I
had the opportunity last night to discuss the idea of portraying an image
through their online profiles through various social media outlets and it was interesting
as to what responses I received when I discussed the idea of how the images
that are uploaded and the background that is placed on the profiles can often
be a projection of personalities they do not necessarily possess. I found that
many people that I spoke to were not even aware of the images or the words they
put up on their sites and how they were related to their actual characters. As
I feared, people were often thinking about what they think other people would
like to see, rather than being truthful to the characteristics they have in
their life. I feel that many people place pictures and statements that are
perceived to be what people want, but in actuality they are images that are
just a reflection of their own wants and desires.
Hey James,
ReplyDeleteYou make some interesting points there. I like that you went out and discussed the topic of avatars other people and got some different perspectives. I too noticed that avatars people create for themselves are often different from how they really look, and you wrote that the avatars are often reflection of they think other people want to see. I never thought of it that way so I think it's cool that you mentioned that. I always thought of avatars as being what the creator want to look like, so things like chiseled cheekbones or thin bodies are put onto the character. But now that I reflect on that, yeah, I agree, many things that we want are influenced by what we think other people want us to want. (Sorry if that sounds kind of confusing.) For instance, do I wish I was taller because everyone else thinks being taller is more attractive? I that answer is yes. I probably wouldn't care that I was short if no one else cared! Well then I'll just make my avatar tall...
James Kinney,
ReplyDeleteThat’s amazing you were able to find out why people post certain things on their social networking site. Like you said many people have the mindset that they should post things that they think others would like to see, and I agree with this. Having a social networking site people have the freedom to portray someone that they aren’t in real life. This new identity allows others that they may not know as well think that that who they really are. People want to always look their best in pictures and have the perfect statuses that show that they basically have the perfect life.