Digital Exhibitionism: The Age of Exposure
By: Ana Maria Munar
The shift between analog to digital
is inevitable. I tend to think of it like the way we consume music or create
photographs. Moving from records to tapes to cds to now consuming everything
online via an mp3 file. Overtime we have done the same for photography, moving
from daguerreotypes eventually to 35 mm film cameras to now creating images
through DSLRS utilizing pixels and computer technology for uploading and post
processing. Just as the consumption of music has shifted and creation of
photographs from analog to digital, so has the traditions of individual record
keeping, diaries, etc. People have moved from using physical picture albums and
dairies to uploading albums to Facebook, and blogging on social media sites.
Granted records, film, picture albums and physical diaries are still used it is
interesting to note the shift over time and how it influences popular culture
and the way we consume and share data, and create our own online persona now a
days. Munar points out that the previous analog experiences were generally
private and since they have been turned into digital culture, it has resulted
in profound consequences in which humans now shape their identities via social
media. She also points out how social media and technology remediates our
social lives and activities.
Throughout the paper, Munar
explores how the Web is a construct and “a context that facilitates the
examination of the creation and evolution of social structures, such as
relationships and communities” (403). The methodology behind the study was
netnography, which until now I never had heard of under that name. It
essentially is a study through participative observation and research from
online communities. The study utilized Facebook, TripAdvisor, Twitter and
Wikipedia because they represent different users from the online communities.
In addition, ten Facebook profiles were studied. Online communities create a
sense of belonging, as well as support and social identity. The culture of
social media has users to believe it is okay to share intimate details. Social
media creates new forms of relationships and reflexivity allowing the
individual to choose how to portray themselves.
Personally, I think our society is
on overload with social media. For example, there now exists a thing called
“Catfishing,” where individuals create fake profiles for attention and
compassion from individuals they have a crush on. MTV even created a reality TV show for it because
it was happening so often. People become
addicted to living through social media because they are not happy with
themselves whether it be their appearance or just their self-esteem, the
Internet allows us to hid behind a screen. Yet what does that really do for you
if it is all-virtual, a lie, and probably nothing will come from it? It is an
actual addiction problem that people. I actually found a fake Facebook profile
of myself my sophomore year, that was adding all of my friends. Luckily I caught it right as it came out, and
was able to have everyone report it. Another issue I’ve noticed is cyber
bullying. It’s a serious problem that has lead to serious emotional abuse, and
even suicides. Crazy to think back and imagine life without social media and the
Internet but if you told people who had lived prior to the digital era, they
not only would be floored by the technology but probably surprised that a thing
such as catfishing, fake identities and cyber bulling even exist.
I am very
interested in the influence the Internet has had on our communication skills.
For a component of my senior project, I am actually exploring some of these
issues that have been prompted through the over abundance of social media. It
seems now a days that we have access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more,
at the tip of our fingers, that we can just “stalk” people that used to be in
our lives without having to ever come in contact with them, or letting them
know. It is interesting to me to think prior to this digital era, that in order
to know how a person was doing we would have to physically see them or call
them and have a real conversation; a skill I feel is slowly going out the
window. When someone passes away or someone becomes famous, everyone seems to
suddenly post or tweet on their wall in memory or congratulating them. Why is
it only when two extremes happen that we communicate? It is an interesting
dynamic to experience and it will be interesting to see how it continues to
grow and affect relationships and identity.
1 comment:
I think it's really interesting how human communication has changed because of social media. You bring up the point about how the ability to have a real conversation is slowly going out the window. I think that there is a lot of truth to this. Slowly our generation is getting less and less comfortable talking on the phone, much more inclined to email or text rather than picking up the actual phone. I think social media has played a big roll in this. Typing and having the comfort of being able to hit delete or proof what you say before you actually "say" it something this generation is become more and more accustomed to. And when we finally find ourselves in situations when we have to physically communicate it become uncomfortable, there is no more safety net. I agree with you that it will be interesting to see what will happen as time progresses and how it will impact our real life in person communication skills.
Post a Comment