November 21st
I have never thought too much about the different personalities I present online verse in person. However, after today’s discussion, I’ve realized more and more how little these two entities match. I would never post on social media about my political or religious beliefs, nor about my love for reading or my multivariable calculus class. However, if you knew me, you would know these aspects of my life are absolutely integral to my identity. On the other hand, the things I do post on social media often tell a somewhat fabricated version of what my life is actually like. For instance, if you saw only the pictures on my Instagram from the Harvard-Yale game, you would think I was a football game and a large part of my college career was attending football games. Needless to say, this is far from the truth, and, like most Harvard students, Harvard-Yale is the only football game I’ll attend all year. Evidently, my online identity and my identity in real life are very different, yet, I would still consider myself an authentic person. This leads me to believe that most people have similar experiences and that online identities almost will never match the same identity as real life. The true effects of this “second identity” I don’t think are being fully realized yet and I think the youngest generation (ie younger than me) will feel the effects more in their lives as they grow older and lack one fully formed identity.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving! Following on your comments and our discussion in class, do you think that the founders and software engineers at Instagram have the same insight that you now do? After reading your post, I went to Instagram and read their first FAQ, “What is Instagram?” The answer, “Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures.” This answer seems to expect that you share your entire life on Instagram. What do you think Instagram thinks?
Hi Julia! I’m making one last pass through the blogs and I wanted to say thank you for being such an integral part of our class this fall. It was wonderful to hear your thoughts; you added a lot to the discussion. Good luck with everything you’re doing, and I hope to see you around campus in 2017!
I have a friend who claims that the true meaning of privacy is the ability to misrepresent yourself. So perhaps you have just decided to keep your on-line privacy in this way.
Thanks so much for all you added to the seminar–you were a great member of the group, and I hope to see more of you. Have a terrific break and drop by when you get back.