Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all examples of popular social media outlets, which are used daily by the individuals of today’s society. They are used to connect with people from the past, distant relatives as well as current friends and family. Users are able to share with their friends and or followers everything about themselves through their online profiles. Things like date of birth, hometown, schools they have attended, current workplace, different interests and favorite things are all things found on Facebook profiles alone. However nowhere does it say that the information given by users has to be accurate. This being said, there are instances where people falsely advertise themselves by putting things online that are not one hundred …show more content…
The online photograph sharing, storytelling app has challenged the way people identify themselves. It has help raise the question of which identity is more important in today’s digital age? Self-identity is the “verbal conceptions we hold about ourselves and our emotional identification with these conceptions.” Social identity is the “expectations and opinions that others have of us.” (Kitzmann, Lecture 12) Instagram allows its users to post photographs of anything they choose, however at times these photos give people to challenge the idea of appearance versus reality. The use of photo editing apps is just an example of a way that users are able to fix the imperfections they see in order to make the picture “instagram worthy.” The appearance of the photograph is flawless when in reality it took several minutes (or hours) to take over fifty selfies and to edit the perfect one before it was considered for posting. This is how the app challenges hegemonic practices of beauty. In the fall of 2015, a model by the name of Essena O’Neil decided to quit instagram. For most people, they would assume that she deleted the app or deactivated her account; however she kept her account running only to re-caption her old pictures. O’Neil went back to her old posts and changed their captions, exposing all of …show more content…
This creates opportunities, with respects to class, gender, race and socio- economic status for its users. This is because; instagram does not possess an honesty policy that prevents its users from posting things that are not necessarily true about themselves. To the followers that do not know a lot about a person, they will not ever be sure how honest that person they are following is. Instagram users can post pictures of one hundred thousand dollar cars, with their hand on the steering wheel showing off their expensive jewelry and fresh manicure from the most prestigious salon in town. No one is going to know that the car does not belong to the person holding the camera, or that all the pieces of jewelry were actually gifts, and somebody else paid for the manicure. This is just one example of how one social media app is able to give someone a higher socio-economic stature by the post of a photograph. The photomap feature on the app gives users the opportunity to show their followers all the exciting places they have travelled to and
For example, Rosen states, “According to a recent survey by Microsoft, seventy percent of U.S. recruiters report that they have rejected candidates because of information found online,” (Rosen, Para. 3). Most of the time it is a necessity for companies to do online and background research on candidates because of wanting a safe environment to work in. Social media sites are the fastest way to see who a person truly is. But sometimes it can just be a character they posses because that’s what they’re followers want to see rather than their true self.
Social networking sites promote the sharing of personal information in the public format. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter promote the oversharing of details of personal lives. Posts on these platforms may vary in regards to what one may be watching, or having for breakfast, or it may include pictures of one’s latest vacation or nights out with friends at a local bar. (10) Since personal information can be shared very frequently and with ease, consumers are more likely to disregard the restraint they normally would use when sharing information in regards to personal matter. (10, 11)
From the moment we wake up in the morning media is at our finger tips. As our day goes on we cannot escape all the visual media. One image after another a person’s self-confidence is either boosted or destroyed. Through the use of Photoshop a picture can be altered to get the perfect figure, skin, and hair, but when is the line drawn, when has it gone too far. Hailey Magee takes a stand when it comes to the ethics behind Photoshop in the world of beauty, “In this “Ethical Inquiry” we explore the ethics of digitally altering photos of individuals so as to make the subjects appear “more beautiful” in alignment with cultural standards of beauty”. Shiela Reaves, Jacqueline Bush Hitchon, Sung–Yeon parks, and Gi Woong Yun agree with Hailey Magee in the discussion of photo manipulation in beauty and fashion. “This study is concerned with the moral dilemma that stems from the digital manipulation of magazine ads to render models thinner. Exposure to the “thin ideal” has been linked to such damaging psychological responses as body dissatisfaction, loss of self-esteem, and to eating disorders”. Women and men are constantly affected by exposure to models that achieve the unrealistic beauty outcome of the media. Using the theories of social comparison and cultivation/ media literacy we are able to explain why photo manipulation makes women take on the thin-ideal. In the media driven world photo manipulation has become an accepted practice since it increases sales and fulfils the “thin ideal”, but the emotional and physical damage it has on women is catastrophic.
Although, with any kind of virtual world, like Facebook, comes with its fair share of discrepancies. Examples include the basic fraud, dishonesty, security. Take the MTV hit show Catfish, which is based of people getting scammed, or “catfished,” by internet personalities. People form online relationships with people they have never met and end up being nothing like their alleged profile described. The documentary styled show has been on MTV since 2010 and has aired five seasons (MTV, 2016). That gives me the impression that some people make it a hobby to duplicate someone else’s life instead of providing the truth.
Over the past fifteen years, the use of social media by both the general public and by the business world has expanded dramatically. Social media is one of a number of social technologies - any technological device or technique that can be used to facilitate communication between individuals. Social technology includes everything from the telephone to Wikipedia. Social media, on the other hand, is the use of media platforms which were specifically create to connect users with other users and give them a peak into each other's lives by allowing them exchange information, messages, ideas, pictures, and other personal communication. However, it’s been known to abuse this rapidly growing technology.
