Within Robinson’s article (2007), I found the notion of
constructing identities online very interesting. However, Robinson’s use of
primarily gaming based examples is not particularly engaging, personally. I
think a greater focus on the creation of identity on social networking sites
would make the article appealing to a wider audience.
The ways in which people use language, images, and the
information they choose to freely provide or deny others, to construct identity
(Robinson 2007) was an aspect of life online that I had never really thought of
before. The construction of identities online is yet another concept that
incorporates multiple sociological theories including symbolic interactionism,
dramaturgy, and the presentation of self. People use documentary evidence, such
as the information used to construct an identity online, to gain an
understanding of others and how they intend to present themselves to particular
people, groups, or the wider online community.
I experienced the use of documentary evidence recently, when I clicked on the Facebook profile of a friend of a friend. I did not know this
person but everything on their profile was publicly accessible, and I decided at
the time to try and get an idea of what kind of person she was with the
information on hand, because I’m a massive creeper. The main thing I noticed
was that photos from nights out and with skimpy outfits were very prominent. To
me, it seemed as though she was attempting to position herself as a person who
was fun and loved to party in both an explicit and implicit manner through the
images, confirming Zhao, Grasmuck and Martin’s (2008) central ideas about
identity creation through the use of certain types of information, such as
images and statuses, in online settings.
When it comes to people who provide all their personal information on sites like Facebook,
I'm with honey badger...
Thanks Caitlin, I agree with you. In regards to how people use pictures, words and their information to create their mediated identity, that for all we know is fake. Yet so many people still insist on sharing so many things publicly that should really be kept behind closed doors. I think the younger generations of today's society find it extremely important to get the most likes and comments within their social media's. Comments such as those saying 'OMG you're tots a hottie!' are those that are most desired. Their identities are being lost in cyberspace as they continuously feel the need to then maintain this fakeness in person!! WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TOO?
ReplyDeleteI agree that each of us (me included) shape and mould our online identity, whether consciously or not. We all make actions which form our identity, whether its the photo's we put up or the status's we post, they all give off a message. But this isn't to far off offline interaction. In the offline world we choose the way we dress, the way we speak etc. This is the core difference between online and offline interaction is the you can wear a mask offline, but you can re-create yourself online.
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