I've always viewed all social sites as a way to keep in touch with others that I have lost contact with over the years. The time that I have spent on these sites such as Facebook has been a wonderful experience for me. My original intent of locating people from my past has actually developed into promoting my ideas.
I agree with the suggestion in the article that we create our social identity on these websites. We intend to manipulate perception of our identity. I had never thought about the "process" that is mentioned in the article but apprantly, George Herbert Mead had. Mead stated that there is a three step process. 1) Others become aware of our intentions through our actions. It is stated that the placement of a photo is sometimes the first step. 2) We communicate through how we think that the people that see our profile will repsond. This is something that I had not thought of before. 3) Our actions are perceived by other people that are viewing our meaning and language. Our intent is to have people view us in a certain light.
These three steps help create our social identity. Very interesting how these steps have been broken down into a process.
I thought that this article was also very interesting and I also found Mead's theory to be surprisingly accurate. When I thought about what Mead said about profile pictures specifically the wedding picture as a profile picture. It made me reflect on my own identity and what my profile picture communicates. I recently got married and have had several wedding pictures as my profile picture and when I posted them I never really thought about what they might communicate to others. I agree with Mead there could be a sense of accomplishment for a women to showcase her wedding pictures because it is a social pressure that many women face. I agree with you that social media is a great way to keep in contact with friends and family that you have lost contact with over the years and after reading this article I will probably analyze peoples profile pictures and what they might be trying to communicate.
ReplyDeleteI like your response because I can relate. I have always considered social networks as a way to reconnect with people that either you haven’t spoken to in a long time, or family that may live far. I think it is awesome that Facebook has benefitted you as far as promoting goes. Mead’s ideal is very accurate but also subconscious. I never perceived my Facebook as my social identity until I read Mead’s argument. His three steps definitely made it clear that it is almost impossible to not perform his thesis. As I am uploading pictures or statuses I do not think, “This is creating my social identity, and I wonder what people think about this”. Facebook for me is simply something to do when I get bored. I enjoyed this response, and I am glad you got something positive out of a social network instead of writing something negative like most people do.
ReplyDeleteHi There,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and I think you amde some excellent points. I also have a facebook and check it constantly during the day. I really liked this article because I can definetly relate to it. The idea of Facebook is about expressing yourself and showing people who you truly are. By posting information about our different activities or our likes and dislikes, we are giving our Facebook friends a look into our lives and our identities. I also agreed with Mead's theory and feel that he made some very interesting and accurate facts. Our intent when we post things on Facebook really is to make people see us in a certain way and I know I am very cautious about what I put on my profile. This was a great article and you really did a great job with your post!