In the analysis of mediated communication and its effects on our lives, there are always pros and cons to be weighed. The realm of social media is no exception. There are myriad social networking platforms to choose from, and rarely does a person isolate themselves to a single profile.
Instead, an entire online persona is constructed. This is usually intended to mirror a person’s true identity, and one could argue that it achieves just that in the most pure form–assuming the owner of the profile were honest. However, this phenomenon is rare or arguably non-existent.
How often do we see a bad-hair day selfie, or a status to the effect of “I spent 8 hours indulging in a binge of Netflix and carbohydrates” (but I’ll admit, some people on my news feed truly have no filter or fear)? I am pretty comfortable saying “never”. Most often we see our friends’ highlight reels: trips to the beach, nights out with friends, and good-hair days. This leaves the rest of us scrolling through our feeds, wallowing in self-pity and jealousy and wondering where we took a wrong turn.
(trendhunter.com)
I was personally so guilty of becoming consumed with a “woe is me” attitude (and hey, sometimes, I still am), and it was really bringing me down in terms of my feelings of self-worth. So what can be done?
To cure the comparison hangover, there is a simple remedy: remember that your friends are showing off the photos they know will seem more impressive. You don’t get to see the outtakes.
It is therefore pointless and self-destructive to obsess over how much more interesting and cultured everyone else’s lives are, because the reality is that they probably aren’t. They just know how to market themselves.
As a rule, I prefer online interaction for this reason: I get to have complete control over my image and constantly edit as I speak so as to sound more eloquent. I get to take my time when the media channel is asynchronous.
The ability to tailor ones’ image ranges, depending on the circumstance, from convenient to creepy (that “20” year old on Tinder who turns out to be 50, for example). I think that after years of observing this behavior, I have become skilled at identifying decoy profiles. Now I’ve veered of topic slightly, but it seemed worth mentioning that something seemingly harmless could be potentially sinister.
Who else feels the pressure from social networking to always be camera ready and make carefully considered posts? What do you really think of the persona your friends portray online? I’d love to hear your feedback!
–kz
Inextricably Connected 