"If you're not on Myspace, you don't exist." This is the opening quote to Danah Boyd's article about online communities, and the role they play in the lives of teenagers. Being a teenager myself in today's society, I somewhat agree with this quote. However being the (mature) person that I am now, I have advanced from my teen days of Myspace and now spend my days checking up on my Facebook profile. However, no matter which online community one belongs to, it is no doubt that these sites play a huge part in the majority of people's lives.
I found that Danah Boyd's article focused more on the logistics of Myspace rather than the issues surrounding it. So I ask the question, why do we join these sites? Why do we post photos, comments and information about ourselves that anyone around the world can see? Is it to do with inclusion, or to do with expressionism?
In Boyd's article, she claims that an online profile can be seen as a form of 'digital body', where individuals can write themselves into being. People can post altered photos, give false information and say anything about themselves they want. This differs to the offline society. In the offline society people are less inclined to find out information about others. No one would come up to you and ask for your date of birth, relationship status or to look at photos of you. However, online one can look at anyones profile, and find out who they are online, rather than offline, a whole lot easier.
I find that on online communities, it is also alot easier to showcase more information of yourself. As the article focuses on teenagers, it says that most of them join Myspace because everyone is on it and to be 'cool'. In the offline reality, one doesn't showcase openly to the public what famous people they are friends with, or what they have done during the day or holidays. However on Myspace and other online communities, you can tell the world just about anything about yourself.
With these points from the article in mind, what has become more of a reality for society? Online or offline? Has online interactions become the new reality? Are you more 'real' now online than offline? And do people have two separate identities, online and offline?
5 comments:
In response to your question of why we join social networking sites, I think some of the comments in Boyd’s article covered it entertainment, inclusion into a community – or rather validation of your inclusion in offline networks, and ‘social voyeurism’ (9-10). For me, I joined facebook after receiving an invitation from an ex-roommate who lived overseas and who I had all-but lost touch with. I do find facebook to be a great way to continue contact with people I have met whilst travelling, who I wouldn’t necessarily have kept in contact with otherwise [but funnily enough, the friend who invited me only has 5 friends and never ever log on – so it hasn’t been too useful to reconnect with her!]. I don’t know if ‘social voyeurism’ is necessarily a reason that people sign up, I think it is something that comes later, with continued use and a larger network of friends.
Social networking sites could be seen as about both inclusion, and also a way to express yourself. I think the reason we post photos and personal things on these sites is that whilst we know that ‘anyone in the world’ could see them – this is from the Boyd article but I can’t find the page right now – whilst we know anyone can see, maybe we think they shouldn’t look and they won’t see. All the personal information put out there, on a site full of personal information mostly means nothing to individuals outside of your social network – would it be meaningless to you to see that a stranger was no longer in a relationship with another stranger? I suppose it does matter to advertisers who will now bombard the newly single people with adverts for dating sites and weight loss methods!
In response to Boyd’s assertion that in some ways we have more control online as we can choose what information we put forward – I’m not sure this is always the case. Whilst you can post only altered, flattering pictures of yourself, you can only do this as quickly as you can tag all the unflattering, incriminating pictures of yourself posted by others! So, no, I don’t think you have as much control as Boyd may think. Public comments to you or about you shape your online identity in ways you can’t necessarily control.
I think how you attempt to sensor you online identity can reveal interesting information in itself. Just checking my facebook for about the third time this morning – I noted that there are almost 500 photos of me, whilst only 154 photos of my best friend, who has been on facebook a similar length of time, also posts photos of herself and is tagged in other peoples’ albums. I am fairly certain that there are hundred more photos of her out there which she has rejected and untagged, not wanting to identify herself with them, or have them seen by others – though of course they are still out there. Does this mean because my profile is less sensored that it is more ‘me’? Perhaps I will need to start sensoring better, I wouldn’t like particularly for a interviewer to print out photos of me drinking champagne from the bottle on the street in las vegas or the one of me on the toilet posted by a roommate [!]
I like the idea that we all have multiple, intersecting identities. I don’t think I am more ‘real’ either on, or offline, but I think we all portray different parts of ourselves appropriate to the audience. On social networking sites, I’d argue that we act basically as we would within those same networks offline. In choosing for example to keep your parents separate from your profile, this may not be because you don’t want them to see your online identity, but because you don’t want them to see the identity you project to you peers both on and offline.
I think that these networking sites have dramatically changed people's relationships. The quote referred to by Nikki that "if you're not on myspace, then you don't exist" is particuarly interesting. She seems to be implying that if you don't have a myspace, then you don't have an identity or you don't exist to her. I can see this mentality growing amongst people, especially since talking to so many people who have joined facebook unwillingly, just to keep up with everyone. This is because if all of your friends are on something like myspace of facebook, then you are compelled to join these sites, otherwise you face social 'suicide'. This sounds very dramatic and perhaps it is not as bad as that, but some people (like 18 yr old Skyler) heavily rely on myspace for her social interactions. So, obviously there are well-established communities online that exist in these networking sites. I think that these online interactions have become the 'reality' for many people. Speaking from experience, I know how easy it is to spend hours on facebook, catching up with people. I can see also how people have different 'identities' on and offline. People who are usually shy and quiet can express themselves more. So I agree with Alice's idea that we show different parts of ourselves. I think it is easy to invest ouselves online in these communities as we want to feel included and be able to express ourselves freely.
Having said all of this, I still do appreciate these sites as they do allow you to social network with people you would not normally or maintain contact with firends on the other side of the world.
I remember reading a very interesting article about a guy who deleted his profile on facebook in order to try and find out what would happen. Would he be able to stay in touch with his friends? Would people remember his birhtday? Would he miss out on some great events and parties? Etc.
One very interesting thing about this article was that the guy said that many of his friends were even mad at him for deleting his profile - obviously any other form of staying in touch seemed to inconvenience them. Everyone literally begged him to sign on again.
In the end, however, he reached a very notable conclusion: his true friends didn't care, his true friends stayed in touch, and his true friends also remembered his birthday. ;-)
I guess what this teaches us is that we can survive without social networks sites...
...but it is fun having them. And to be honest, I think it is a form of social voyeurism...it is very easy to "stalk" people online today. I catch myself doing it..I mean, just following link after link, who wrote on who's wall, what is he doing again, etc. . Maybe that's the intriguing part of it.
Katharina, I definitely agree that it is so easy to be a 'stalker' on an SNS... I'm just wondering how many times I've checked on one particular person's facebook profile in the last 3 days alone... probably about 17! Scary. Makes me wonder if anyone is checking up on me?
I am sure there are lots of people checking up on you. Quite a scary thought actually. I mean, we all know damn well that as soon as we sign up for a SNS and provide our personal info it is out there and everyone can read it - but we do it anyway and find it quite eerie at the same time. :-)
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