Facebook holds considerable influence over
its users, who they choose to be online and how they represent others (McNeill,
L. 2012). And although, it has been said that “you can’t be on Facebook without
being your authentic self” (McNeill, L. 2012), the influence that Facebook now
holds simply erodes the concept of authentic self, with its users now carefully
considering their actions and lives in terms of how they appear on Facebook
(McNeill, L. 2012).
As mentioned in my last blog, Facebook has
very clearly changed the rules in terms of common conversational etiquettes.
Politics and religion had previously been taboo, the concept of discussing
those topics in public were right up there with working with animals and children.
But with the power and influence of Facebook, comes significant changes to the
way we live our lives, in reality and in virtuality.
The version of myself on Facebook is not
too dissimilar to my real self. Except in reality, I don’t disappear for two
days at a time before showing up again and making comment on the topics of the
day. Others within my social network however, are living a virtual life with
very few similarities to their real lives. That old taboo regarding religion
and politics remains in place in terms of the real world, but in the virtual
world, it appears that anything goes. What they choose to post on their Facebook page, is indeed very different to the discussions they choose to have when we are face-to-face. Facebook may preach that you have no option but to be your authentic self, but it in fact gives you the option to be anything you'd like to be and face very few consequences for it.
With the Federal election just around the
corner, political posts are now coming thick and fast. Users have become
Facebook historians, creating history by hand-picking events, excluding certain
details, and highlighting some articles whilst minimising others (Van Luyen
2013).
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| Image from: http://www.facebook.com |
In the above Facebook post, the user has
posted a Daily Telegraph article that reported on a Labor party advertisement
and how it was misleading to voters due to its use of a paid actress as opposed
to a real person. What the user chose
to omit from this post is that all advertisements use paid actors and
actresses, and although in theory it is perhaps misleading, it is also be
misleading to highlight only the Labor party for using paid actors/actresses.
All historians use
rhetoric as they try to convince the reader about a version of the past (Van
Luyen 2013).
You can also see from the responses below
the initial post that his followers essentially saw the user’s argument as war;
they planned and strategised their responses (Van Luyen, 2013) to win the
argument. However, given the nature of many of Facebook’s users, once they were
confronted with a response, once their points were attacked, the user had
very little to contribute in terms of a response, as they would have in reality.
“Language shapes the way that we perceive, therefore it shapes the way we
possess the world.” (Van Luyen 2013). Once this user was confronted with
planned responses, their ability to possess the world and continue to attempt
to mislead his/her readers, was limited.
References
Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002:
Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Week 5, Stories and
Places. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.edu.au
McNeil, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in
Network: Social Networking Sites and Post Human Auto/Biography.
Image Credits
Hi Sarah, right up until week seven's lecture on Food narratives I was convinced that I present my 'authentic' self on Facebook. The marketing narrative that Victoria talked about regarding Rum is what finally convinced me that I actually do project a softer, perhaps shinier version of who I really am on a daily basis. But therein lies the power; the ability to shape or 'market' yourself to a wide audience is powerful in its own right.
ReplyDeleteThink about it, who really wants to know that I stay in my PJs all day long (bliss), swear too much (oh well), leave piles of clothes on the bathroom floor for days on end (don't you?) and even get the odd pimple or two at the age of 40? (yep, I squeeze them too). Now you know all of this, I hope you can sleep better! LOL Tammy :)
Hi Sarah, I agree with your analysis of Facebook in the sense that it does give users a pass to be anything they’d like to be, and carefully consider how they appear (Mcneill, L. 2012), by handpicking and broadcasting only certain information. It is interesting to observe people, who I know out of the virtual world, adopt new personas for themselves, far different from their authentic selves. Facebook has given them the opportunity to distort truths and become manipulative. I am concerned that the generation who have grown up with Facebook will consider this as being the norm and carry over aspects from their virtual lives into their real lives.
ReplyDeleteReferences
McNeil, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Post Human Auto/Biography.