Identity is defined as one’s personal characteristics or attributes and their membership of a social category. In today’s society it is important to note how social media impacts upon our individual identities. To begin with, we technically are not born with identity; it is a socially constructed attribute. Identity is a transient thing, which changes over time as we grow and mature. The self-concept, which is our own personal understanding of who we are, combines with self awareness to cultivate a cognitive representation of the self, called identity (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2010, p.118). In other words, who we are is controlled by internal and external factors that combine to make us who we become. Bring new media outlets into the equation, such as the internet, and media is now regarded as an "extension of everyday life and a tool of cultural change" (Singh, 2010). Thus, identity formation, as a social concept, is being transformed in new and even more global ways. When we talk about social media and identity, what comes to mind? We all know they have a pretty complicated relationship, but how exactly is social media related to identity? In exploring the connections between social media and identity, we have realised there has been a gradual but obvious transition within the social media- identity relation. Within this essay I am going to take a look at how the linkage between social media and identity has evolved over the course of my studies. Whether consciously aware of what is being displayed or not, media plays a substantial role in influencing consumption patterns and lifestyle. Researchers noted television's power to influence even people who are illiterate. Smith-Speck and Roy (2008) explained that even individua... ... middle of paper ... ... by creating alternative personas –her different facebook profiles serving as a manifestation of the life she wished she could have had; media was a way out. The television series of this show “Catfish” shows us that there are many individuals out there like Angela, who create completely fabricated identities, for many different reasons. Whether it is malicious or a release for the person; It is an escape from reality in most cases. This alerts us to the dangers of social media, and makes us wary of meeting new people online, as all may not be what it seems. In a way, this creates a suspicious environment in the world of social media. If we don’t know the individuals we befriend on social media sites personally, how are we to know if they are real people or fictional characters produced out of the mind of someone else. In this way, a sense of identity is destroyed.
In our age of endless involvement in social media, we often see that people know online aren’t what they seem. Some social media users don’t know that same people we follow or are friends with on Facebook are controlling the way they are being perceived by other users. It’s a new social phenomenon born online and isn’t taken noticed by the everyday users, but there had been movies and stories about it. The topic of identity on social media is being bought up more often in the worldwide conversion about what social media means to us. In the essay “Impression Management on Facebook and Twitter” by Annalise Sigona seeks to inform readers and social media users about the unknowns about the impression and the way user present themselves in social media. When reading this essay, I was introduced to new term, and something I had vague understanding for.
Before beginning the explanation of how an identity is formed, one must understand what an identity is. So, what is identity? To answer this, one might think of what gives him individuality; what makes him unique; what makes up his personality. Identity is who one is. Identity is a factor that tells what one wants out of life and how he is set to get it. It tells what kind of a person one is by the attitude and persona he has. And it depends upon the mixture of all parts of one’s life including personal choices and cultural and societal influences, but personal choices affect the identity of one more than the others.
Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them are. The most interesting point about identity is that some people know what they want and who they are, while it takes forever for others to figure out the factors mentioned before. Many of the individuals analyzed in this essay are confused about the different possible roles or positions they can adopt, and that’s exactly the reason they look for some professional help.
In an article called “Relationships, community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society” Arnold Brown explains two different identities, one that he calls “found identity” and the other “made identity” (34). The found identity is one that is created by one true self, it’s based off your background, your religion, your sexuality, everything that truly defines who you really are. And then there’s your made identity, the one you make for yourself and how you wish to be seen. As technology advances, the easier it will be for young girls to create these made identity’s of these famous celebrities, having them focus on things that don’t matter instead of valuing who they really are. As an older sister, I can say that I’ve seen change in my own sister.
What is meant by Identity? Identity is a universal characteristic of which one can be recognized. One can be recognized by their race, gender, sexuality, family or social class. Identities shape a person that help them get through the journey to their dream and life. Factors like gender and family play a vital role in shaping a person’s individual identity. Gender identity is one’s perception of the activities that is “masculine” and “feminine.” Family identity can be seen in one’s family values and culture. Family plays a vital part in one’s gender identity. In today’s world, Identity is a major part of life, it defines who we are, where we come from. A person’s
In the past, individual’s identities were often assigned to them by the hegemonic culture, largely based on their conceptualization of sameness. The hegemonic culture dominated identity discourse by drawing distinct boundaries between racial and cultural groups, separating and defining them. Modern discourse however, has seen individuals taking the power of assigning identity signifiers for themselves often in periods of great social change. While times of resistance are often the most easily recalled examples of this, subtle trends in society a tremendous impact, often without the conscience knowledge of the society. In the past two decades, Western Culture has been witness to a radical transformation in identification processes. Technology has become increasingly pivotal to popular culture, and as such, it has had a profound influence on the way we create and affirm our sense-of-self. Identification categories have become less rigid compared to thirty years ago, and people are on average more open to identifying across boundaries. The process of blurring identity lines between distinct groups has re-distributed the power of assigning signifiers from the hegemonic element of popular culture to the individual. Means of instant information distribution and exchange, discourse and academic retrieval, such as instant messengers, social networking sites, Wikipedia, et al are perhaps some of the most influential because of their instantaneousness. While the lines have become blurred on a social level, individual identities are often affirmed.
