In the modern world, each person puts forth two different
versions of themselves: their real-life self and their virtual self. Each of
these entities reflect unique aspects about that person. Regardless of how much
or how little an individual shares online, the surplus or lack of information still
speaks volumes about that person. In this blogpost, I will discuss how social
media affects my life and how intrusive I find it to be, the responsibility
that I believe that I have as a user, as well as the direction of the future of
social media and what I hope it will be.
Every time I log into Facebook, I am asked “What’s on your
mind?” while Twitter’s question of choice is “What’s happening?”. If someone asked
me those questions every single time I saw them, I would think that they are
nosy or prying. When I see those questions on Facebook and Twitter, I don’t
even see them. They’re just pale gray writing prompts that I can filter through
the same way that I filter through the targeted ads that clog up my newsfeed on
Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. While I am aware that each of my accounts
collects information about me every time I scroll through mindlessly, I still scroll
through mindlessly.
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| A sampling of my twitter (@ameliaamarie) ramblings! |
The people that I
interact with on each site affects what I share on social media much more than
the abstract idea that companies are collecting data about my online shopping
habits. For example, I am much less likely to post my political opinions or share
a funny joke on Facebook than I am on Twitter. This is because I am friends
with lots of my family members on Facebook, while only a few follow me on
Twitter. I enjoy how conversational Twitter is as opposed to how formal I feel
I need to be on Facebook. I am responsible for the content that I post, so why
would I post something that I wouldn’t want my mom to see me doing or saying on
Facebook? Twitter is a much more concise and casual media platform. I can just
as easily write a tweet about politics as I can about how much I idolize Blair
Waldorf from Gossip Girl and compare myself to her.
Following the mindset that I am responsible for the content I
post is where social responsibility comes in to play. An example of when social
media was used for a positive outcome was the #IceBucketChallenge. The hashtag
brought attention to ALS and raised money for research to help end the illness,
resulting in scientists identifying a gene that is tied to ALS.
In the tumultuous world and political climate we live in, social
media has become a way in which we protest, entertain, and create a virtual
reality for ourselves. Going forward, I hope that social media continues to
inform and educate while uniting people towards common goals. However, I also
hope that more people will favorite my tweets with Gossip Girl references.
