It’s weird to read an article in an
upper level art history class where you understand completely what is being
said, and you knew some of it before the author even told you. That is how
familiar and knowledgeable our society is regarding social media and
technology. I don’t even have a Facebook or Twitter and I still know all about
social media, showing just how dominating of a force it is in society today. But
just because I don’t have a Facebook does not mean I do not support social
media—I think social media is an excellent way to keep connected and express
yourself! I only don’t have one because I know I would fall mostly under that “voyeur”
and “lurker” category Munar talks about. I have nothing I want to share,
really, but I would still be fascinated in seeing what my friends and family
are doing. And no one wants to be a lurker, right?
The
funny thing is, even though I do not have a Facebook, Twitter, etc, I still
have a virtual identity. We all do. I’m sure you’ve all tried Googling your
names. When I Googled mine, school awards, pictures of my mother, my friend’s
GooglePlus pictures, and my grandfather’s obituary came up. Also, I exist in
countless Facebook photos on the profiles of my family and friends. I can’t
even tell you the number of times one of my friends has said, “Michelle! You
and your sister looked so cute last night!” I would also be confused at first,
until I figured out that my sister had most likely posted about it. Even
without any input of my own, I have a virtual identity being crafted for me.
One
thing I was surprised about though was the fact that Munar did not mention fake
online profiles more, or even at all. Yes, social media can connect you to
others and provide an outlet for expression, but it also provides that distance
and that anonymity to be someone else, as well. With the recent trend of “catfishing,”
it is not uncommon for people all around the world to create fake profiles and
build relationships with others based on this false identity. To me, this is a
big pitfall of social media, as it can be hurtful to relationships and create
obsessive tendencies in the catfisher (we’ve all seen the MTV show!) However, I
did appreciate how Munar split up these websites in a way I had never thought
of before—profile websites, microblogs, review sites, and wikis. These days, a
website is not just a website. There are many tiny little branches stemming off
from the term, and those branches are only growing.
1 comment:
It's crazy how rapidly all sorts of social media are developing these days! Besides Facebook and Twitter now there's other sites and apps like Instagram, Tinder, Yik Yak, and more. I don't know whether we should even consider the majority of the photographs on those sites to be photography because of how disconnected they are from the original concepts of a photograph. I suppose it is the most rapid and truthful documentary we've ever had in history, but because of its speed I feel it is also less considered than ever in terms of meaning.
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