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mymediaohmymedia · 6 years

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#3 Your real-self versus your ideal-self – Selfies

So, who do you want to be today? The offline or online version of you?

Social media usage has evolved over the past few years, as a result we see ourselves forming unnatural habits to keep up with the social media demand. The way we present ourselves online rarely represents the person you are in reality; however, you may find that although you portray a certain version of you online your real-self and ideal-self may lead back to one another across the various social media platforms you use (Chamorro-Premuzic 2015). A few years ago, we would hardly share too much of our personal lives on social media but that has changed as the internet has become so prominent in our everyday lives (Chamorro-Premuzic 2015). In this post we will look at social media in our online and offline lives. Firstly, we will discuss the selfie and how it connects to the presentation of your ideal-self. Secondly, we will look at the social media platform Instagram. Thirdly, we will look at the social media effect and the effects it has on the real-self.

Selfies are images that can be considered as a glamourized version ‘show and tell’, you only show what you want to show which is usually the good stuff. A selfie is a photo that an individual takes of themselves using a camera, usually mobile phones or webcams (Iqani & Schroeder 2016:405). It is a seen as a convenient way to take a self-portrait and also an important feature on social media platforms (Iqani & Schroeder 2016:405). Selfies can be very simple but also overdone, this is due to the influence society has on body image. Also, they have a language that does not necessarily consist of words, e.g. a girl can post a #couplegoals picture on their Instagram but in reality, they are arguing and not even in the same room together. The message she portrays to her followers is happy because maybe they are smiling, laughing etc. but, in reality she is experiencing the complete opposite emotion. Selfies can be considered as visual communication that is shared on social media platforms, this become obvious when you take notice of the images that are presented on someone’s social media profile (Iqani & Schroeder 2016:405). The selfie allows an individual to create a brand usually with the ideas of their ideal-self. On social media we want to present the “best version of yourself”, the ideal-self is often glamourized and represents an identity that we imagine ourselves and want to share with our follower (Caiola 2015).

Instagram is a social media platform that operates using a mobile photo-sharing application (Marwick 2015:137). It allows users to post images like as a selfie, as well as, edit and share them with Instagram users that follow you on the application (Marwick 2015:142). Followers and users can like and comment on one another’s photos, because the application is on a mobile phone users’ can constantly create and maintain their Instagram page (Marwick 2015:142). This platform gives the user the opportunity to create their ideal-self. The difference between an individual real-self and ideal-self varies slightly, your real-self consists of your personality, your attributes and characteristics (Kay Green 2013). Whereas, your ideal-self is a portrayal of who you want to be, sometimes influenced by society and the environment you are in (Kay green 2013). The perfect way to understand your ideal-self is like an assignment, you want to present your best work to you lecturer, this means having the right amount of information, trying to find the right sources, using the correct kinds of format. Therefore, although our ideal-self is an idea of what we want to be it is not very far off from our real-self with just a few changes here and there (Kay Green 2013).

There have been debates about the effects social media has on the image of self and an individual’s self-esteem, this is due to the social pressures of all these idealist lives everyone presents on their social media platforms (Kay Green 2013). Some consider these platforms an esteem builder, because of the likes, as we have created this idea that there more like you have the more appealing you are on social media. However, we need to also be aware that social media platforms can cause isolation (Jacob 2015:1), especially in the way we communicate with one another the trust, emotional, physical that humans desire is being replaced by the constant consumption of social media (Jacob 2015:1).

The irony of social media is that is includes the word ‘social’ in it, but it has made is super anti-social and if we look at the fixation we have with a smartphone to keep you connected to “reality” then there is a big issue. Try to ensure that there is a balance between your real-self and you ideal-self, you may find that if you put the effort and time you put into the presentation of your idea, and use it on your real-self you may find an equilibrium between the two and your online and offline worlds will not have to be apart.

References

Amedie, Jacob, "The Impact of Social Media on Society" (2015). Advanced Writing: Pop Culture Intersections. 2: 1-19.

Caiola, R. 2015. Virtual-Self Versus Real-Self. Online, retrieved 10 September 2018: https://www.rewireme.com/insight/virtual-self-versus-real-self/.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T. 2015. How different are your online and offline personalities? Online, retrieved 10 September 2018: https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/sep/24/online-offline-personality-digital-identity.

Iqani, I. & Schroeder, J.E. 2016. #selfie: digital self-portraits as commodity form and consumption practice. Consumption Markets & Culture 19.5: 405-415.

Kay Green, R. 2013. The Social Media Effect: Are You Really Who You Portray Online?

Marwick, A.E. 2015. Instafame: Luxury selfies in the attention economy. Public Culture 27.1: 137-160.

Online, retrieved 10 September 2018 https://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-kay-green/the-social-media-effect-a_b_3721029.html.

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