Identity: Online vs Reality
By Sylvie Wharton
Image Retrieved from https://instagram.com/p/QOMQmQLeF8/?&_suid=1439607009117022343923500739038
The demands of a public audience shapes the construction of
the text: the imagined reader. Is there
a true self? (Van Luyn, 2015). In a
virtual space where many are competing for more followers how can we as users
be sure the identity of those we are viewing has not been constructed solely
with the purpose of building a large following.
Are the identities users are creating for themselves online a genuine
reflection of identity offline?
Instagram is a social media application through which users
upload images and videos for their followers to view, like and comment on. For many it serves as an online diary with
the emphasis on use of image rather than text to document our everyday lives. By
uploading only selective snap shots from our every day lives to our online
diaries, we as users can create and shape an identity for ourselves online that
may or may not be a true depiction of ourselves outside of the virtual space.
McNeill (2012) suggests “without such features as
photographs, comments pages, and links to the writer’s e-mail, tags, and lists
of linked “friends” or other blogs diarists have difficulty attracting and
maintaining readership” (p. 219). It
seems many Instagram users in order to increase their following aim to link
themselves through the use of tags to things such as clothing designers, hair
stylists and restaurants deemed popular or cool at the time. As is the case with Sydeny
Fashion Blogger Antoinette Marie who has accumulated over 900,000 followers
on her Instagram account. Antoinette has
built a brand for herself based on the identity of being associated with
designer clothing, travelling to exotic locations and rubbing shoulders with
high profile individuals.
The question remains, however, do users such as Antoinette associate themselves with these designers, places and people out of a genuine like, love or
interest for them? Or are they creating an
online identity always with purpose of attracting and maintaining an audience
in mind?
References
Leaver, K. (2013). Meet Sydney Fashion
Blogger. Retrieved from http://www.cosmopolitan.com.au/fashion/what-to-wear/2013/5/meet-sydney-fashion-blogger/
McNeill, L. (2012). Diary 2.0? A Genre Moves from Page
to Screen. In C. Rowe & E. L. Wyss (Eds.), Language and New Media
Linguistic, Cultural and Technological Evolutions (pp. 313-325).
Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc.
Van Luyn, Ariella. (2015). BA2001:
Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Lecture 3: Space and
Identity: Genre and Transformation. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved
from http://learnjcu.edu.au
Nice post! Instagram seems to have many features and patterns of Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThe way Instagram is set up, it is likely to attract many users who fake their real identity, to receive likes, comments and attract followers.
'Boring' just wouldn't cut it. . . Users are compelled to create pictorial diaries which are compelling and novel. It may seem a 'cool' place to inhabit.
However, there may be many unknown consequences when putting pictorial life on display. What if posts attract 'real' life envy? Shock horror, no one can have a better life. . . I will find a way to bring you down. It doesn't matter whether true or fake identity is revealed.
(Stretton & Aaron, 2015) "In the digital world, everything you do leaves shards of information and evidence that can be collected, integrated . . .or exploited" (p. 15). If you want to keep private information private . . . better not to post.
Stretton, T, & Aaron, L. (2015). The dangers of our digital trail of breadcrumbs. Computer Fraud & Security, 2015(1). 13-15. doi: 10.1016?S1361-3723(15)70006-0
I agree that when using social media such as Instagram, it is important to be mindful of whom we associate with and their intentions. However, the use of pseudonyms frees users to say and do things they never would by offline means. Users are able create an entirely new persona for his Internet communications, based on the distinction that unlike real space, cyberspace reveals no self-authenticating facts about identity (Rogal, 2013). Does the demand of a public audience shape not just the construction of individual texts, but the persona itself?
ReplyDeleteWhile the vast majority of Internet users judiciously utilize their ability to speak anonymously, an unfortunate minority hide behind a pseudonym, protected behind a computer screen. This can lead to acts such as defamation, harassment, and bullying. On the other end of the spectrum, accounts such as mentioned in the blog with numerous followers with a particularly constructed identity with an arguably positive impact.
Rogal, J. (2013) Anonymity in Social Media, Phoenix Law Review, Vol. 7.