What makes up a person's identity? Is it the way we look or the way we present ourselves or a combination of both? More importantly, is social media an honest representation of who we really are or a false presentation of who we want to look like? Do we stay true to ourselves and represent us or do we represent what the world wants to see? Is social media destroying our reputation or building it? These are the questions that come to mind when thinking about an identity online.
Social media is one of the most discussed topics of our generation. People talk about how it is ruining our intelligence and people skills and more often than not it is looked at in a negative light. Sherry Turkle, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology puts out the idea that we are “alone together” because of our technology. She believes that our modern life leaves us less connected with people and more connected with simulations of them. In some cases, I agree with this but I think that depends on the person and whether or not you can put your phone down to spend time with family or friends. Yes, we may see more of someone's social media then the person themselves but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it makes it easier for us to stay in touch and communicate with them or plan to meet up in person if they live far away. Technology in a way helps us to keep those friendships that may otherwise fade if we didn't have social media.
Michael Wesch an associate professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University creates videos on his YouTube page about the need for this adaption. The need for education to shift and teach media literacy to students. His videos gave me the idea that technology is not going to go away only advance. It is up to us and what we do with it — whether or not we use it to advance ourselves or destroy ourselves. For example, huge scale corporations and companies now have their own social media departments. Opening up social media created more jobs in those big companies. The social media coordinator at 6abc College Day said, “Use social media, don’t be afraid of it use it as a resume for yourself”. Those words really stuck with me and made me think,"Wow social media is more than just for my friends." I can use it to advance in my career. Before, the closest you could get to a celebrity, politician, CEO, or anyone famous was through a letter or a big event where you might spot them. Now, you can tweet, Facebook, comment, share, like, follow and connect with those individuals thanks to technology. It has become easier for people to find jobs, network themselves, and even become famous. Yes, there are negatives to this new way of modern life but aren’t we always supposed to focus on the positive and make the best of what we have? Rather than talking about how technology is ruining our people skills find a way to use it to your advantage while in moderation. The world didn’t say you had to drop human acknowledgement when technology came out, so as long as you know how to balance your uses of technology and still live a healthy lifestyle then I don’t see how we can’t grow from technology as a whole.
I’d like to think that my social media has matured with me. My generation was there when the peak of social media began, I specifically remember having an aim in grade school to go home after school and message my friends and then making a Facebook for the first time at my friend's house freshman year of high school and just being so amazed and curious about what it was. Even my first twitter handle was "erinlovesjbiebs." My identity online has gone from, why did I ever post that, to desperately trying too hard to get likes from my friends, to that wannabe popular girl who parties, to a determined, family oriented, photography loving, passionate woman and trust me that is who I really am. Now, my identity online really reflects who I am as a person, and I try to stay more true to myself and build an online resume that I would be proud to let someone see.