With social media websites being the main hub of personal information, advertisers are consistently monitoring our social media activity, having the ability to look into our personal information. In the article "Advertising and Consumer Privacy: Old Practices and New Challenges." by Justine Rapp states, “Fueled by advances in capabilities and interconnectedness of computer based technology, advertisers are able to collect and assimilate information on consumers like no other time history” (51). Facebook has become the number one, social media website around the globe. It is the most popular website used by personal and business users in today’s society. In the article “Using Social Media to Reach Consumers: A Content Analysis of Official Facebook Pages” by Amy Parsons states, “As of July 2011, the social network site Facebook claims to have over 750 million members and in the terms of activity.” (27), making it easy to meet and connect with others. Facebook is considered the “hot spot” for online social activity, however, it exposes personal information about its consumers to
There you are holding your camera an arm’s length away from your face, posing in the most flattering position to capture your best angle. There you are taking a photo of yourself to share with all of your Facebook friends. Taking a self-portrait photo, also known as a selfie, is something almost everyone has done in this new generation. This action is typically done without a second thought. In Alex Williams’ article “Here I Am Taking My Own Picture” that second thought is provoked through exploring the quickly spreading trend of self-portrait photography. In the article while Williams’ provides interesting examples on a changing generation as this trend progresses through social media and modern technology; Williams also leaves something to be desired within the article due to a lack of direction in the author’s stance on the topic.
To begin, social media has created unrealistic standards for young people, especially females. Being bombarded by pictures of females wearing bikinis or minimal clothing that exemplifies their “perfect” bodies, squatting an unimaginable amount of weight at a gym while being gawked at by the opposite sex or of supermodels posing with some of life’s most desirable things has created a standard that many young people feel they need to live up to. If this standard isn’t reached, then it is assumed that they themselves are not living up to the norms or the “standards” and then therefore, they are not beautiful. The article Culture, Beauty and Therapeutic Alliance discusses the way in which females are bombarded with media messages star...
Today’s society revolves around social media and impacts each person in a different way. The occurrence of giving and receiving “likes” and the desire of today’s teens to increase views, shares, comments, and likes are not only helping improve someone’s profile, but also of the brands that they like. As companies observe the data collected, the social media marketers work together to carefully turn “likes” into profit for the brand. People have no idea what the value of liking something is. The more teens that utilize social media, the more money companies are likely to make.
On Instagram, a photo-based social media site, highly popular pages showcase, and therefore market, photographs of food to their followers. “If you can get through the Vogue.com holiday dessert roundup—featuring this salted caramel apple pie and more—without your mouth watering,” - states the Vogue Magazine Instagram feed, “then you 're one step ahead of us.” Although the audience is only looking at a photograph, the language used as a caption contributes to an idea that the caramel apple pie is delicious, in-demand, and a must-have. In other words, to be normal and to be able to fit in is to find the apple pie enticing. The caption leaves no space for personal preferences because it makes the public assumption that all will enjoy this apple pie. Although this particular example comes from a more traditional source, Vogue Magazine, there is a vast number of self-made “celebrities” on the Internet who have gained a mass following. Although magazines and businesses often try selling a product online, online celebrities are selling themselves online. In a constant quest for a large following and more engaged audience members, online celebrities resort to sharing posts and photos that would appeal to the largest number of audience members. They reinforce existing ideas by both sharing the ideas, and by modeling what “normal” ideas are for
In the 21st century, digital media has gain popularity from young adults. There are over 1 billion users solely registered on Facebook (Solberg, 2014). However, issues of privacy and publicity are being brought to attention, though it has been used in problematic ways such as academic research, personal reputation, or policing. The faulty policies of social media websites like Facebook are potentially putting users at risk and are outweighing the benefits, which in turn can negatively impact their social perceptions.
Alexandra Scaturchio, in her article “Women in Media” (2008) describes the media’s idea of beauty as superficial. She supports her argument by placing two pictures side-by-side; a picture of a real, normal-looking woman and her picture after it has been severely digitally enhanced. Her purpose is to show young teenage girls that the models they envy for their looks are not real people, but computer designs. She also states, “the media truly distorts the truth and instills in women this false hope because…they will live their lives never truly attaining this ideal appearance”. Scaturchio wants her readers to realize the media’s distorting capabilities and feel beautiful about themselves, even with flaws.
Social networking sites have become popular over the years, like twitter, which allows users to present themselves through their tweets using photos, hyperlinks, or hashtags. Boyd (2010) argued that social media platforms like Twitter encourages members to use their actual identities but it does not mean people are presenting themselves online the way they do in real life.
The first aspect being addressed is the problem with social network sites exposing information. Social networking has created an environment where it is nearly a duty to expose oneself. Profiles on these social websites are updated everyday with personal information such as locations, status, and future plans. Anyone can search another’s name and find information about their history, pictures, and activity. With the help of social networking sites...
With more than 500 million active users, the site is a warehouse of personal information. Personal profiles allow users to provide information about their name, age, hometown, relationship status, activities, job, school, and more. They can connect with the others’ profiles and become ”friends”. Combined with a profile picture, you can pretty much learn anything you want to know about somebody over Facebook (should they choose to provide the information). However, what many users fail to realize is that in most cases this information is not only available to their “friends”. Though users can change their privacy settings to limit with whom their profile information is shared, the site gathers and stores more than most of us want to acknowledge. For instance, the Facebook “Like” butto...