#research10

Within the Week 10 lecture, I was struck by a theme that seemed to underlie not just this lecture, but others within the series. The idea of authenticity. What categorises authenticity? How does one become their true self with so many distractions and influences surrounding oneself? Because of the wide range of influences we have within our lives, I decided that I would focus mainly on the ideas surrounding social media and the creation of the illusion of the ‘perfect life’ that some people manage to manifest. I realise that this research is mainly based on self-reflection, but I feel as though the aim of the paper is to make you think more about your role as a designer, and therefore my online presence. I also wanted to practice referencing skills in preparation for my paper, so I will use endnote referencing throughout.   Because I have had an Instagram since I was 13, I feel as though analysing my usage with my best attempt at being unbiased, would be a good measure as to my personal authenticity online.  I am Instagram obsessed. There I said it. It’s out in the open for the rest of this post and homework assignment. This being said I wonder how much of my own life I have decided to reveal within my online profile. As of this moment, the 26th of May 2016 my account @jemontoast has 609 followers. I am quite ashamed that I know this without having to get out my phone and check. I personally feel as though my age group really has been the tipping point for social media, I remember the rise of facebook quite clearly, I also was 13 when I got my first phone and 16 when I got my first iPhone.  Recently a youtube, blogger, and famous Instagrammer INSERT went viral for her video that she posted showing her ‘real’ Instagram. This ‘real’ Instagram had captions that she felt were reflective of the situation and feelings behind the picture rather than what she had usually been showing. This included images of her in a bikini that had previously been captioned with things such as ‘fun day on the beach’ or ‘summer’ replaced with the reality of the situation, her not eating before the shoot and taking ‘hundreds’ of shots and shouting at her sister to get the right angle to make her appear perfectly candid.  Although I don’t think my life is authentic online, I question if it should be as I have a public account. Would one really enjoy an Instagram that depicted my life in actuality? It would contain, for the most part, days sitting in front of the computer completing assignments, rather than the picture I uploaded within this time of uni work of a perfectly lit blue of the sea, that I had taken a picture of two weeks prior. 

When reading up on these ideas of online authenticity, I came across an academic article where in which it noted that “Achieving or gaining popularity is one of the important (social) goals one may seek to fulfill while (and through) using social media” (Lim, Nicholson, Yang & Kim, 2015). This for me sums up the ideas of authenticity, designing a life for oneself online always comes back to the idea of being appealing to others. My theory was supported by the article as it mentions age being a deciding factor in how authentic someone is online. This ‘strategic self-presentation’ (Lim, Nicholson, Yang & Kim, 2015) is something that can be found throughout history within paintings, however, because of this generation brought up with social media it is more readily available to many people rather than a select wealthy few- as mentioned by Peter a few lectures back. 

When reading a blog about being ‘too authentic’ online, one must question how we are now expected to develop our brand from such a young age. I follow many children from my dance school on social media, and at 12 or 13 they’re already leaving ‘digital breadcrumbs’ (Hutchinson, n/d) that can never be completely erased.  After all of this research, I am left wondering if in fact authenticity and preservation of ones character is actually possible online. I am sure it would be if you posted maybe once a month, but for my generation and our posts that are every day/every other day I don’t think it is possible to keep the balance right, one must decide where the line is for themselves. 

Resources:

Hutchinson, A. Professional authenticity: can you be too authentic online? Retrieved 3/6/2016, 2016, from http://blog.firebrandtalent.com/2014/09/professional-authenticity-can-you-be-too-authentic-online/