This article found in the New York times talks about the ways in which people use Facebook and how perception of ones self and others can be analyzed more critically when viewed online. The author talks about seeing a post for a missing person and before simply re-posting it, to help in any little way, he had to second guess what that post might mean to other people. He thought at first, of course I should post this, but then thought that this serious post might rain on everyone’s Facebook parade.
The message of the article is about the strategic planning that goes into creating a Facebook persona. On Facebook people are just trying to be themselves but when did being yourself ever require planning? People use Facebook to promote themselves in hopes to entertain others with their wit and charm, or to prove their intelligence to others, so when it comes to what people post more thought is usually behind them. The author talks about a conversation he had with a friend about why she didn’t re-post the missing person message; the reason behind it being that she didn’t want people to think that she “was ostentatiously doing a good deed”.
Facebook is an outlet for people to broadcast themselves for others to see, in hopes to create the best version of themselves as possible. In doing this people put more thought into what they post or say on Facebook because nobody wants to taint their Facebook reputation. Personal branding is what we see everyday on the internet, and even if people claim that are just being themselves they are putting a lot more thought into who they want to be when it comes to the ways in which they put themselves out there.
In my own person experience, my facebook profile is more than just networking with family and friends. I tend friend a lot of “scenesters” to establish connections in the art scene I’m a part of. My name on facebook is even my scene name, rather than my real one. It is, in actuality, more my identity when I’m hanging out with musicians and artists than friends from school or family members. It’s also a platform for me to show off my photographs (I’m know as a photographer by most of my “scenester” friends on facebook). Allowing people to see, “like” and comment on my photos allows me to create a personal brand while also targeting a particular audience through my friend selection.
I think in the end, everyone pays close attention to what they say, do and and post on facebook. Maybe they “like something, or don’t “like” something to build that persona. Taking their time to craft a witty comment they wouldn’t be able to create in real time. With no one watching, there are few negative consequences from taking your time thinking about the image you want to present. I suppose it’s no different from writing a resume — you take your time to build something that represents you, and you want it to leave a good impression. It’s only natural, it just hasn’t existed on such a wide social scale before.
I absolutely agree with you. I catch myself second guessing what I’m writing on status and even how I respond to my friend’s comments. The way I phrase my sentence can be taken the wrong way by some people. And I think that this awareness of how we come off on Facebook or other social mediums is a good thing. I know that there were multiple of times when I wrote something out quickly and without thinking. I read it over again and then I think, “wow what was I think?” The sentence doesn’t make sense, or I misspelled 5 words. I always have a problem with miscommunication when using AIM or texting. Few years back, when instant messaging first came out, I used to respond with “ok” or “yea” and my friend told me that I sound mad when I’m online. But I wasn’t. So after that, I started writing “OKAYYY” or “yeaaaa” or add a lot of “LOLs” and such. In the same way I think we adjust the way we write stuff online based on how others will perceive it.