self identity through media platforms
Growing up immersed in social media, it feels almost like a second nature for most gen z-ers like myself. I have never really questioned when people post personal details of their lives onto the internet, but instead would do the same for absolutely no reason at all. Or is there a reason we, as humans, use social media as an outlet of self portrayal?
Social media goes deeper than telling your friends what brand of mascara you are using, or sharing your relationship status to people from your high school who you haven’t spoken to in four years. Why do you feel the need to tell someone you wear a thirty dollar mascara or have finally found luck through an online dating app? Self image. Instagram and Facebook are simply platforms used to spread the image that we want others to see.
This blog that I am writing right now is simply an outlet used to promote the way I want to be viewed by the public. Vincent Miller, the author of “Understanding Digital Culture,” believes that the whole “phenomenon of blogging” could be seen as a way to “construct and display a coherent identity narrative.” Social media has become one of the most vital tools in order to market oneself to an audience.
In order to fully understand what I mean by the utilization of social media as self portrayal, I will now introduce the topic of “fitstas.” If you have never heard of a “fitsta,” it is simply a fitness instagram where girls with abs show me workouts that I will never do, and I love it. I follow like twenty-five of them. However, if I were to create a fitness instagram account, what does that mean about me and my self identity? It could mean a plethora of things, beginning with the fact that I value physical health, I want to help others get in tune with their bodies, or I want to show off my muscles. All three are valid and add to a positive self portrayal and backs up the whole “Instagram vs. Reality” trend that has taken over the internet.
What does your self-esteem have to do with portrayal on social media? According to Eric Dolan, these two go hand in hand. Have you ever taken fifty pictures of yourself, deleted forty-nine, then mulled over posting that one picture for three hours? Or what about when you think you look good in a picture, then Kendall Jenner or Zac Efron posts? You are not alone. In Dolan’s article, “Self-esteem influences how Facebook users react to portraying their true selves online,” he goes in depth about the type of users we see everyday on our social media feed. The user who only has good things happen to them, and the user who is relatable and honest. Or to put it more blunt, the user with low self esteem, and the user with high self esteem. It would be a lie if I said I haven’t been both those users before.
It is difficult to not have low self esteem when everyone around you suddenly is getting married, has weirdly white teeth, or has lost 20 pounds due to a Kourtney Kardashian juice cleanse. Not only have apps such as Facetune become a norm in everyday life, but they have reset the way we think about ourselves, leading us to create ever-changing and sometimes even false identities through the media.