Facebook is a very useful tool that I will use an example. It's the most addictive social networking site in the world. With over 1.15 billion active users monthly, it has become quite clear why it's the number one social media app in this day and age. I am one of those 1.15 billion users. I perceive myself as a popular celebrity in the Facebook world among my friends. Funny enough, while reading Marshall (2010), I thought he was describing me. I, too, perceive others how they think of me and the way I present myself on Facebook has got me thinking quite clearly of what I should post. My personality and my 'Facebook persona' is quite different. I always put up positive inputs and thoughts on my Facebook status updates and profile. Even though, the situation in real life may not quite the contrary but I think deep and hard of why I should not combine my reality with my virtual life.
I'm always tempted to just feel like letting it all out on my status update on Facebook whenever I feel that life is getting too hard. I believe that somehow, by typing a few words, I will get sympathies and supports from my fellow friends. But in a way, I thought to myself, it's a bit attention seeking and feels as if I am 'fishing' for likes and comments. Again, I am very careful when it comes to my public image and persona in the Facebook world. Also when it comes to comments, I make sure I delete any negative comments that might compromise my virtual public image. Some of my friends noticed, some don't. This just proves that as much as I love 'likes' and 'comments' on whenever I post a status, I only want the positive ones.
I started to think from another point of view. The way we see mirrors, is that we wanted to be perfect. We wanted to look good and desirable for other people to see and therefore interact with us. Wherever the mirror may be, it gives us this conscious and peace of mind when we know that we look glamour and flashy. Mirrors also helps us point out any weaknesses on and in our body, so we can pinpoint what it is and get rid of it as it ruins our image. The mirror then can be thought of as reconstructing us for its representation on the screen.
Hopefully that illustration and these pictures helps you to understand the specular economy and our daily lives of how we carefully perceive others and present ourselves. Especially online, people might have a lot of different ideas of how they look at us compare to reality. That is the exact reason why we choose carefully for our public image on the web. The specular economy has produced a new regime of personal presentation that we're only beginning to see its profound implications.
Photo Source (1):
http://mashable.com/2010/11/11/facebook-google-identity-column/
Photo Source (2):
http://images.smh.com.au/ftsmh/ffximage/2009/04/13/internet_wideweb__470x374,0.jpg
References:
Marshall, P. David 2010, The Specular Economy, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502.
Hey Rio,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. I found it quite easy to read and really easy to relate to - but I guess anyone who has FaceBook can relate!
I found the part about only wanting positive comments quite interesting and how that you can still monitor and control even others input onto your persona.
I would have liked for you to reference some of the celebrity points Marshall raised and how this culture and celebrity like persona's have developed in reflection of them.
Overall, great post and interesting images. Good job! - Andrea
Hi Rio,
ReplyDeleteYou're blog post accurately depicts the concepts of specular economy in relation to what it suggests for a global community, however, a better connection between this concept in the opening paragraph would have cemented this further. I found the use of Facebook as an example of specular economy to be appropriate, albeit somewhat safe in this instance. Your spelling and grammar was a bit of an issue for me and made some parts of the post hard to understand, which did make it difficult to get your point across. Overall it was an acceptable post which shows the ideas and concepts of a specular economy, thanks for the read.
Hi Michael,
DeleteIn which paragraph was my spelling and grammar became an issue for you? I would like to see it before I reciprocate.
Hey Rio,
ReplyDeleteI rather enjoyed reading your post as I found it quite easy to read and easy to relate to - but that is to be expected, as a vast majority of people our age are engaging with Facebook and various other social media throughout today's society. Your blog post accurately depicts the concepts and discusses the prominence of a specular economy throughout the 21st century, and states that the specular economy is encouraging for a more global community. I found the use of Facebook as an example of a specular economy to be a prime example to back up your arguments, as it is easily one of the most widely known and used social media platforms throughout today's society. The images that you used were highly relevant and added to your discussion as they depict the idea of a 'public presentation' online which adds credibility to your major points. Overall a very interesting read.
Hey Rio,
ReplyDeleteI found this week’s post of yours very relatable and easy to read. You used a great selection of pictures that supported your view and your use of Marshall’s references was well executed. Through your post you clearly defined the Specular Economy and used links to justify your answer. It is evident that you have a clear understanding of the topic Specular economy. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see one other scholarly reference besides Marshall.
Overall a great read!
Hey Rio, great stuff here. Good to see you contemplating your own position in the specular economy, and admitting that you’re a different person offline than you are online! Really good images you’ve used here as well, they illustrate your point perfectly, and they’ve been positioned in a great way to break up the text and make the post more readable. Overall this is a really reflective post; a good read. Best of luck with the other assessments!
ReplyDeleteHi Rio,
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog. I enjoyed reading it especially the example you chose to elaborate on - “Facebook”. I totally agree when you say that you prefer to only update your virtual world with positive updates and that being completely vulnerable to the Facebook world can be seen as “attention seeking”. Despite the fact that Facebook does ask “What is on your mind?” for a new status update, I, too, choose to be positive and not display an emotional or vulnerable facade. I agree that it is attention seeking to the virtual world and that some seek sympathetic comments in order to feel a tad better than they are at the time. Great job, keep it up!