What is identity? Identity is an unbound formation which is created by racial construction and gender construction within an individual’s society even though it is often seen as a controlled piece of oneself. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’, Tatum asserts that identity is formed by “individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 105). Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’” creates a better understanding of how major obstacles such as racism and sexism shape our self identity.
...clude the sense of human identity. People who express several aspects of self cannot develop the “aesthetic self,” as they have no experience in sharing the real feelings to others. People who express several aspects of self cannot develop the “aesthetic self,” as they have no experience in sharing the real feelings to others. Turkle’s analysis of the computer as a reminiscent object and the human relationship with the object helps us to understand online identity. Undoubtedly, technology has changed the way of leaning and thinking that helps to find the identity of individuals. As we are highly depend on technology and computer in recent times, the dependency and relationship with computer and technology are the potential to severely influence our formation of identity. As Erik Erikson and Turkle rightly said, internet has provide a safe place to find our identity.
Social networking sites have become popular over the years, like twitter, which allows users to present themselves through their tweets using photos, hyperlinks, or hashtags. Boyd (2010) argued that social media platforms like Twitter encourages members to use their actual identities but it does not mean people are presenting themselves online the way they do in real life.
So what is identity? We are not born with our identity; it is something that is constructed socially and often changes depending on the social circle that we are in. Identity is “the self-concept, which is the knowledge of who we are, combines with self-awareness to develop a cognitive representation of the self” (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2010, p.118). In other words, the internal and external factors are combined to make us who we are. Now, let’s add in internet media outlets, such as Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram or Snapchat are now considered an "extension of everyday life and a tool of cultural change" (Singh, 2010). Therefore, our identity
The influence of rapidly growing social media, television, and the internet has taken the world by storm in recent years. Its fascinating development over the years is nothing short of remarkable when you take into account that 20 years ago, only 16 million people in the world were "online", compared to the 2 billion that roam on the internet now. Modern communications technology has now become so familiar and utterly banal, yet there is still this tingling sensation when one receives a text from a love interest on Facebook or WhatsApp. Human identity, the idea that defines each and every one of us, is on the verge of being radically defined by social media. This essay will provide a balanced outlook on the positive and negative effects that social media have had on the behaviour and thinking on humans. The topic is a very controversial one, but the purpose of this is to help readers formulate a view on whether the arguments in this essay benefit society in general, or whether they harm the well-being of the human brain and detach us from reality.
In the modern society, the concept of identity is gaining much attention from both scientists and the wide public. The idea of identity is connected with the issues of identification and determining one's role in the society. However, the problem with the identity concerns the idea that it is perceived through numerous external factors that tend to determine the social status of a person and his or her belonging to a certain group. With regard to this, very often the identity of every particular person tends to be misinterpreted and perceived incorrectly. The incorrect interpretation of a person's identity usually comes as a result of cultural differences. The aspects that define the person’s identity usually include the labels that tend to be imposed on people due to their world-view, the language they are speaking, the racial belonging, or even the clothes they are wearing.
Identities that are created through communication are identities that you communicate to others. They are identities that you express about yourself while you are communicating with others. It is also how other people see you through your actions, ideas, and thoughts. It is how we define ourselves through our communication with others and how our communication defines us (Martin & Nakayama, 2011.) When I am communicating with a stranger, my identity is as a Mexican American. When I communicate with a friend, my identity is as a kind and caring friend. When I communicate with a teacher, advisor, other student, or professor, I am identified as a student. When I communicate
Identity is defined as the mixture of conception as well as the expression of a person. It entails the affiliations with other people or groups. It is the specific characteristic that is associated with a particular individual. This character is mostly generated from how one is brought up and the environment surrounding an individual’s upbringing process. The identity is closely related to reputation as well as self image. However, most people have a challenge in proving their identity. This raises the question of how to prove one’s identity in the society. This paper will focus on the question and make an argument of how to prove identity.
Social Networking sites play an essential role in today’s culture as they provide people with the ability to interact, blog, share pictures and videos, flirt, and date without having to move an inch. People pour their minds and hearts into the world of cyber communication; it is an easier way for them to clear their heads without having a face-to-face confrontation. Undoubtedly, this is advantageous to certain people. It helps establish connections with people, friends and family from any corner of the world, but one cannot ignore the extensive privacy breach that occurs in the universe of online social media.