Although I am new to Twitter, I can relate to and understand Marwick and Boyd’s discussion of audience in the social media realm. I have used Facebook since 2007 and my idea of who “my audience” is, has changed drastically since then.
I would argue that everyone using social media, whether it is Twitter or Facebook, tries to put their “best self forward”. We post our likes and dislikes, our favorite bands and movies, all in order to give off a certain image of ourselves. (See #25) We decide against posting about controversial ideas because we don’t want to upset certain groups or people who follow us. I know that I think about my audience on Facebook, without even realizing it sometimes. Is this post going to upset my aunt Jan? I know my friends at work will think this meme is hilarious...These are some thoughts that might cross my mind before posting something. Marwick and Boyd believe that “Self-censorship can be a useful technique in the face of an imagined audience that includes, parents, employers, and significant others.” What you choose to post online is partly decided by the people you allow to follow you. What are you comfortable with them reading or seeing? “Social media participants are far more concerned with parents or employers viewing their Twitter stream than a complete stranger.”
But we also know that when we post something, it has the capability of being seen by more than just your “friends” or “followers”, but we still do it. There isn’t any stage fright when it comes to expressing yourself in front of all these people because you can’t see them. You can only see your imagined audience, which includes your 654 friends, and probably more specifically the ones you interact with online the most.
Jodi Dean says the “ideology of publicity is valuing whatever grabs the publics attention”. Although I cant speak for celebrities on Twitter, I know that sometimes I post statuses/articles/videos on Facebook, already knowing exactly which people on my friends list will have something to say on the subject matter. I am strategically posting to a specific part of my imagined audience; Instant gratification in the form of a notification or retweet. While I don’t personally understand the hype of Twitter, the person with 100,000 friends would probably use this kind of strategic posting in order to gain and keep as many followers as possible.
So, are people exposing the “real me” on Twitter and Facebook? Or are they posting the ideal version of themselves, who are politically correct and strive to make their audience happy...
I definitely make attempts to put my best self forward on my Facebook, though this often creates serious internal debate within me. Often times this desire is a reaction to how I perceive other people. It’s been said that we see everyone’s highlights on Facebook, and as a result of the seemingly endless excitement that others appear to be experiencing, it makes us uncomfortable when our lives appear trivial or boring.
ReplyDeleteFor these reasons I often have cycles where I refrain from posting very much on Facebook. Its difficult for me to disengage from this mode of thinking until I’m already in it and say “What the hell am I doing?” Yet many I have a professional that communicates primarily through a Facebook group which requires me to be attentive to the site. This has rendered avoiding Facebook impossible. So now I am more prone to these sorts of comparisons and personal image shaping. Just this week I changed my profile picture to something I would consider much more flattering. But did I really do it for myself or for others? Its hard often for me to make that distinction in the modern world.
I agree with Stephen. I myself try to put my best self online for people to view with occassional post showing people the real me but I do find that this causes an issue for our generation. People are starting relationships off the web and in my opinion I think is horrible because you are not seeing or getting to know the person you have been communicating and sharing information with. On another note I to fnd myself at times percieving my life as boring and not as exciting as what I veiw on the web. This at times can effect my mood. It is very hard to disengage from social media but I find that doing so helps put things into a better perspective and you find more of the little things to be enjoyable.
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