Identity is variable and can change as a result of the social vicissitudes of culture. With society’s technological advancements came the advent of social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace. Theses sites act as portals of self-expression. Using this medium, one can virtually construct their own identity and modify the way it is represented as their own identity changes.
The anti-essentialist view of identity is that it is not stable and concrete, but rather it is constantly fluctuating as a result of culture and surroundings. Chris Barker, author of Cultural Studies, adds to this when he writes that identity is “fluid” (216). The opinions of ourselves change often and we create these opinions. So, then, identity is self-creative. According to Barker, it is “not a collection of traits we possess” but it is “a mode of thinking about ourselves” (217). One knows what makes up their identity because they created it, but this true self can be misrepresented to others.
The differences between self-identity and social identity are evident in the online social networking world. The identity of the self is a personal, solitary opinion. Social identification is the “expectations and opinions others have about us” (Barker 215). On social networking sites, users create a personal image of how they perceive themselves using narrative paragraphs, quotes, status updates, and pictures. According to a recent study of 59 Facebook users conducted by Temple University’s Department of Sociology, most users seemed to preset themselves as how they aspire to be in their offline lives but have not been able to accomplish. While a personal online profile can give the viewer a fair representation of the person, it is not always accurate. The study concluded that Facebook users “make certain implicit identity claims aimed at generating desired impressions on their viewers especially in terms of the depth and extent of their social ties” (Zhao). The strive for social acceptance is directly related to the comparative nature of these websites. Users are bombarded with a constant flow of information about others that they cannot help but compare themselves to them and alter the identity they have created.
Users of social networking sites have an image to uphold, just as people in the non-virtual world do. . On a website such as Facebook or Myspace, the image one presents to others is being continuously evaluated in relation to other users, most likely of their same peer group. These sites serve as a way for people to monitor each other (Gackenback 2007). For example, college students often view potential roommates’ online profile as a way to decide whether they are suitable candidates or not. Girls have been known to check up on their ex-boyfriend’s new love interest, or to check on a current partner to be reassured of their faithfulness, or lack there of. As a result of this rapid accessibility, people normally tend to present a more desirable version of themselves to the cyber community (Aleman, Wartman, 2009). However ‘normal’ this may be, the behavior that profile holders exhibit is much like Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho. He is a narcissist who is defined incessantly by others and has an incomplete idea of his own identity. This never-ending stream of comparisons suppresses true identity.
The social network concept in its entirety can be compared to the non-virtual social network that involves the characters of The Rules of Attraction. This novel takes place in the 1980’s, just a decade shy of the personal computer phenomenon. The students attend a liberal arts school where nobody is left out of the conversation. Everyone is aware of the situations and circumstances of others through an endless grapevine of communication. The dining hall, where the students gather and talk about others, is the Facebook homepage where people can be seen and statuses are updated. Instead of instant messages hand written love letters are used to communicate feelings. The transition from tangible to virtual forms of communication is less thoughtful and more guarded (Gackenback 2007). In the novel, people are informed through word of mouth. Now, up to date information is posted online and readily available. The difference is that the virtual world is more controlled and structured as people construct identities for themselves rather than others making their own assumptions.
Identity is a result of comparisons. Barker states, “…one of the earliest elements in the construction of our sense of self is gender” (64). Gender is used as another level of self-comparison within social networks. This explains the feminist opinion that “identity is marked by social difference” (Barker 224). Men and women fit into certain gender roles that are notable in online communities. For example, men are less concerned about conforming to beauty and are more interested in expressing individual meaning. Conversely, women are more prone to be concerned with standards of beauty (Aleman 2009). “Self-representation is restricted by the social norms of gender specific to women” such as sex appeal and photos of promiscuous behavior (Aleman 2009). Men are equally as guilty of conforming to perceived roles of gender by the ways in which they express their masculinity. Aleman gave an example of this when she wrote an anecdote about a girl whose boyfriend refused to replace his main profile picture of him playing football with a photo of them together at a formal event. She assumed it was because he wanted to maintain a certain image (74). Both sexes are concerned with the image they present. Men and women may modify their profile to appear more in line with the socially acceptable of roles of gender.
One can construct self-identity to be a certain way in their eyes, while emitting an altered cultural identity. This can be both purposeful, as a means to fit in with society, or unintentional, as a reaction to being exposed to and compared with other identities. One’s own perception of their identity is malleable; therefore the way it is represented is ever changing.
Alemán, Ana M. Martínez. Online social networking on campus understanding what matters in student culture. New York, NY: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies Theory and Practice. Minneapolis: Sage Publications Ltd, 2008. Print.
Ellis, Bret Easton. Rules of attraction. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1998. Print.
Gackenbach, Jayne. Psychology and the Internet, Second Edition Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Transpersonal Implications. New York: Academic, 2006. Print.
Zhao, Shanyang, Sherri Grasmuck, and Jason Martin. "Identity construction on Facebook: Digital empowerment in anchored relationships." Computers in Human Behavior 24.5 (2008): 1816-836. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web. 12 Oct. 2009.
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