 or 9 during 2009, with the help of my older sibling. At the time, smartphones weren’t prevalent and usage was limited to a desktop. Even then I would just play Facebook games, which is not really the social aspect. As I got older, at the time of middle school, social media was already embedded in my brain.  I used it to message friends regarding classes, hangouts, etc.  Mostly communication, never actually portrayed my life until later on. Now every day I scroll through the pages of Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram religiously. The way I portray myself online is the best version of myself. Not necessarily a false version, but the one you want people to see. Personally, on my social media, it’s never deep, but just mostly simple things. Such as vacation photos, my group of friends. I don’t do “photoshoots”, but I do always take more than one photo. I would say the description is similar to my actual life, but not 100%. The same can be said to some of my friends and the total opposite for others. Whereas they look and act nothing like the way they portray themselves in reality.