I use a few social media sites, of which include Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter (rarely, if not ever) and now Blogger. That’s quite a bit considering they all in some way demonstrate a view of myself.
However, when it comes to Facebook especially, I am incredibly aware of the types of images I upload of myself. Marshall (2010) notes that we currently have a “complex presentation of the self” (p.499) where I do believe we are becoming more aware, through outside influences and celebrities, of how we put ourselves out there in regard to appearance. We create our own “persona” that is from our mobile media screen's, acting as a mirror that is thought to produce someones persona (Marshall 2010, p.499).
This is interesting because I consider a person who carries out a ‘selfie’ creates their own persona in regard to what kind of selfie they take. For example, Marshall (2010) explains that online, we move into a “quasi-public presentation of ourselves” that essentially is a mediated version of ourselves (p.499). According to Urban Dictionary, a selfie is:
What I find rather important to illustrate first is that Marshall observes that, through looking in a mirror and trying to imagine a better version of ourselves, we try to achieve this “through our activities and technique” (p.499) of which my 'selfie' demonstrates techniques from photoshopping and photo-editing.
I admit, I do take a selfie and put it up on Facebook as my display picture, and I also admit that I do edit them so they appear blemish free. I am highly aware at who will see the picture so naturally I try to increase the value of the appearance by photoshopping out my bad skin days and adding some extra’s like brightness or exposures – even sometimes lighting flares – just so it will appear more inviting than what the original selfie looked like.
For example:
For example:
To some degree, my online persona is a photo-editing junkie that gives off some falseness, but essentially, I just want to appear ‘pretty’ to online social media sites (as pretentious as that may be).
References:
Marshal, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502
Images: Authors own
Urban Dictionary, 1999-2013, ‘Urban Dictionary’, retrieved 13 September 2013, <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=selfie>
Hi, This is a very well written post that I really enjoyed reading! I have to relate to the point you have made about Facebook and how we are all becoming more aware of how we present ourselves. I like the way you've tied in your personal Facebook use with the topic. I always believe that by becoming more aware of how we are presented, we are also contributing to the construction of different personas. I think this is becoming difficult to avoid as whenever we get the chance to portray ourselves in a mediated way, we also strive for perfection. Thanks for the great post.
ReplyDeleteI felt like you started this blog off really well, providing the concept and then the definition in the first few lines allows the readers to engage with your topic and demonstrates that you have understood the concept which you have chosen to discuss. I thought that your choice to discuss this topic in terms of your own use of social media also added a certain level of appeal because the information was your own first-hand experiences substantiated with past theory. Your use of images were also relevant to your piece and positioned well throughout. My only criticism is that you do not include any links to further reading or sources (apart from links to the images) I feel as though links would really add to your piece and allow readers to do some research of their own. Overall, a well structured piece.
ReplyDeleteHey, this was a very captivating post, I enjoyed it a lot. You covered the concept of the specular economy quite well in providing a definition of what it is and then supporting it by showing how you portray yourself online through media outlets such as Facebook. You really went into great detail when it comes to your personal use of Facebook and how you are especially cautious of the photo’s you post online. I can assure you that you are definitely not alone there; the social media application Instagram is filled with edited photos. It allows everyone to easily hide behind a flattering filter! The examples you included portraying edited and non-edited photos really tied this blog post together perfectly. It displayed how simple it is to change how others perceive you online and makes you think how many people online are really themselves (their honest true self that is, blemishes and all!) My guess is barely anyone! Great work, keep it up :)
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteYour post covered the idea of the specular economy, developed by Marshal (2010), very well. Your discussion of how photo's are taken to illustrate the specular economy is similar to that discussed in the lecture for this topic. The way you have changed your images is the 'construction' that Marshal talks about and you are doing this because you are 'conscious' of how others perceive you. This is very similar to the past where many images of celebrities that the public saw where filtered in magazines. Today we see more images taken from celebrities themselves and they probably go through the same process that you and I do to publish them on our own sites as you mentioned above.
Overall your blog was well written and would have benefited from some links. The way ordinary people pose their written posts and comments is also an interesting aspect that can be carried on quite well from your discussion on images.
Thanks~ Melissa
Hi,
ReplyDeleteA strong well reasoned post on the specular self which draws a lot from the Marshall reading. The post was a good mixture of academic works, personal examples and argument on the subject. The entry from urban dictionary further illustrated your examples and your personal photo's further rounded out the example. I also enjoyed the use of the Gif to illustrate how photoediting happens in this type of setting. Keep up the good work!